Hi all

New to the Eriba scene and decided to buy brand new. Bought a brand new Troll 530 GT. Partly guided by the styling, but also the high build quality and good resale value of an iconic brand.

Things have never gone so well since purchase. Problems began with the faulty LED lighting system switching itself on and off spontaneously. Hot water didn't work initially. I could initially live with these niggles. Took it back for it's first year inspection to find the horrifying news that there was significant water ingress in more than one place. The wall board has dimpled in a couple of places, the hinges have got surface corrosion and the interior soft furnishings had surface mildew. In addition the skirt around the pop top is mouldy.

Lowdham's say there is 30 hours work to repair the above. This came as a significant shock to the system having paid £22,000 for the van. They have sent a report to Hymer.

I feel this is a significant failure in the build process and such should reject the caravan and get it replaced. I don't feel the van can quite be the same as the new van I invested in through no fault of my own.

I'd be interested to hear opinions of other members. I'm shocked at the poor build quality of the van. Seems like they sent out a bad build and I was the unlucky one. I'm gutted and feel let down by the brand.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Rob

Sorry to read of your problems. I suspect all of the other issues you detail are the result of a damp interior. It would be interesting to know where there has been water penetration as it's very rare indeed on new Eriba Tourings.

I believe that as you've owned the van for a year you have to give the supplying dealer one chance to make good. If they fail, you can reject the van, but legally you can't reject it out of hand without giving them the chance to repair etc. If you'd spotted the problem earlier in ownership you'd have had the right to reject outright.

Sorry to hear you have had problems. Have they identified where the water is coming in?

Our new Troll was made last week and failed the factory quality inspection, with two scratched windows!

I presume Lowdham's have taken complete responsibility and all you have to do is wait for the van to be returned in an as new condition. Ask them for a courtesy van if you need one. After all you have paid a premium price for a premium product and should expect premium service.

I wouldn't want the van if it were me, even if they 'fixed' it. Damp is the one thing you don't want in a caravan. Some of us may only ever buy one Eriba and keep it for many years, and therefore invest a lot of time and money in buying the one which we consider to be perfect for our wants and needs. Serious defects in such a short space of time suggest that yours could be a factory lemon, and that related issues could haunt you for years to come. Repair work can be done to a very high standard, but it's still repair work, and it's not what you bought into.

I'm assuming it went through a stringent pre-delivery inspection with flying colours and that you have done nothing to introduce the damp problem. Brian at AL told me countless times not to use the corner steadies to level the van, as this could stress/twist the chassis and frame, potentially causing body panels to move or 'pop', resulting in water ingress. Not suggesting you have done this, but it's just one example of user error vs factory defect that may get thrown into the negotiation.

You're right SWA, we get folk on CT complaining bitterly about issues with their new vans and I'm certain some are self inflicted, but they won't admit it. Not that I'm suggesting that's happened in this case.

My (now sold) Bailey suffered a tiny leak near a floor to wall bolting point. The nearest point of ingress was an exterior locker frame, about 2ins to one side. The dealer replaced the locker assembly under warranty and the damp disappeared. I didn't say anything but when I'd cleaned the van two months before I'd 'picked up' an edge of the tiny bead of mastic around the locker frame and in polishing had raised about an inch, which I pulled off. I reckon the water got into the wall panel that way. So mea culpa. Thank goodness Bailey never queried it.

Really appreciate all those who have taken their time to give opinions. Im with swa49 in that I want a van that was factory built and not dealer repaired. Especially as I paid for the brand new van of my dreams. I've always used the jockey wheel to level and the corner steadies to steady.

Putting right for me involves getting rid of all the mildew spores. I get the feeling that Hymer should be taking a keen interest in this van. It clearly was faulty at manufacture. I've only done two relatively local trips since purchase. Max mileage is about 150 miles. Stored at my own house. Never damaged.

Just want a dry van to sleep two toddlers in. Don't feel I should have to accept one that has had to have 30 hours of work in it's first year. Not if I've paid full price.

I was initially disappointed in my 2016 troll purchased last year. On our 1st long trip in February to the Isle of Arran from essex the bathroom door fell off after all the hinges failed (seat cusion used to stop door opening in transit), several hinge screws for the cupboards worked loose, split pin for the front steady failed when raising and had to be tied up for the journey home. Also the front screw down hook for the pop top broke in my hands. I've put it all down to on going improvements too a hobby and labour of love. Hope you get things sorted.

Does it indicate a general lowering of quality though? These new and nearly new vans seem to be suffering defects that shouldn't be happening eg: toilet doors falling off!
We have only recently become Eriba owners and are already on our second van. We bought a 2009 Triton in February only to see a privately advertised 2012 Triton just down the road for little more money so we grabbed it. Much as we are happy with the newer van I have to say that internal fixtures and fittings are not as solid, locker catches are flimsy, toilet door meets at the top and has a couple of centimetres gap at the bottom, just little things but indicative to me of a slight lowering of standards.

The '09 would've been French built and the '12 German. However Cernay had been making losses for years, possibly because they weren't charging enough for their product. Trouble is, if Hymer's perception was that the prices were at the highest that the market would stand then the only option is cost cutting.

Just as an aside, I find squashing a car wash sponge under the toilet door stops it opening when towing.