Tigers are well designed, well built, and backed by a reputable, responsible company. One result of this is that most Tiger owners are rabidly loyal and always willing to share their experiences - as you may have noticed by the responses to this thread.
Another result is that you don't find many of the typical I-hate-my-RV-because-it-leaks, won't stay not the road, etc., threads in any fora. In fact, most of the nay sayers of Tigers are the 4x4 types who insist that it is not a "real" overland vehicle. I would hasten to note that lots of Tigers have been to lots of countries. The Howes, for example, have hit more than fifty.
Travelin Tortuga When asked why he was not more active on any fora Rick commented that he was tired of reading that his Tiger could not possibly do what it had been doing for years.
I started designing my Tiger almost five years ago and a lot of that is now what is sold as the Malayan HT. My criteria were shaped by over thirty years of living in the Third World so one of my requirements was that the truck never need to plug into shore power and never need any of the classic camp site amenities. (That said, it has all of the required connections.) Your needs and criteria may be considerably different.
This is an exciting time to be looking at the Bengal as a lot of the features of the Siberian and the Malayan are being retrofitted to the current line of Bengals. Today's Bengal is very much improved over the Bengals of even two years ago, even to things like better leak proofing of side seams, etc. (I have spent a lot of time in Columbia over the last year as my Malayan was being finished and I have spent a lot of time looking at Bengals in every stage of construction.)
Scholars can differ on sanitary systems and every one has their preference between Chevrolet, RAM, and Ford. That said, I would recommend the following, adjusted as required for your choice of truck and camper. All of these are based on driving various Tigers and lots of communications with Tiger owners:
-- LT295/70x18E Nitto Tires. Terra Grappler for road use, Trail Grappler for mud. I have the Trail Grapplers. This is the largest tire that will fit an 18x8" wheel, the Chevrolet standard. These tires are also rated at 4,000 lb., giving you some reserve in weight carrying ability. (I would have gone with an 18x9" wheel had I been able to find one rated at over 3600 lb.)
-- I did some mild suspension work. I installed and recommend Fox external reservoir shocks. The upgraded shocks will make more of an improvement than anything else you can do. Tigers are heavy, all the time, and the factory shocks are not adequate.
-- Firestone air bags are now standard. You may want to consider one of the higher performance inflation kits - more air flow for inflating tires, etc., and easy adjustment side to side.
-- Oversized fuel tank - more range, and a bit more weight forward. Tigers, like truck campers are tail heavy.
-- Diesel stove and heat/hot water. The diesel stove is expensive and has its drawbacks, but the ability to dispense with propane is nice. The Webasto Dual Top is MUCH quieter than most propane furnaces and does hot water and heat without taking up any space inside the camper body. (Full disclosure, we do not have a diesel stove, only an induction cook top. But we do have the diesel plumbing in the event that that proves to be a bad decision.
-- Aluminess bumper - more room for large tires up front and storage space for tools and recovery gear. We do not have a winch.
-- Electric running boards - out of the way, lighted and very convenient access to a tall vehicle.
-- You want a modern inverter/charger, not a converter, especially if you have AGM batteries. Many Tiger owners have retrofitted Magnum units.
-- Second, 500w inverter for use when not running A/C or convection microwave, etc.
-- 500w of solar. You probably cannot get this much on the roof of a Bengal.
-- Maxtrax sand ladders secured on roof. Will modify to hold big shovel as well.
-- 600Ah of Lifeline AGM batteries - gives 300Ah usable to 50% charge. You can't go this large on a Bengal, but the idea is there.
These folk have been most helpful and have published a very detailed account of how they chose their Tiger:
Best in Snow
They have been to visit and we have continued our communications.
Hope this information is useful.
