Dandy Trailer Tent Restoration Inspiration

For any Dandy Owners considering a restoration I thought I would post these incredible pictures sent to me by a German Dandy enthusiast. It really shows just what is possible with a little imagination and ingenuity! From the owner:
I bought my Dandy in Autumn 2006  for 100 Euro in the Netherlands just for fun and to do some handywork. Seeing a picture of the erected Dandy was not love at first sight but it looked so peculiar that it caught my interest – and it was British 😉 . When I eventually started work early in 2007, the project soon became a challence for inventiveness on a low budget. The original side panels were old, scratched and bumpy PVC boards, not aluminium.. New PVC was available but expensive, so I took bonded resin-coated plywood of 5mm thickness, framed with aluminium angle section from our local do-it-yourself store. The brown colour came factory-provided with the plywood, no painting was required at all.  All planking is sealed with polyurethane adhesive and fixed with rivets on the steel frame that had been coated with a seawater resistant primer. The underbody section around all steel tubes is additionally protected by a special wax-grease mixture, used also for the restoration of vintage cars and bikes, thus this Dandy is now made for the caravan-eternity, I think. An electric power input socket is fixed to the front and connected to the awning power supply. I placed a 5Kg gas bottle in the front box with new gas pipes and a quick coupling inside the caravan to connect the original gas stove. The external gas outlet is installed to avoid the unloved gas tank dragging and saves some room inside the awning. Next job is to replace the original hinge pin at the lower door section by a removable one to get access to the main loading space without erecting the tent.
Enjoy the pics. Hope they provide someone, somewhere with the motivation to rescue one of these old classic Dandy’s !

11 Responses

  1. Jayne H says:

    All I can say is WOW – we’re currently doing some improvements to our Dandy (Minnie), but it is only comestic and very, very small scale compared to this. You are to be congratulated sir!

  2. Jayne H says:

    Any pictures of the interior as well, would be very intersted to see what you have done inside!

  3. admin says:

    I wish it were mine 🙂 Its a project undertaken by a German Dandy owner… One day I will get there !

  4. Roger Crier says:

    100 Euros!! Wow. Skillfull bit of work! Well done. I really must fit wired in electrics to our “Designer”. 3 or 4 extension leads hooked up to Ikea lamps dangling from the roof tubes is so “yesterday”

  5. Arthur says:

    Any body got ideas on gas struts anything from a euro hatchback that could be modified

  6. mel says:

    fantastic job thats given me inspration iam still looking for a dandy dart well done sir

  7. John says:

    Congratulations on an excellant job. Do you take commissionn?!!!!
    I have a very old and basic Dandy which requires an extensive overhaul. Your
    work has been truly inspirational. Thankyoy

  8. Harry says:

    Well done!!

    About the only changes I would make are :-
    1/ to comply with UK laws the number plate must be lit, but I think that swapping the rear lights over might get round that, if not it’s not rocket science to fit an extra light on the door. Always assuming your Volvo’s bulb failure realy does not see it as a lighting fault, my old one did.

    2/ Instead of using turn buckles to fit the skirt for the awning, I think I would use “press stud” fasteners, they’re cheaper, you get the tools to assemble them free, you’ll need a punch to make holes in the fabric, but I think that they would be less likely to be damaged. I used to have a Dandy 6, but then I bought a caravan. because the “6” became too heavy for me. Now the caravan is also too heavy, so

  9. Colin says:

    great job, well done !

  10. chris says:

    I have an old Dandy which needs loads of work . I was going to scrap it and just use the base as a box trailer, but after seeing what can be done I am now going to try and emulate you and see if I can renovate it. If I can get anywhere near to your achievement then I will be a happy man. Congrats…..

  11. Terry H says:

    How wonderful it is to see a German person admiring something British built
    for a change. They are so Brilliant at Engineering perhaps we are not so bad
    here in England either. May i congratulate you on a wonderful restoration it
    has given me the encouragement to take on something similar myself, I hope
    mine is as good as yours when it is done. Very well done.

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