Why did you choose a dandy

One of the main factors for me was the put away wet,no more worry on the last day will my tent be dry,as i have no where to erect it this was always a concern,next there where the things like easy towing with a small car,could store it at home and all year round camping.
Now i have had dandys for a few years one of the unexpected benefits is the fact its still like camping but with more comfort than a tent,we still have a caravan but have not used it for 18 months,luckily we got it cheap and had two years on a seasonal pitch so it doesn't owe us anything.

mike

We were sat in a very wet tent feeling pretty cold and miserable when an elderly couple pulled on with what I thought was an odd looking unit, they set up in 15mins (no awning) and sat having a brew inside. Over the next few days we got chatting and they let us have a peep inside and that was when I knew nothing but a Dandy would do. We had looked at a penine Fiesta and and Aztec as I liked the fact that you didnt have to pull the cooker out of the unit into (the awning) that you had to erect with a trailer tent. Dandys are practical, comfortable and very hardwearing and the fact that they can go away wet is probably the best part.

i only bought my dandy last year but did a lot of research about trailer tents before getting one and the thing that did it for me, like Mike, is that you can put it away wet as i have nowhere to erect it once i'm home, it stores in the garage and is in many ways easier than tent camping and certainly more comfortable.

We looked at all different kinds of trailer tents and folding campers, but nearly every time we go away it hammers down, so pvc sounded ideal to us.

We looked at a few and went to the dandy factory were the receptionist pointed us in the direction of a police man who was selling his and we have never looked back. It was only after getting one that we realised the benefits of putting it away wet and the warmth inside them.

I did have a moment of madness a good few years ago and bought a caravan but we only had it for 2 years, I really regretted selling the dandy cos everyone missed it so much, so i sold the caravan and went back to dandying. And thats when the obsession really took hold.

Bought a dirt cheap trailer tent when after becoming ill I thought I might have difficulty camping.
Yes it was comfortable but it was the same issue as everyone with respect to putting away wet.
Plus it was a bit of a monster. Best part of 17' x 6' erected and 6' x 9 1/2' plus drawbar to tow. A bit more than needed for one.
Dandy has the rain advantage, easier to tow and with the help of the four bits of string a damn sight easier to put up.
Now next question. Have any of you watched a prospective seller nearly rupture themselves erecting a Dandy, because if you showed them how to do it properly they might not be so keen to sell? Or because you were playing coy and saying how it was a bit of a faff to put up might knock a few quid off?

The lady we bought ours off had it from new and erected it almost single handedly for us, I am sure she could have managed very well alone but my husband just couldn't watch a lady pull the bedboards over on her own. I think he expected it to be like some of the more difficult to erect Trailer tents/folding campers.We didnt even try to nock anything off the price as we got a bargain and knew it.

Tow Itch wrote: Bought a dirt cheap trailer tent when after becoming ill I thought I might have difficulty camping.
Yes it was comfortable but it was the same issue as everyone with respect to putting away wet.
Plus it was a bit of a monster. Best part of 17' x 6' erected and 6' x 9 1/2' plus drawbar to tow. A bit more than needed for one.
Dandy has the rain advantage, easier to tow and with the help of the four bits of string a damn sight easier to put up.
Now next question. Have any of you watched a prospective seller nearly rupture themselves erecting a Dandy, because if you showed them how to do it properly they might not be so keen to sell? Or because you were playing coy and saying how it was a bit of a faff to put up might knock a few quid off?

Yes the things they where doing where making it nearly impossible to erect,it was a dandy 6 i couldn't describe the things they where doing wrong

we had a tent that we bought for a festival,but rarely used it after that probably because i cannot stand putting the thing up and its not comfortable,guess i just want home comforts.So we looked at trailer tents but had nowhere to dry it out if packed away damp also they were fairly basic,then looked at the pennine's which i like but again its the drying out issue,so we looked into small caravans eriba,tab and freedoms as we have a low towing capacity the prices were too high for a possible whim especially the eriba's then we came across the dandys.We did some research and it seemed to fit the bill,so we took the plunge and bought a decent winterised 94 delta after it had a good deep clean and we had added our touches we were in love with it,well until we saw a 05 designer.

