Hi all,

After some great advice already in response to our 'Hello' post, we thought it best to detail our full spec here. We are expecting our Troll 530 in January '22 and still have a few weeks to make changes to our spec. I'm sure there's lots of for and against views for various bits, it would be good to hear of anything that people bought and didn't need, and vice versa.

To give you an idea, we are a family of four with two toddlers, previous T4 owners so we are not strangers to tight spaces! We generally camp with EHU and facilities, but would like the option to branch out in the future, maybe somewhere a bit more 'wild'. I suppose we just don't want to be constrained to the sites with EHU and loos.

We are hoping that the Troll will become a longstanding addition to the family, not just a fleeting thought, so future-proofing is important (I know they haven't really changed in 50 odd years, but you get my drift!)

Anyway, the spec...

Troll 530 60th Edition (60th was the earliest we could get, looked nice from the outside. 530 is due to the size of the front bed/seating area, 540 seemed a bit narrow)
Seating Group in the rear with sprung cushions (We like the idea of having the choice to leave the bed up or have a seating area, LF(AL) suggested the sprung cushions)
Uprating to 1400kg (We were advised this is a useful addition and expensive to retrofit)
Premium Jockey Wheel - No
Alloys - Included
Stone Guard - included
Spare Wheel - Included
Anti-Skid System - No (Advised it's not worth it on an Eriba)
Truma Motor Mover - No (LF are fitting one for half the price)
Mozzie Net - Included
Door Bin - No (Apparently there's an aftermarket one for about a tenner?)
Window LH Rear - Included
Ext Storage LHS - No (we were advised this is where the Leisure Battery will be)
Underfloor Storage - No (Does this stop you having a motor mover? LF said something along those lines)
Thule Omnistor - No (They seem to be cheaper elsewhere)
Thule Drawbar Bike Carrier - No (LF advised to have bikes on the car roof, I did think noseweight might be an issue with this?)
Darker Fabric - Yes (Toddlers, 'nuf said)
Carpet - No (Toddlers again)
Sprung cushions front - No (thoughts?)
3 Flame hob - No (3 burners seemed a bit tight for three pans?)
Shower Equipment - Yes (Contraversial, I know, a few people have told us they run the shower out of the window to wash the kids down, this seems sensible)
Universal Awning Socket - Yes (seemed useful)
Socket package - No (Seemed v expensive for extra sockets!)
Warm Air Blower - No (thoughts?)
Electric aux heating for gas heater - No (Not really sure what this brings to the party)
Autonomy pack - Yes
Electric 5L water boiler - Yes
Electric and Gas 10L boiler - No (I'm tempted to upgrade to this one, both for more hot water, and versatility when not hooked up)
30L fresh water tank - Included
40L waste water tank - No
Gas regulator with auto change - No (but I'm tempted for convenience)

There we are. Apologies for the huge list, any advice on things we need to keep, bin or add would be gratefully received.

FB

Sort of related. I went into our local Calor Gas supplier and he told me they cannot take new contracts - only swap an empty for a refill.

He also said he gets 40 calls a week asking for them.

On top of that he has had calls from new caravan owners who were told by unscrupulous salesmen to simply go down to his shop. So maybe confirm they can be supplied.

Steve

All of this is, as you say, personal choice. Some friends who have the sprung seating suggested it to us and we have really noticed the difference. The electric heating is a great addition. You can use it at night if on hook up (most folk wouldn't want to sleep with a gas heater on) and as someone on the forum noted, its free heat if you are already on EHU.

Hi Fat Bugger, yes the electric element addition and the gas blower would be my choice. We bought our 530 (60th model) in 2018 and wish we had thought of this. The 10 L elec/gas water heater is brilliant and highly recommended. Not sure what the electric pack does, but if its extra sockets and you can name the spot, then I would go for it. The upgrade jockey wheel is a great idea. Motor movers - I wish we had them and getting LF to fit. Awning we use the Vango Hex air hub. It’s brilliant and your family/kids will really like the lovely space it creates. It is very easy to put up (takes me 20 mins inc pegging out). Happy camping, Robbie.

