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Previous Next Up Topic General / Hello & Welcome (Visible To Visitors) / New(ish) Eriba owner..............And a couple of questions. (5042 hits)
- By Little Rico Date 30-09-2009 20:02
Just like to say hello..............

My wife and I bought our `92 Familia @ 6 mths ago, at what turned out to be an absolute steal of a price. It is immaculate inside and out, looking a lot younger than its years (wish I could say the same!!)

Since then, it has covered some distance and we have thoroughly enjoyed it. We can really see the fascination and appeal of these little Tardis  (Tardi?)

Towing is effortless, behind either the car or van, to the point of forgetting its there.

My priorities now is to prepare it for winter, and maybe buy a few goodies for it.

Apparantly, the full awning has only been used 6 or so times as well................a real bargain

So, who is the recommended supplier for fitted covers? and whats the best to coat the underside with?

Kindest regards (and already looking forward to next year)

Tim
Parent By Conal (£) Date 30-09-2009 20:13
Hi Tim, welcome to the Forum.
If you have a look in the Repair and Maintenance section, there are a couple of threads there about coating the underside of the van. If you put 'Covers' in the Search facility you should be able to find all the information you require.
Conal
Parent - By dave-t (£) Date 30-09-2009 20:18
Hi Tim

Glad to hear you are enjoying your Eriba.

While I understand you desire to cover your Eriba in winter why not use it instead and go away for weekends. Waking up to a crisp winters morning is a real joy. You will be nice and snug inside too
Parent - By Scotsgent Forum Admin (£) Date 01-10-2009 09:58
Over some 8 years of Eriba ownership, I have gone full circle on the question of covers.

I owned a Pan, two years without a cover and then two years with a Specialised Accessories one which cost about £180. I sold the Pan and the cover went with it. My newer Triton has never had a cover and I have had 3 winters with it just staying outside and giving it a good clean in the Spring. However, I do believe that denigration of the fibre-glass top and pop-up is faster when its not covered, so I am now of a mind to buy a cover for this winter. I will probably go for one of the Quest, generic, breathable types at around £70.

I also see that algae and mold gets into some of the harder to reach places without a cover and some of the 'matt' type plastic fittings; (handles and toilet flap surround) gets stained with the stuff, over a period of time this gets harder to clean out (though a thick bleach applied a few times seems to clean it OK).

I also think that the upholstery and curtains fade from UV light when its not covered (Yes, you can remove these and take them indoors, but thats a hassle in itself).

A cover doesn't mean its locked away for the winter, its just a 20 minute job to cover the van after a weekend. You don't have to re-cover it right away on your return, just wait for a convenient time within a few days.

I suppose it takes me a full day to do a really good 'spring-clean' of the van when a cover is not used, so I will reduce this hassle.

You do need a cover which allows access into the van for quick checks and any internal DIY.

Cheers,  Terry
Parent - By Gumdrop Date 01-10-2009 11:22
How do you ventilate the interior of the Eriba
when it is covered?
Parent - By Scotsgent Forum Admin (£) Date 01-10-2009 13:30 Edited 01-10-2009 13:35
Firstly, the modern materials are 'breathable'.

Secondly, I just cracked open the windows on the 'minimum' setting and with the door vent this probably sets off a ventilation 'spiral'.

In windy weather, the cover 'bellows' out and in and so pumps air in and out the van.

I used to leave a folded newspaper on the table, it was always crisp and dry, so proving (to my mind) that the van held minimum humidity. There was never any evidence of condensation of any sort.

Given you have a breathable cover, then I guess it might be an option to raise one end of the pop-up, unzip a vent and have even more ventilation, though I never bothered.

Cheers,  Terry
Parent - By grumpygrandad (£) Date 01-10-2009 15:02
Just to add to this thread; I cover the windows with pieces of old sheet (floral Laura Asley) with a rope sewn along the top edge. These thread into the channel round the roof edge and prevent any scratching of the plastic by the cover when it moves a bit in the wind.

Another essential for the cold weather is to drain off all the water, including the toilet flush pump, and leave the taps open. This stops frost damage; the tap can easily burst if it gets frozen. A simple switch in the tap circuit stops the pump running if you want to leave the battery connected, so's to be able to charge it from time to time.

We usually put the upholstery in the loft during the bad weather, as it's nice and dry up there, and leave all the cupboard doors open in the Eriba. A large box of matches, purchased in France about 6 years ago, still strikes OK first time!
I've never bothered with increasing the air-flow.

