What's the word on the forum about this company please

http://retro-eriba.com

We are nearly agreed on purchasing a new van but Hitched wants to explore this option. Please be honest and don't side with me or my life will be over!
We have been so bold as to book the channel crossing including the van we don't have! 3.5 weeks in the South of France, but total of 4 weeks away. Downside is this year, and those for the next few years, need to be in school holiday times due to Sarahs' new employment. I did try to warn her of the holiday restrictions but I am just a 'poor boy' of the lesser knowledgable gender...until she saw the booking price then somehow it's my fault....

Failing the above we will pursue our deliberations with the company in Poole , as well as explore purchasing one in the Netherlands or Germany.....maybe that should be a new thread?

Hi Lee.

We can't remember reading anything other that good comments about Retro Eriba over the past few years and the owner, David Sadler looks in on this forum from time to time.

I may of missed an earlier post where this has already been mentioned so apologies
but which year eriba and model do you desire?

We are both wanting a Troll 540 GT as the size suits us and it's long benches, centre fire and width across diner. I am wanting the new model as I am not small in build and in the older versions I could not stand up or really turn around in the bathroom. It would be just plain silly to go for that option. The newer model gives me bathroom head room and because of the new layout I can also turn around in it...just! Hitched would have no problem in any model given her more petite size but she knows it has to be comfortable for us both.
However...shock of shock....out at Sunday lunch today she told me she had been researching other caravans ( Swift, Lunar, Adria, Hymer etc) and has drawn up a list of comparisons of how much more we could get for our money....shower, larger fridge, microwave, oven and grill and on it goes! I thought caravanning wasn't about towing a mini house around but about going back to basics.....help!! Should I ban her from the internet??

The 540 is a good choice if you want long single beds.

If on the other hand you're going to use them as a double then the other 5's are just as good and give you options on the rest of the layout. Indeed most of the other 5's can be found with fixed double beds if you don't fancy regular bed building and are happy with the one seating area. We went for 540's because I'm 6ft 2ins tall and we wanted the most space for the two bearded collies to sleep in at night. However both the '01 and '05 washrooms eventually palled, standing at the Thetford with one shoulder down and one up like a weeing Quasimodo wasn't comfy and neither was cleaning the teeth of an evening standing in the kitchen area and leaning into the washroom. The '10 to '13MY washroom would have been nearly as bad, although the roofline and space inside increased a few inches but they spoiled it by opting for a non-bench Thetford.

The 2013MY onward washroom is the dog's whatsits and although in the process its depth shrank a tiny bit, it has finally got to a really usable format. That and the higher doorframe and roofline sorely tempted us but the £8,000 price difference to a Lunar made the decision for us.

I still hanker after Eribas and I hope I'll be an Eribaista 'til my dying day.

Thanks and even with my limited knowledge and experience I would say a 540 too! Trouble is the older model have the smaller bathroom as SDA rightly pointed out.
For similar reasons we like the 540. We also have 2 dogs who need sleeping space and we are happy to make up the beds with the ease of Duvaleys. We either leave them on with throws over them or get them out before the wine appears! We are past scratching around in the middle of the night clambering over each other to get to the loo so more comfortable and flexible with the single bed option. Also if one of us is wanting to go to bed then they would sleep in the dinette area allowing the other to stay up.
I think Hitched is trying to steer me in to the direction of you SDA....:( do you think you will ever return to an Eriba? If so which model? Hitched read your post on the "Eriba Layout that was never made " and that got her thinking and since she has even brought up your Amberley van!

good choice
there is the option of buying abroad, which may or not save some pennies dependant on dealer in uk and abroad. as you are going to france on jollies thought would donate some links to the cause

http://www.eriba.com/en/service-area/fin...y=FR&radius=100
http://www.multiloisirs.fr/product.php?id_product=46
I realise this is a 2012 not 13 but my French has let me down to be able to search but it does give an idea of price

this is an interesting website
http://www.witoma.nl/eriba/index.htm

Very odd ad that Roger.

The seller's spelling is abysmal and why wouldn't you start bidding at nearer its retail value of around £13,000 or £14,000? Surely the reserve must be around that?

Definitely a 540 but the advertiser is insistent that it's a 550. You can understand finger trouble getting the number wrong once, but not 4 or 5 times.

I'm getting deja vue here because it would appear to be a central chest 540, which should have a big freestanding table with two pairs of folding legs. By 2007 the table was stored under the offside big bench. However close inspection of the pics suggests that the table has been vandalized like the one in my '05 Troll. Someone has sawn the end off, removed the legs and fitted a single leg at one end and an alloy clip-on rail at the other. So the van no longer has a table that can be used anywhere, only one that can be clipped in a single position on the outside of the van, really not very sensible. Hopefully for any prospective buyer whoever has altered the table has made a better job than the way mine was mangled. At least they've stored it upright against the wardrobe side, which is where pre '05 models stored it. However pre '05's also had a small bedhead fitted so the sleeper in that bed wouldn't be uncomfortable.

Not sure what the attachment just above the rear number plate is?

I suspect the van wasn't UK approved dealer supplied, given that the upholstery is a non-UK standard Eriba fabric.

I'd treat this one very, very carefully.

I think the attachment above the number plate is where the bike rack would have rested. The awning rail shows signs that one was fitted.
TonyP

Well I wrote to Hymer about the layout of my Lunar and suggested they could build a similar Touring and apparently my correspondence has been passed to the design people for consideration. The problem will be that it would have to have a completely different kitchen a shower room compared to the existing ranges where they share lots of modules.

It's funny but Mrs SDA was dead against swapping out of Eribas, she thought it was just another of my whims and it would be a waste. After 6 months with the 464 she loves it. Obviously I like it because I don't bash my head and I can fit in the washroom. We can stay on non-facility sites and still have a comfortable shower. We have the oven, grill and microwave all fitted plus a much bigger fridge than before.

The downside is the van feels a bit more austere than an Eriba inside, probably because more wall is visible and the materials used aren't as robust. But at £8,000 less what can we expect?

I'd like to think we'd go back sometime but probably not until a better layout for a big guy is available.

You're right of course Tony, I hadn't spotted that.

Oh and BTW the 'M46' referred to is a Manchester post code, not a motorway. Atherton appears to be SE of Wigan.

I notice the Ebay post of a 550 that's actually a 540 has 'ended'. It makes one wonder if it was stopped as a scam or if the person who wrote enquiring about a buy it now price has made an offer. Strange that the enquirer didn't mention the incorrect description. Also strange as scammers usually use brand new accounts and this one had 22 transactions with 100% satisfaction record.

Quote: Steamdrivenandy wrote in post #14

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I notice the Ebay post of a 550 that's actually a 540 has 'ended'. It makes one wonder if it was stopped as a scam or if the person who wrote enquiring about a buy it now price has made an offer. Strange that the enquirer didn't mention the incorrect description. Also strange as scammers usually use brand new accounts and this one had 22 transactions with 100% satisfaction record.

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Zitat

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This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing.

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