New member

Hi everybody,
Having spent two very wet weeks in June camping in Dorset followed by a nightmare trying to dry our awning we are looking to change our camping style to be able to sleep in a bit more comfort off the ground.

As a prospective new Dandy Owner we have a few questions, we are most likely looking to purchase a Designer-so far as I can see this is the only model that can sleep 4 and also has a table and 2 separate seats, is this correct?- we have 2 children aged 4 & 3 respectively so a table is essential for them.

How long does it take to put up a Designer?- i have seen figures from 10 to 40 minutes

Is it possible to do it singlehanded?

Our intention is to use it in conjunction with a standalone awning- we currently have a Navigator Kombi awning which goes on to our VW camper to maximise the amount of space- has anybody tried this in the past? For short breaks we envisage using just the Dandy and Camper van with the awning being kept for longer holidays- or as my wife puts it if I am going camping again for 2 weeks I would like a kitchen (camper van), sitting room (awning) and bedroom (Dandy)!!!

Finally if anbody on here knows of a Designer, preferably blue and white for sale, please could they let me know, we are in Sussex and Dandy's in our part of the world seem pretty much non-existant. Ideally it would be within 3 1/2 hours drive of us.

I am sure we will think of loads of other questions but will pose these for starters.

Many thanks for any pointers/ help anybody can give


Andy

It takes us around 10 minutes to actually erect our Designer and another 10 to sort out the cooker and roof bars but can take me an awful lot longer to unpack everything else but I do take far too much

The Dandy awning is another matter and can take up to half an hour even with lots of practice.

A Dandy 6 ( low sided destiny) can seat comfortably around a table 4 people (fully grown ones) maybe even 6 littler ones and sleep up to six and has a wardrobe inside it too, the Destiny (high sided) is bigger still and has a 4 ring cooker and fridge some even have en-suite loo's.

take a look at this






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

I would say go for the most space that you can.

in this weather the Dandy's come into their own initially It takes a while to put them up but with everything once you have got the knack you can put them up in 10mins and yes can be put up by yourself

andyandy wrote:Hi everybody,
Having spent two very wet weeks in June camping in Dorset followed by a nightmare trying to dry our awning we are looking to change our camping style to be able to sleep in a bit more comfort off the ground.

As a prospective new Dandy Owner we have a few questions, we are most likely looking to purchase a Designer-so far as I can see this is the only model that can sleep 4 and also has a table and 2 separate seats, is this correct?- we have 2 children aged 4 & 3 respectively so a table is essential for them.

How long does it take to put up a Designer?- i have seen figures from 10 to 40 minutes

Is it possible to do it singlehanded?

Our intention is to use it in conjunction with a standalone awning- we currently have a Navigator Kombi awning which goes on to our VW camper to maximise the amount of space- has anybody tried this in the past? For short breaks we envisage using just the Dandy and Camper van with the awning being kept for longer holidays- or as my wife puts it if I am going camping again for 2 weeks I would like a kitchen (camper van), sitting room (awning) and bedroom (Dandy)!!!

Finally if anbody on here knows of a Designer, preferably blue and white for sale, please could they let me know, we are in Sussex and Dandy's in our part of the world seem pretty much non-existant. Ideally it would be within 3 1/2 hours drive of us.

I am sure we will think of loads of other questions but will pose these for starters.

Many thanks for any pointers/ help anybody can give


Andy

Hello Andy

Have you seen



In the film they go from an unhitched Dandy at 0.40 to an erected Dandy at 5.40.
If you believe that is possible are you still leaving teeth for the tooth fairy and sending letters to Santa?
Two people may get a unit up in 10 minutes "ish" but that is measured from being unhitched, it's on a level pitch so no chocking required, it's not windy you're both fit and well practiced.
Does 10 minutes one way or another really matter?
You have asked another question about can you erect single handed.
Yes you can though it takes more than twice as long as you forget part of the sequence and have to walk round the Dandy to loosen off a catch or piece of string.
I'm a reasonably large man of 6' and 17st so can do the pushing and manoeuvring reasonably well but due to surgery find reaching and lifting difficult. The Designer I have isn't easy but I'd say bar your wife being unduly short she should be able to erect the Dandy. I'm assuming short might cause problems but as I'm not I don't know. Input anyone?
The golden rule especially if the kids are around is. If in windy conditions erect and dismantle with the loose end of the roof to the leeward side.It's perfectly acceptable to lift the legs on an erected Dandy and turn it round or even tow one across a campsite. I've had the roof taken out of my hand by a quite gentle wind. Once the roof goes it does so with quite a force. At the time I was dismantling an old green 4 and that had something akin to conduit tube at the bungied end of the roof I'm not certain what is used now. It would have severely dented a car, and easily broken a collarbone or knocked someone unconscious or worse.

I know you have made plans involving your own awning. The Dandy awnings can be a phaff to put up but with the addition of a storm strap are all but bullet proof and will ride out the worst of winds. Also if all you do is leave it in the garage the two are a more complete item if you sell up.

The rear entry Dandys are a dream to tow, I've no experience of a Destiny but only you can decide between towing a larger unit and having all your needed space available without the need for an awning.

Thanks for the many and prompt responses.

I kind of guessed they would not be as quick to errect as the video on Youtube suggested, hence my question- I can happily live with 20 minutes or thereabouts for the trailer unit alone.

