So the last two posts were more about the trip we had renting the Tiger for 4 days in Colorado. This post will be more of a review and overview of the camper. I’ll undoubtedly leave a detail off, so if you are wondering about something not covered leave a question down in the comments and I’ll respond and update the post if I can answer the question. First off, if you are not familiar with this vehicle we’ve got a video tour of the exterior and interior to show some of the main features.
I’ll start with a summary and say we loved using this truck. How did we end up renting this thing anyway? We have made a list of potential long term (full time?) adventure trucks we might use when we don’t go to work any more. Tomorrow maybe? Friday would work as well. And when I say adventure trucks, I’d classify those as truck campers with a bit more capability than your run of the mill truck camper. More solar power, battery power, water, and the like, and still able to tackle the tough terrain and get off the grid and away from the crowds. It’s a subjective term. Anyway, the Tiger was the first truck on the list that we found we were able to rent and really try out, so this fall we pulled the trigger.
The Truck
The choice of truck is up to you if you have one of these things built. This one was mounted on a Ram 3500 with a Cummins Diesel. The truck seemed perfectly capable. We travelled over 600 miles and averaged right at 13 miles per gallon. I’m not sure I’d go with a Ram, but I’d have to do my research. This trial wasn’t really about the truck. As far as driving it went, I wouldn’t want something much bigger than this. We were kicked out of one parking lot due to the bumper hanging out into the drive lanes. We go to several places where the length of this rig (22′) is pushing the limit for getting in. We encountered a few switchbacks we couldn’t get around without a 3 point turn.
The Camper
I won’t get into all the specs of the camper, but if you are interested you can find a lot of details at https://www.tigervehicles.com/ This one was equipped with a ~30 gallon water tank, grey and black tanks (first for me on using those), a full wet bath with shower and toilet, kitchen with three burner stove, oven and microwave. Power comes from 4 X 100 watt solar panels stored in 2 lithium batteries.
Layout
There is a L shaped couch with Lagun adjustable table, with the couch folding out into another bed. We found the couch really comfortable as we ended up hanging out during some rain and snow. If you were living out of this for an extended period of time you would be comfortable. There was also a lot of living area. Of course our context is an Eagle Four Wheel Camper.
The wet bath was a little cramped, but good enough for our needs. It’s the place you are in the least, so keeping it small and prioritizing space for the rest of the camper seems smart to me.
The bed was plenty big for two people. The mattress sits on a Froli spring system. Overall it was comfortable, but probably not quite as much as our Exped mattresses in the Four Wheel Camper. There isn’t a lot of head space in the bed area, it was fine for sleeping, but you probably aren’t going to sit up there much due to space.
The kitchen was awesome, with a three burner propane cooktop I would guess it would meet all our needs for stovetop cooking. There was also an unexpected surprise of an oven. We changed our meal plans to take advantage of that and had a pizza the first night. Space heating and oven cooking all in one! There is also a microwave, but if we ordered this rig we would delete that option for more cabinet space. There was plenty of counter space and lots of options for pantry space as well. The fridge was plenty big, and I’d guess we could easily pack two weeks of food into it if needed. It ran really cold and we dialed it back to a lower setting after nearly freezing everything. Related to cooking, there is an external propane connection as well, and we’d use that a lot for connecting a grill and other outdoor cooking appliances if we owned this thing.
Capabilities
We were in weather that was a good test of the camper (rain, snow). It reached into the low twenties or high teens a couple nights. We did run the heater and it almost ran too hot. After running for less than a minute each time I found myself wishing it would turn off. I’m not sure a digital thermometer would be a possibility but I’d be looking into one if I owned the truck to dial in the temperature a bit.
The solar panels (400W total) provided plenty of power for the days we used the truck. It seemed like the main draw was the furnace, the lights are all LED. Since we were driving each day it’s hard to know if most of the power was provided by the truck or the solar, but between them we always were setting at 100% at sundown. The truck had a built in generator but we did not use it. I personally have a disdain (putting it kindly) for those noise makers and would definitely delete that option if we were to purchase. The generator runs the microwave and charges the batteries. There are a lot of power outlets throughout, 12V, USB and 120V, provided by an inverter are all available.
We didn’t use it too long, but even with showers we only used about 50% of the 30 gallons of fresh water on board over 4 days. We had plenty of room left in the grey and black tanks as well. With that I’d estimate 1-2 weeks of use for the water and sewer systems if you use liberally. We get by for many more days than that off our 20 gallon tank in the 4WC, and suspect you could stretch the use depending on the trip you were taking. There’s a tank heater we used to prevent freezing.
The Rental
This post isn’t really a critique of the rental, as much as a trial of the truck. That said, renting from GoExploreIt in Golden was pretty slick. They not only supplied the camper but had it stocked with everything we needed except for food. There was even some coffee, tea, olive oil, spices and a few other odds and ends that we didn’t have to shop for. They also supplied a couple stoves for outdoor use, a table and two camp chairs, a saw and axe, a kit for airing down, a compressor for airing up. Books and maps for trip planning. Well, you get the idea (the list goes on). If you want to try this thing out, they are great to work with.
Conclusion
We really loved the Tiger for the few days we got to try it out. There weren’t a lot of downsides. Getting up and down the ladder and the head space in the bed were a couple minor drawbacks. The couch and large living space were huge pluses, as was the kitchen. Being that this adventure vehicle is less expensive by far than any others on our list (have you seen what a used EarthRoamer sells for?) and how capable it seemed to be, it’s hard to say it wouldn’t work for us. Anyone want to buy our house? We have a lot of things on our list to go and see.
