Hi everyone, joined up having read many forums over past couple of years as a guest. Busy wondering whether others have been in our shoes and would care to share their experience of conversion from canvas to an Eriba?

To put you in the picture: we have been canvas campers for over 40 years. I have a new hip, and about to have a new knee, and the orthopaedic folk advise against crawling in and out of tents. Whenever I murmur the word Eriba to my husband you would think the end of the world has come… he seems to have a horror of caravans. Know not why. (We are used to using an unbraked trailer, 750kg max).

Is there anyone out there who felt similarly and took a happy plunge? From what I can see the pop up with an Eriba Familia, Triton or Troll would connect us in a similar way to ‘the outside’ in the way that our tent does… am I right?

Look forward to hearing from some of you in due course. Thank you in anticipation.

First of all welcome,. My wife gave me the option and refused to go camping anymore after a very very cold night near Filey. No more camping caravan or nothing was her answer. So I searched out and bought our first Eriba a Puck the smallest of the Eriba's we enjoyed the Puck but no toilet!!!!! That was the problem and as its fair to say we are reaching our Autumn in life or maybe slightly into Winter . We decided we really required one with an internal toilet so we went for the Troll 540GT. The Troll is the largest of the Eriba's well in good old blighty anyway there is a new huge kid on the block but way to big for us anyway.

So to answer your question we do not in any way regret upgrading from canvas to a Troll. As far as towing the Puck you did not know was on the back of the car and most cars will tow the Puck. When we moved to the Troll again was no problem you know you are towing the Troll but wherever you point the car the Troll will go. But you have other options, Puck, Puck L, Familia, Triton then the Troll.

We are just waiting for slightly better weather then we are off on hol again I for one can not wait. Where are you situated most members will not have a problem with you having a look around their Eriba. Morphy (Bev and Steve)

👍✅… Thank you both for such quick replies. What have always loved about camping: generally meet such lovely people. And always seemed like the Eribafolk forums were also in that ilk.

Think a loo is a very good idea as already reached trips to loo block during night ( autumn to winter category too!) … I think a Triton would give us nice room, but if pulling a Familia say would be virtually unnoticeable then might need to let husband have last word as he prefers to drive usually.

Thank you. Best wishes all.

Tom and Margaret

We, too, were campers before. It was the cold that attracted us to an Eriba, then when I saw our Triton and I saw the loo, I was smitten. The luxury on a rainy evening to go to the loo, brush your teeth and wash your face in the warm and dry is pure magic!

The windows are bit and all around so you really do feel outside even when you're not. On hot days, you will always be able to keep the van cool by opening windows and closing blinds on sunny sides.

When it's cold, we use a little oil filled radiator and we're snug. The camping season is so much longer with an Eriba than a tent.

It's always ready for you when you want to go away. I get her ready with ll the food and bathroom basics at the start of the season so we only have to add clothes and fresh food and we're off. Stopping on the journey for lunch, either in rain or shine is heaven. And you have somewhere to pee unlike most lay-bys. You won't regret it! LOL

to the Forum. We were tenters too for many years. Crawling onto a bed on the floor with a bad back finished me off. We started with a PuckL which we had for 8 years until the toilet became the biggest want. We now have a Troll. We leave the big bed made up and use the dinette for indoor seating. We’re outside more than in though. Towing really isn’t a problem. It extends the camping season and Eriba owners are the nicest people. Go for it, you know you can persuade hubby he really needs an Eriba 😁

Thank you, thank you, thank you all! Please keep them coming! I am saving them all up to show hubby at ‘the right moment’!

I have got him as far as agreeing to go to caravan sales near friends who we shall stay with this week coming - so we can drift around a couple of Eribas ( have never been inside one, just met loads of people over the years who have had one. ) Am working on the gentle gently principle!

Will keep you all posted as to how things progress. Am not expecting to make major decisions this week… this is part one in chewing cud. I know my heart is on a Triton 430 ( it was great to read from those of you with one because you mentioned things I have been thinking, loo, space, diner at the one end). Just have to convince my lovely, but sometimes stubborn other half…. sigh.

Thank you all… shall warn him about ducking.

Colin: We are mid wales.