I went into our local Calor Gas supplier and he told me they cannot take new contracts - only swap an empty for a refill.

We were told the same thing and I almost gave up hope. We then went to a nearby farmshop and they looked at me doubtfully when I recounted the issues. They had no problem issuing me for contracts for two bottles so it *is* possible to start new contracts. On the way home I stopped at a rural garage who were selling Calor and they too would have started me on a new contract they said. Rural seems to work better than urban dealers who may have a lot of trade.

One question you need to ask yourself is will you ever go wild camping? If so then a gas heater is valuable, especially in this country or off season abroad. (Same goes for autonomy pack.)

For that reason gas and electric is valuable for both hot water and space heating.

Since the van is so small natural convection doesn’t take long to heat the van so blown air may be unnecessary

Spring mattress with a topper on rear seats is comfortable. Front seat diner is for very occasional visitor so didn’t bother.

Motor mover makes life very easy and safer if having to pitch on a slope or parking van in a garage.

And being referred to as “fat bugger” made me smile :)

I've been called worse!

I'd mostly agree with Motters comments though I've never had a problem with a jockey wheel so see no need for more than the standard item and a Milenco noseweight gauge.
The LH rear window on a 530 is an issue, personally I don't like a lounge where you don't get outside light in on three sides, but I also don't like sitting up in bed and my head amid blind/curtain etc. It's one reason we've always gone for 540's, where the issue doesn't arise.
We don't 'do' bikes but I'd never fit them to a caravan, front or back, the car roof seems a much more sensible option, though I'm 6ft 2ins.
Carpet is a must have, just love the feeling of cosiness it brings to the van and it stops the tapping of beardie feet on cold hard vinyl.
Sprung front cushions - I've slept on both sprung and foam in 540's and couldn't tell the difference but with four on board they'll get more use than 'normal' so it might be worth it, if thinking long term.
Warm air blower/trunking I'm not convinced, though both our vans had it and so I've not experienced what it's like without. All I do know is that precious little warm air reached both ends of the van via the trunking outlets, no matter how I adjusted the flappy things. That's not to say we were cold as the heat filled the van even when snow covered.
The Truma electric element is a must. It works well, reduces your gas consumption, can be left on overnight without the possible risks of gas, and you've paid for the fuel in your pitch fee.
Gas/electric boiler - I'm not convinced given it's enormous premium over the electric only Therme. I can't see that much value unless you're always going to be off grid.
Auto change regulator seems a waste. Unless going on a long trip you really only need one gas cylinder, so you have nothing to changeover to. If you're not going off grid then gas consumption will be tiny and changeover will occur every two years or so. Sledgehammer/Walnut comes to mind.

Thanks for all the advice, as with anything there's always going to be things some can't live without, whilst others swear against them.

I think the premium for the gas boiler is a little high for the additional flexibility. Does anyone have experience with suitcase solar panels to keep the leisure battery topped up off grid? This may be an answer to our hot water when not hooked up.

The Milenco nose gauge looks good and gets good reviews so that might trump the premium jockey wheel.

It sounds like the electric heating is worth having, and we may aswell go for blown air.

I'll chuck in some sprung front cushions while we're at it.

Again, all advice is greatly appreciated.

FB

I think youd be very lucky to warm a cupfull of hot water from a 12V 100W solar panel:)

Think of the physics: it takes your 2kW electric kettle about 5 mins to boil. A 100w suitcase panel (that will probably only produce 30W on average) will take ages:)

OK, I've never had a premium jockey wheel experience and therefore can't comment on their accuracy or efficacy. However we did run a smooth aluminium Milenco noseweight gauge, without a hint of grease, that did unravel itself in its neat cotton bag. Milenco sent a replacement FOC, without a query or quibble and didn't even want to see the defenestrated one beforehand. Would Hymer do that for a busted jockey wheel?