Having run an '01 Troll with cold only water and an '05 with hot, we won't have a cold only van again. According to the Eriba Touring price list adding a Truma Therme boiler is something of a bargain, given that it only costs £250, which includes all the relevant pipework, wiring, switch and hot/cold taps, given that the boiler on it's own is around £120 retail, in Eriba terms that's good value. This is especially so when two Eriba dealerships have told me that retro fitting a boiler is about £800, which you can understand, given the work involved in an existing van. Factory fitting must be much easier.

So it surprises me how few Eribas have the boiler fitted. It also surprises me how hard they are to spot in adverts. Firstly you ever know if the advertiser has just overlooked that a boiler is fitted. Sometimes they say There's a boiler fitted, but they never say that a van is 'cold only', so you're left wondering.

It's at that stage that, in frustration, you start enlarging advert pics of kitchens and washrooms, hoping to get just a glimpse of red on a tap. Sadly, almost all have totally blue dots for cold only. But why, given how much an average new Touring costs, why would you not pay a relatively tiny £250 more for hot water at the turn of a tap?

Quote: steamdrivenandy wrote in post #1

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So it surprises me how few Eribas have the boiler fitted. It also surprises me how hard they are to spot in adverts. Firstly you ever know if the advertiser has just overlooked that a boiler is fitted. Sometimes they say There's a boiler fitted, but they never say that a van is 'cold only', so you're left wondering.

It's at that stage that, in frustration, you start enlarging advert pics of kitchens and washrooms, hoping to get just a glimpse of red on a tap. Sadly, almost all have totally blue dots for cold only. But why, given how much an average new Touring costs, why would you not pay a relatively tiny £250 more for hot water at the turn of a tap?

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Agree with Aaron. Also had all sorts of boiler problems on older vans, too much to go wrong and too much added weight for the small benefit of running hot water, not as if we have a shower is it.
I was attracted to the Eriba range by lightweight and simplicity and I'm loving it :)

Quote: Randa france wrote in post #6

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Quote: Aaron Calder wrote in post #4

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We've had our cold water only Triton for seven years now and never once have we felt the need for running hot water.
We only stay at sites with full sanitary facilities and use the communal washing up sinks for the social activity of pot washing.
Each to his own.

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We've even taken it one step backwards from this. We've gone back to our camping days when all water had to be fetched from a nearby tap.

We came to realise that we didn't use that much cold water in the van anyway. Generally a couple of kettles worth a day so we now only carry a plastic gerry can that we leave outside the door. The bathroom sink is now only used as a facility for transporting a few potted plants that we don't entrust to others when we are away and the metal kitchen sink is great as a cool box for carrying glass jars of pickles, jams etc.

Randa

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As said, each to their own.

We found the faff of boiling a kettle just to have some warm water to wash your hands just a bit aggravating and being able to choose whether you wander out in the rain to wash up or stay tucked in the Eriba was liberating.

I'm convinced there should be a Eriba Hair Shirt Table, going from 1 for a Puck with cold only and no TV up to 10 for a Troll with washroom, hot water, Sky TV, fixed bed etc.

A Puck gets 1 point.
Familia 2
Triton 3
Troll 4
Add 1 point for washroom
Another for hot water
Another for TV
Another for Fixed Bed
Another for extra mains sockets
Another for onboard tanks

So our '01 Troll was a 6 and our '05 was a 7.

Motter's 430 would be a 9, I think.

Roger would lose pointes due to basin abuse

We have no hot water or heating in our 2014 Triton (just the gas fire) and we are like Roger, we actually took the cold tanks in kitchen and bathroom out to give more storage, and have never used any water in the van at all. We use sanitising hand gel for night time pee pees, fill metal bottles for drinking and brushing teeth and actually use a watering can for kettle and saucepans for anything that gets boiled .... or for filling Boris' bowl!

We had no choice with the new van, the 535 comes with combi boiler as standard. As it's there, we will use it but I doubt to the extent that it will justify the extra on the price.

.

Quote: Blueyonder wrote in post #10

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We have no hot water or heating in our 2014 Triton (just the gas fire) and we are like Roger, we actually took the cold tanks in kitchen and bathroom out to give more storage, and have never used any water in the van at all. We use sanitising hand gel for night time pee pees, fill metal bottles for drinking and brushing teeth and actually use a watering can for kettle and saucepans for anything that gets boiled .... or for filling Boris' bowl!

We had no choice with the new van, the 535 comes with combi boiler as standard. As it's there, we will use it but I doubt to the extent that it will justify the extra on the price.

.

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That got me thinking.

Based on list prices, how does a 530 plus Therme compare to 535 incl. Combi 4?

530 £18,150 plus Therme mains electric boiler £250 Total £18,400 MIRO 968kg
535 £19,890 with Combi 4 gas only boiler included. MIRO 1020kg

OK, I know you get a bigger 12V only fridge and different furniture, plus 5 extra litres of hot water, but that doesn't seem a lot for an extra £1,590 and 52kg less payload. Though it's good that folk are happy to buy and thereby encourage development and new ideas.

Quote: granddadgrape wrote in post #11

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Quote: Blueyonder wrote in post #10

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We have no hot water or heating in our 2014 Triton (just the gas fire) and we are like Roger, we actually took the cold tanks in kitchen and bathroom out to give more storage, and have never used any water in the van at all. We use sanitising hand gel for night time pee pees, fill metal bottles for drinking and brushing teeth and actually use a watering can for kettle and saucepans for anything that gets boiled .... or for filling Boris' bowl!

We had no choice with the new van, the 535 comes with combi boiler as standard. As it's there, we will use it but I doubt to the extent that it will justify the extra on the price.

.

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Did your Triton , like mine, also come with hot & cold taps and a shower?

Alan

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Well that would save £120 or so in new taps if a boiler was retro fitted.

Down from £800 to nearer £650.

Still a lot of money when it's £250 factory fitted

Quote: steamdrivenandy wrote in post #12

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That got me thinking.

Based on list prices, how does a 530 plus Therme compare to 535 incl. Combi 4?

530 £18,150 plus Therme mains electric boiler £250 Total £18,400 MIRO 968kg
535 £19,890 with Combi 4 gas only boiler included. MIRO 1020kg

OK, I know you get a bigger 12V only fridge and different furniture, plus 5 extra litres of hot water, but that doesn't seem a lot for an extra £1,590 and 52kg less payload. Though it's good that folk are happy to buy and thereby encourage development and new ideas.

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