Hi from Cornwall. :wave: (Apols haven't found all the emotiwotsits yet)

I am in the throes of choosing my first caravan, Eriba is top of the list. There's just me, my small collie dog and my spinning wheel.

I'm off this morning to view a 40 year old Pan. Being slightly wider and longer than the Puck, there should be plenty of room for me to set up my bed along the back and not have to take it down and remake it every day, sit at my spinning wheel and not be in the way of the dog. (I do do other things besides spin, I hasten to add - but that's the pastime that demands a little bit of space.)

It sounds as though this Pan was fairly recently imported from Holland, and has been really well looked after. Nonetheless, it is a bit daunting to be considering such a venerable lady. Any tips please?

I think you've covered most things Roger. Just be aware that 'ordinary' caravans tend to give up the ghost between years 10 and 20. Whilst 40 year old Eriba Tourings are around, they will be very, very tired unless highly cossetted throughout their life. To have lasted that long is a testament to the original design and build but there's a distinct risk you're potentially buying a money pit.

We have a 20 year old triton and she is in very good shape.

There is a list of things in this link to help you when looking for a second hand Eriba...


What to look for when buying an Eriba

Fabulously helpful, thank you all very much.

She's an absolute treasure, 100% original and in awesome condition. So is she mine? I haven't bought her yet, only because I want to be absolutely certain I need one that wide - she's 2m wide and my car is 1.92, so if I can make a Puck L work for me then that would be preferable. I'm off to see one at the dealer's in Bournemouth tomorrow - twice the price of the Pan but considerably younger of course (only 18, this one!), and the smaller size is a plus to me, so long as I can see how to do all the things I want to do in it. If the Puck L doesn't cut it, then I'll take a mechanic friend with me to - hopefully, provided he gives it the thumbs up - buy the Pan.

Wish me luck!

And just because I should check out all the options... I asked on the Freedom forum why people chose a Freedom over an Eriba, and the consistent answer was price, plus some people thought Eribas were heavier. (Well, some models are, but there are plenty of models to choose from which are lighter or as light.)

Freedom owners seem to love their Freedoms every bit as much as Eriba owners love their Eribas :). (Although a lot of owners do not love one of the dealers.). And the Freedoms do seem to last very well, too - maybe not 40 years, but 20-25 is not unusual.

So, I should ask the same question here. What made you choose Eriba over the other equivalent options? And if you were strapped for cash, would you go for a much older Eriba or a newer Freedom, and why?

Ha ha

I was considering a Freedom caravan before I bought the Eriba Puck. It was the quality and the style of the Eriba that swayed me over the Freedom...

Mr Calder I have a complaint about your forum. It has a fixation on toilets when I wish to extemporise on the nurturing of Eribas. Hence it turns cossetted into cassettes. Can you please get a grip or I will be forced to take a branch out of Basil Fawlty's litany and thrash your Eriba with a birch branch.