Young couple's debt of honour to their AMAZING little Camper

The beautiful story of Teresa and Colin from Southern Germany, and the amazing little Eriba Caravan that they grew very attached to.
After looking for a cheap caravan to take to music festivals, this young couple found an old unloved Eriba hundreds of miles away in Hamburg, but they brought it home and patched it up. Teresa had the idea to go away for an extended tour, so she quit her job, Colin took a sabbatical, and they made a phenomenal 23,000km tour of Northern Europe over the course of six months. Once they got home, they felt indebted to the reliable little caravan that had been their little sanctuary all along, and hadn't let them down once. They wanted to renovate the caravan properly, but when they stripped it down they were in for a shock, and neither Teresa nor Colin had any mechanical skills. The only option, they felt, would be to cut it up and put it in a skip... but their love of this cute little caravan won the day.
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Thanks for watching!

[@minibigs5259]

Came for the van build, stayed for the Irish accent!! Awesome

[@libellula3313]

Wonderful story. Thanks Andrew.

[@andrewjditton]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@susanneward7029]

Colin’s Irish-German accent is wonderful!

[@ncplantdoctor]

Late in the video, I saw what looked to be a Dougal twin, and then I realized that you were filming and Dougal was directing as usual. What a lovely story of restoring a camper to better than pristine condition.

[@NotAnotherWhiteBox]

Great story, old caravans really do get under your skin. At least now they have a great solid caravan that will last them for the rest of their lives! ☺️

[@andrewjditton]

Very true!

[@audreyfforbes-hamilton]

What a lovely story from a charming couple!

[@scottwilson5426]

Keeping the passion alive!! Awesome story.. well done.

[@joseerazevedo]

What a lovely story! Congratulations to both Collin and Theresa for the determination and love for their caravan. Hope they enjoy it for meny decades to come! My best!

[@anneshirley1748]

What a lovely story and a lovely couple too! When people put their heart & soul into restoring these beautiful little caravans plus money of course, it makes my heart swell! Ha! I see Dougal had to get in on the act, just imagine him thinking, 'Excuse me, I'm the star here! How very dare you!!' Loved it and Dougal! Sending hugs! xxx 😘🐕😍

[@andrewjditton]

Thanks Anne!

[@ManxAndy]

Gorgeous story and van👍🇮🇲

[@tonyfrewin4822]

Great story.

[@andrewjditton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@marc.ohillen1079]

Good on you colin and teresa Follow your dream .....😀 Another great vid andrew Nice to see young people living their dream , away from the mainstream 👍👍

[@GaetanHobby]

Thank you Andrew for sharing that lovely story with us Beautifull eriba i love it !!!👍

[@andrewjditton]

Glad you enjoyed it mon ami!

[@jeanne_margaret]

Adorable 🥰

[@jeanne_margaret]

With all the beautiful high end campers you’ve reviewed, these little ones are my favorite. I could live in one. “ I think” 🤔 . Always a pleasure watching you. Good cheer ❣️

[@stanleykelly9951]

love from Ireland.

[@peterlee44]

Beautiful story

[@noproblem2big337]

Very nice little caravan, great job by Colin and Theresa that must have been a painstaking and meticulous rebuilt, good to see old things back like new 👌

[@ianbrown5924]

lovely

[@Silkytoaster]

What a lovely story . One is truly blessed when one can find someone to share one’s life with who shares the same passion . Very sweet little caravan which will go on to live another 20 yrs amd not end up in a land fill .

[@ShannaTrenholm]

So good!

[@ImTheDudeMan471]

Yes. Great for festivals. I can imagine after an exhausting day, how good it feels to have a quiet comfy place to go back to. Safe and lockable. They did a great job restoring it 👍.

[@andrewjditton]

So true!

[@aideenmarry1447]

Great story. Well done Colin & Teresa 👏🏻 love your spirit of adventure and your hard work certainly paid off!

[@jamesdecross1035]

Just switched on the video - already enjoying the story. Great stuff!

[@andrewjditton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@davidpinnington213]

Wife enjoyed the audio/visual Horlicks myself having done a few nut and bolt motorcycle restomods I appreciated the effort

[@raymondporter2094]

REALLY enjoyable video. That Eriba will be better than the original when it is completed. And good for 30 years.

[@andrewjditton]

I think so too!

[@ernestoquintero747]

Now that's a restoration from the heart. Beautiful cozy interior with classic look outside. Well done.

[@Mary-fq6sm]

I love their story! After working for two years, my husband & I finally took our 40 year old project Airstream on its first trip to the Smokey mountains. The interior is still unfinished, but t was road-ready so we basically used it as an aluminum tent. It was one of the best weeks of our lives. ❤️❤️

[@andrewjditton]

That is awesome!

[@jeanbeyers]

I'am impressed and at the same time jealous..... What a beautiful project and result. Enjoy your result Teresa and Colin, and thank you for showing this Andrew!

[@carolynhaywood7701]

What a fantastic inspirational couple and lovely story. I’m so glad they choose to renovate, it looks great.

