Just to introduce myself - many moons ago we went for a drive during a wet Easter week and took our two small daughters into a caravan dealership just to keep them occupied. We'd never thought of buying a caravan but they hadn't sold one all week and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. So we came back with a brand new ABI Monza with a shower, flush loo, 240v, oven, hot water, all thrown in for free.
It did us proud for 18 years until one spring morning whilst servicing it I discovered it had grown a bay window, the front sort of went in and out which was interesting. Not wishing this to happen on the M6 I took it apart and repaired it. We had one more year out of it and then decided to break it. By then the floor had delaminated, the oven, fridge & hot water system had all packed in, and the electrics were exciting.
We looked at replacements, but having seen how the softwood frames of several vans had succumbed to damp it put us off. Various friends had new modern 'vans and were having endless problems so when someone at work wanted to sell their old trailer tent for peanuts we jumped at it. Lovely on a sunny day, but a bit too chilly when there's a frost in the air.
So we're beginning to look at an Eriba. There's just to two of us now the kids are all grown up so a two berth is ideal. It will need to live on the drive as my 1972 Viva has first dibs on the garage. At the moment we have a 2.2 Vectra which has been bulletproof for over 120k miles, when it eventually gives up the ghost I'd rather stick to something like a 1.6 Astra.
Any advice or experience welcomed, that's why I joined here. To be fair we're on a limited budget - 5k ideally, 6k at a push.
A loo would be a bonus but not essential - I'm figuring for our budget it's something we'll have to do without.
So any suggestions please.....
Thanks Dave. Someone I was speaking to mentioned a Pan which he said is slightly bigger than a Puck. But I don't see a Pan listed on either of those pages, though I've seen the name referred to in several places. There seem to be two sizes of Puck listed, so is the Pan the slightly larger Puck?
If I remember right the Pan is the old name for the Familia, for some reason they renamed it
Dave B
By Conal (£)
Date 15-08-2013 08:09
That's true. We used to have a Pan O which had long beds and no washroom, IIRC there was also a Pan T which had the shorter, sleep across, beds and a washroom.
Conal
By Randa
Date 14-08-2013 20:59
> I'm figuring for our budget it's something we'll have to do without
Not necessarily but don't expect to get a post 2000 van for that budget. Don't let that put you off however for there are many of us with pre 2000 models who have no intention of trading them in for newer models. There are still Eribas on the road that date back to the 60's.
There is much recent debate on this forum from another newbie about the size and model of van that best suits so, not wishing to start the debate again, have a read through recent posts to gather your thoughts.
One point worth remembering is that Eribas sell like hot cakes so if you want to get one soon you can't afford to dither...:-)&:-)
I have found out that they sell rather swiftly! But we've only just started looking whilst I've got a few days off. There's no rush, due to me working weekends and my wife working weeks we can only use it during school holidays so the autumn half-term is the first time we've got any chance of getting away.
Hi Paul
Welcome to the forum.
Mark and I are new to Eribas too. We just bought a 1998 Duo T (same as the Familia 320, so it has a loo) and it was within your budget. Excellent condition. Having our first outing this weekend - the forum Big Meet in Fleet. So looking forward to that. We had been considering a Triton 420, which is essentially the same inside ... just longer. The bed in ours is 4'6" wide while the bed in the 420 is a proper kingsize! IIRC, the 420 is 50cm longer than the 320.
Happy hunting!
All the best
Angie :)
By Taurus
Date 15-08-2013 15:03
Thanks Angie - that's encouraging. Have a good first trip.
Paul.
By Jimny (£)
Date 16-08-2013 17:46
We went to see a 1998 Puck over the weekend and bought it today. Sitting inside it with four adults I was surprised how comfortable it felt. I guess once the bed is made up things get a little cosier!
By Aaron Calder
Date 21-08-2013 15:31
>I guess once the bed is made up things get a little cosier!
With four of you in it I suppose it will. :-)
We've had seven sat in ours on a windy evening in west Wales around the table. Very cosy it was too ;)
Jane
In our Puck, two's company, three's a crowd but seven is ballast!
Enjoy,
Mike
By Jimny (£)
Date 21-08-2013 20:35
Excellent! Enjoy your Puck, we had a 1993 Puck and loved it....... :-)
John
Congrats on being a Puck owner.
We have a 1999 Puck and live in Sheffield.
Were at Chester (Delamere) this weekend.
Have fun getting to know your Puck.
By Taurus
Date 22-08-2013 07:32
It's lovely at Delamere. We often walk & cycle there. Have a great weekend.
Paul.
By Taurus
Date 01-09-2013 16:11
Edited 01-09-2013 16:15
And here he is....our daughters have called him Boris.
[IMG]
http://i.imgur.com/zFqWHHZ.jpg[/IMG]
A question, we were given a full cover which is in very good condition. There are pad with suckers which appear to be designed to keep the cover off the windows. I've heard of windows being damaged by covers. What experiences do people have with them? Is it better to use the cover or not?
By Aaron Calder
Date 01-09-2013 16:16
It's a classic! Wishing you lots of fun together.
Brian
We have done the caravan, campervan and trailer tent thing. We have had 2 berth and 5 berth caravans, campervans both elevating roof and hightop and a humble Combi Camp trailer tent. All have dis/advantages, but we came to our senses earlier this year and bought an Eriba Familia 310. It does what we want. It is easier to tow than a white box, it is cheaper to run than a campervan and we don't have worry about packing away damp canvas as we did with the trailer tent. We did briefly consider a Gobur folding caravan but again the folding bit put us off and as we keep our Eriba outside the house, we can get in to pack, clean or just play with the turn of a key.
After six months of use and many trips away we are very happy with our purchase, it is simplicity itself no unnecessary accessories to cart around, warm, dry and comfortable, what more can you ask for.
The Eriba wins hands down to my mind, the caravan equivalent of the VW camper, a classic design used by people who appreciate style and quality.
