Thinking of Replacing my rail with a Dual Sport Manxter
Thinking of Replacing my rail with a Dual Sport Manxter
I have a 4 seat VW based rail, mid travel fun car to beat the heck out of. Thinking of replacing it with a Manxter dual sport. What do you think? Will it be as fun as a rail? Will I be able to punish it? Any thoughts would be appreciated. David
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5150bossman
- Posts: 607
- Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:00 am
- Location: So Cal
It will all depend on how you build it. If you go with the VW pan, it will take a substantial amount of abuse, but not as much as your rail buggy. If you go with a tube chassis, it should be essentially the same, and you can go long travel. The up side is you have something that is visually appealing, enough of a body to keep a large part of the elements off of you and is street legal in all 50-States when properly equipped. I would go with the Manxter over the rail in a heart beat! Nothing like being able to drive to the off-road spot from camp a few miles away without having to trailer the thing every day, to AND from. It gives you so many more options. I would rather have that ability than "ultimate" off-road ability because it will already go most places you want to go. Our little buggy with the 1776 motor has taken us to many places that Jeeps fear to go. I don't need much more than that. :drinking:
[QUOTE="5150bossman"]The up side is you have something that is visually appealing, enough of a body to keep a large part of the elements off of you and is street legal in all 50-States when properly equipped.[/QUOTE] I think the other significant advantage, beyond the three you mention, is that a Manxter will probably retain its value better than any rail, it might even appreciate. However, I think a rail would be easier to repair if the chassis was damaged somehow, which sounds possible.
Thanks
Thanks for your responses. If I were to build a Manxter Dual Sport I would definitely make it a long travel car. The advantage of having it street legal is a huge plus! Maintaining value is a second plus. Off road ability is my biggest question. I need to talk Bruce into a test drive of the Silver Bullet!
Get a Manxter!!! You'll have just a much fun as a rail - actually probably more - and you will be able to use it more. With the car being street legal it opens up a lot more restricted desert that you can ride in. You'll be able to drive it around town or to get you out to off road areas. As far as off road ability, it depends on how you set the car up. I've used mine in a variety of terrains and I've had no problems. I'm sure you can set something up with Bruce for a test drive - he's very generous.
I have to echo what the other guys have said. I had a two seater rail that was setup for the high desert (not the dunes). We had a blast in the four years I owned that car, and some of my best memories are of the camping trips we took and of flying through the desert in the rail buggy. 
The biggest drawback was that the rail wasn't street legal. With all the work and money I had into the rail, it was a real shame I only got to drive it in the dirt a few times a year. It was also a pain having to trailer it all the way to the desert (100+ miles each way from my house). Because of the need for a trailer, we had to have a base camp, which severely limited how far we could go. I like to explore, but our range was limited by the need to always return to base camp each day. In 1999, I sold the rail and ordered a Signature Manx. After a ton of work, I was finally able to drive the Manx for the first time in 2002, and I took my first desert trip with it in 2005. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely!!! I would never go back! We are now able to load the buggy up and drive it all the way out there, and we can camp in different places each night without having to return to a base camp. Our range has effectively doubled. I can also drive the buggy down to the beach, or to the store, or to the local forest, or... Anywhere vehicles are allowed! A fiberglass buggy gives you a LOT more fun for the $$$. Obviously, you can trailer the fiberglass buggy too if that's your thing, but they certainly aren't limited to that like non-street legal cars. I still miss those times with the rail buggy. It was lighter in weight, and we didn't have to worry about scratching it. The tube frame was also tougher than the VW pan; we got some good air time with it. I wouldn't put my Manx through that kind of punishment, but a mid or long travel Manx should be able to handle it in stride. In a perfect world, I would have both cars. If I had to choose, I would choose the fiberglass buggy every time. Besides, I'm just getting started on the memories with the Manx! 
The biggest drawback was that the rail wasn't street legal. With all the work and money I had into the rail, it was a real shame I only got to drive it in the dirt a few times a year. It was also a pain having to trailer it all the way to the desert (100+ miles each way from my house). Because of the need for a trailer, we had to have a base camp, which severely limited how far we could go. I like to explore, but our range was limited by the need to always return to base camp each day. In 1999, I sold the rail and ordered a Signature Manx. After a ton of work, I was finally able to drive the Manx for the first time in 2002, and I took my first desert trip with it in 2005. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely!!! I would never go back! We are now able to load the buggy up and drive it all the way out there, and we can camp in different places each night without having to return to a base camp. Our range has effectively doubled. I can also drive the buggy down to the beach, or to the store, or to the local forest, or... Anywhere vehicles are allowed! A fiberglass buggy gives you a LOT more fun for the $$$. Obviously, you can trailer the fiberglass buggy too if that's your thing, but they certainly aren't limited to that like non-street legal cars. I still miss those times with the rail buggy. It was lighter in weight, and we didn't have to worry about scratching it. The tube frame was also tougher than the VW pan; we got some good air time with it. I wouldn't put my Manx through that kind of punishment, but a mid or long travel Manx should be able to handle it in stride. In a perfect world, I would have both cars. If I had to choose, I would choose the fiberglass buggy every time. Besides, I'm just getting started on the memories with the Manx!