An Introduction.

-
I have travelled around, mainly, Scotland for many years. I first started regular trips when I started to 'bag' the Scottish Munros. This gave me a real appreciation for the places in far flung part of the country which otherwise I would probably never have visited.

I started out with an old T25 VW Westfalia camper van, and upgraded to a Westfalia T4 which gave me many years and hundreds of nights away.



I had often thought of the idea of a caravan, and always liked the style of the Eriba's. The benefits over a camper van, financially, are huge and in early 2017, I purchased an Eriba Puck 120.


I've had some great trips in this van. I spent 56 nights away in the Puck in 2017, travelling all over Scotland from the Borders to the far North. It was brilliant.

I have now changed the van to an Eriba 320GT, which is a little bigger and has more onboard facilities. This blog will start with my trips in the new van!

Should mention my travel companion. My Cocker Spaniels Bonnie and Hamish.


My plan is to blog about my van, the trips I'm planning (or on), and discuss some of my experiences both on and off the road.

Hope its worthwhile!

Thanks.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

50 Nights in my Troll.

-
Image
I thought that after having spent 50 nights this year in my Troll, this would be a good opportunity to offer my views and opinions on this caravan. Overall, I'm very impressed and there are some features which I really like, and others not so much. I've only ever owned Eriba's, having switched from campervans a few years ago. The switch was really an attempt to minimise the ongoing costs associated with a 'leisure vehicle'. I've had a Puck (a 120), a Familia (a 320GT), and now own this Troll (a 530GT). The Troll was a substantial investment for me, it's a (used) 2017 fixed bed model with a number of extras fitted, such as awning, high back seats, 3 ring hob, etc. I first started touring in the Troll back in April of this year and have covered a good part of Scotland and North England in my travels. The Troll is actually probably a bit 'overkill' for my needs. I normally tour alone with my 2 spaniels, and rarely have guests. However, I do sp
Read more

Solar Power in my Eriba Puck

-
Image
  I'm often asked what arrangements I have for generating power when I'm touring 'off-grid' in order to keep the 12v electrics operating. This equipment needing 12v includes the lights (all bulbs changed to LED), my 12V TV, and inverter (which powers my MacBook), and also for charging of phones and speakers etc.  I have a 100W folding panel which even over a good few days, I find this works fine with my fairly small leisure battery and I've never ran out of power yet. I've used this panel for years which is an advantage of a portable panel. I've used it on 4 different Eriba's I've owned, and a camper van before that. Importantly, it has a solar charge controller mounted on the rear of the panel. This is essential for any solar panel. I do move the panel during the day to get optimum light and try to avoid shadows from the van or trees and buildings. It fits behind the cars front seat when travelling. I didn't want to have an arrangement where I r
Read more

Replacing the Door Shelves

-
Image
  With the weather being really nice today, and with the prospect of touring again in the next wee while, I took the caravan out of the garage where it was being stored and returned it to my drive. I really didn't have any projects for the van over the winter, unlike last year when I completely re-upholstered and redone the internal decor like curtains, carpet, door facia's and the likes. Like my 3 previous Eriba Caravans, I've had trouble with the original plastic door shelves and decided to order an improved aluminium set from Darren at Eribastuff. I've ordered other odds and ends from Darren over the years and everything has always been top quality. He's an enthusiastic Eriba Puck owner himself, a Scot based in France. The original door configuration above, plastic shelves (or rather shelf fronts?) which turn the Eriba door into effectively a very useful storage area, just like a fridge door! I purchased the van 'set' which comprises one with an 'Erib
Read more