orange dandy help

hello all, 1st - sorry if this is in the wrong area, we have just joined this morning (and very happy we are to of found you. we are 2 pensioners, been camping for over 30 years starting with small tent then big then motorhome onto caravan then back to tent (6 berth tunnel with steel poles !! now at our age this tent business is not for us,we now are looking at dandies - easier and quicker to erect (hopefully). looking through your forums, we came across the forum regarding ebay sale of dandy, and by chance this is the one we are interested in for £350 in orange,needs some work inside which we are willing to do, BUT we know nothing of dandies,it states it has been sold, but as of today we have emailed the seller and it is still for sale, but what should we be looking for on it, we really need something like this to carry on enjoying camping both here in uk and as we have done before in europe. sorry to be long winded, and if we can we do have some knowledge over our years of camping if we can help others, thanks for reading.

Hi and welcome to the Dandy Campers

I would advise anyone to go and take a look before bidding or buying a Dandy, pictures can be deceptive and we pressed buy it now a while ago only to find the Dandy was in a real state.

This should help

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Any other questions please feel free to ask away.

thank you Helen 1st for your very quick response to our 1st post, and also to your advice about seeing first, this we intend to do but as yet the owner (being a worker ) will not see our email regarding a visit to see it (finishing late sunday) until tonight.

Hello and nevillepennyblack

Hope all goes well with your viewing.
We think the link Helen gave you covers most things, but if you need any more pointers or help just ask.

Hello Mr & Mrs Black

Great to see your looking at a Dandy. I'd be very wry of an item sold on eBay then still available, as always cash on collection.

Don't know how much research you have done on Dandys but suggest you have an overview on what is available.

If you have a particular want for an older one that's great but in many cases when the necessary bits and pieces are replaced they are no cheaper than a newer one. Though Dandys are unique there are no other folding campers and few caravans where you will regularly see examples over 40 years old. see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

As your both pensioners I'd make sure you have a go at putting the Dandy up. One of the downsides of Dandys is that they are not the lightest things to erect. Gas struts on the beds help but the front and back can be a bit heavy as well. Mike insists the 6 can be easier to erect as the sides have gas struts.

One advantage of the older ones are the awnings are easier to put up but the later awnings are much easier if the sides have zips added. The awnings are very robust though. Add a storm strap and gale force winds hold no fear.

Do have a good look at what is available. As they are PVC all Dandys are warmer than canvas. I'm so so that the winterised ones add that much in terms of heat retention but they do remove condensation from the front and back walls. If you generally use sites with EHU then a heater is not that important. If you tend to use non EHU sites the heater is brilliant. Toasty warm even in winter.
Guide to different Dandys [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

hello pheonix, many thanks for your advice, yes we are looking at what is easier for us ( in our condition ) but there are UNFORTUNATELY other considerations such as cost. how very much we would love to buy almost new but that is out of the question. we are limited at this moment in time to around £400, however we are "trying" to sell ALL our 2012 camping equipment for around £500, should this go then our spend is far greater. the other point is - there are not that many (if any) near to us ( colwyn bay - north wales) that we can go and see one. for example - 1 we have seen on gumtree is in Glasgow, within our price range, but too far away. the other is in Liverpool, but this one the owner has a problem at home and we cannot view it. so we will keep looking, and thank you all for your help.

This one may suit, on Anglesey and has gas strut beds making it a lot easier to put up.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

thanks "naver" for your help ie -: dandy on anglesey, however at this moment in time that price is out of range,however "IF" we sell all our camping kit (finishes late sunday - ebay) then we would definately look again. many thanks. we are considering if it would benefit a run up to Glasgow to see that one, but the mileage and travell time puts me off somewhat.

No intent to take the rip about money but had no idea what your constraints are.
Dandys fetch silly money on eBay but much cheaper ones can be found last winter there were virtually no Dandys to be foud and certainly no cheap ones this year a 41/2 and a 6 hung around till almost the end of January and they were both prime example brown ones.
Browns often seem unloved. Not "classic" like ply walled Greens and Oranges but older than the Light Blues. To be honest the late Browns are every bit as good as the Light Blues they just don't seem as loved (Mike will disagree) Even Winterised Browns with heaters struggle to sell at less than £1,000. The ones that lasted to January I think both had skirts as well. 6's harder to move but more space without the awning. I've seen people ask daft money but I've seen them struggle to make £500 as well.
Check eBay daily occasional bargains come up on buy it now. this will have been a cash sale [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Try all the free add options.
Not trying to take the rip but you live in North Wales take advantage of the geography. Lots of pensioners live in North Wales. It's a great place to buy older cars with no mileage. Likewise lots of pensioners jack in camping. Quite a few pensioners are not internet savvy. Tell your friends your after a Dandy (OK 6 months to explain to them what it is)get them to check the supermarket for sale boards. You have numerous campsites round you, do the offices have for sale boards? Newsagent for sale boards if anyone still has newsagents. Take advantage of your locality bargains may be found.

Watch this repeatedly.





It's really funny when people try to sell you a Dandy who don't know how to put one up. Take a flask and sandwiches it's a cracking day out. Well it can extend to a good couple of hours or beyond. Don't let them put you off the 4 pieces of string are crucial to the venture.

Which is the one in Glasgow your looking at?

I encourage manners but don't hesitate to be blunt with people. It's a big job if the floor is soft. Ask! Half the time you will be lied to anyway. I had the joy of a 380mile round trip to pick up an eBay item I had bought where I asked a very specific question. They had lied. they will never know how close they came to being bludgeoned to death. Long trips are for times when there is a lot of added value I went to Edinburgh for a £500 Designer there will always be another cheap Orange or brown one.

If your coming over to the North West for any reason a trip to Riva Dandy Sales is always worthwhile. The stuff may be out of your price range but you will get to see a lot of kit. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

again thank you for the tips, many you have given we are doing and we are one of those who are giving up tent camping. we started looking at trailer tents with the kitchen INSIDE, and maybe a small awning for the summer ( er - what summer) but although plebty about we would still have the problem of "wet" and drying out !!. so we have turned to the dandy. but our numerous "friends" don't have a clue what a dandy is, they still think "just another name for a trailer tent", so we will keep looking. thank you

wish we had a penny for the number of times we have watched in awe of the videos, but we are learning all the time.

sorry we did not say where in glasgow the dandy was = just north of glasgow price £380 think it was on gumtree.

Hello and

Will you be looking for one with an awning as I personally struggle bending down to peg one out.

I wonder if a six berth would suit you as it may be big enough to manage without an awning. The issue will be where to put the fridge and toilet if you need one.

It's a funny time at the moment with easter and the start of the camping season coming up. There seem to be many more for sale but I wonder what effect it will have on prices.

Look

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Helen wrote:Look

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Ouch!

At that price I'm surprised you didn't end up with another Dandy. It was still "live" when you saw it. No desire to bite? You paid more for...... No better not go there

We we're very tempted, didn't think it would hang around at that price.

hello, in answer to your question regarding awnings, 1st object is to "try" and get a dandy within our price range, then (in time) possibly get a freestanding porch type awning, just to give that little bit more room, especially when in europe like austria and italy. so it is one step at a time, having said that we do "need" to be able to get away camping, being stuck in our little cottage away from everyone (we are rather remote)is somewhat frustrating.