A good clean and polish results in the 'van looking pretty good when uncovered; just needs a wash-over before we start out.

Regards, Roger

Terry, looks like we had a lot better weather than you this year. We bought some of the sunshine up with us for our 14 nights in Northumbria. Locals told us we had the best for weeks,although it was much windier than in the SE.
Parent - By Little Rico Date 01-10-2009 17:35
Thanks very much for all the info.

If I were to use a "generic" cover, where best to get one?

I have already had a quote for in excess of £250 for a fitted one, so if anybody has a nice semi fitted one (lets be honest, I don`t mind spending the money, but I don`t like having the Micky taken)..................

Tim
Parent By Gumdrop Date 01-10-2009 17:53
I bought mine from http://www.riverswayleisure.co.uk/
for about £50 (I think) and the zips allow access although
it is a bit baggy it looks tidy
Parent - By StuartAB Forum Admin (£) Date 01-10-2009 18:12
I bought one for a VW camper. Around £75 ISTR Should be very good for a Triton; a bit big on my Familia. They're on eBay, and my report is somewhere on this forum.  ;-)

Stuart
Parent - By Little Rico Date 01-10-2009 19:46
Hi gang

Searching through the search facility on here, I came across this thread about covers under the title "Cover needed?". Ozzycamper had found a company on Ebay that supplied covers for VW campers, and asked them if they would be prepared to make a smaller cover for the Eriba`s. The company can be found here at www.speedwellstar.com

Now, is this the cover that was enquired about??

Caravan Cover High Spec 12-14 foot Quality Covers + Free Storage  £50.99 Item number 300280236627

Regards

Tim
Parent By Little Rico Date 01-10-2009 20:33
Yes, I found that a little earlier, and will keep an eye on it too!!

Tim
Parent - By eriba virgin Date 03-10-2009 23:14
Dito to all your positive comments about Eribas, THEYRE GREAT!!! Got my Triton bout 3 months ago, and im in the same boat as you I want to look after it in the cold! I did put a question on here about the underneath as the best thing seems to be a good wood preserve, NOT an underseal product that will hold any moisture in and in turn rot the wood, Hamerite for the metal. I have not yet done this lovely job, being a girl I am not looking forward to it but I think I may be best to get on with it before the weather really turns! Any offers to do it for me pls get in touch!! I too am trying to decide the best plan for a cover for it! I think I will open all cupboards  and a tip I did read is to put pipe insulation foam over the handles on the outside to protect them from frost, sounds good (and cheap!) to me. sasha.
Parent - By Ken (£) Date 04-10-2009 10:34
Hello there ~ re: pipe insulation on handles . . . . I put it on to stop degredation of the plastic by UV. This seems
to affect the grey ones in particular, perhaps a bad batch? Mine turned to powder!!

Ken
Parent - By Little Rico Date 04-10-2009 11:24
Hi

Can`t believe what the cover went for on Ebay! Not far off the cost of one from the company itself.

Off up to Towsure in Sheffield today for a "generic" cover. Will report back soon

As for the underneath of the van, I would guess any wood preserve will be ok. Just discovered a small patch of "soft" looking timber near the front below the Fridge vent, so that will need addressing soon too. But at least with a cover in position, it shouldn`t get any worse until I can sort it.

Has anyone any expierience of replacing any parts of the floor?

Tim
Parent By shenzi (£) Date 30-08-2010 10:21
I invested in a Protec cover before last winter. Did an excellent job of keeping the Eriba safe & clean. We live surrounded by pine trees, so it is pretty essential round here.

A generic cover might have done as well but I was bothered about easy access and the cover blowing about in the wind.

A good tip I received from another forum member - get a block of soft foam and cut a shape to allow you to pop it over the Eriba's chimney vent (an electric bread knife is ideal for cutting). It prevents the vent rubbing holes in the expensive cover.

Airing the inside of the Eriba was as mentioned above - we just opened the windows a click. Having a door in the cover exactly where the Eriba's door was located made getting access a lot easier. It also went on easily with the two poles supplied.

I was a bit shocked at the price, initially, but on the whole thought it was worth it.

The manufacturer mentioned that the over was just as useful in summer, to protect against UV. For that reason, it's also worth covering the tyres - the Protec doesn't do this but a couple of black bin liners are a good Blue Peter solution.
Previous Next Up Topic General / Hello & Welcome (Visible To Visitors) / New(ish) Eriba owner..............And a couple of questions. (5042 hits)

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