NickB wrote:we had a tent that we bought for a festival,but rarely used it after that probably because i cannot stand putting the thing up and its not comfortable,guess i just want home comforts.So we looked at trailer tents but had nowhere to dry it out if packed away damp also they were fairly basic,then looked at the pennine's which i like but again its the drying out issue,so we looked into small caravans eriba,tab and freedoms as we have a low towing capacity the prices were too high for a possible whim especially the eriba's then we came across the dandys.We did some research and it seemed to fit the bill,so we took the plunge and bought a decent winterised 94 delta after it had a good deep clean and we had added our touches we were in love with it,well until we saw a 05 designer.

yes once we saw that 05 designer it was bye bye bathroom suite hello designer

Because Mike told me to!

As a kid my parents took me away camping on several occasions and Doreen had also had a fair amunt of camping experience so I suppose the old adage of 'get them young and they'll stay hooked' applies to both of us. When we got together we had several trips away with a medium sized tent, only a small fraction of which was in good weather. By now we were fortyish and decided that we had had enough of wet canvas, wet ground and being cold. After this we were persuded by a friend to have another trip in a frame tent. A fortnights touring and putting up a biggish frame tent every other day, sealed it for us. We had had enough!
Two years later the familiar itch was starting again and we visited several camping outlets, just to look at what gear was available. We saw many part with big wedges of cash to pursue their dream of a blissful holiday under canvas. Each time we walked away. We knew better & we weren't getting fooled again! The same friend who had suggested the frame tent suggested going to look at trailer tents and folding campers. We didn't think much of his suggestion but thought that the only way of getting it out of our system completely was to have a look and then we could discount camping totally & finally. We had a trip out and found a place near Ormskirk that was a garden centre but also had a section selling various tents with wheels. We looked and tutted and sniffed at various rigs until we saw a Dandy Designer. A make totally unknown to us at the time. We looked more closely and with a lot less tutting. Perhaps this was a possibility. PVC eh! so no canvas to rot. Sit & sleep off the ground eh! Looking better all the time. Call for sales person and request demo of de-erecting and erecting again, something that we were surprised to see he complied with happily. Not surprising when we saw what a doddle it was. OK we'll have it!
Two weeks later and with some mis-givings, we had our first trip to the Lakes with it. It was cool & wet but we were'nt! In fact we really enjoyed it. Next trip out saw a weekend of rain and gales. No problem! Those around us had all those unpleasant things to deal with that we didn't want but we were absolutely bomb proof. Oh how we gloated! (We felt sorry for them as well but mainly we gloated.)
Since then there has been another Dandy, two caravans & two motorhomes but we're now back with a Dandy, even though our little Auto Sleeper is still on the drive and it will continue to see service through the winter.
Whichever way you look at it, and there are pros and cons even for Dandys, there is probably nothing that can equal the 'feel-good' factor that a Dandy gives. Owners tend to be nice sensible people with few pretentions to 'grandeur' but who all seem to wear constant 'knowing smiles'.
Steve

jenstar wrote:Because Mike told me to!

I knew there must be at least one women out there that did as she was told,its just i didn't know who she was

What....what!!!!!! You are a very brave man Mike.....good job I dont know where you live......YET!!!!!!

jenstar wrote:What....what!!!!!! You are a very brave man Mike.....good job I dont know where you live......YET!!!!!!

You cant frighten me i married a Yorkshire women

Oh....well why didnt you say so!!! Im not from Yorkshire but I can still be scary, Grrrrrrrr.....see, bet your terrified!

The reason I went for a dandy the first time 1980 ,1 it did not require tent pegs 2 it was self contained 3 it was better than the opposition and 4 I could join the caravan club, folding away wet was not really considered, but it was water proof in use, but now alas it is now no longer the market leader, all the rest have passed it by. The up market dandy with fridge, destiny I think, was the last throw of the dice, you might as well get a caravan the size of them, should have kept to the four berth, small light, compact, a design icon,improve it with galvanized chassis, proper engineering roof poles,not the bent gas pipe, just one mod like fitting gas struts as standard, rollers on the roof hoops and it fly up easy, but no it still has its bits of bent metal crudely welded here and there, I could go on but my latest dandy is probably no better or possible worse than my 1976 model when it should have been a vast improvement.

