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Up Topic General Chat / Welcome - A place to say Hi - Visible Externally! / Potential New Eriba Owner
- - By marchie153 Date 22-07-2018 15:07
Good afternoon All

Steve & Elaine here. We're thinking of buying an Eriba to replace our Trailer Tent and are still trying to decide the best option. There's just the two of us (aspiring OAPs) and at the moment, I'm not allowed to drive until the hospital have confirmed that a recent cardiac problem is not going to be long term, so I need to be cautious. First thought is to get a motor mover fitted to the caravan to avoid making an unwelcome reappearance in A&E ...

I've read comments about Frame tubing rotting and have half scared myself witless at the prospect of purchasing something that will rot away in the Scottish climate - is the Eriba prone to this problem (if so, why are so many mid-90s models still surviving?), and if so, would I be stupid to consider buying one of the last 2008 Pucks 225? Or would it be more sensible to go for a 320 Familia (2012'ish) or maybe break the Bank and buy a 2016 or 17 model to start off from a sound base?

I will be towing with a Peugeot 3008HDi 115Bhp with 1600Kg kerbweight and a maximum 1090Kg MTPLM (about 70%, presumably to avoid straining the powertrain components.

I would appreciate any comments, help, advice or thoughts that experienced owners might be able to offer.

Steve & Elaine
Parent - - By eribaMotters (£) Date 22-07-2018 18:10
Welcome and well done on making the decision to move from the trailer tent. We previously owned Conway Cardinal, Pennine Pullman and Camplet.
Some Eribas have been prone to rust, but no age or model seems to top the list. It would appear that a small number have been very unfortunate. All you can do is have a good poke around.
As regards build quality I have experience of models since 2001. Many would say late 90's and early 2000's seem to be the best put together, and I would be prone to agree, but all years are better than your white wobbly boxes.
With a 1090kg max tow I would be looking for an early 2000's Triton 430 with a 1000kg axle. This would give you the option for a permanent bed set up along with a small bathroom and front dining area. A mover would be wise. Your payload will not be great, but with just the two of you the car will easily cope with the essentials you think you will need.

Colin
Parent - - By StuartAB Forum Admin (£) Date 23-07-2018 07:20
Similarly, an earlier 420 would be worth considering, giving two long single beds in some configurations; no separate dinette, but no need for one person to climb over the other for nocturnal loo visits!

Stuart
Parent - By solebay (£) Date 23-07-2018 09:28
Agreed that you would just get away with a Triton within your towing weight limits.  We've been very happy with our 410, having come from a tent and not feeling that a toilet/washroom was essential.  If you normally use serviced campsites, the 410 gives more living space - you have long single beds and a front dining area - and saves the bother of emptying and maintaining a toilet cassette.  We always were, and still are, happy with toddling off to the site toilets, and you can keep a Portaloo or similar in one of the floor lockers for emergencies.  On the other hand, if a fixed on-board loo is essential, then the 410 is not for you.

I like the Puck 225 which you mention, but it's tight on space.  You might want to check out a Familia first.  From memory when we were buying, this would have required making up a double bed and sleeping across the van, and for us this was too tight.  Depends how tall you are.  So this pushed us towards a Triton instead.

We have some corrosion in the perimeter tube frame.  This is probably due to using the caravan all year round and exposure to salted roads in the winter - I wish I'd taken more care of washing the underside after the winter.  This is worth checking, but many people lay their caravan up for the winter and won't have used it when roads are gritted.
Parent - - By marchie153 Date 23-07-2018 17:17
Thanks for the replies! More food for thought ...

I am a very cautious individual (at least until my impulsive side or desperation kicks in) and would prefer to buy something that has a decent margin within the 1090Kg limit. Most of the Summer will be spent in France so the interior should just be for sleeping - the rest of the time ought to be al fresco under a sun canopy or awning. Dom at Eriba Shop has a 2017 320GT that is 'delivery mileage' only  I'm half tempted to break the Bank for that and then start with a rust free existence - 'Shiny Kit Syndrome' might also be playing a part here since it has all the Bells & Whistles I can imagine craving (and then never use ...).

Time to have yet another discussion with Elaine about what best suits us :grin:
Parent - By solebay (£) Date 23-07-2018 18:01

>>2017 320GT that is 'delivery mileage' only


Would be a great choice, but I would just suggest you both try the beds before committing.  If they work for you, I don't think you could go wrong with that.

Awnings are hugely popular and many owners seem to have more than one!  Dog ownership is a factor.  Having come from tents to an Eriba, one of the things we wanted to avoid was anything involving packing up wet fabric and poles.  Having the option to eat inside the caravan without needing to reconfigure makes that possible.

I'm afraid you are likely to get well-meaning but probably conflicting advice - take your time and check out as many different options as you can. 

We took a couple of minutes to decide the Familia bed was too short for us, and a couple more minutes to decide a Triton 410 would be OK.  Fortunately, we haven't regretted what was basically a rather hasty decision!
Parent - By Jimny (£) Date 23-07-2018 21:27
Do you need a toilet? we had a Puck and then upgraded to a Familia 320 just  for the bathroom. From  2012 the  Eriba subframe was more extensively galvanised..
Parent - - By Steamerpoint Forum Admin & IT Support (£) Date 28-07-2018 20:17
Welcome to the Eriba Forum.

Eriba caravans have long lives and because of this they are blessed with ultra low deprecation.

This can be both a blessing and a curse. The curse is that buying one to start with will not be cheap, but later if and when you decide to sell, you will be blessed.

Like everything, you need to consider what is important to you in terms of sleeping arrangements, if you want a washroom or not, a separate dining table (which negates the need to convert beds into seating each day and visa versa) and obviously space and weight.

Eriba's are not a light as people suspect, in particular bigger/ later models, but your car should be fine with most models. This website is worth looking at to help you decide: https://towcar.info/GB/

You should find everything you need to know about Eriba caravans here, so good luck in your research. :grin:
Parent - - By marchie153 Date 02-08-2018 16:57
Thank you for the information. I'm going round in circles at present mulling over what seems to offer the best solutions :razz: I can't do much for the next 10 days or so because of looming medical tests and (anticipated) permission to resume driving. So, at the moment, I'm impersonating the kiddie at the sweet shop window, slavering at some of the units on sale, but knowing that they'll be gone by the time I'm ready to commit to a purchase!

Steve
Parent - - By phil Date 04-08-2018 17:35
I think most points have already been made.  We had a frame tent until we bought our 430 Triton and we don't regret the money spent.  If you are considering a more recent van then one thing to consider is the kitchen if you like cooking while away. Many of the new shape vans only have 2 burner gas hobs rather than three. Of course that might be even more reason to eat out......
Parent - - By marchie153 Date 25-11-2018 20:50
This is just an updated status for the attention of an Administrator. We eventually got round to buying a caravan after getting the health all clear to resume driving. Unfortunately, it wasn't an Eriba! We bought a Gobur Folding Caravan for ease of towing, so my membership here is under false pretences! Could my account be deleted, please  but thanks for all the information and help from Forum Members whilst we were searching!

Regards.

Steve
Parent - By StuartAB Forum Admin (£) Date 26-11-2018 15:32
Done as requested - but non-owners remain very welcome!

Stuart
Up Topic General Chat / Welcome - A place to say Hi - Visible Externally! / Potential New Eriba Owner

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