Dune buggies are basically light vehicles featuring an open chassis and powered by a modified engine. These buggies, sport larger than average tires, which allow them to be easily navigable through the sand. However, these days, the term dune buggies have been diversified according to the type of terrain on which it’s driven. Dune buggies are being widely built to incorporate generic off-road capabilities such as indoor track racing. Some have even been built to be used as on-road vehicles. The function is considered and incorporated at the designing stage itself as this allows maximizing the comforts and safety features. These were primarily meant to be driven on beaches or deserts and that’s how the name dune buggies stuck

Construction: Dune Buggies were typically crafted using two methods, one was to alter an existing vehicle and the second was to construct a vehicle from scratch by welding together steel tubing. The Volkswagen Bug was always a clear favorite amongst dune buggy design aficionados, and the reasons are aplenty. The rear mounted engine allows for higher traction once the bodywork is removed. The air cooled engine vastly simplifies engine modifications, the absence of radiator is another and coupled with the easy availability of spare parts and cheap price makes the bug an unparalleled choice. Even the term “buggy” seems to have been borrowed and modified from the Volkswagen automobile. Creating dune buggies from welding together steel tubing (also known as space frame chassis) requires knowledge of fabrication. However, it allows for greater freedom as the fabricator can alter various parts of the vehicle to suit the terrain. There exists a third method that is sort of a temporary fix. These dune buggies sport a blend of the above two design strategies, when converted dune buggies sustain damages and spare parts are not readily available and they are tinkered upon.

Types:

Sand Rails:
Sand Rails are lighter and come with padded tires to make getting around on sands a lot easier. The stripped down roll cage, smooth tires and the absence of front brakes render the vehicle easy navigation on the sand. The engines on Sand Rails are very powerful making these highly agile and swift. Sand Rails typically weigh between 800-1100 pounds.

Trail Buggy: Trail Buggies are intended to be driven on rougher terrain or harder surfaces. They feature reinforced frames meant to protect the occupants in the event of a rollover or high impact. Most of the trail buggies are equipped with good shocks and treaded tires to render better grip in order to clear through the rut and rocks. They weigh between 1200-1500 pounds.

It’s to be remembered that a Dune buggy is an extremely personalized vehicle; you would find as many variations as the number of people building them. There are no hard and fast classifications as such, when it comes to buggies, the vital thing is that one has to have a clear understanding of how and where to use it.