Hello from Hebden Bridge/Manchester - Dandy Dash owner...

Hello Dandy Campers Forum!
We received our Dandy Dash last night.    
Lots of questions to follow!
e.g. the wheels were rather warm and there was a burning smell when it was delivered so possibly the brakes were binding.  Where are instructions for stripping them down?
Thanks!

Hebden_Endomorph

I had that trouble and finally tracked it to the hitch damper being too stiff.

To look at the brakes, loosen wheel nuts, jack it up, remove wheel.
Remove dust cap, remove split pin from castellated nut, remove castellated nut.
The hub then pulls off quite easily including the taper roller wheel bearings and washers etc. Then you can look at the brakes and bearings etc.

Before that, try slackening the brakes. There is a bolt or nut at the back of the hub. Slacken this and it will loosen the brakes off.

Also check the hitch damper goes in when you push it and comes out slowly. Some don't come out and that is OK as long as you can pull it out fairly easily. There is a grease nipple on top and one underneath (I think) which need regular greasing.

I stripped my hitch and cleaned the tube etc to make sure it went in and out easily. That cured my brake overheating problem completely.

Hello

So having looked at your profile you place yourself in Manchester yet you have the user name hebden endomorph.
So are you actually from Hebden Bridge. If so then the obvious next question is, "Social worker or teacher?"

In my rush to mock you because of your user name I almost missed what it was you said you had delivered. A Dandy Dash! Well what an exclusive club of 4 you are in. If you bought it from the long term ad in The Dandy Owners club then this is still the only one I have actually heard about. If not yours is the second. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  

Whichever it is could you please send some photos. "We Love Photos Here"
All in all your Dandy is a very rare beast.
What attracted you to this model in particular?

Brakes:
Generally agreeing with navver any final adjustment must be made with the adjusters at the back of the hub. Though I'm not sure why the damper being stiff would hold the brakes on. Greasing the damper is always a good idea too.
We are always glad to help but if you need information in a hurry try using the search option offered at the top. Entering the word "Brakes" into the box would have given several options with this one of the most replied to. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  

The braking system is a bit of a hotch potch  with an AL-KO overrun hitch and Knott brakes. The simple printed sheet below is the guide included with Dandys when sold through the Knott guides explain more and offer help in fault finding.
Warm hubs are either sticking brakes or worn bearings and the Knott guide covers both. It must be read with some latitude though e.g. The Knott guide mentions the hand brake going "over centre" and self applying. The AL-KO hitch and handbrake is not (ouch) of this type and just has the spring as an energy store.

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Hi,

Thanks for the replies!
I'll have a look at the brakes in the next couple of weeks and also start to do some homework looking into cheap awnings.

Some answers to your questions:

>>So having looked at your profile you place yourself in Manchester yet you have the user name hebden endomorph.  So are you actually from Hebden Bridge.

No, I only work there.

If so then the obvious next question is, "Social worker or teacher?"

Neither, project manager   
In my rush to mock you because of your user name I almost missed what it was you said you had delivered. A Dandy Dash! Well what an exclusive club of 4 you are in. If you bought it from the long term ad in The Dandy Owners club then this is still the only one I have actually heard about. If not yours is the second.  

That's now mine, was Bryan and Bubble's.

Whichever it is could you please send some photos. "We Love Photos Here"
Will do soon but it is buried in stuff at the moment.

All in all your Dandy is a very rare beast.
What attracted you to this model in particular?
Cost, size, simplicity, age, condition and the sellers.

Regards

Hebden_endomorph

It definitely was the hitch causing my problems. The dandy is so light there is very little pull on the draw bar. If it is stiff or catches on the way out the brakes can be held on enough to overheat but not so much as to extend the drawbar.

I found I needed to tow it about 10 miles before they overheated but then they got really hot; much to hot to touch the drum.

I wasn't seriously doubting you navver just had a mental image of an equilibrium condition where an applied brake would produce a force causing the damper to open. Your damper must have been very stiff. Just a thought was all OK through greasing or did you open up the coupling at any point? I seem to remember someone  somewhere saying that you could get a reaction between the grease and the plastic spacers causing the spacers to swell and they might need shaving or sanding down. Tried to look for the original post on this not found it but did find that we have had this discussion before.

hebden-endomorph

Have a good look through the Dandy awning ideas [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I'd always thought of the dash as a neither fish nor fowl sort of thing. Though on re thinking this all you really lose is the kitchen and half the time I erect my Designer I tend to think it's a bit of a heavy lump whereas you miss out on the joys of pulling up the front and rear solid walls.

If you are intending to cook in the awning then that is fine but if you are in any way pining for a kitchen. Sink and cooker units are regularly on sale on eBay rarely fetching over £40. See [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] the lower units are easy to fabricate as well.

Eagerly awaiting photos.

Yes I stripped the hitch completely. There is a damper inside, very much like a gas strut which closes under pressure and comes out slowly. This was OK but only after I had pushed it in and out a few times. The chrome tube was badly pitted and this runs through a nylon bush. With a combination of the nose weight pressing on it and the pitting this just did not move. I used fine emery to remove the pitting and polished it and it now goes in and out without problem. I should really replace the tube to stop it happening again. I check it and grease it before using it.

Round here it is very flat so there really is very little pull on the hitch. It would push in on braking but only move out until the braking effort reduced enough not to overcome the force needed to pull the tube through the nylon bush.

When I first towed it back from Ian's to Bristol, I don't think the brakes were working at all. Virtually all motorway and I am not a heavy braker so the hitch never got pushed in enough.

I'm a bit confused on the dash. Does it have storage units where the kitchen is or is it just floor space.
Is it canvas or PVC.
Are the sides not wood like Dandies.
Sounds as if it's more trailer tent than folding caravan. I know Ian was saying he was really struggling to make Dandies cheap enough to compete with the folding campers. I guess PVC comes from oil and the price of that shot up in the 70s. So it does. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Pictures posted at last in the gallery section!

A very smart looking Dash she is too