Anybody have a Dune Buggy as their toad ?

To be totally honest I'm trying to convince myself (and my Bride) to either get a Dune Buggy that we can tow 4 down or get a Polaris 900 Trail which is 50 wide so the trailer I have now it will fit in it .
But then I go look at the local Polaris store and just like with everything else get STICKER SHOCK on how much they want for these things !!
I mean the salesman doesn't even flinch when he rattles off the OTD price of $15,699.00 and this is the middle of the line one ! Top one turbo 1000 EPS starts at $23K Holy cow my wife bought her brand new Toyota FJ 4x4 for $24 OTD ...

Sucks having a Champagn taste on a beer budget ! lol

Well the search continues .....

Some times steering shaking can be caused by old and shot shock absorbers, had that happen one time replaced shocks no more shaking.

navegator

Have been towing a 72 Baja Bug for several years, (1800 LBS not super beetle). I had a bad shake once and was told to put a bungee on the wheel to the pedals (worked). Last week it did it again so violently it tore the tow bar in half. The car has 25K on it since a full rebuild. Still a fun car but will not tow it again. Luckily no damage to the new MH

TomBoy and Intrigued wrote:
Below is a picture of our Dune Buggy being towed. We found it on Atlanta's Craigslist. The couple who we bought it from used it for travel also so it was set up to be towed. On Atlanta's Craigslist you can generally find 5 to 10 listed.

Nice looking buggy !

I PM you let me know if you got it ok ?

Below is a picture of our Dune Buggy being towed. We found it on Atlanta's Craigslist. The couple who we bought it from used it for travel also so it was set up to be towed. On Atlanta's Craigslist you can generally find 5 to 10 listed.

Thanks for the feed back !
One VW Dune Buggy I'm looking at now has been gone through fairly intense ,well at least the ad said it did.

I'm sure its a Manx style buggy. Has the roll cage, but no canopy , with all the aftermarket sites for these and local upholstery shops around a bikini top or even full enclosure cpould be bought /made .

So far other than a few local weekend camping trips, we drove across the country went low came back high . Was never in the same place 2 days in a row other than when we went to DC and stayed in College Park CG we just caught the Metrel into DC to see the sights.

This past summer we went through Yellow Stone on over to South Dakota ad in the small towns the RXRs CanAms were all over the place on the road (they can street legal them there)
It would have been more enjoyable in the Dune Buggy to go through YS because of all the crazies that didn't want do the speed limit and enjoy the sights, so it was kinds hard sometimes to find a pull off so the crazies could fly on by..

So that brings me right back to which one to get and if we go with the VW DB how often would we really tow it. ??

We have a dune buggy that we tow 4 down. Very simple to tow, just a tow bar that is basically an "A" like Navegator explained above. We don't have a breaking system since the dune buggy is lighter than 1200 pounds. It makes a great toad as long as it doesn't rain (or dew), we are in a small town (would never drive it through Houston traffic), and the weather is nice. Ours is a two seater with little room in the back. We try not to go more than 20 miles or so from the camp site just because the wind will beat you to death and long trips are not comfortable. Also, forget about locking it up when you're in a store.

On the positive side, it is great fun at beach towns, it is easy to work on, doesn't put much strain on the motorhome to haul, and a great conversation piece.

We have another car that we tow when we are going to a mid-size town or cooler months.

So bottom line, it makes a good tow vehicle as long as you accept the draw backs.

The old VW's have a tube where the torsion springs ride, the tow bar has U channels that fit this tube and that is how the car is towed, simple and easy the newer ones need a base plate bolted to the pan.

The VW's have a pan on which the body is bolted to, the majority made into buggies were cut and re welded, when looking for one check that the vehicle sits on all four tires, some were so poorly done that one tire is practically of the ground, the good units were cut in a jig, the other problem was the fuel line it rides in the central tunnel and now and then would get a pin hole and leak, we used to repair it by drilling a hole at the front and rear of the tunnel and run stainless steel brake line through for the fuel line.

If you use the VW engine, turn the coil so that the connections are up instead of down, the coils tend to leak the oil and quit also put a it of solder on the terminals they are riveted and come loose, and always use the 5mm FUEL hose not vacuum line, most fires were caused by fuel leaks on the generators or alternators.

navegator

VW buggies, Baja bug or the Manx style, are easy to set up and easy to tow. Having had both a Baja bug and a Polaris RZRs I wouldn't compare the two. The bug was street legal but rode harsh and was way under powered. The RZR is much more fun. Soft ride, comfortable seats and plenty of get up and go.

I would rather have a VW "BAJA" or a MANX-type with a full canopy.
Either one would be much nicer in rainy weather than a Buggy.
I have seen a few of the BAJA mods for sale recently, at what I think are decent prices, but the MANX-style body mods are getting scarce, and just a little pricey!
I always thought a THING would be a neat toad, but, again, scarce and expensive.