A few weeks back I took the opportunity to take the all new Trakkadu home for the weekend to get a feel for the latest features. Having owned a previous model T6.1 Trakkadu (and been around compact pop-top campers for my lifetime), safe to say my expectations going into it were HIGH.
Straight off the bat, first impression… Incredibly quiet. No rear cabin noise, less road noise. This will come down to the additional insulation we now fit, both in closed-cell foam and acoustic linings found along the roof and side walls. The drive itself was smooth and really enjoyed the larger infotainment screen, which felt a lot more passenger-car like.
We went into the weekend with no plans but a couple of hesitations - being cold and not being able to fit myself, 3 year old and 5 year old in the bed. I will touch on both these points later, but coming straight out of the Sydney Show, we hadn’t had time to fit the roof bed or diesel room heater options.
The kids and I checked into our local Big4 Caravan Park at Narrabeen - we booked an ensuite site and were close to home (as I still wasn’t convinced we were staying overnight).
Pulling up to camp, we got straight into the fun stuff - up with the new electric pop-top roof. The kids LOVED seeing this go up. It’s operated from either remote or switch on the PS B pillar and fully up in around 20 seconds. I found myself walking around inside starting to do other things while it was going up. Next unzip the windows to expose 3 huge flyscreen windows. The internal height was noticeably more both at the front and the rear of the vehicle. So if you’re short like me, you can stop the roof half way up to get the zippers started before opening the roof the whole way.
Next part of set up was getting the large dining table (now stowed inside the sliding side door) and connecting it to the mount on the outside the door, which camouflages in well with the Trakka satin black decals. A word of warning however, like previous models, you just need to check the table isn’t connected to the outside before sliding the door from the inside (you’ll only do it once!) Around the table we had a couple Front Runner folding chairs (storage for these will be in the rear tailgate) and could adjust the height of the table leg based on what terrain we were parked on.
To create more space inside I swivelled front seats to face the living space. Being both a longer and wider base vehicle, there’s plenty of room around the driver’s seat to move the seat all the way back in driving position to suit our taller clients and also when swivelled you don’t feel like you’re on top of the kitchen cabinet. It’s got me excited about our new dual door layout knowing there’d be more space again!
I moved the child seat and kids booster seats to inside our site’s ensuite space but I’d normally store them on front swivel seats or in the rear tailgate room enclosure. I prefer having the kids up closer to the front of the vehicle when travelling so once child seats were out, I simply slid the rear bed seat all the way back for a massive interior space.
With it being a mild sunny afternoon, we were happy to keep the side door open and pull down the new screen. Simple one handed operation, lightweight and easy to use. I had room to prep dinner and kids had room to do drawing on the floor. Now with the 90L fridge/freezer it’s a taller and slimmer look, which has lifted our kitchen bench height to a practical height for everything from washing up, chopping veg, using the dual induction cooktop and increasing drawer storage. I whipped up a quick burrito mix using Tefal induction cookware with sliding window open for maximum ventilation. I avoided making any mess and everything was at arms reach. Even if I had the dining table set up inside, I’d have enough room to get around to use stove and access the fridge easily.
We sat outside for dinner to avoid making any mess inside the brand new camper. Washing up was a cinch, now with the option for a 10L electric hot water holding tank, we had hot water in 20 minutes and no need to run the vehicle engine. The sink is hidden under a bench top lid (to use it as bench space when not in use). The sink is long and deep so you can still wash up those bigger pans. We use the same tap and deep sink from our van motorhomes to minimise any splashback and tap not only sits out of the way of the bench but has built in drinking water filtration.
Post dinner it was clear the kids didn’t want to go anywhere so we were committing to the overnight stay. A quick play in the park, walk along the lake, play with our new neighbours, shower and time to get ready for bed. The bed is another one of my favourite new features to set up. It felt like a little dance routine, each step flowed into the next and I no doubt hummed a song during. The more you set it up, the easier and more natural it becomes. We used Pony Rider’s swaddle bags unzipped as bedding and standard sized pillows. We did a quick test lie and much to my surprise we fit with no worries. It comes down the wider body of the vehicle and Trakka using a 3 seater bench seat now instead of 2. We set up the blockouts for front windows and windscreen, which don’t obstruct the swivel seats at all and the pull down blinds built into the door screens.
We dimmed the LED lighting, perched up in bed (the bed hinges into a semi-seated position), had the Starlink mini running and laptop playing Minions movie. The only thing I need to get in the habit of doing is switching the Starlink off when not using it to avoid unnecessary power draw. The storage spot for the Starlink is really nifty, sitting in the lip of the new roof (concealed, doesn’t increase height clearance and operates seamlessly through composite fibreglass). The only thing that could have made it better was an ice cream cup, so we ate that too!
We ensured to dress warm and zip up window sleeves to keep the cool air out. To further insulate in extreme cold temperatures you could even run a diesel heater and lower the pop-top roof. With the combination of flooring with rigid foam core, acoustic linings, foam insulation, blockouts on windows it was very clear we did not need it. Half way through we de-layered and even cracked open roof window sleeves. My fear of the kids being cold overnight was easily overcome.
Honestly we all slept great! I would say the bed is on the firmer side (which I prefer) and no joins, lumps or bumps felt. We do have an additional foam overlay for those who prefer a softer space.
Our next day’s clothes were easily accessed from the wardrobe with a roller shutter door and I was able to charge my phone comfortably from bed using one of the USB-C cables. We walked to a local cafe for hot chocolate, coffee and scrambled eggs before catching up with my husband to show him through the new rig.
The roof lowered in the same manner it went up, only now we fit a rod into each window of the sleeve so there’s no mucking around with the sleeve and making sure it’s falling correctly. Overall incredibly impressed with how well thought out each space and feature is. It really was an epic start to Mother's Day.
Looking forward to getting into my family’s next Trakkadu. We’ve opted for the Ford Transit in dual door config as I like the idea of being able to utilise both sides of the vehicle. Looking forward to reporting back and showing you all through the options we’ve selected and VERY cool exterior we’ve chosen (got a few special PPF offerings now).
- Alex & fam -
