Full review

Words: Val Chapman  Photography: Richard Chapman

The Eriba Touring 560 caravan

Touring caravan evolution has taken us through many styles and shapes through the decades. Small windows, panoramic windows, curved body shapes, angular body shapes…

One shape, though, has remained constant; timeless, one might say. That’s the Eriba Touring.

Its pointy front end and its pop-up roof being its most distinguishing features, there’s also the waist-height bodyline and the clip for the dining table on the exterior. These are the things that make the Eriba Touring a caravan of character.

German-built Eriba Tourings have one of the longest pedigrees of any tourer, at 66 years; only the Sprite  marque rivals it, dating back to 1947. Always aimed at the ‘adventure’ market, they’re light in weight, compact – and very solidly built.

For 2023, the Eriba Touring gets a new look; a more refined exterior and rear light clusters that are very high-end automotive in style. We’d had a quick glimpse of the Touring 560 at the caravan show in Glasgow in February – but there was a queue of people waiting to step inside, testimony to the intrigue of this model. So we were keen to spend some quality time inside the little tourer, at Adventure Leisure Vehicles’ premises at Tebay in Cumbria.

The layout

The 560 – or, to give it its full name, Eriba Touring Troll 560 Urban (the Urban denotes its white and silver  finish), is the newest model in the Eriba line-up and it’s the only four-berth, and the only one that has a true family layout, with bunks across the front. And the bunk area has some nice design features.

The lower bunk lifts, to create a storage area. Two recessed shelves are in the rear panel alongside the lower bunk. Each bunk has a light on a long, flexible stalk. 

Lighting

And, above the top bunk, is one of the new Eriba’s most innovative features. It’s a spotlight that can be removed and then sits on its own base, on the table or, perhaps, outside. It charges automatically when repositioned on its magnetic gimbal in the caravan.

Two more of these amazing lights are in the front corners of the lounge. The flexible base means that they can be angled to suit your task; downwards for ambient lighting, and facing towards the table for reading, for example. 

The roof

The hallmark pop-up roof has sides of robust fabric, and triangular areas that can be unzipped and rolled down to reveal mesh panels, for ventilation. 

The roof is raised and lowered by means of handles front and back, and is secured in its down position by means of four toggle catches. 

The kitchen

The kitchen is surprisingly generous in size considering the compact dimensions of the caravan. It’s 1.36m long. The sink cover fits flush, meaning that it becomes part of the surface when in place. And it doubles as a chopping board; turn it over and you find a tough white plastic surface. Cooking equipment is simply a two-burner hob. 

The kitchen surface, and also that of the dining table, is a stylised black marble effect with white and gold veins; classy and elegant. 

Kitchen storage is amazing, considering the body of the caravan is a mere 4.6m long. There are three cupboards and two drawers. Two of the cupboards are 48cm wide and the third is 29cm wide. The drawers are 48cm wide. One contains a five-recess cutlery tray.

The fridge is opposite the kitchen. It’s Dometic’s slimline, 133-litre-capacity model, with the ability to open the door from either the left or the right side.

Storage

In addition to the kitchen drawers, there are two slim lockers above the kitchen. Six more lockers are above the lounge. Each has a neat rocker-style positive catch; you simply insert fingers into the handle recess and press the rocker to open the locker. Lighting runs above all of the lockers. And there is a bright spotlight set into the roof above the dining table.

Alongside the fridge is the wardrobe, which provides a hanging width of 50cm, with a shelf above the rail. 

The washroom

Forward of the wardrobe sits the toilet compartment. It lacks a shower, but excels in shelf and cabinet space. There are seven shelf areas and a double-doored cabinet below the washbasin. 

In common with all areas of the Eriba, everything is beautifully crafted, with curved shelf edging and a basin that is rimlessly recessed into its surface surround. 

And it has a feature that we have not seen in any other caravan: a circular magnifying mirror is set into the main mirror. Two towel bars are integrated into the door. Attention to detail, therefore, has to be acknowledged as one of this new Eriba’s strong points.

The décor

Another Eriba strong point is fabric design. The accent colour of mustard yellow is used around the edges of all of the seating units and for an upholstered panel that runs down the angled corner at the forward end of the toilet compartment; two coat hooks are set at the top of it, mixing style and practicality.

The exterior

The 560, in common with the other Eriba Touring models, has a built-in step. The exterior is also distinguished by the neat al fresco eating arrangement that we mentioned earlier. That dining table clips to the edge of the front panel inside, but it has a monopod leg that folds. This allows it to be positioned at the correct height to attach to the exterior clip, just above the wheelarch.

Another feature that makes this caravan different is the presence of an on-board water tank (30 litres); something you wouldn’t expect to find in such a neat, compact model.

What’s included

Our review 560 is the Urban version, with a package of extras that accounts for £1,280 of the price, and gives you features including the marble-effect surfaces, extra lighting including the fabulous portable lights, white and silver exterior finish and chrome wheelarch covers.

It also has the Comfort Package that accounts for £850 of the price and includes the chopping board sink cover, a mosquito net on the door, the magnifying mirror, plus extra mains sockets and two USB ports.

Refinements are nice, but the overarching appeal of the Eriba Touring is its vintage shape that gives it cult status, plus the super-refined finish that gives it a handcrafted feel.

About Eriba caravans

These are caravans like no others – and they have a long pedigree. The first Eriba was made in 1957, but the roots of the company go back to 1923 when Alfons Hymer began building agricultural vehicles.

This business set the foundation for his son, Erwin Hymer, and his friend, Erich Bachem, to build the first Eriba caravans; the name Eriba derives from Erich Bachem’s name. The company was established in the German town of Bad Waldsee, where the now-giant manufacturing unit is still based.