As you may have surmised from earlier posts I'm pondering over rejoining the fold.

I'd already decided to sell the Rimini and really wanted a Leisuredrive Vivante LWB but they're almost rarer than 554's and very expensive. The plan was to have just the Yeti and the Vivante between the two of us.

So, kicking the Vivante into touch I wondered about what might be towed by a 1.2DSG Yeti and found that its Towing Limit is 1200kg. I also happen to know someone on CT who pulls an 1195kg MTPLM Lunar Stellar with no issues. However the Stellar has only recently been updated to have 6ft 5ins beds and prior to that they were 6ft 2ins, which is just a tad too short for comfort.

Having discovered all that I immediately thought of returning to an Eriba again. Having had an '01 and an '05 540 I have a fair idea what to expect but it seems that recent 540's, indeed recent Trolls have had 1300kg MTPLM's or even more. Which sort of puts them outside the Yeti's towing weight.

The answer may be a Triton but being slightly smaller they provide less dog floorspace. A 420 provides the required washroom and single bed length but no dinette or room for either our small grandson or Mrs SDA's friend who is battling myeloma. The 410 and 418 have no washroom and the 430 has limited dog floorspace either all the time with a fixed bed or just at night when we have to make up the bed.

Doh!

Foiled at every turn.

I think if we were all honest with each other a convetional caravan would tick all the boxes........ howoever its the Eribas stunning looks and handling that makes ticking boxes not part of the equation ....

It's not the ticking boxes that's the problem though, it's whether I fit in a bed, whether the dogs fit and whether the car can legally tow the resulting van.

We were initially tempted away from the righteous path by a number of factors.

We found a white wobbler (Lunar Quasar 464) that was the same length as a Troll and just a tad wider with 6ft 3ins headroom throughout. Indeed inside it was like a 530/540 Troll but the other way around. There was a single dinette across the back, nearside midships kitchen with microwave and full oven/grill and opposite a midships bathroom with a separate shower cubicle. Up front the lounge benches were 5ft 6ins long, so halfway between 540 and 530 length.

Suddenly no need to use site showers, Mrs SDA could warm her cherry pillow (not an aphorism) in the microwave, gratin dauphinoise was on the menu again and plenty of room for cool beer etc in a much larger fridge. And, of course the risk to cranium had reduced significantly.

The downside was it looked nowhere as good as the Eribas and the build quality was pants.

Inexorably we got drawn further in.

Something with fixed single beds that fitted my height, with more space in the bathroom. A Bailey Rimini. Heavier, so a ruinously expensive Vlovlo to pull it, but after 7 continuous weeks on the road in summer 2015, touring from Cornwall through Somerset, Cheshire, Notts, Derbys and North Yorks we decided to give touring a rest and settled the van down to stay on the side of Clee Hill for two years.

Now we want something smaller and that's where I think I came in.

We have a 2017 yr.Triton 420GT and a border collie. The dog sleeps between the beds. We pull them out slightly so that the back rest cushion falls down and increases the sleeping width. We all get a good nights sleep like that.
During the day, if we are inside the dog rests under the table nearest the window. This gives us plenty of room under the rest of the table. By the way we do not use the original freestanding table but have modified it back to the single leg version which gives us much more space and is lighter.The Triton with the 226cm ht. (2012 onwards I think) has a washroom that is more user friendly to 6ft + people. We previously had a 2007 Triton and the difference is significant.
If you need to accommodate another person on an occasional basis then an Awning with inner sleeping tent and camp/air bed can work. The dog and myself slept a few nights like that when the wife's sister came with us.

Its all about compromise, nothing is ever 100% right for every occasion.

Amazing, looking through that list so many brands no longer exist having either gone bust or their brand name extinguished. Ace, Abbey, Auto Sleeper Caravans, Carlight, Cristall, English Caravan, Eterniti, Explorer, Stealth.

One's I'm not sure about whether they still exist are Chateau, Crown, Going, Rimor and Vanroe.

That still leaves at least 30 brands still soldiering on.

Quote: Biljul wrote in post #7

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We have a 2017 yr.Triton 420GT and a border collie. The dog sleeps between the beds. We pull them out slightly so that the back rest cushion falls down and increases the sleeping width. We all get a good nights sleep like that.
During the day, if we are inside the dog rests under the table nearest the window. This gives us plenty of room under the rest of the table. By the way we do not use the original freestanding table but have modified it back to the single leg version which gives us much more space and is lighter.The Triton with the 226cm ht. (2012 onwards I think) has a washroom that is more user friendly to 6ft + people. We previously had a 2007 Triton and the difference is significant.
If you need to accommodate another person on an occasional basis then an Awning with inner sleeping tent and camp/air bed can work. The dog and myself slept a few nights like that when the wife's sister came with us.

Its all about compromise, nothing is ever 100% right for every occasion.

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Quote: eribaMotters wrote in post #5

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Other option would be trade the petrol Yeti in for a diesel one if you really like it. The most basic 110bhp unit, that we have, has a 1500kg tow limit. This would cope with any Troll and allow you to get back some respectability, in the eyes of some forum members.

Colin

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Can you tow with a PCP car?

Funnily enough the local Skoda garage phoned me this morning but I told the woman who rang that I wasn't interested before she could even say why she was phoning. I suspected they were trying to round up folk to visit for some 'event' or other.

Quote: Frantone wrote in post #13

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Can you tow with a PCP car?

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