If you are planning for the arrival of your new Motorhome or Campervan then add a Shake Down Trip to your To Do list.

A “Shake-Down” trip is a simply a short, close-to-home, excursion with your RV for the purpose of testing out the RV systems, getting to know your RV and checking your packing/ travelling checklists.

A new RV is a hybrid between a house and motor vehicle and while all care is taken and quality testing is done throughout the manufacturing and dealership delivery process, some systems have to be used in the “real world” to be truly tested. Unlike robot driven factory lines, RVs are mostly built and assembled by people, so a tolerance for the “human factor” needs to be made. As anyone who has built a house will tell you there will always be a list of tweaks and adjustments that need to be made at the first service.

We recommend making the Shake Down Trip a local one, remaining close to home (or your selling dealer) so that any issues can be attended to quickly before your big trip. Try a caravan park so that you can test both a 240-volt set up (connected to mains power) and then pretend free camping (unplugged). This will give you a chance to try every appliance and system.

This is also a great opportunity to ensure that you have remembered to pack all of the items that are essentials to your personal style of travel. It is a great idea to write up a few checklists – one for the big pack before you leave home and one for the campsite set up / pack down.

Perhaps the most important aspect of a Shake Down Trip is to give you a chance to solidify all of the handover information and read through the manuals as you use each appliance. A good tip is to keep a notebook of all the of the “please explain that to me again” questions. RV’s can be complex and there is no disgrace in asking for more information.

Make an appointment for your complimentary first service of your RV so that occurs just after your Shake Down Trip to ensure that your list of "fix’s,  new accessories you've decided are now essentials, and your questions can be actioned while everything is still fresh in your mind.

Happy travels.