Our Wheels
The Factory Specs
2005 Provan Tiger Chevrolet 2500HD Ext Cab CX 4wd with 8.1L Vortec V8 16v OHV SEFI Gas Engine and Allison 1000 5 speed automatic transmission.
Our rig has the typical Provan coach set up that has a side door leading to a passenger side fold out couch with storage below. There is a full pass through to truck. There is an over the cab double bed.
On the driver’s side, there is a bathroom with shower, sink & toilet, and a ceiling vent at the back. There is also a galley kitchen including cooktop, double sink, microwave and a 12V fridge/freezer in the middle.
There is a coach mounted Fiamma awning on passenger side, a roof top air conditioning unit at rear, and a Fantastic Fan over bed.
We are the third owners of this rig. We have chosen to call it “Tigger” because it’s bouncy and lots of fun!
Upgrades Done to “Tigger”
Some of these were done by the original owner, but most by ourselves.
Exterior & Truck Upgrades
- Volant air intake/filter
- Onboard air compressor
- Spare battery with designated triple charger solar panel
- Aluminess Front Bumper with Brush Guard and Winch
- Two inch receiver in front bumper
- Hella driving lights relayed to switch under dashboard
- Bug Deflector
- Porch light by cabin door
- Heavier duty tie rods for off roading; Pro Runner monotube front shocks
- Air Lift Load Lifter 5000 air bags in rear with jounce bumper
- 17 Inch Gatlin Liquid Metal Flat Black Alloy Wheels
- LT 265-70 R17 Class E, 10 ply tires with spare on hitch carrier
- Anti-sway bar and rear tire spacers
- Tube side steps
- Holding tank heaters; switch in coach
- Skid plates under pans, holding tanks and coach batteries
- Four 100W solar panels with two 6V batteries (300 amp hours) stored in truck wheel well
- Hi-lift jack mounted and locked to front bumper
- Custom built rear rack for 2 storage boxes and 3 Jerry cans, with “step” for access to roof
- Removed hot water tank for additional storage
- Covered tankless hot water heater on back with an outside shower attachment
- Engine wired to charge coach batteries while driving
- Added hour meter to generator
- Reflective tape on storage bins on the back for better visibility and on front
- Aluminess Bumper
- Removable mosquito/bug screens – “Skeeter Beeters” which allow us to keep cab windows open
- 2000W Two way transformer to convert 110/220 power
- Rain gutters over most window to help stop streaking and allow us to open windows wider in the rain
Interior Upgrades
- Pioneer AVH-X3600BHS HD stereo with DVD player, Bluetooth & MP3 player
- Tiger striped seat covers with matching steering wheel cover
- Under floor storage behind front seats to level floor with exception of walk through
- Ultra efficient 12v Nova Kool fridge/freezer
- LED coach bulbs and LED motion sensor
- Canada, US and Mexico provincial/state maps with national park stickers
- Installed Cyclone plumbing vent to draw holding tank odors into wind
- Replaced 15″ TV with swivel mounted 19” LCD HDTV flat screen
- Replaced carpet with vinyl flooring
- Added latches or magnets to all cupboard doors and drawers
- Two additional towel rods in bathroom
- Bathroom floor grate
- Four mini dehumidifiers distributed throughout coach
- Removable Mylar for all windows and Fantastic Fan for darkness and climate control
- Fabric cubby on bathroom floor zip tied to pipes to store larger bathroom items
- Rubbermaid lockable storage cabinet with three shelves behind driver’s seat; on back side are attached with Velcro: lawn chairs, broom, squeegee and shovel, all accessible from outside
- Under counter/over fridge pull out shelf for added counter space
- Bottle opener near front door – a necessity!
- Indoor/outdoor thermometer – upgraded in 2018
- Rack on wall over sink for daily necessities in bathroom
- Two file pockets above coach door to store files and provide white board for notes
- Hooks on side of exhaust fan to hang wash cloth/gloves
- Ledges above kitchen blind to hold lighter etc. and under TV for remote
- Shelf in old hot water tank area for water purifier & storage; insulated the door
- Custom built cabinet that sits on a small table over a cooler (used as our “library” and back up fridge), with cubbies for cameras and outside hooks for coats
- Shelves in closet for better use of space including space for table top
- A 1000W inverter with fan and remote switch
- Installed a small fan behind the fridge to keep the condenser from overheating in the heat with a switch in the coach above the fridge
- Had two new bathroom walls replaced due to leaking water
- Had two living room walls replaced due to water damage
- Had jerry can holders reconfigured for new plastic containers
in 2018 had new floor, counters and table tops done
Beefed up Security (before going “south of the border:)
- “Jimmi Jammer” on driver’s door to prevent lock bumping
- “Jimmi Jammer” hood guard to prevent opening
- Heavy duty chain and locks purchased to prevent opening front doors
- Hasps installed, chain & locks purchased to prevent opening coach door
- Locking safe compartment for valuables
- NVR with 4 motion detector cameras & bilingual “smile you’re on camera” stickers
- NVR secured against theft
- Locks on almost everything!
