Hi everyone, new on here. We have started looking at options to do a three/ four month tour of Europe next year. We already have a VW T5 but due to the length of the trip we want a bit more space including a shower / toilet. We have looked at some motorhomes but are not convinced as we have the T5. The biggest need for a bit more space !! Our three Spaniels 🤯. If anyone has any thoughts that would be great . Thanks Eugene

Hi and Eugene.

I believe we have the smallest Eriba with a fitted shower/washroom/toilet and that is a Pan Familia. It sleeps two very confortably. Has a Kitchen at the front end and with Hook up has hot water. We have a boxer dog and she sleeps confortably by the side of the bed. The only very small difficulty is (as an older man) I do get a call of nature in the middle of the night that necessitates me manouvering past Libby(boxer) however she is so used to this that she doesn't budge an inch!

We have previously had the larger Troll but found we didn't really need the extra space but of course it is all down to personal preferences and what you find most comfortable to meet your needs.

All the best in whatever you choose.

Cheers Ian and Anne

You will fi d that whatever caravan you have, of whatever size, any dogs will always be in the way, it's what they do.

No caravan maker has a model with specific places for pooches, so they lie on the floor (or seats).

It's one reason we went back to an Innovation panel van conversion. They're short or medium wheelbase vans with the space between the wheel arches left free of furniture. So the SWB has a 2ft deep 'boot and the MWB has one 3ft deep. You can fit all sorts of gear in there, but we have a two dog crate with the entry matching the doorway into the central aisle of the van. The beardie go in the crate for travelling, so they and we are secure. When pitched the crate is left open, so the dogs can wander in and out. One or other dog tends to stay in the crate out of the way, presumably as it means they don't have u stepping over them or shifting them out the way and if you really want a clear floor, you just put them in the crate and close the gangway door.

This way we keep a smallish PVC, without towing anything and without dogs in the way.

The 'myth came from Hymer offering a shower pack as an option and dealers, who presumably never enter an Eriba Touring washroom, adding the pack to their standard stock order spec. You'd have thought that if Hymer were serious about a shower facility they'd have taken steps to make the room more waterproof.

It's not a myth but possible if you are smallish in size, careful and don't splash about too much! You wrap the shower curtain round the back and use the shower as a spray to get rid of soap. Fine on a warmish day when you can hang the curtain out of the window to dry and allow the washroom to air after drying the shower tray. Not as good as a full size shower of course but very welcome for occasional use on sites where there are no facilities or they are less than good. P.S. It does help to have hot water!

We had a Triton 420GT with our T5 which we had converted to a camper. g4p1038-Blueyonder-s-Team-Silver.html It was great but there are some drawbacks in the combo if spending a lot of time in Europe, which is why we now have a Land Rover.

Some toll motorways in Europe charge you ridiculously. You will be charged in Portugal as if you were an articulated lorry, I kid you not! A car with a caravan there pays the same as a car. However, they use the front axle height to put a T5 pulling a tiny caravan into the artic lorry catagory. 12 Euros to cross the 300m bridge in Lisbon! Italy is not as bad but you’ll pay more than cars towing caravans.

Many cities only have only underground car parks, with height restrictions, usually just under 2m. With the extra 4cms of the Reimo poptop we couldn’t get in any of them.

Some campsites tried to charge us for both a camper van and a caravan, even on the same pitch. We refused to pay and moved on but if it’s late and there are no other sites nearby it’s difficult.

Our retriever is now 38kgs and we didn’t want him travelling loose in the van (we had the T5 pre dog and whilst he was a puppy). A big enough crate would take away many of the benefits of the van, with it stuck right in the middle of the van, which was also a daily drive. In the car we have a LR dog barrier so he travels safely in the rear.

I loved our T5. Our eldest son now has it, so we can still borrow it! As we tour Europe for like 4 months a year, it became impractical for us.

As we all know Aaron is right about the shower and even if the area was waterproofed most of us would not fit in the area. One of the first things we did was to remove the shower curtain to give us more room.

We have used our shower head occasionally to wash our feet.We also wondered if it would stretch through the window if we were on a site without facilities - not that I am suggesting naked showering outside the van. MikeT

I've often wondered what the grass would be like under such an onslaught and whether you'd end up paddling in a quagmire. There again if it was on a gravel hardstanding it would be uncomforable on the souls, or uncomfortable on the soles.

Despite never using the 'shower', we are so pleased that we bought a 430 FB (with washroom), rather than the 310 FB (no washroom) that we had originally set our hearts on. The primary criterion was to go as small as possible with a fixed bed, but once we had seriously considered the washroom, a Triton it had to be, despite the extra 0.5m length. The loo has become a really important emergency option for off-grid campsites, and all the neat little shelves and cupboards have proven really useful.

I thoroughly recommend the washroom, but forget using the shower, unless out of the window as stated earlier.

When we are on site my wife makes great use of all the little storage spaces in the 540 bathroom - can't find anything in an obvious cupboard search the bathroom! MikeT