Newbie ????

Hi All
I have a question ?
Is the designer and the discovery the same camper ?
Regards Dan

Not quite although they are very similar. The Discovery has a bench seat on the permanent bed side, whereas the Designer has two separate seats facing one another and a table that goes in between them. That is the only difference, they are the same size, weight etc.

Oh completely forgot to the forum.

Thanks

Hi and Welcome to Dandy Campers

If you look at the Link below, you'll see pictures of how they differ inside.

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Thank you
thats very helpful.
Were researching which Dandy camper to purchase
Dan

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask ....... unless it has something to do with borrowing money

with those two its down to your preference as the basics are the same,my first choice would be a discovery but if a designer came along i would have no problem buying that,my only reason is we would find a free standing table better to put where we wanted.

mike

Hi, I'm in the same boat as you still looking at the options. For me the designer is intended as a 2 berth and the discovery for 4 or 5, although with 4 or 5, you would be better off with a 6 or destiny.

We are restricted to the discovery or designer.Because of our towing capacity
which is 450kg(honda jazz)
I believe the destiny would be too heavy for our car.

We have a Honda Jazz as well and it tows our Designer very easily. We did look at the Destiny but that would be right at the Jazz max tow weight and well above the recommended 85%. The Dimensions are slightly lighter so that may be a possibility, but even they are over the 850kg limit.

Just looked at the Jazz tow weights etc here. Not sure which engine you have as this can affect it and you need to look at the figures in your hand book or on a plate under the bonnet.

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The 450kg limit you mention is for an unbraked trailer; for a braked trailer it is 1000kg. The good news is that all Dandies are braked trailers so you can tow up to 1000kg on that consideration.

For stability, the weight of the trailer ideally wants to be no more than 85% of the cars kerb weight. Your kerb weight is shown as 1070kg so 85% is 909.5kg. Many people exceed the 85% limit and if you went to to your max of 1000kg you would be at 94.5%. Being an experienced caravanner downsizing to a Dandy, I would be happy with that if it was a diesel as they have a bit more grunt for hills. For a petrol, you will have a lot of gear changing.

The newer Destinies are 1000kg loaded weight. These wuold be the high sided ones with a fridge.

However if you get a low sided Destiny or Dandy 6 the loaded weight is only 750kg which is well within your cars limits. I think the low sided Destinies were made up to about 1994, it would be the light blue ones without a fridge. The Dandy 6 would be the brown, orange or green ones before that which I think were a bit lighter again.

The Designer & Discovery are only 500kg loaded weights.

I'm in the same boat as you with a Fiat Panda 1.2 and I'm considering a Designer or low sided Destiny as well. My max tow is only 800kg. Half of me wants the extra room, the other wants to go up the hills easier. On level roads I don't think it will much difference. For two people I think a Designer would work well but for any more the 6 or destiny would be better. But then if there are more than two of you the car will be more loaded and that will slow you down as well.

Just tried to submit this and it shows a new post from navver. Way To Go navver, it's always nice to see new members contributing.

You will be suitably mugged when we have an electrical question though I see you were wise enough to avoid the trench warfare on reversed polarity on UK campsite!

garwoods wrote:We are restricted to the discovery or designer.Because of our towing capacity
which is 450kg(honda jazz)
I believe the destiny would be too heavy for our car.

Hello Dan

Though I'm always cautious to quote on matters of mass (weight) from websites I'm reasonably happy to say your looking at things the wrong way round here. The 450Kg figure is the unbraked towing weight the braked towing weight for all is 1,000Kg Except Hybrid and CVT where there is no towing capacity.
Sources Honda [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Car Leasing made Simple [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

If the limit were 450Kg then you couldn't legally tow a Designer as it's the maximum permitted weight (MPTM) of the trailer not the actual weight that's important. (Well you could but it would be drawn out to explain and we don't need to)

So now seeing that your maximum tow weight is 1,00Kg you can tow any Dandy including the latest Destiny. No probably not. If you licence was gained later than the 1st Jan 1997 then the MPTM of the trailer can't exceed the unladen weight of the vehicle. I can't find the unladen weight of the vehicle but the kerbweight is 1,070Kg so from various other figures I'd guestimate to be 973Kg ish. If the precise figure is important I'll explain.

So if your licence is pre 1997 yes you can tow a Destiny but you might consider the 85% rule. The 85% is only a guide but it states that you shouldn't tow (a Caravan) of greater than 85% of the kerbweight of the car. Please Google for a full explanation of 85% rule but it's more important when you have the least experience and it's less important (personal opinion) with a folding camper as the mass is lower down and the forces from sidewinds not as pronounced.

Finally check the vin plate (found on the B pillar) for the Maximum Authorised Mass MAM and the Maximum Train Weight. the towing figure given may on some cars be at a weight of less than the MAM i.e. MAM + Maximum Towing Weight > (is greater than) The Maximum Train Weight. So either the load in the car or trailer must be lessened.
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Sorry if that was a bit much but basically the Jazz will pull the Designer easily likewise the Lowside Destiny or 6. If you had sufficient experience and suitable licences a Highside Destiny might be possible but I suspect it might not be the most enjoyable pairing.

Really long winded bit explaining this further: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Amazing amount of info from everyone .
Thank you v much.
Great to have the possibility of the early model destiny also
My parents actually have a dandy dart, and it was them who sold me on a dandy camper.

Hello and
Sorry for the late welcome, we have been a bit busy.
We will leave the towing weights etc to Mr Itch and co as they are more into the pros and cons than us.
We have a baby 4 berth "Phoenix" and a 6 berth "Dylan". We tow both with our old 1.7 tdi Astra van.

May I be the first to welcome you from inside a dandy! These guys are the best ever, from helping me to find my dandy last April to helping me with every problem since, a wonderful crowd, I literally wouldn't be where I am right now (sat in the middle of a dark cold field) without them.

Hi, to the forum.

We tow Milo (60's green 5) with a 6volt 1964 VW, he has no probs either. Monty we tow with a 1986 van, this set up hates hills, but to be honest the van, Molly, doesn't like hills when empty.