Newbie just acquired an old Dandy

Hi Everyone

What an interesting website this is!   We bought an old Dandy yesterday and the vinyl and cover are a brown colour.   I would be very interested in finding out more about it, and will try to upload a picture when I can.  We plan to clean it up, and use it soon; it seems to much easier and more practical than putting up our tent, which, although it was very comfortable, and good for a longish holiday, took about 40 mins to erect.  I have a feeling it may be a Dandy Dart; it looks to be a minimum of 20 years old, and is four (or possibly five) berth.  I plan to spruce it up a bit, and give it some tlc as soon as it practically possible, but it would be nice to maintain the original 'feel' of the upholstery etc, which is a brown and cream striped effect.  We also want to get an awning for it, even if its just a separate pop up job!  

I would welcome any comments or advice - thanks

Hi and welcome to the forum and Dandyland. By the colour of the upholstery I would guess it's 1970's so maybe older than you think. There will be some numbers stamped on the A frame, the last 2 numbers should be the year.

They are very solid and last for years. All the PVC will clean up with CIF crème cleaner and elbow grease. Put some on a damp cloth and rub, then rinse off with a wet cloth. Do it bit by bit and it will come up like new.

Thank you so much for this helpful advice!  We will 'get cracking' soon.

Hello and   bunhoney

  On your purchase.   

You won't regret buying a Dandy if looked after will go on for years.

Any questions you have just ask away.  

Your warm welcome is greatly appreciated; even though we haven't used the Dandy yet, I can already tell it is a very worthwhile and happy investment.

Hi & Welcome!

I noticed you were:

(a) looking for an awning;

(b) prepared to be flexible as to choice;

(c) hoping to preserve your Dandy's retro look.

This may be just the ticket:

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Dandy awnings can be difficult to find. They are robust but also very heavy. There are threads on here about how owners have had their awning adapted to make them more manageable. In addition, there are threads which also set out other awning ideas and it seems to me that the shape and colour scheme of the NR Awning lends itself to your Dandy.

A few things will need to be checked out if you are interested either in the purchase or looking out for a similar awning closer to where you are:

1. the Seller states the awning is 6'6" high which converts to 193 cm. This may be a little low since it is important to ensure there is sufficient clearance space to accommodate the outward swing of your door. The photo the Seller has posted however gives the impression that the unit side of the awning is slightly higher than the front so it would be advisable to ask for a precise measurement and whether or not there is scope for the rear poles to be extended to their maximum and if so what the height would be with the poles at full extension and without the mud skirt losing contact with the ground.

2. If there will be sufficient material to tuck the awning under your roof to achieve a close and weather proof fit;

3. what kit is used to attach the awning.

The shape and colour scheme seem ideally suited and it may be that other owners who have adapted similar shaped motor home awnings to fit a Dandy can offer you further practical advice about important questions to pose before proceeding.

Anyhow, I hope this helps!

Enjoy your Dandy!

Cant get on ebay bu it sounds like the one i used on my 6

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I will investigate the suggestion raised; thank you again, fellow Dandy owners! My better half and I are just about to give our Dandy a clean!

Thanks again for the helpful advice