- Fake stereo face plate
- Theft proof bolts on license plates
- Tamper proof lug nuts on all tires
- Laminated copies of license plates to replace real plates to prevent theft
- Padlocks on front doors
Gallery of Updates
After returning from Latin America we decided we wanted (and deserved!) more room. Upon reviewing the options for quite some time (we began before we left) we opted for a truck and trailer (bumper pull). Doug did a great deal of research and we ending up going for a brand new 2021 Toyota Tundra SR 4×4 – this is the “work” model with a double cab and not a huge amount of bells and whistles.
It has a 5.7 L V8 engine that gets 13-17 mpg and has the towing package standard. It’s a six speed automatic with a 60/40 back seat. The only extras we added were a lock for the spare tire and under seat storage in the rear.
Comes standard with AC, Cruise, power mirrors, locks & windows, bucket seats with a seat in the middle that folds down to a console, stereo (with 3 months free Sirius) and a US, port, phone charging ports and two cigarette light ports (one in front and one in the back), tow hitch and hooks and 18″ wheels. Overall, we area very happy.
How We’ve Made it Our Own / Gallery of Updates
Our “new to us” home is a 2019 Coleman Lantern 202RD – it’s 24′ 11″ long from the bumper to the nose of the hitch and has plenty of space for us – especially after living in Tigger for nearly seven years!
We have a walk around queen sized bed (with inside storage underneath) with closets and side tables; a three piece bathroom with a small tub; the kitchen has two sinks, small counters but has an insert to cover the sinks, a three burner stove with an oven and a microwave, large fridge/freezer and a tall pantry, a dinette table (with storage under the benches) as well as a jack knife sofa with more storage room under the left side (right side has the water heater and pump).
In theory, it can sleep 6. The awning is almost the complete length of the trailer and there is a huge pass through storage area up front under the bed.
What We’ve Done to Make it Home / Gallery of Updates
Our “new to us” European rig is a 2004 Chausson Welcome 22 motorhome. It has only 80K km / 50K mi. It’s built on a Ford Transit chassis with a 2.4 TDE engine and is a manual 5 speed. It measures 6.6m / 21′ 8″ long, 3.1m / 10’2″ tall and 2.2m / 7′ 3″ wide and weights 3500 kg – just at the top end of weight limit in the EU for a regular driver’s license.
This motorhome can sit and sleep 6 on four beds and has a full bathroom with separate shower (toilet is a cassette). It has a full length awning and a large cubby accessed outside and inside.
As it is a used vehicle, it came with a few extras: rear camera, microwave, TV, two satellites (?), one 100 w solar pane, bike rack that holds 4 bikes, two 13 kg propane bottles, 1200w converter and a 140L fridge with freezer. Of course, there are a few things we want to change/upgrade and we hope to do that soon so we can be more self sufficient, i.e. more solar and swap out the propane bottles for a fixed tank.
Naturally it came pretty empty, and although we brought a few things with us from North America, we will have to outfit it almost completely from bedding to dishes to garbage bins!
Our Chausson Welcome 22 / Gallery
We bought this from an older couple in Nurioopta, South Australia. It’s seems to be well maintained and although it has a weird configuration, we hope to make it work.
It’s a 3L Turbo Diesel Nissan Navara, Manual 4×4 – 5 speed with 159,555 genuine kilometres on the engine.
The custom built camper was a slide it that was affixed to the chassis. It has a queen over the cab bed, a 3 way fridge, 4 burner LPG stove/grill, one Sink and 103L fresh water, Toilet/shower, hot water tank 80W portable solar, 240V AC, 4 season roof hatch. It has a 80w portable folding solar panel as well.
It comes with new batteries in both truck and coach. We will install roof top panels and two larger batteries, an inverter and solar controller.
Gallery of Photos and Updates
