Words: Clare Kelly  Photography: Erwin Hymer Group

The Eriba Touring 820

Wherever you are in the world, you’re never far away from an Erwin Hymer Group caravan.

The UK headquarters of the German manufacturer is based in Durham and produces Elddis, Compass, Xplore and Buccaneer caravans. Eriba caravans, also available to the UK market, are made in Bad Waldsee, Germany, and have been rolling off the line there for more than 60 years.

Eriba is arguably the company’s most unique offering and its iconic style is instantly recognisable. In 1957, the first Troll was released, and over the years Eriba has showcased many innovations, including the 1970s Eribette, a striking lightweight wooden caravan that has to be seen to be believed. In 2019, the twin-axle Eriba 820 arrived on the scene and, with a price tag starting from £78,980, it became the brand’s most premium offering. The first 820 arrived in the UK in 2021 and we’ve not been able to get inside one until now.

The exterior

Before you even set foot inside the caravan, you’ll be struck by the size of it. At 8.48m in length and with a MIRO of 2,110kg, it’s one of the longest and heaviest tourers you’ll find in the UK and you’ll need a very capable tug to tow it with – notably a commercial vehicle.

In a world where most touring caravans are white – or a variant of, the sleek, silver exterior of the 820 gives it real standout appeal and, because of that, it’s impossible not to draw comparisons with an Airstream, but that is where the similarities end.

Two large panoramic windows allow you to immerse yourself in those epic views and are tinted for extra privacy. You might want to look out but it doesn’t mean you want everyone to see you. Body construction is a steel cage with smooth alloy skin and it has a flawless look; this is further enhanced by the coordinating steel grab handles that have been ergonomically designed for better manoeuvrability and feel smooth to the touch.

Wherever you look, you’ll find more suggestions of luxury, such as the anthracite Eriba-branded alloy rims on the wheels and the jockey wheel has an integrated load indicator, an excellent feature to make it much easier to safely load your caravan and, when on the pitch, the heavy-duty steadies will add to the feeling of security. This caravan, along with other luxury caravans in its class, comes complete with the easy-to-use E&P levelling system as standard.

Eriba caravans have long drawbars which offer greater flexibility for fitting bicycle carriers, for example. There is the option to fit the Thule Caravan Superb drawbar bike carrier which will carry two bikes up to a total weight of 60kg.

When looking at the exterior of the 820, you’ll see another major difference with caravans that are built here in Britain – the door is on the offside as opposed to the nearside. This is unlikely to cause you any issues as many caravans are now imported from Europe where, of course, offside is our nearside…

As it happens, the roof awning, a rather smart Thule Omnistor 9200 is situated on the offside; this is the biggest awning of its kind on the market and is seamlessly integrated on the 820. Having such an awning has many benefits: no need to carry a heavy bag full of poles or the like, and less chance of couples arguing on the pitch, surely? Oh, and more time to drink wine. Use the awning as a sun shade during the hottest months and stay sheltered from the rain when the weather isn’t on your side. This is an all-weather caravan benefiting from an excellent heating system from Truma and Dometic’s FreshJet 2200 rooftop air-conditioning.

Our review was on the hottest day of the year so had no opportunity to try out the night-time illumination scheme but, having seen photos, we can only imagine how stunning this caravan must look all lit up at night.

It’s easy to get spend all your time looking at the exterior of the caravan but inside we must go. There’s no need to let a plastic caravan step ruin the look as there’s an electric entrance step operated simply with the touch of a button and, when not in use, it tucks discreetly back underneath the caravan body. It’s worth noting that the step is also illuminated so no chance of tripping over if you’ve arrived back on your pitch at night time.

The interior

As you open the door, you’ll see the large porthole window in the kitchen and everything within this zone has been designed to complement it, from the softly curved brushed-aluminium work surface to the splashback. From an aesthetic perspective, it’s clear a lot of thought has gone into the design. We loved discovering the hidden pull-down shelf on which to place a coffee machine and, above this, a designated space to stow coffee pods. It’s genius and rather a lot of fun.

Two little curved shelves to the left of the Thetford two-burner hob offer a neat place to store herbs or oils, for example. Lift a small panel behind the branded tap and you’ll find the hidden storage spot which is perfectly proportioned to conceal a few bottles of wine – your expensive champagne, however, has pride of place, along with some crystal flutes in the illuminated drinks cabinet to the left of the door. Any additional bottles can be stored in the capacious fridge with large freezer compartment and salad tray.

The washroom

The 820 benefits from a modern washroom with shower. Wooden shower slats make standing here a comfortable experience and, when not in use, can be tucked away. A washbasin with recessed sink is unusually shaped, another indication of these deliberate design details. You’ll enjoy a hot shower, too, courtesy of the Alde 3020 system and, on cold wintry days, your feet will be kept toasty thanks to the underfloor heating, another standard feature of the 820.

There’s a huge amount of storage here so there’s no need to leave anything at home – the only downside is that there’s not a great deal of legroom around the cassette toilet.

The beds

Time for bed? This is a generous-sized two-berth with the option to be a four-berth. On that note, we’d imagine this being the ultimate caravan for a couple. You’ll find the fixed single beds to the rear with high-quality multi-zone cold foam mattresses – we had a little rest here and found them to be most comfortable. There’s an additional V-shaped cushion that can be removed, along with the panel below it, for extra legroom.

You can purchase additional cushions, however, if you’d like to transform the front lounge into a double and then use the privacy screen to section off the bedroom in the rear. An uninterrupted view of the stars is possible no matter where you are sleeping as both the lounge and bedroom have double-glazed panoramic skylights with LED lighting.

The lounge

In the lounge, there’s an enormous amount of space for entertaining and, by our estimation, you could comfortably seat five or six people here. The upholstery is elegant and, on the model we reviewed, the seating was the ‘Grigio’ leather scheme with coordinating and reversible scatter cushions – steel-grey chequered on one side, mustard yellow on the other.

Dimmable lighting is a feature throughout this caravan so, whether it’s a romantic evening for two or a small gathering, you can set the tone. There are two LED swan-neck adjustable reading lights with USB ports here and another two in the bedroom – ideal if one half of a couple is more of a night owl.

A glossy-finish removable dining table is scratch-resistant and, with the panoramic windows, ensures any meal to be memorable. The furniture finish in this caravan is ‘Velvet Ash’ and feels extremely solid, befitting the 820’s price tag. If you want to cuddle up and watch a film, there’s space for a 32in television in the illuminated cabinet where you’ll find that champagne stash we mentioned earlier. Prefer music? There’s a Radio DAB+ with Bluetooth pairing.

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