hooker128 wrote: The reason I went for a dandy the first time 1980 ,1 it did not require tent pegs 2 it was self contained 3 it was better than the opposition and 4 I could join the caravan club, folding away wet was not really considered, but it was water proof in use, but now alas it is now no longer the market leader, all the rest have passed it by. The up market dandy with fridge, destiny I think, was the last throw of the dice, you might as well get a caravan the size of them, should have kept to the four berth, small light, compact, a design icon,improve it with galvanized chassis, proper engineering roof poles,not the bent gas pipe, just one mod like fitting gas struts as standard, rollers on the roof hoops and it fly up easy, but no it still has its bits of bent metal crudely welded here and there, I could go on but my latest dandy is probably no better or possible worse than my 1976 model when it should have been a vast improvement.

I have always thought there last attempts where supposed to be a challenge on the top end canvas campers and that was the final nail in the coffin,as you say they should have stuck with the market they knew,i wouldn't swap my 86 dandy 6 for a newer model,so long as i have space and am totally weather proof that will do me.
Doubt we will ever see the like again

We chose a Dandy because Eriba Pucks, Freedoms etc are expensive, tear drops are too small, fuel is too expensive to take the campervan as well when showing the classic car, our Combi Camp was perfect - but cold and needs reproofing.

Also we can store the trailer under our kitchen window, a caravan would get complaints.

We had been using tents and the last time out in one it got soaked and there was no where to get it dry, that along with the time to put up, take down, made up our minds to get something better.
Trailer tents seemed too big as there is only us two and the dog, then there was the problem of drying them.

Came across a dandy on the internet, never even heard of them, so started researching, they looked peculiar and it was the fact that they can be put away wet, that swung it for us. Found one not to far away from us a dandy 6 low and after knocking the price down a bit bought it, it was a lot bigger than I was expecting but I love it now. We have it in storage as we have no where to put it but it is usually kept up, so we keep going up to potter around in it and take a picnic once a week.

lynn83 wrote:We had been using tents and the last time out in one it got soaked and there was no where to get it dry, that along with the time to put up, take down, made up our minds to get something better.
Trailer tents seemed too big as there is only us two and the dog, then there was the problem of drying them.

Came across a dandy on the internet, never even heard of them, so started researching, they looked peculiar and it was the fact that they can be put away wet, that swung it for us. Found one not to far away from us a dandy 6 low and after knocking the price down a bit bought it, it was a lot bigger than I was expecting but I love it now. We have it in storage as we have no where to put it but it is usually kept up, so we keep going up to potter around in it and take a picnic once a week.

Welcome Lynn you sum up the reason lots go for a dandy,we have a six now just the two of us for comfort we use both beds, left made up all the time and still loads of sprawling space

the reason for my dandy is much the same but for me the ground is getting harder and fed up with fighting with poles tent pegs etc and a stropy teenager not helping , To be honest wanted a camper van as my last one rotted before I had a chance to use her so going for another cheep one but the state of them was worse then by accident or fate and push of the button dandy popped up so I investigated and all came up good .. no need for road tax, m.o.t, then when parked up for camping what do you do walk miles ,catch a bus, cycle. and I'm not brave enough to tow a caravan especially in high wind so THE DANDY suites me fine and teenager loves it..

Thank you Mike, yep love the space, we have taken the table out for now , bit tight getting in to sit down and of course extra storage at the back of the settee, as we only use the one bed.

lynn83 wrote:Thank you Mike, yep love the space, we have taken the table out for now , bit tight getting in to sit down and of course extra storage at the back of the settee, as we only use the one bed.

We often put the table in the awning and have a smaller one in the dandy,as you say they take up a lot of space.

Mine is elderly, two tone brown, bit scruffy round the edges but plenty of life left and I love it. Just like my whippet then!!

lazydayz wrote:Mine is elderly, two tone brown, bit scruffy round the edges but plenty of life left and I love it. Just like my whippet then!!

Have you got some pics of your Dandy?

We've also got a single tone brown, scruffy round the edges with plenty of life left in him dog.