So today we took the cover off Ripley for the first time.

On Thursday I will be driving her up to Sydney for some routine servicing of her living area, or as it is technically referred to….. the habitation module.
Ripley has also had a few small electrical idiosyncrasies we hope to quickly sort out.

Then I plan to head down the coast and meet up with Kelly and Juno for a couple of days at an as yet unchosen destination. As it is still the holiday season we expect many caravan parks to be crowded. Also many parks have a strict no dog policy during the Xmas/New Year period. So we will pretty much wing it, and see how things pan out.
More often than not this turns out to be the best way to roll.

Ripley under wraps.

Juno helps out. Not.

Tucked up snug.

Ripley has been under wraps for the last couple of weeks whist we were away celebrating the new year with Kelly’s family. Today we spent the morning getting her sorted out ready for the trip.

Putting the cover over her for the first time had turned out to be quite an experience for us. These things are pretty big, tricky to get up onto the roof, and have the potential to catch the wind like a giant sail if you’re not paying attention.

Eventually, after getting up on the roof and muscling it into place without requiring any emergency orthopaedic or neurosurgical intervention, we thought we had it sorted. Only to realise we had totally rolled it out inside-out!  Newbie mistake.

So this time were mentally ready for a struggle, especially as it was a particularly gusty  morning.

Turned out it was a piece of pie.
Unbuckled the straps. Rolled the front end up over the driving cab, and with the assistance of a couple of brooms (to help lift it over the lumpy TV antenna and air-conditioning unit), each of us walked down one side and simply pulled it towards the back where, with a whump, it fell to the ground like a giant crumpled sausage.

Ripley is now sucking up the solar and is locked and loaded for her next adventure.
Watch this space.