Congrats.Having upgraded, our 530 is our 3rd Eriba, it's a great van, very useable space. Although my hubby still misses his PuckL

Quote: Beechwood wrote in post #14

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Hi there,
Just caught up with this thread. In the 'items for sale' section we have listed our 2013 Troll 530. The specification it has ticks all our boxes and covers what other members have classed as 'essential'. We are only selling as have decided to go back to a motorhome (we have changed a number of times, and kept various dealers busy over the years). Have you considered trying a pre owned to see how you like the Eriba experience? We are in Highcliffe in Dorset if you want to come and have a look and a chat.
Regards.

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As someone who’s just spent a fortune on a new Troll 540, the best and most honest advice I could give you is to rent one for a weeks trial before you buy. Had I done so I wouldn’t have bought one. They are not worth the fast amount of money they cost. Our 5 year old Coachman we traded in for it was better built, more comfortable, more spacious and far, far, FAR better equipped and is cheaper to buy now new than the Eriba.
You need to love it’s looks one hell of a lot to pay the premium and put up with its catalogue of shortcomings!
This won’t be a popular view on here - but it’s my true experience

It’s actually the build quality of the Eriba that is my biggest beef with it. Very poor value for money in MY opinion. It’s like the Airstreams - image over substance and fastly over priced because of its cult following. German build quality seems to be missing here.

Ask a VW California owner to justify the £50K price tag, and they will struggle, but they will tell you how they wouldn't buy a motorhome or a converted Transit van. Cult followings are strange things, but that's life. It's the design, the clever storage ideas, the longevity, the heritage. Same with an Eriba. We bought one (and squirmed at the cost) because we wanted some of the flexibility that you get with a tent, but with a comfy fixed bed, a fridge and the ability to go off grid (within reason). A typical caravan was never an option for so many reasons. Each to their own.

Fingers crossed we don’t have too much snagging with our new 530 when it arrives (hopefully mid May or sooner).
I like to think we have gone in with our eyes wide open after a lot of reading of views from fantastic forums like this. We have no doubt that the bathroom door will fall off, condensation will drip, the lights will decide to come on at will and the lockers will come loose. And do you know what? We don’t care.
We fell in love at first sight of an eriba. Having attended the caravan and camping shows for a number of year looking for our next step from a tent, we always got drawn to the eribas. We’ve looked at every brand, even the newer caravans targeting us tenters such as the t@b and basecamp, but we just don’t like the white boxes however stuffed with kit. I guess love is blind.

Smilesapart, in your shoes, id sell your new van and buy an older one. Ours is 21 and in great shape. Nothing has dropped off.....yet...... ;)