Hi, if you have been following the EribaFolk Facebook page you'll know that I've been renewing the electrics on our van. There's a full description (12 page PDF) attached. I've also made a copy permanently available at archive.org

Here's the summary:

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In 2011 we bought our Eriba Familia 310 caravan from a used Eriba dealer in the Netherlands. Like many continental Eribas it was not fitted with a battery so the dealer fitted a battery and charger as part of the sale. This was not a good conversion and we had further work done by three different caravan specialists, plus some rectification by myself, which gave us a workable system but little confidence that we had reliable or safe electrics. I also felt that the BIP control box fitted to the Eriba was an archaic and complicated setup which was difficult to understand and not properly documented.

So this year (2015) I decided to replace the original electrical system and the added charger with a modern caravan control box (Sargent EC155), attached to the existing wiring of the van. The first attempt resulted in a working system but a tangle of patch leads and junction boxes where it was joined to the existing system so I then added a complete caravan wiring harness from Sargent which was quite easy to fit, replacing a great deal of the existing Eriba wiring and resulting in a sound system.

I strongly recommend the wiring harness which is much easier and quicker to fit than patching the existing wires onto Sargent’s connector kit. Finally I’ve replaced the existing towing cable with a new 13-core cable as the existing one lacked a specific earth connection (pin 11) that is needed for the Sargent system, I think this is because the original installation used a 10-core cable that was retained when the van was changed to a 13-pin towing connector.

I would recommend this DIY upgrade to anybody who has experience of electrical installation and is able to judge the safety of an installation like this, but it would be unwise to take it on as a novice. My own background includes an engineering apprenticeship, rewiring a whole house as well as installing additional plug sockets etc in other houses, and some work on the electronics of public address and music equipment. I feel this gave me the knowledge and skills to do this work and deal with the inevitable problems and mistakes that can occur the first time you take on a new technical task.

The cost to me was around £400 but I made some expensive mistakes and had to buy quite a few specialist tools, as well as doing additional work on the towing cable and replacing the underfloor junction box. A budget of £300 might be reasonable if you take advantage of my experience and are already well-equipped to do the work.

Unfortunately Aaron, there are no newer 1998 Familias available for trade in :o)

We happened on this model by chance, as there were three on sale at the time we were looking, and it just feels like the perfect van for us. I really like the relatively plain exterior which reinforces that retro look. Some newer ones are a bit over embellished with plastic for my personal taste, and the interior is lovely, several people have commented on the colour scheme and upholstery and Derick from Leisure Vehicles, who renewed and fireproofed the upholstery for us, feels that particular fabric is exceptionally good stuff so he just cleaned it and put it back on the new cushions. Randa recently commented that the general build quality on that generation of Eribas is very good, although at 17 years a few new screw fixings and suchlike help to keep the interior construction solid.

So it feels like the right thing to cherish the van and get it in shape for another 17 years, hence the new exterior paint, body repairs and this. And being retired I have to have something to do with my time (although I would have been very willing to pay somebody to do the job if anybody had been in the market).

Actually, having wrestled with the BIP unit previously, I found this much less challenging than working out the mysterious BIP workings and connections. A box that says, "everything inside is mine and here are the connections you need all in a row," is easy peasy. And I was pleasantly surprised how accessible the caravan wiring was.

Incidentally, for the avoidance of doubt, Leisure Vehicles are not one of the 4 'Experts' who are mentioned in the report and who have made our lives so interesting over the past 4 years.

Whoops, I see this should have really been in the Repairs Maintenance and Accessories section. Is it possible to move it?