Hello. I am looking to purchase an Eriba Troll 550 GT or similar. I am led to believe the 550 is the best available in terms of capacity for 4 berths. We have two small children who would be happy to share a double bed. I am open to other options (Bunk beds in some rare models) as well as other layouts of which would enable the 4 of us to comfortably enjoy the sleeping arrangements.

My Budget is open within reason but preferably looking for one in the 10-15k range.

We are based in West Yorkshire but open to travelling from Monday for the right Eriba.

Thank you so much,

Ryan

Hi Ryan, it sounds like you're in a similar position to us - we're in East Lancashire. Have you the seen the 550 at Leisure First in Poole? It would tick all the boxes if only it wasn't a 5-6 hour drive away. Not having owned an Eriba before we'd prefer to be able to see it in the flesh before we commit! Good luck with your search, unless we're both after the same one in which case it will be the Battle of the Roses all over again!

Thanks for the kind words Rachel!

Yep I have seen the one in question and it's a nice model just like you said quite a drive away.

I was considering going to see if Lowdens in Huddersfield have a 550 in stock. Appreciate it will be the new version but it will at least give you a taste of internal space. Might be something for you to consider and much closer ☺️

Hopefully we both have a positive result soon!

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We're also in Lancashire and Poole is too far for a day trip. On top of that Kath wasn't totally sold on Eribas at the time.

My cunning solution was to book into a really nice B & B in Southbourne for three nights. First night to recover from the drive and get her in positive mood. Next day I had booked an appointment at AL in Poole in the afternoon, after a bracing walk and nice lunch. Second night to wine & dine. Then third day to do some gentle persuasion.

Worked a treat except AL didn't have a used newish Troll in stock but Cameron was incredibly helpful, and I thing we sat in every Eriba in the showroom!

To cut a long story short we ended up visiting the AL stand at the NEC later in the year and eventually ordering a new one - sadly a close relative had died but left us a small amount of money in her will, enough to move from the buyer of a used van to a new one.

As a real romantic when our Troll eventually arrived from Germany I booked another two nights in the same B & B before we collected our Troll and nervously set out on our first ever caravaning trip.

However Poole is still a long way and we have our servicing done at ALV in Tebay. They sometimes get used Trolls in stock

Good searching to you both.

MikeT

Hi Randa, Mike & Colin,

Thanks for all the kind comments and helpful advice. Very much appreciated. We are completely open to travelling (once restrictions seize) so that's not a problem.

Thanks for the description of the models Randa. Would you say the 530 would be the best for us or do you think 530,540,550 and 555 would be applicable?

Ideally we'd like to have the option for the larger bed at the front/side dinette of which the 550 seems the best.

I am open to other ideas though as we'd like to grab one and get on the road.

Thank you,

Ryan

Thanks for the amazing assistance Randa.

Having looked at the models on Leisure Firsts website it looks as though the 540 could work really well. Do you think the front dinette would accommodate two children or would you say the 530 is better overall for this? It does look like the front dinette could accommodate two small children top to toe and the back dinette can also be used as two singles (we are 5 ft9 and 5ft 6 respectively) or one super large bed which could work if one of the little ones jumps in the middle.

So many options!

Thanks for your advice thus far.

Hi Ryan

Randa is right about the bunk bed idea. When we first got our 540 and took it to a site in Dorset a young family pitched next to us in a 530. They had two young girls I would guess under 8 years old, and Dad had put bunk beds in place of the rear dinette. I was in awe of his skills but he said that it was dead simple to do but that he also intended to take them out again in a couple of years for the girls to sleep in a pup tent inside the awning.

We have had four in our 540 a couple of times when our daughter and oldest grandchild stayed with us. When the 540 bed is made into a double it goes right across the van. Kath, Clare and Luke slept lengthways on the double and I turned the dinette into a small double for me. We all slept really well.

Next summer we will start to look for a pup tent for inside the awning for the grandsons. We might even look at changing our Kampa PopAir awning for the newer model that you can get a tent attachment to zip into the side door.

I guess the message is as long as you get a Troll without the fixed bed there are lots of ways you can play with it to sleep 4.

Good luck

MikeT

Thanks again Mike.

I've changed the title of the post as the feedback has been so good. I guess I was originally looking for one with the largest bed space but in reality the most adaptable space is the best for us and our growing family.

The 540 and the 530 do look to be better overall solutions; especially when I am an early riser so i can escape out of the caravan without waking the kids.

Ryan

If you are prepared to have a van without a loo compartment the Triton 418 will sleep 4 easily and give you two really decent sized dinettes.
We had one for 12 years with our two sons on board from aged 9 and 11 to 21 & 23 (they slept in the awning or a pup tent in the summer but reverted to the front dinette for the winter) happy days.
Denise & Phil

Ryan have you joined the Eribafolk Facebook group? There is a lady called Polly on there who replied to my wanted post. She has a 2001 530 that she is preparing for sale. She’s in Rutland, so not too far to travel. We thought about it and decided we wanted something slightly newer, ideally with a motor mover already fitted as we won’t get it on our drive without one. It might suit you though? It’s a bit like buying a house - you’ll know when the right one comes along, and sometimes it isn’t what you thought you wanted!