Verdict
A standard Eriba Touring Troll 530 will set you back £18,150. This feels like a considerable outlay for a sub-5m three-berth, but this van packs top-drawer engineering, it’s iconic and effortlessly cool – if you want one, you’ll buy one.
The ‘60 Edition’ may be a step too far for first-time buyers of Eriba, but its well-considered selection of added extras will appeal to anyone returning to the brand.
All owners will get a van that will offer years of good service with strong residuals to boot.
For those unable or unwilling to find £23,000, then adding the GT package to a Touring Troll 530 will push the price up to almost £20,000.
This adds smooth sidewalls, stone deflector, alloy wheels, entrance door flyscreen and dustbin, external storage access, sink infill and two utensil bags for £1810.
Pros
Iconic, timeless look enhanced by the ‘60 Edition’ specification
Top-quality engineering throughout
Low weight and huge payload
Small enough to be kept in a garage
Cons
Price tag won’t endear itself to all buyers
Entrance door on offside
Erwin Hymer Group may have metamorphosed into a global leisure vehicle concern with sales of €2.12 billion, but it all started with a dinky caravan in 1957. That’s the year Erich Bachem and Erwin Hymer collaborated to build the Eriba Troll, which soon became a icon of caravanning and one which is still going strong today.
To celebrate six decades of continuous production, EHG has unveiled a special ‘60 Edition’ of the Touring Troll, replete with an enhanced interior and exterior look and a slew of desirable spec bumps. These include smooth two-tone bodyshells, a special cabinetwork finish and enhanced soft furnishings, alloy wheels, 30-litre water tank, colour co-ordinated bedspread, two additional reading lights, stone deflector, and spare wheel with carrier.
The steel frame construction of Eriba owes its origins to aircraft design and has certainly stood the test of time.
Its streamlined profile and low height on the road give good towing characteristics, and low MTPLMs means Eribas can be towed by a wide range of smaller cars.
Pitching & Setting-up
Eriba Touring models ride on Al-Ko chassis with a button-operated handbrake and AKS hitch stabiliser. As standard, the Troll 530 has a 1300kg MTPLM, but our test unit had been uprated to 1400kg.
A central front locker door raises on a strut to offer excellent access to the two gas bottles inside. The mains hook-up connects on the nearside, which is where you’ll also find the water connections and toilet cassette hatch.
Entering the van via the offside single-piece door, the mains consumer unit is located in the wardrobe on the nearside, and the switch for the lighting is on the left-hand side as you enter, on the end of the run of overhead kitchen lockers.
Popping the roof raises the internal headroom to 1.95m and operation is straightforward: a pair of catches is located at either end of the van, and thanks to tried and tested German engineering, the roof raises and lowers easily.
Living
A small parallel lounge at the front of the Troll 530 will seat two adults and two small children, although things will be a tad cosy.
A dinette table attaches to a lip under the front window and can easily be removed and clipped onto the side of the van for al fresco eating and drinking.
The ergonomically shaped lounge seats are comfortable, with good support from the decent-height backrests.
The van’s V-shaped front provides a ledge for resting everyday items, with a handy recess underneath on each side playing a supporting role, and each split window gets its own blind and decorative curtain.
Kitchen
The 530’s nearside kitchen unit is compact but logically laid out and it covers the basics for a caravan trip.
A circular sink sits to the left of the worktop, which as part of the ‘60 Edition’ upgrades, has a fingerprint-resistant surface and one that’s matched in the snug-fitting sink infill.
To the right are two gas burners in a line. With the glass lid lowered and sink infill in place, there’s a reasonable amount of work surface, and this can be boosted by a tip-up flap that brings proceedings nearer to the lounge.
A 70-litre fridge with separate freezer compartment sits on the right-hand side of the kitchen unit, with a drawer for cutlery and a large cupboard at the opposite end.
Daytime illumination is provided by a large side window, and there’s a handy task light under each overhead locker for evenings and night-time.
Washroom
Accommodating a well-equipped washroom in a caravan with a body length of 4.66m is quite an achievement.
A single-piece door leads into a compact space comprising a bench toilet, sink and vanity unit and, as part of the ‘60 Edition’ specification, a half-length mirror.
With little space available, the washroom floor also forms as the shower tray, with the mixer tap doubling as the shower head.
As a result of having a pop-top roof, the walls of the washroom can’t reach the ceiling, but a fabric liner that rises and falls with the roof will help protect one’s modesty while inside.
A strap connects the liner to the mirror so it follows the movement of the pop top – a pleasing design smart.
Beds
All ‘60 Edition’ models in the Troll range, including the 530, have fixed rear beds (for buyers looking for an alternative to this arrangement, the Troll 540 has a rear parallel lounge that converts into a 1.97/1.9 x 1.98m make-up bed, but it’s not available as a ‘60 Edition’).
The 530’s cold foam mattress measures 1.98 x 1.4m and is split down the middle to enable access to the underbed storage compartment.
A pair of additional spotlights above the rear bed is supplied as part of the ‘60 Edition’ upgrades.
Storage
An eye-catching user payload of up to 435kg would put many larger caravans to shame, but that’s what buyers of the Touring Troll 530 ‘60 Edition’ have to play with.
The main location for stowing touring essentials is under the rear bed. With the split mattress arrangement, one just needs to grab the leading edge and raise it up to lock it on its hinge.
Space in this area is generous, and as part of the ‘60 Edition’ specification, an external hatch on the nearside means you can load and unload items without having to venture inside.
Elsewhere in the van, you’ll find 11 small overhead lockers, which are hinged at the bottom and have high-gloss white locker doors and chrome handles as part of the ‘60 Edition’ specification.
The wardrobe on the nearside opens via a positive catch in the middle to reveal hanging space with a three-quarter drop, and four handy shelves on the right-hand side.
Under the shelves is a small cupboard, accessed via a positive catch.
Technical Specifications
| Berth | 3 |
| MiRO | 965 kg |
| Payload | 435 kg |
| MTPLM | 1400 kg |
| Shipping Length | 5.79 m |
| Width | 2.1 m |