Hi Aberwolfies

Your situation is very much like ours was in about 2014. We loved our tenting and had an Outwell Bear Lake with a front extension which we adored. However I had developed two dodgey hips and pegging out became a torture, which took me a few days to recover from. I eventually had to have them both replaced and the surgeon strongly advised me against large scale pegging out.

We got a Berghaus Air Beam tent to have less pegging out (and was great but it didn't solve the problem.

I have to say that we had always been tenting snobs looking down on people in big white caravans so changing to a caravan didn't seem an option until I saw an Eriba for the first time. I had a real battle in persuading Kath to even consider an Eriba, as it was just another caravan. It took me about 12 months to slowly persuade her that an Eriba could be a solution to our problem.

I came up with a cunning plan. I booked us into a really great B & B in Southbourne for four nights and we had a great time. Unbeknown to her I had booked an afternoon at Automotive Leisure Eriba Dealers in nearby Poole. Like Julie above Kath didn't like going out in the rain at night to use the site toilets - so I played on this. Wouldn't it be nice if we could find something tentlike with a toilet but not a caravan?

I worked on her and then told her about the visit to AV. She was less than convinced.....

However on the day Cameron from AV was brilliant and spent ages with us letting us sit in every model with all the different quirks. We did a great job together stressing that the poptop made is as much as a tent as a caravan - loads of fresh air coming in just like in our tent.She took a liking to the Troll 540 with the bathroom and the beds that you could put up at night and take down in the morning.

The next step was another B & B near Birmingham so we could go to see Cameron again at the Caravan Show at NEC. We met someone from Eriba Folk on the stand who sang the praises of the Troll and also Cameron. We ended up ordering a Troll 540GT from AV using some money that Kath's mum had recently left us in her will.

We picked it up in June 2016 on a really hot day. We knew we had done right on the first night when we slept like logs, Kath used the inside toilet but especially when a lovely cool breeze blew through the open poptop vents in the morning. If we had been in our Outwell or Berghaus we would have had to be up and out because of the heat.

Five years later Kath loves our Troll more than I do and we use it from March through to November. also as Murphy says even the Troll is easy to tow with most towing cars. We both have Skoda diesels and my biggest problem is forgetting that I am towing it.

If your husband's joint problems get worse the other thing you need to think carefully about is awnings. Most of us have awnings that are our new tents and spend lots of time in them. We do most of our cooking and eating in an awning. Colin, Randa & I (and many others) seem to have almost national collections of awnings and canopies. Just be careful on not getting one that has lots of pegs to put in, so it is like a tent. We have an inflatable PopAir 360(?) which is great but takes ages to peg out and hurts my new hips.

We often use an Isabella Shadow Canopy instead which only has 3 pegs to put in or a lightweight Sunncamp Vareo that has 4 guyropes and and about 16 pegs - Kath puts many of these in now. I bought her her own stylish copper-headed peg hammer for Xmas as I am a real romantic.

Good luck with your persuading - if you succeed you won't regret it. It is really tent camping plus

MikeT

A big thank you Mike … I think hubby is very slowly coming round to the idea… hopefully with as successful and outcome as you with Kath. We had a little natter about Eribas today and he knows I have been eyeing them up since before the first lockdown! Lots of things for us there to ponder over… especially the awnings. Have any of you one of the pull out Thule awnings? We have always camped a lot in France and much of the summer over there a bit of shade is all one needs… We have loved camping and it is so much a part of us I think neither of us can bear the thought of not doing so… so since it seems tenting days are done Eriba does seem the best option for us. Interested that the pop-top offers you extra time before everything heats up too much.

just had a peek at the Isabella canopy on Youtube and impressed by how quick to use when just want some shade.

hi abwo

You'll find that the Isabella Shadow canopy is incredibly popular on this site.

We can get ours up in a few minutes and be sitting having a brew (or a cold beer) under it. Some people take one as well as an awning to give shade on the rear of the van where it is hot. I think Colin does this when he goes to France.

We also use ours when we are just staying for a few nights somewhere in this country. There are some clever people like Randa (or his wife) who add their own side pieces for extra shade or protection from the rain.

Other people take a wind break to go round one side for extra protection or privacy.

For us it was one of our best buys.

MikeT.