Well .... the first trip in the Triton was accomplished last week. The site was lovely, the sun shone and we were all set to have a great few days relaxing with the Eriba. But there's a problem .... I'm very sorry to say I really didn't enjoy it at all. It just felt like a battle to put up the awning, sort everything out, fill the loo with water (and empty it again!!!), work out how to cook even the most rudimentary meal, put the bed together so we could rest after all the hard labour .......... and then put it away again in the morning. And then put it all away again to lug it home when we left.

That's not to mention the continuous banging of heads against door frames and roof structures, which really didn't improve no matter how hard we tried.

The prospect of our next trip (further from home, and for a longer period, this time) is looming in a couple of weeks, and I'm dreading it, I have to be honest! Heresey, I hear you cry. How could anyone not enjoy their Eriba experience? So ..... Please, all you experienced Eriba lovers, tell me it gets easier and better, and find some words to convince me it's just beginners anguish, or I'm just going to cancel and stay at home, with an Eriba taking up space on the drive.

Failing that, if anyone is looking for a decent Triton, drop me a message. .......... ..... AARRGGHH!!!!!

It sounds awful!
Forget the awning. Get a sunshade that goes up in 5 minutes, a good ground sheet to keep everything clean and comfortable.
Get an induction hob to put outside and a remoska and you can cook everything easily.
Roll up your bedding and shove it under the table against the end of the van.....makes putting away and making the bed a breeze.
Put more wine and beer in the fridge.
Relax.

Yes, we're former cottage dwellers, but have a dog, so thought the extra freedom of a caravan might be a good thing. We omitted to consider that most sites require you to keep said animal on a lead at all times ...... not a great option for our animal!! The Eriba was the van of choice because we both like its "retro" feel and the physical lightness of the thing also appeals from a towing point of view.

The full awning does at least offer the option for us to restrain the dog within our own space, where a canopy wouldn't, which is why we opted for it.

We have a Remoska which gets plenty of use at home, so might take that along on the next trip.

So, we'll give it another go. After sharing my thoughts with my better half, we have decided to swap the far distant next trip, for a shorter outing nearer home, with modifications to the set up, cooking and sleeping arrangements and measures in place to minimise cranial damage from repeated impact with the van's superstructure. Let's see how it goes. The jury is still, very much, out. Onwards and upwards, and thank you for your thoughts .........

I hope it works out for you. On our first trip with the Eriba I tended to rush about a lot to get everything set up perfectly, but now just take a bit more time, sit down and have a cup of tea before putting the awning up (or don't bother if it is raining). I am sure you will get into a routine which makes life easy for you so you can all enjoy your time away rather than fighting with the Eriba.

Our top tips:
Like Islay says, ditch the awning for short trips and use a sun canopy - Like many, we use an Isabella Shadow which goes up in 10 mins max.
Ditto the induction hob which you can use outside or on top of the fridge.
If you need to enclose an area for your dog use a windbreak. We have a Golden Retriever who seems happy with that setup, as long as she can watch the world go by.
A cordless drill will wind down corner steadies quickly and if you invest in screw-in rock pegs make short work of the awning/windbreak,even on hard standing.
If you are using mattress toppers - duvalay are recommended by a few on here including us - buy sheets which they zip into so mornings and evenings are very fast to set up - unroll, chuck on a duvet and pillows and you are in business.
You never quite stop banging your head but the best advice I’ve had is to place your hand on the door head as you pass through. It acts as a reminder.
Organise yourselves. Mrs C does the inside when we arrive and I attend to the steadies, water, waste, canopy etc. Usually 20 mins in and we are enjoying a cuppa or glass of something stronger depending on the time of day.

Finally, you have been adopted by a very friendly and helpful group on this forum. Find one of the meets to attend and share a glass or two.

Don’t give up just yet!

Capn C

Hi Roofraiser

you have lots of good advice hear but its all about how you sort yourselves into some sort of system but stay chilled. There are times when I have thought that awnings are the gift of some evil spirit and have twice nearly thrown 2 different ones onto a skip on the site. We are great fans of the Isabella Shadow as it goes up in five minutes without any hassle or stress. As you have a dog the Capn's suggestions of a windbreak seems to do the trick for some. We have just bought the awning version of Colin's SunCamp Swift Canopy, the Vareo. This is very light and looks quickish and easy to put up but won't be using it on site until sunday. If it is as good as I think I will give you some feedback

Our 540 has the beds that can be made up into a double. Sometimes we just leave it made up for a few days. At other times we take it down and then put it up again at night. It takes us about 6 minutes & Kath & I have a system that works.

We try to keep the van tidy by keeping lots of stuff in the boot of the car with some other stuff pushed under the van in boxes.

