Our "new" Tiger...

[Roktoys84]

Saw 3 Tigers in the past couple days while traveling (a new record): passed a very nice GT on I-15 (pretty sure it was Suntinez), a newer XL on I-70 and a brand new CX cruising around Grand Junction. Funny how you always notice similar vehicles once you own one...

Random picture from this morning overlooking the San Rafael Reef:

Looks like the view from the scenic overlook on I70. What direction are you heading from there? If you head through Cache Valley (northern Utah) I would love to see the Tiger.

 

[HMR]

Looks like the view from the scenic overlook on I70. What direction are you heading from there?

That's the exact spot.

I've been exploring around the Western Slope for the past 2 weeks. The more I see, the bigger it gets. I have a feeling I could spend months here and not even scratch the surface. There are miles and miles of beautiful, well maintained "trails" (more like Forest Service roads) that lead to deserted lake shores like this:

The Tiger would work perfectly on these routes... Unfortunately, I'm not driving the Tiger!

We'll be in the Tiger for 2 weeks starting next Monday.

 

[HMR]

Enough with the prep... Let's go!!!

Typing this from upstairs in the Tiger's bunk somewhere in Southern Oregon. Great trip so far.

Mt Shasta:

 

[HMR]

I'm about 1600 miles into the trip. Everything is working perfectly, so far. The goal is to spend 14 consecutive nights in the van while also using it as much as possible for all meals, showers, etc. This is our "proof of concept" trip for our decision to move from our truck/RTT combo to an "all-terrain" RV. The idea is to take lots of notes and look for items we'd like to improve upon. I'm solo for the first week. My wife will fly in and join me for the second week. Tonight is the 4th night and it's my favorite campsite yet. I'm camping on a private ranch in central Idaho...

It's a few miles up this gravel road to the "trail":

A friend of mine created this fishing hole a few years ago. It gets better every year:

Where the gravel ends, this ATV trail begins:

Hard to tell from the pics but the terrain is steep. I've had the Tiger offroad numerous times now but I'm still surprised at how well the AWD performs. The Tiger's weight plus the good tires seem to make for an excellent combo. I was with a buddy who would tug me out if I got stuck so I went much farther down this trail than I would if I were solo. The wheels barely slipped even on the steep, grass covered sections.

With a little help from some old tree branches, I made a nice, level spot:

Got everything setup just in time to watch the sunset:

Good times!

 

[CSG]

Very cool! It's a shame these are no longer made. I keep debating turning my camping van into a 4x4 but I'd have to have it done and balk at the price relative to how often I'd really need it.

 

[T.Low]

Looking good.

:26_7_2:

The fact that you can travel with all the creature comforts of an RV in that small of a footprint, allowing some nimbleness in the back country, is awesome.

Looking forward to reviews on the shower and the fridge in particular. Is your new fridge set up easy for the passenger to access while the van is being driven? I like to enjoy a cold road pop while driving the freeways and highways.


Edit: I have to admit; I like the fact that a guy with a ************ Tacoma, a 1200GS, a LR Discovery, and flies airplanes for a living, is really diggin his Astro set up.

 

[HMR]

Looking forward to reviews on the shower and the fridge in particular. Is your new fridge set up easy for the passenger to access while the van is being driven? I like to enjoy a cold road pop while driving the freeways and highways.

T-Low- Good question. One of the criteria for the fridge slide was that is was accessible from both seats while driving.
Notice the location of the latch (just to the left of fire extinguisher):

The passenger can reach over and easily slide the fridge out. If I'm on a straight stretch of highway with the cruise control set, I can flip the latch with my right hand, slide the fridge out and grab a drink from the driver's seat without taking my eyes off the road. It took a few tries to get it right but now it's a standard procedure. I'm very impressed with the little EdgeStar fridge. I've been purposefully parking the van out in the sun in the 90-100 degree temps to test the fridges cooling abilities. It's working like a champ and the single aux battery has been powering it just fine while also running the interior lights, water pump for showers and the Fantastic Fan (I've been running the fan 5-6 hours per night). I'm driving the van each day so the aux batt is getting a good charge but it's gone 2 to 3 days in the past without a problem. Any longer than that and I'll run my Honda EU1000 gen to charge it back up.

