Having picked up our new Rhapsody T4 in great excitement, we immediately started to plan our first trip – The Shakedown. Based on experiences of rigs of different makes during our lives, we have learnt the hard way to make the first trip somewhere close to civilisation. This enables you to iron out any wrinkles that may exist and to learn the ropes of a new configuration. Key to the plan was to stay within mobile range in case we needed help from Track staff in remembering how to do things.

We arranged to stay with friends and in caravan parks. Should things go wrong we could pay for alternative accommodation and be close to help. It is one of the rare times where we can say that thankfully, the only wrinkles evidenced were our own. We did not need to ring Track to remind us how to do things.

Like children let loose on their first iPad, we played around with the electronics menus to become familiar with them. We were delighted as both the roof and awnings repeatedly opened and closed with zero effort on our part. We also tried manual override procedures for the electric awning and automatic door locks to reinforce our knowledge and confidence. We still shake our heads with amazement that we can raise and lower the roof from a smartphone app.

We tested all four possible sources for water use; front/rear tanks, direct mains pressure and switching to ‘other source’ such as a jerry can/river. The latter enables us to have an indoor hot shower while bypassing precious tank water when in remote areas. The shower toilet combo is fabulous and easy to keep clean.

We fired up both the inside and outside cookers and christened the loo. When we stuffed up the automatic electronic drawers locking by leaving a drawer open before activating locks, we easily deployed the manual over-ride procedure to reset everything back to normal mode.

As a result of the shakedown we sewed loops to our towels and installed suction hooks in the shower. This enables our towels to dry quickly and keep them securely off the floor. Can’t wait for our South West WA trip.