[@katbar6066]

I too loved the story and pleased that you show it is not only the "Grey Nomads" that enjoy caravanning. You can be any age and still have fun! Dougal as always cheeky!

[@johnsullivan2449]

A wonderfully humble little van. They’ve done a beautiful job, it looks great 👌👍

[@jomcd2073]

Good on them for fixing, rather than throwing away this gorgeous little caravan:)

[@commuterbranchline8132]

What a joyous story and triumphant restoration!

[@chrishyde1216]

Lovely story telling and great hosting Andrew, where you let them tell their story.

[@andrewjditton]

Many thanks Chris. Nothing worse than the interviewer talking over the interviewees in my book.

[@felixcat9318]

The beauty of steel is that corroded areas may be cut out and fresh metal welded in place wherever necessary. The talented welder friend whom taught you how to do the work yourselves has enabled you to learn a wonderful skillset with which you can create and repair metals as required in future. It also hugely boosted your self confidence. Superb job on rebuilding your beloved Eriba, however, I would covertly install a Tracking Device in case your travel cabin ever gets stolen, then you'll have the opportunity to get it back. Trackers are an inexpensive aset in case the wort happens. Your restoration was truly a labour of love and your Eriba is beautiful. I wish you many happy kilometres and nights.

[@karenpeterson5780]

So fun! Thank you all!

[@momarsden3053]

A cracking and heart warming story Andrew. Hats off to Colin & Teresa and may they enjoy many more years with the 'van. Dougal is obviously a professional Photobomber! 😂👍

[@andrewjditton]

Ha ha! Yes he is :)

[@sylviapage8572]

Great story. Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@nextstopevwhere]

What an incredible story, thank you Andrew... and of course Teresa and Colin. When you spend so much time having so many adventures and living a new-and-different nomadic life in one small wheeled box, it becomes more than just a caravan. It becomes a big part of you, of your relationship, of your lives together... and it's only right that should be celebrated, preserved and given a new life too... so as our personal relationships grow and change, so should our ones with our wheeled-and-wonderful homes ❤👏

[@andrewjditton]

Absolutely! :)

[@stefanfrembgen637]

Makes me feel young again. I had a Eriba Pan (same size but with “Bugküche”) from 1964 which was about a dozen years old when I got it (and I was in my early 20ies). It was just right. Wish you many happy trips.

[@marthakjolsrud2660]

What a charming little story and video! Thanks, Andrew.

[@andrewjditton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jaynepearson187]

Such a great little caravan. Well done to you both and thank you Andrew for making this vlog.

[@andrewjditton]

Our pleasure!

[@jaynepearson187]

@@andrewjditton 😀

[@simonhackett4471]

Ha that accent is great.

[@karenkouns577]

Enjoyed hearing the story. Thanks for sharing!

[@andrewjditton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@boontjes5528]

Wow, what a ton of work! But looks like new!

[@wanderfulluna881]

What an inspiring story. I have renovated many vintage caravans but never to that level! Teresa and Colin have done an incredible job of restoring their caravan especially considering they were newbies. Well done. I wish we could get Eriba caravans here in Australia. They're so cute! ...and so is Dougal! I loved his cameo appearance :D

[@andrewjditton]

Yes, he couldn't be left out! :)

[@williamlane9844]

A Labour of love

[@berniebne8243]

Fantastic! Love the commitment.😎

[@nealeburgess6756]

I like the look of the interior, and the outside looks really well done. It is good to see people appreciating a really small caravan. And way more comfortable than a tent. One piece of info missing. Where did the lovely young lady come from?

[@andrewjditton]

Teresa is also from Germany, not too far from Colin. The only reason Colin did all the talking is because I only had one mic - a situation which was rectified today with the arrival of my new dual mic :)

[@Bradtheone]

So inspiring, no doubt with quite a lot of hard work involved 😉

[@Erin-Thor]

Awesome! They rock! ❤️👍🏼

[@markwhitmore7789]

Cracking Stuff...lovely story...smashing caravan...Great video!!! 👏👏👏

[@andrewjditton]

Glad you enjoyed it Mark!

[@wendylim1936]

Nice little caravan. I am looking for a similar small old caravan to refurbish and to live in.

[@andrewjditton]

Best of luck!

[@videostars9194]

Brilliant video,They are doing a great job, good luck with the heating etc, keep up the excellent work

[@andrewjditton]

Thanks, will do!

[@user-cd5up9ph3y]

The Irish Republican accent crossed with the German accent is an interesting combination!

[@Auxbeam]

Hi Do you need some great lighting for your car to help you better driving, off-road. We're the pro auto lighting manufacturer for nearly 20 year and we're looking for sponsorship!

[@smiffy8364]

Great story, but why won't he let her talk?

[@andrewjditton]

...because there was only one microphone! It was a choice between Colin doing all the talking and good audio, or both of them talking and bad sound quality. As Colin had had an English-speaking upbringing, he did the talking. Were the video shot in German, it would have been Teresa.