My only intention for using our existing awning is size- it is 6m x 3.5m (albeit putting it up takes me the best part of 45 minutes single handed) and I guess a Dandy awning would not get near this size

Point taken about the awning, from a resale point of view, though

From our point of view overall size/ floor area is the main factor- the larger the better- I am sure our VW will not even notice a Dandy and should not really affect our fuel consumption.

Looks like is a Designer or Dandy 6/ Destiny for us.

So far as I can see the going rate for Designers is £1000 to £1700, howoever I have never seen a Destiny/ Dandy 6 (blue and white) for sale so have no idea of prices for them- could anybody give me a rough idea, I am guessing they are not as common.

And the miilion dollar question- where is the best place to look or does anybody know of any for sale- I think our biggest problem is going to be finding one within a sensible distance, I am already keeping an eye on e-bay.

And again thanks for the friendly welcome and advice.


Andy

Pale blue and white 6's are pretty rare and date around 90-91, they do come up from time to time though.

Pale blue and white destiny/6 i would say £1200-£2000 bottom end for none insulated top for insulated,heater and awning ect.

mike

Hi Andy and

Which VW camper do you have? If it's anything like ours, a 3 1/2 hour drive won't get you many miles from home. (Yes we have a 1986 1.6TD )

Regards your awning, we have the slightly smaller Nomad 3 for the campervan - but we've never tried it on a Dandy, but another member on here has successfully fitted an Outdoor Revolution outhouse Handi or similar name on theirs - of course this fits the same way as the Nav and Nomad.

The Nav awning has more options than a Dandy awning because you've got the option of opening some or many of the doors to turn it into a sun shelter or gazebo type thing. It's possible got the mesh door panels for bug free ventilation, also you'll have a private area in the porch way bit - if you leave the back doors on.

This year we've bought an 80's Discovery to go with the campervan, we're having our first proper holiday with the two in two weeks. On a test run on a friends drive it worked out to be fab, but we didn't use the awning because it was rather hard to peg it out into block paving, lol.

Also it will prove cheaper at campsites, because many site charge extra for the awning on the campervan, but trailer tents usually have the the awning included in the pitch fee - because many are permanently attached. As long as the camper isn't used for sleeping in as well, then it will qualify as a normal vehicle, so you get the campervan, Dandy with awning - all for the standard pitch fee.

Hi and andyandy.

We see Cazz has another VW Buddy.

Hi Cazz,
Ours is a T4 2.4 diesel poptop, but you are right it does take longer to get anywhere, anything much above 60 is noisy and expensive, but the children love it- is is only us adults who suffer when all four of us sleep in it, hence the need for a Dandy. Before the VW I had a series of elderly Landrover campers so to me the VW is both quick and the height of luxury!

Fortunately my wife has a Ford Focus which will extend the search radius somewhat

Thanks for the tip on campsites, had not appreciated that since campsite fees these days do not make for cheap holidays it seems, esp since we will be tied to school holidays only from now on.

At least we have figured out what we need, just need to find a blue and white one now.


Andy

Lol at the height of luxury. That reminded me when we were in our camper on holiday and my parents were on a canal boat a the same time, and they described their space explaining how small it was, I said - that sounds very roomy, lol.

Good luck in your search for your perfect Dandy, usually they find you.

Thanks for all the advice,
Having discussed it with the family and viewed all the models on the internet it is definitely a Blue and white Dandy 6/ Destiny we want.

One thought that springs to mind is whether they all have gas struts to make raising them easier or was it merely offered as a factory option or have they been retrofitted by owners or Riva, I have seen reference to Rover struts being fitted by owners. Any advices would be appreciated.


Andy

andyandy wrote:Thanks for all the advice,
Having discussed it with the family and viewed all the models on the internet it is definitely a Blue and white Dandy 6/ Destiny we want.

One thought that springs to mind is whether they all have gas struts to make raising them easier or was it merely offered as a factory option or have they been retrofitted by owners or Riva, I have seen reference to Rover struts being fitted by owners. Any advices would be appreciated.


Andy

Desinys and 6's have always had gas struts fitted for the side walls. (bar one older one that there is a thread about at the moment) 6's lowside Destinys did not have gas struts fitted for the beds. Early highside Destinys did not have the struts fitted for the beds. Indeed there was some comment that made owners believe that they could not retrofit struts for the beds on early highside Destinys. This was in error they can be fitted. All this is covered in the "Files" section of the Yahoo Group "Dandyowners" [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] You need a Yahoo email account to access this. I would strongly recommend using this resource. Dandycampers is a good site for individual answers the Yahoo Group is a good resource site.
As to when the struts became a factory fit???? It's more a case of looking what the one your interested in has, because the beds are higher up this was a very popular retro fit.
I visited Riva Leisure (Now T/A Riva Dandy Sales) on the day a couple picked up their highside Destiny after it had been fitted with bed struts. The struts don't just make opening the beds a one handed effort as in needing one person. All that person needs is to use one hand. An excellent modification.
Keep a look out for Destinys, I'm of the belief you might see prices lower than Mike has said I think the rain this year has depressed prices for all camping items. We have had some odd Destinys come up this year. A very early highside with square not "Threpenny Bit" ends. Also two early all aluminium Destinys with toilet compartments.
I apologise over the erection times I've dug out an old review with the erection time listed. I think they must have been good.

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


I know it's off topic but I thought I'd add the other publicity from the same time as well. I don't know definitely where this came from but there is every chance it was taken from the Yahoo group.