Our Dandy 6 Regenerated

Morning, finally able to post as I think I've reached the end of phase one of regenerating our Dandy 6!  In need of TLC was the seller's description (a pig farmer in Kent) and although it really stank of mould the condition is really amazing.  
I think if Land Rovers were built so well I would have less headaches!
There's no rust underneath and the original carpet is immaculate.  
The cushions have been recovered, possibly professionally and once the stinky carpet was removed and it was dried out the Dandy was already quite liveable.

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I had been thinking about how a Dandy was NOT, no definately not what we wanted ever since I was shown one in the summer at a campsite, then this one came up on ebay and it ticked all the boxes!  
We spend the month in Devon in an old fashioned frame tent plus I have a number of other canvas abodes for other trips throughout the year.
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When it's too warm!
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When it's cold, the bell tent with the wood stove...
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And when it's for a month, lots of room in the frame tent with two bedrooms.

But the Dandy seemed to cover most bases, other than when I am carrying a tent on my back it works in the winter since it is off the ground with a heater and the summer since it has an awning.
Packing and unpacking the tents and car each time takes ages so with everything already packed into the Dandy on the drive, it should be win win win?

As mentioned, I found this on ebay and, even though it was removed by the seller for a quick offer, in the true spirit of ebay I just carried on bidding by text and eventually 'won' it, does anyone recognise it?  I'd like to know it's year of birth as all the stamps on the A-frame are illegible.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] as advertised and here, back on the drive certainly needing a clean!
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The PVC Cleaner fluid was brilliant, it's got the roof from green to white!
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with the mouldy carpet when I got it and now
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with solid oak skirting and a lino floor left over from the new bathroom!

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The all important awning is again, manky but in great condition otherwise which is a relief, this is quite important for the summer although the rest of the year it probably wont be used too much.

I've insulated the bedroom floors with left over under foil backed laminate insulation
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and removed all the electrics.  They looked OK but I'm never at a pitch with electric hook up anyway so I wouldnt be able to use the water pump.  
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After reading the forum I've installed a foot pump which is excellent and permanently plumbed the pipes underneath and lagged them and installed Geka fittings so I can dismantle the kitchen easily.
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After looking around for a gas locker to go on the A frame of the trailer I realised that to have the bottles sited permanently in the box when pitched instead of on the ground it would have to be custom made so I knocked one up in marine ply and painted it in 'willow' weathershield paint as it was in the bargain bin at Homebase!
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It means I can only carry the smallest propane (for winter trips) or butane but it's neat and tidy and I can swap over the two cans when one runs out, the water is plumbed in the other side and the water carrier can sit on the bedroom support bar so it is also off the ground to help it stop freezing up or getting muddy (we do have such wonderful summers in the UK, dont we?)!

I'm not afraid to admit it but I got a sewing machine for my birthday in the summer and I've just finished my first set of curtains!
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Fortunately, they are not going in a house that tends to have square or rectangular windows but in the Dandy which, although square, if I pitch at an angle then the curtains should meet in the middle, on the whole.
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The living and bedrooms have curtains and the door and kitchen simply have a piece of oilcloth with a pipe at the bottom to manually roll up each morning, daily exercise, eh.
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The only clothes we need to hang are waterproofs (yes, we will venture out in the summer) so I've put shelves in the wardrobe with some canvas crates to keep boy's pants from littering the campsite.
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I havent slept in it yet, might wait till it drops below freezing then it's all positive after that!  How do you stop rainwater collecting on the roof?  I've made up two long ally tent poles that slot into holes in the bedroom walls at either end, seems OK so far but do I have a saggy roof?
I might insulate the bedroom walls, and there are poppers around the bat wings so maybe there was something there before, what do others use?
Anyone know how old it is or any history?
Also, has anyone put a handle in the middle of the bedrooms at the front and rear so it can be unfolded by one person instead of two using the existing handles on either side of the bedrooms to erect the Dandy? (Erect Dandy's sounds a bit wierd but I presume you've heard it all before).
I've still to clean the awning with is muddy and mouldy, what solutions are good for that? This isnt a rush job as I dont think it wil be used until Easter.

Thanks for the info and any advice would be very gratefully received!  Now to test it out!
Neil

What a brilliant post, thank you. It's really interesting seeing what you have done. I couldn't see why the gas locker was such an odd shape but it's so you can get at it when the bed covers it.

You can put either bungee or cords through the eyelets in the side of the roof (where it overhangs) and tie them off to the buttons on the trailer where you bungee the cover. That will stretch the roof sideways and may help water ponding. You may also make up some more roof bars quite simply. I believe Mike has added some to his.

To make the beds easier to fold over, you can add gas struts as you can also to the sides. The gas strut beds also keeps the beds straight, it's possible for them to distort if only lifted from one side.

I think the foot pump for water is ideal so no electric needed at all. How do the water connections work for quick release? I think we'd all like something like that.

Wow, cracking job ..... they do scrub up well  I don't think you'll miss sleeping on the floor even if it was on an air bed  

You certainly improved that one,i put an extra roof bar at each end to remove the roof sag,and used table protector to insulate the walls.

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We use a curtain in the awning to hide the loo, wardrobe and we use that area to get changed in and hide any clutter ........ looking at the size of your awning you could probably just hang a bedroom compartment.

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Like the curtains in the awning, I dont think ours has any on the windows so that might be a project later.   To date our WC is an old army water carrier!  Works fine if you are a boy with no shame, and since my wife has never slept in the tent it's never been an issue.  However, she walked into the Dandy and, even though it was stinking she hasnt dismissed the possibillity of actually sleeping with us under canvas (do I say pvc from now on?)....
Hopefully won't have so much kit to strap down soon!
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I have two breaks in the water hose between the tap and the water carrier, one is under the sink so I can take it apart to pack away the kitchen and the other is on the outside at the front by the a-frame.
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I had some normal hoselock style connectors but they leaked so got some Geka ones which the professional gardener uses (apparently) and are also lots cheaper, they also do a cap which will cover over the exterior connection and stop it filling with crud on the journeys (would make for a gritty first coffee).
I did something similar for the gas hose so this disconnects by the hob when folding up the kitchen.
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Neil

  it looks great , great idea with the hoses i can see a rush for the connectors  ..the bed sides are not that heavy but if you rig a ring and rope system ..rope long enough for you to pull on from the centre the only problem is spotting that the roof bars are coming up at the same time as for the age 80's ????? do you have gas struts on the walls couldn't see from the photo's

No gas struts and the original gas hose is stamped 1981.

How do you raise the side walls on a 6. On my designer the sides are probably the heaviest thing of all to raise and there is only a short length of solid wall. A 6 has much more so must be very heavy.

The majority of 6's have struts that help lift the side walls  

  if you can get to a scrapy the gas struts of a rover fit the 6 , the struts help with the walls ..two on each side have a look to see if there were fitting originally it was a godsend for me life got allot easier  

When 6s were first built they didn't have gas struts. Did they have to pull on both wings to raise the sides. They seem rather a long way apart to do that.

I did to start with pull on both wings but not good wear and tear on the wings and not easy to do while another person on the other side pushing it up with a roof pole which has weakened my center bracket now has been plated to strengthened it when found that the gas struts were bent and removed laying loose in the storage boxes so easy now she has been replaced with newer gas struts