SMB, Alaskan, or Tiger; Can Tiger Withstand Rough Roading

[shortbusadventure]

Hey Kevin,

Were you driving through Oakland, Ca this morning at around 7 am? I saw this awesome white Tiger driving on HW580 towards san francisco/Sacramento. Very nice rig.

That was most likely me. Thanks
-Kevin

[DiploStrat]

With the caveat that I do not own a Tiger, I would note:

-- At least two Tigers have done South/Central America on multi-month trips. See: http://www.travelin-tortuga.com/Site/Home_Page.html and http://www.whiteacorn.com/index.php.

-- Africa and the Far East will be harder, but, when you note all the troubles that the Earthroamer had in Central Asia, it cannot be automatically assumed that that is a better vehicle.

-- Swing/pivot frames bring their own problems, as noted by at least one traveler on this forum.

Put another way, I would not automatically assume that you need a pivot mount. Not enough people posting on the 'net have any real experience.

DiploStrat ;-)

[Ironduff]

Tom, I'd suggest that you go back and re-read the the posts on the Tiger owners' group for actual content. IMO, you've mis-interpreted the content of that thread in your comments here, and you totally ignore my statement of a likely source.

The cracking discussed in that thread was _behind_ the coach door, more than 2' from the coach-cab joint. As stated there, it's in an area where body filler is used to fair in the door frame to aluminum skin transition. It's well within the f-r span of the rear spring mounting points.

As stated there, my pretty-well-informed opinion is that it's entirely in the body filler, and the result of a hurried or less-than-skilled application.

Provan now uses a different way of fairing that area in, anyway. Mark has offered to replace this area on my '06 per the modern technique. I just haven't had the time to get down there.

Jim H.

[TomH]

Tom, I'd suggest that you go back and re-read the the posts on the Tiger owners' group for actual content. IMO, you've mis-interpreted the content of that thread in your comments here, and you totally ignore my statement of a likely source.

The cracking discussed in that thread was _behind_ the coach door, more than 2' from the coach-cab joint. As stated there, it's in an area where body filler is used to fair in the door frame to aluminum skin transition. It's well within the f-r span of the rear spring mounting points.

As stated there, my pretty-well-informed opinion is that it's entirely in the body filler, and the result of a hurried or less-than-skilled application.

Provan now uses a different way of fairing that area in, anyway. Mark has offered to replace this area on my '06 per the modern technique. I just haven't had the time to get down there.

Jim H.

Jim,

I did read that thread very carefully, and many times. I am well aware of all the speculation there regarding body filler, cold temperature, and so forth as possible causes. I purposely came to a completely different board so that I could get a different perspective, both from a different set of Tiger owners as well as those who may have experience with other vehicles with fused cab/cabins. Having taught high school physics, I have some background knowledge about vectored forces. Torsional stresses can easily manifest their greatest focus at points other than the location where the cab and cabin are fused. In fact, the seam near the coach door is where I would most expect to see the result. The long vertical cut in the cabin makes that one of the weakest line segments in the entire rectangular prism. This is exactly where torsion is most likely to torque the cabin. Body filler and temperature aside, my greatest concern about the Tiger was the affect of torsion. Though body filler has not the strength of aluminum nor fiberglass, it is my hypothesis that torsion was a significant factor in causing the aforementioned cracks.

In any case, reports in this forum by Kevin and others have given me more confidence in late model Tigers.

[Ironduff]

That's fine, Tom. My own background is mechanical engineering, and I taught statics and strength of materials for years at the college level. I'm also a life-long off roader & gear head, and I've actually seen the crack. But I can't change your hypothesis, so we'll just have to disagree... quite firmly.

Jim H.

[TomH]

That's fine, Tom. My own background is mechanical engineering, and I taught statics and strength of materials for years at the college level. I'm also a life-long off roader & gear head, and I've actually seen the crack. But I can't change your hypothesis, so we'll just have to disagree... quite firmly.

Jim H.

Jim,

I did not go to the Tiger homeowners forum, seek you out, nor confront you in any manner. I came to a different forum and asked for input. Anything that you want to contribute here that is helpful is welcome. Frankly, however, when you suddenly show up with comments about how I have "ignored" your "well informed opinion", that does nothing at all to further the discussion. If you want to offer analytical and empirical observations, I value that. If, on the other hand, you just want to throw emotional darts, I'm not going to engage you.

Tom

[DKB2GO]

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[rblackwell]

Tom
Don't know whether this info will help you or not (maybe you have already decided).
My wife an I have just finished a 19 month - 60,000 mile - journey in a Provan Tiger that went from Seattle WA to the top of alaska/north west territory and then to the bottom of south america and back in our 2007 Tiger.

The roads in Peru/Bolivia could certainly be described as 'rough'.

The vehicle survived pretty well. You can see more details at www.whiteacorn.com our travel site.

Rob Blackwell

[boblynch]

Tom
Don't know whether this info will help you or not (maybe you have already decided).
My wife an I have just finished a 19 month - 60,000 mile - journey in a Provan Tiger that went from Seattle WA to the top of alaska/north west territory and then to the bottom of south america and back in our 2007 Tiger.

The roads in Peru/Bolivia could certainly be described as 'rough'.

The vehicle survived pretty well. You can see more details at www.whiteacorn.com our travel site.

Rob Blackwell

Rob, welcome to the forum. Your website is very well organized and includes useful information on a variety of topics. I particularly admire the effort to keep a daily log. You may want to repost a link to your website in the "In Progress Adventures" section as I'm certain many folks would enjoy keeping up with your travels. Cheers.

[TomH]

Tom
Don't know whether this info will help you or not (maybe you have already decided).
My wife an I have just finished a 19 month - 60,000 mile - journey in a Provan Tiger that went from Seattle WA to the top of alaska/north west territory and then to the bottom of south america and back in our 2007 Tiger.

The roads in Peru/Bolivia could certainly be described as 'rough'.

The vehicle survived pretty well. You can see more details at www.whiteacorn.com our travel site.

Rob Blackwell

The Tiger is certainly our first choice right now. We are saving as much as possible now, hoping that when we retire in just a few years, we will be able to pay cash for a Tiger. Thanks greatly for posting!!