The shower works great. It has excellent pressure and the onboard water supply is good for several days of showers, toilet flushes and sink usage. We have a really cool electric shower setup for the Tacoma that we like but the Tiger's shower is MUCH better than any "camp" shower we've seen. The only drawback is the size of the shower stall- it's tiny. I'm 5'9", 155lbs and I can comfortably take a shower but anyone larger than I will have to incorporate yoga into their bathing routine.

Edit: I have to admit; I like the fact that a guy with a ************ Tacoma, a 1200GS, a LR Discovery, and flies airplanes for a living, is really diggin his Astro set up.

LOL! The Astro gets more attention than any of them. Every time I stop for gas somebody wants to check it out. Yesterday, I came out of the grocery store and a guy was walking around snapping photos of it in the parking lot.

 

[HMR]

Tiger cub?

I want to put a scooter on the back of the Tiger to use for trail rides or running into town from camp. My first choice is the Yamaha XT250. One of my best friends (who happens to own a dealership) hooked me up with a new one to ride around for the next few days to see how I like it:

The colors even match. :roost:

 

[HMR]

After spending a day and a half with the XT250, my wife and I are both giving it the thumbs up. Great little bike. We wish we would've brought a hitch mount motorcycle carrier so we could see how the Tiger handles the load but I "think" the airbags would be able to make it work. We'll see...

 

[HMR]

Tiger vs. Beaver...

My wife flew into Boise on an airliner yesterday morning. It was going to be a 5 to 6 hr round-trip in the Tiger to pick her up. My good friend just bought a pristine 1950's era DeHavilland Beaver and insisted we fly down to Boise to save time and, more importantly, have some fun along the way. He even let me fly it down and back! I had the privilege of being his flight instructor years ago and he still holds the incorrect notion that I have the least bit of a clue inside the cockpit.

Tiger Vs. Beaver:

The Beaver is widely recognized as one of the coolest airplanes ever built so it was a special treat to be able to fly two of my favorite people around in one.

 

[HMR]

I have the cutest mechanic...

Part of our drive today included about 5 miles of washboard dirt roads. A few of the sections had our eyeballs vibrating and I was doing a mental inventory of all the screws I replaced and which ones would most likely need tightening. A little while after we got back on the highway, we took a left turn and I noticed water shooting out the right side of the Tiger. I knew exactly what the problem was and pulled over onto a little side street to take a look. Sure enough, the little plastic door that covers the opening for the water tank filler had rattled off.

The culprit:

It's no big deal to run without the cover except that water will slosh out every time you turn left. We use a lot of water and it's been surprisingly difficult on this trip to find a spigot with an attached hose (I need to buy a hose ASAP). Anyway, we really didn't want to lose all of our water so I was trying to come up with a solution. As I'm bouncing ideas off of my wife she takes about 5 steps, reaches down into the gutter, picks up this little black thing and says...

"How about this?"

It's the EXACT same diameter as the hole and fits so snug I need pliers to remove it:

My wife rules!

 

[HMR]

Short and Sweet...

Camping tonight at Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint, ID. Perfect day. Went for a great trail run followed by a swim in the lake.

We're in a cool little "tent only" campground. Vehicles are limited to 18' or less in length. The very nice ranger at the kiosk was going into his "No RV" speech when I told him our Tiger is only 16' long. After looking it over and realizing we had a shower, toilet, microwave, etc. he said, "Man, they fit a lot of stuff in there!" and asked, jokingly, if we wanted to trade straight across for his 30' 5th wheel. :sombrero:

Unless another Tiger shows up, I think we'll be the only "RV" in the campground tonight.

 

[HMR]

Christmas in July...

So far, we've had mostly great weather but we've also experienced 100+ degree temps, 60mph winds, pounding rain, mud, dirt...

and then we got this:

Kinda glad I wasn't on the motorcycle the past few days. :snorkel:

We're loving the AWD and being able to stay warm and toasty in the 30 degree temps.

 

[HMR]

Ahhh, The Great Outdoors...

There's nothing like getting away from it all: wide open spaces, the wind in the trees, the solitude...

... and then there's the overflow-for-the-overflow parking at Lake Louise:

:sombrero:

 

[Photomike]

Were you just in southern Alberta? Saw a unit like yours on highway #3 east of Lethbridge on the weekend (Sunday). Didn't have time to take a good look as I was in traffic but it sure looked like yours.