Post by rvdmikej on Oct 16, 2009 23:41:06 GMT
Well, we picked up our Triton 420GT (now known as Tabitha) at Lechlade on September 3 and towed it straightaway about 15 miles to Kemble Airfield where we camped for the Didmarton Bluegrass Festival. Everything about the van went smoothly and we were pitched in no time - much quicker than we would have managed with the C15 Hylo. Also, what a luxury to be able to go shopping in the car without breaking camp!
The main impression of the Eriba is the build quality, which is excellent in the best traditions of German engineering - OK, so they are made in France, but Hymer is the parent company. Everything worked for us and we have so far found no faults at all. There is so much storage too - for the first few days we kept on finding new places we hadn't realised existed. As far as general living was concerned, the increased internal space in comparison to the Roma was very welcome. Somehow we never got round to putting the awning up - it seemed a bit surplus to requirements.
After the festival ended we headed for Bristol where my eldest, her husband and our grandson live. I had booked us for a couple of nights camping just south of Keynsham on a small private site called Bury View Farm (well recommended). The sat nav took us over the hills near Bath, which was a good test of the Peugeot 307 as a tow car. It passed with flying colours, but more on that subject later.
When we got to the to our destination and pitched it was the first time we had used a hookup with the van, so we were able to check out everything that was mains powered. Once more we encountered no problems whatsoever and enjoyed the delightful site.
We had a really pleasant day on the Tuesday when we visited the family, and on the Wednesday were due to go home. My best beloved decided that she wanted a few things from IKEA, so we went there before heading to our daughter's for a quick farewell, intending to pick up Tabitha from the site later on. Unfortunately, on the way from IKEA to my daughter's a large refuse wagon decided to use the same piece of road I was driving through! So, that was the end of our Peugeot and a promising tow vehicle! Fortunately nobody was hurt, so we thank God for that.
After a few adventures, concerning which I shan't bore you all, we eventually arrived by taxi at the campsite minus a car. So, we couldn't go home then. Our insurance was not very efficient when it came to getting us a hire car, but at least they did promise that one with a tow hook would be available eventually. That eventually arrived the following Monday. It all meant of course that we were camping for much longer than originally intended, and I must say that the Eriba helped a lot. Once we had more or less recovered form our shock we had quite a pleasant time really, with a dog show next to the campsite for entertainment on the Saturday.
The tow home was uneventful, but the fitted car had to go as soon as the insurance officially wrote my car off, so we haven't yet done any more camping. I now have a nice Skoda Octavia and look forward to trying some trips with that.
In summary, the Eriba is great, and they are just that bit quirky as are Romas of course.
The main impression of the Eriba is the build quality, which is excellent in the best traditions of German engineering - OK, so they are made in France, but Hymer is the parent company. Everything worked for us and we have so far found no faults at all. There is so much storage too - for the first few days we kept on finding new places we hadn't realised existed. As far as general living was concerned, the increased internal space in comparison to the Roma was very welcome. Somehow we never got round to putting the awning up - it seemed a bit surplus to requirements.
After the festival ended we headed for Bristol where my eldest, her husband and our grandson live. I had booked us for a couple of nights camping just south of Keynsham on a small private site called Bury View Farm (well recommended). The sat nav took us over the hills near Bath, which was a good test of the Peugeot 307 as a tow car. It passed with flying colours, but more on that subject later.
When we got to the to our destination and pitched it was the first time we had used a hookup with the van, so we were able to check out everything that was mains powered. Once more we encountered no problems whatsoever and enjoyed the delightful site.
We had a really pleasant day on the Tuesday when we visited the family, and on the Wednesday were due to go home. My best beloved decided that she wanted a few things from IKEA, so we went there before heading to our daughter's for a quick farewell, intending to pick up Tabitha from the site later on. Unfortunately, on the way from IKEA to my daughter's a large refuse wagon decided to use the same piece of road I was driving through! So, that was the end of our Peugeot and a promising tow vehicle! Fortunately nobody was hurt, so we thank God for that.
After a few adventures, concerning which I shan't bore you all, we eventually arrived by taxi at the campsite minus a car. So, we couldn't go home then. Our insurance was not very efficient when it came to getting us a hire car, but at least they did promise that one with a tow hook would be available eventually. That eventually arrived the following Monday. It all meant of course that we were camping for much longer than originally intended, and I must say that the Eriba helped a lot. Once we had more or less recovered form our shock we had quite a pleasant time really, with a dog show next to the campsite for entertainment on the Saturday.
The tow home was uneventful, but the fitted car had to go as soon as the insurance officially wrote my car off, so we haven't yet done any more camping. I now have a nice Skoda Octavia and look forward to trying some trips with that.
In summary, the Eriba is great, and they are just that bit quirky as are Romas of course.
