How to Build a Dune Buggy

Has roaming around on a beach or in a desert in your own vehicle been your fantasy? Is that what you have ever dreamed of? Well, then you perhaps also know what kind of a vehicle is needed for trundling along the paths full of sand and sand dunes. Yes, it is a dune buggy alright. For those who have no clue what is a dune buggy, and how to build a dune buggy let me tell you about it in detail.

What is a Dune Buggy?

Now, dune buggy comes from the fraternity of recreational vehicles. It is specifically designed to be used on beaches or areas having sand dunes. It is fundamentally a modified vehicle having a customized and altered engine which is mounted on an open chassis. These alterations are normally meant to enhance the power to weight ratio by either increasing the engine power or lightening the vehicle. In some cases, it could be both. Dune buggy tires are wide and its wheels are large.

Designing
Basically there are three methods of creation of a dune buggy.

Method 1: The first method entails changing and altering an modified vehicle. And the most preferred variety for this is Volkswagen Type One, Beetle or Bug. The crucial factor in this is the position of the rear mounted Volkswagen engine. With this, the removal of body work imparts a high proportion of weight to the rear driven wheels for more traction. The comparatively lesser price, robust front suspension and availability of sizable number of spare parts gives Volkswagen an edge over the others.

Method 2: This method is constructed by using a vehicle frame of steel tubing formed and welded together. Now in this, the advantage is that the fabricator is able to change the primary parts of the vehicle. That is generally the suspension and the adding of a built-in row cage. This type of a buggy is called a sand rail, on account of its rail frame. Sand rails can either have panels or custom shaped coverings over the rails and tubing to go with it.

Method 3: The last but not the least, the third method is nothing but a temporary set up. These type of dune buggies portray the mixture of the former two designs, mostly after converted vehicle suffer damage, hard use, accidents and so on.

Build Your own Dune Buggy

First thing, as mentioned get hold of a Volkswagen, Type 1. Follow that up by dismantling the body work and ensure that the frame is strong enough with no damage. This is important because a weak dune buggy frame might culminate in degradation of the structural integrity. A sound suspension is also a pre-requisite to build your own dune buggy. For this and the whole process, the things you would need are an engine, transmission, steering, suspension, tires and wheels, roll cage, seats, pedals, gauges and accessories. Then, if at all required, carry out the engine repairs with the preference towards rear mounting. Modify the engine in case you want it with regards to internal engine work or turbo chargers. Remember to see if the transmission is working properly and it is the right one in the acquired vehicle. In this situation if it is not, mount the transmission on your own at the rear end. You can chose between manual or automatic transmission, though the type 1 Beetles have manual transmissions. While you build a dune buggy affirm that the rear end, the engine and the transmission, all are compatible with each other. After you do all this, confirm the design of the interior with the preferred number of seats. Succeed this process by installing the gauges properly. Then comes the pedals. Fit your pedals and see if they are placed comfortably enough for you to drive. Well, if you are still upto it after doing all this, you can even accessorize the passenger compartment. Installation of roll cage will be next to fitting the pedals unless you want to accessorize the vehicle. A four or six point roll cage is opted for by most people. And lastly, mount the tires and wheels. The norms are that either wider tires (for sand) or all terrain tires go with a dune buggy.

This was how to build a dune buggy in brief. If you are stuck up somewhere, dune buggy kits could come to the rescue. Also, there are many dune buggy plans available on the internet as well. In addition to that, there are free e-books on how to build a dune buggy as well. These can include plans for an electric dune buggy as well and some pointers for dune buggy insurance. If you want a totally whacky dune buggy, you can even go for a fiberglass dune buggy!

So what are you waiting for? Plan a beach vacation and flaunt your dune buggy! Or if you stay in the vicinity of the beach, then it's an icing on the cake!