We are also Ramoska users and now very rarely cook anything in the van. We have an outside plug under the Shadow and always bring a couple of pre-prepared meals (such as Spag Bog or Chillie) that only need warming up.We also tend to eat outside under the Canopy. When we go for long trips we always stay on a site for 5 or 6 days which makes it worthwhile erecting our Kampa PopAir awning. Yes it takes much more time but time is one thing we have.

Yes I still bang my head at least once each trip but I am a slow learner and it makes Kath who is 5ft 2in laugh. ....and we always have a supply of good wine, cold beer and snacks which soon make me forget the pain.

I hope things can work out for you - I sometimes just think that it is what it is, and get on with chilling & enjoying ourselves

MikeT

You need a pup tent for your dog

To minimise clutter and so make the best use of the storage space try to find things that have a double or triple use. eg Pillows - we bought some very nice good quality rectangular cushions slip a pillowcase on them at night and ditch the full size pillows that you have to store during the day. You have a Triton so I assume you sleep crosswise across the van two single duvalays (other mattress toppers are available) with their own zip on sheets side by side on the rear crosswise bed fit perfectly and they won't slide around at night king size duvet on the top and the whole lot will slide into the bed base lockers for storage. If you have an awning up and a small dinette at the front of the van leave the bed made up until you absolutely have to put it away and eat at the front or erect the single dinette at the front and make that up with all the bedding , you'll have a place for a snooze if required during the day and it's easier to lug the bedding from one end of the van to the other without having to scrabble around getting stuff out of bed lockers. Two washing up bowls one that fits inside the other, put the dirty pots in one and sling it under the van until you have enough to go to the washup place it saves having used mugs plates and knives making the place look untidy and small.
When we first started on our Eriba journey we took far too much stuff but with practise comes experience and now we're hard pressed to fill all the spaces we have.
Persevere after all the van is just somewhere to sleep, eat and shelter from the elements as long as these essentials are covered the rest is just dressing.

In our experience you are much more likely to bang your head on entering or exiting the van if you are wearing a hat or cap so remove your hat as you approach the door it will make you more aware of your head.

Denise & Phil

Hi
We have had four or five outings now in our Triton 420 since buying it 12 months ago.
Most stays he been for 3 to 5 days so we have put up our canopy/ awning apart from one overnight stop.
I reckon it takes a couple of hours to get everything set up but there's nothing wrong with spreading this out over a longer space of time.
We also mostly cook and eat outside, under the canopy, with a Cadac and the compulsory Remoska. We put the long table up outside where it stays for the duration. with a small folding table that we use inside when needed.
Re bedding we use a double sleeping bag which is rolled up width-ways into a bolster that sits neatly under the window . My talented other half has made a cover for it that matches the cushions. We have also bought a memory foam mattress topper from Dunelm and cut it in two to the dimensions of the bench seats and again made covers so that they sit on the seats during the day. So nothing to stuff into or pull out of lockers apart from two pillows.
After thirty years or more of camping we feel we've earned our little bit of luxury that the Eribe gives us and would'nt swap it for anything!
I'm sure that with time and ideas gained from other Eriba owners on this site you'll come to the same conclusion.
Happy Eriba-ing!

Hi Ian
Your comment from above

" After thirty years or more of camping we feel we've earned our little bit of luxury that the Eribe gives us and would'nt swap it for anything!"

is certainly true for Kath and I as lifelong tenters we feel the same. Not that we didn't love our tents and had all sorts of stuff for them but now in retirement we appreciate the little luxuries that our Troll offers.

When the heavy rain woke us up this morning we ended-up talking about Roofraisers unhappy post whilst lying in bed - now how sad is that?

MikeT

Hi Mike

There's nothing quite like lying in a warm and cosy caravan after decades of soggy canvas and damp clothes stretching out an arm to flick the kettle on for a cuppa in bed - we've not stopped grinning for 13 years we're only sorry we couldn't afford one earlier.

Denise & Phil

Well that's a first!! To the best of my knowledge, I've never been pillow talk before .....

The jury is still out .... it seems a shame to throw in the towel after just one outing, so we'll see how it goes next time.

Don't get too excited Roofraiser - this is from two pensioners in slumber wrapped up in their winceyette night apparel, trying to decide who is going to ablute first & put the kettle on..................................
MikeT

We camped for years in a raclet trailer tent, we now have had a triton 420 for 4 years --- we have had to make a big adjustment regarding space and how much stuff we take and I am still weeding things out every trip. We take two types of trips, for longer stays we put up the awning, we have chairs and table in the awning and we cook in the awning or outside. When we have the awning I leave the bed made up all the time. When we take weekend trips in the summer we put up a sun canopy and sit and cook outside, again for these I leave the bed made up, if we take a weekend trip in the winter months life is more cramped, and then I do roll the bedding back and convert the bed back to seating for the day, When we first changed from tent to triton we were not sure we had done the right thing but wanted to extend the camping season, it takes some adjustment at first but once you get into the swing of it setting up and packing down takes a lot less time