Hi,
to start...I haven't actually yet bought the Ariba of my dreams, or at least of my wallet capacity... so it will be a used one.
I will be towing with a MWB Transit van, so that should be no trouble, other than the below...

My van has a straight, Hope, "Safe-T" bar at the rear & at present, no tow hitch / bar / ball
I assume I can bolt directly to it as it is pretty hefty.
The centre-line of the bar is nominally 390mm from road & it's 105mm overall top to bottom.
It is a hollow semi rectangular section but angled at the back - this would require drilling to allow access for a socket to fit nuts etc. internally. (If allowed!)
There would be other ways to mount a ball to it, such as a large clamp type fitting.

Failing the above, the two chunky chassis mounting brackets for the bar are 928mm between inner faces - possibly I could fix a towball mounting bar between them, which potentially could give me a lower ball height if needed.
I have a feeling that available kits will want to mount at the same points as the Safe T which would make them unsuitable, since I like having the bar.

In trying to work out the mounting required;
What is the range / recommended towball height for an Eriba?
Are they all AL-Ko type? (I don't actually know what the difference is to a std 50mm tow ball)
Obviously I want to fit the correct type!

All & any advice most appreciated.

witter, towsure, bosal,
may have a type approve kit available.

witter-towbars.co.uk/towbars/ford/transit

Great info, thanks,
My previous 2 Transits had towbars fitted when I got them, so I never had to think about ball height, but I have seen some very unbalanced looking towing over the years - bars too high or too low. I only towed a couple of caravans & trailers which was fine with both vans.
It seems there is a bolt on tow bar / ball set up for the Safe T bar - at present I can only find them as supplied with a new bar, hopefully they are actually available separately. Going by my Safe T bar height, I should be able to get a ball in the right ball-park for correct towing.

The Eribas seem to have a good rep for towing being relatively light & the Transit is 125ps so should be fine.
I'm minded to try & stay under the 1000kg weight but my wife's preference might be for more facilities :-) = longer & heavier.

Hi again,
I discovered that according to the suppliers, the Hope Safe-T bar is not suitable - not strong enough (I assume due to where it is fixed to the van chassis) for attaching a tow ball to; they sell a different bar for towing. I suspect the bar itself is identical, but the welded brackets are different. A bit disappointing, as that ups the cost somewhat. Anyway, not insurmountable ;-)

Other than that, have been in a slight lull on the caravan front due to too many other pressing matters, life n all...
As yet, not totally sure if we will actually get one, since for years we've had very many weekends away in my work van/s, which I "uprated" with fold out bed & kitchenette unit with hob. (+ sink, which never gets used, it all gets washed up at home) + a porta-potti which has been a boon...
However... despite her protestations, that it's "quite cosy", it is a bit rough & ready & my wife has very much appreciated sitting in other folks warm c'vans & campers on cold, wet & windy days. So a bit more civilised comfort wouldn't go amiss!
Re. the Eribas;
I'm quite keen on the end dinette ones, then all the bedding can be left in place, rather than having to be packed away, but not set on any particular model.
At present I'm favouring the smaller, 310 / 320GT's, mainly on the grounds of lightness & marginally lower fuel costs towing wise.
A wc is quite handy but it would seem quite possible to install a porta-potti under one or the seats, so a full wc-shower room isn't entirely necessary, providing you are relaxed about such things! ;-)
Tbh, a shower seems something of a luxury, just for our mostly weekends away, given the space they take up, extra size & therefore weight of c'van they mostly require, although on longer trips it would be more useful. (In my defence ;-) we have stayed in camp sites that have had shower blocks, with more comfortable space to wash in than a cramped camper.).

This week, I was surprised to find the 320GT has a wc-shower option, although with the space compromise of an end kitchen rather than dinette, so that is of interest.
With an end kitchen, rather than dinette, I have a notion that I could modify the bed so that the bedding can rolled up onto half the mattress, with a removable panel to separate it, so the door side of the bed be made into seats as a dinette, with smaller removable table. It is just the 2 of us & for overnight comfort, rather than entertaining others, so I don't (as yet) see the need for a full table & seats in the day. Short of cutting up the original cushions, (which would be sacrilege!) custom ones would be needed but it seems entirely possible.
Also I read that later Eribas are slightly wider, but can't recall what date this occurred. I'm tall, so it's an issue for me with the cross beds, sleeping-comfort wise.

I know we would be using it for our regular weekends but not convinced as yet, that owning one would mean we would start travelling all over for longer breaks, which would definitely justify buying. It might just sit unused for long periods, like a friends very costly camper van, or our neighbours caravan & later camper, neither of which seemed to get much use; all rather a waste. As we're still both working, one of us including weekend rotas, our lives are pretty chock a block. But on the other hand, nothing ventured etc.!

Firstly see https://eribaliving.blogspot.com/2011/10/eriba-living.html

You need to check the towing limit of your Transit. Find its VIN plate. The highest number on there is the train weight limit i.e the most that the van plus any trailer can weigh. The second highest number is the maximum that the Transit itself can weigh when loaded. Take one weight from the other and you'll have the van's towing limit i.e the most that any caravan it pulls can weigh.As you say, its liable to be fine for any Eriba but you need to be sure that you're legal.

As has been said before your towbar needs to be Type Approved otherwise your insurance could be invalid and it may be illegal not to use a Type Approved towbar these days. There is a regulation covering towball height and that's included in Type Approval.

The Familia range has two models, the 310 without washroom and the 320 with washroom, both are the same size.

The larger Eriba Touring vans went from 2m wide to 2.2m in 2010, though a few layouts were the larger width a few years earlier.

The 2010 date is important as that's when production shifted from France to Germany and the roofline was altered at the same time.

2014 is also important if considering a van with washroom as that was when the current design washroom came into being and it is by far the best of all the designs available. It's stood the test of time, staying the same for a decade (with colour changes).

Don't worry too much about fuel consumption as the number of miles towing is relatively low and the additional cost in fuel will be tiny compared to depreciation, servicing, pitch costs insurance etc.

HTH

Thanks HTH & Colin, that's all very useful.
I had a notion from reading somewhere that 85% of vehicle weight was the max caravan weight generally recommended. I'm pretty certain a 125ps MWB Transit (1790kg) is up to the task with GTW of 3500kg. That should pull a circa 1000kg caravan ok. I would likely not be carrying much more than 200kg in the van at the same time. A previous one I had several years ago towed a 700kg caravan easily.
You are right on punching a hole - I always think its like driving a brick anyway, not very aerodynamic!

Thanks for the reminder on type approved towbars. It would be very tempting to bolt a ball to the very strong Safe-T bar, but despite the 1/4" thick mounting plates there are only 4 bolts to the chassis. I suspect the towing version has longer mounting plates & more bolts taking the strain. Will have to sort that out first.
Now you've reminded me of depreciation I will worry less about the fuel!
Thanks for info on the widths etc. exactly what I needed, also the post 2014 improved washroom seems worthwhile if we go for one.

The 85% is an industry recommendation to guide people selecting a caravan and/or tow vehicle. In full it reads that the MTPLM of the caravan should not exceed 85% of the kerbweight (I e. empty weight) of the tow vehicle for those new to towing. Experienced towers can go to 100%.It is not a legal limit, just a recommendation.
Yout Transits towing limit is not a legal limit either, it's the amount that Ford warrants the vehicle for. If they think you've exceeded their limit they may decline a warranty claim
The only legal limits are the weights on your Transit's VIN plate I.e the van's Gross Train Weight, it's Gross Vehicle Weight and the two axle weight limits.