how many club members drive offroad or oversand

[ManxManiac]

You know... it's like any other "beach toy"... you must clean it after your fun!!! LOL I always try to have Xena's body clean & polished before heading out!!! Once I get her home from our FUN FUN FUN & sometimes it may be a few days or a week or more before I get to her to clean her up real well, she gets a real good bath!!! LOL
One of the most important things about playing in your buggy at the beach, is to stay out of the salty ocean water!!! Over the years, I've seen folks go drive out into the salt water & when they get home, they don't clean up or wash the vehicle off & the next thing you know they have rust issues!!! I know it looks cool, but I cringe when I see folks do it!!! LOL
You never know about my wife & I heading to the East Coast for an adventure, we're like a bad penny, you never know where we'll turn up!!! LOL
We would also "someday" like to take Xena & run the old Route 66 the full distance!!! I've been on parts of it, but my parents drove it quite a bit before I was born!!! LOL
So you take care & keep passing on your experiences & knowledge about playing at the beach in the sand!!! Better yet... come out here to California & we'll take you to Pismo/Oceano Dunes, Dumont Dunes & the gigantic Glamis dune area!!! LOL Maybe someday!!! LOL

[lastmanx]

You know... it's like any other "beach toy"... you must clean it after your fun!!! LOL I always try to have Xena's body clean & polished before heading out!!! Once I get her home from our FUN FUN FUN & sometimes it may be a few days or a week or more before I get to her to clean her up real well, she gets a real good bath!!! LOL
One of the most important things about playing in your buggy at the beach, is to stay out of the salty ocean water!!! Over the years, I've seen folks go drive out into the salt water & when they get home, they don't clean up or wash the vehicle off & the next thing you know they have rust issues!!! I know it looks cool, but I cringe when I see folks do it!!! LOL
You never know about my wife & I heading to the East Coast for an adventure, we're like a bad penny, you never know where we'll turn up!!! LOL
We would also "someday" like to take Xena & run the old Route 66 the full distance!!! I've been on parts of it, but my parents drove it quite a bit before I was born!!! LOL
So you take care & keep passing on your experiences & knowledge about playing at the beach in the sand!!! Better yet... come out here to California & we'll take you to Pismo/Oceano Dunes, Dumont Dunes & the gigantic Glamis dune area!!! LOL Maybe someday!!! LOL

You got that right. I stay out of the water and away from the splashing mist. This was not my first buggy to the beach and I learned from those earlier buggys. I learned the mist was like acid and would find any dings in chrome or unpainted metal. Learned not to use chrome, paint degrades from sunblock. My solution was get gelcoat body, cover metal floor-frame with bedliner and use stainless steel instead of chrome: signature series Manx's came gelcoat stainless fasteners and stainless roll bar. Also 3 inch lift keeps you up out of sand with easy body clearance for tall tires. You can also now easily get to front tyrods,master cly. bottom gas tank,and rear clutch adjustment, everything. Yes I wash and rewax it but for me it's easily done. I use a non rubber backed carpet in buggy,so it won't trap water or sand. Sand vacuums through easily,and floor is protected with bedliner which is on both sides. As soon as I hit the lottery big I will come over to the west coast.

[mykee50]

I have seen a lot of members buggys are "street buggys" and it seems that is the trend these days. I live in Massachusetts and can drive in my buggy easily to the Atlantic ocean. So I get it that if you don't live on the coast you probably don't go to the beach. I have been beach driving since 1991 before the Manx club started and in a time nobody cared about dune buggys. I figured out how to do it; after being constantly asked if I went on the beach at every car show, and cruise night. Yes I got stuck the first time I snuck out on the beach with my "street buggy". Luckily I got towed out by a nice man with a 4x4 who I gave $50.00 to just in time before a ranger came by threatening me with big fines and stern lecture. So I got tall tires, mounted the required spare tire and other items, and got a $120.00 permit. Yes I got stuck the first time I stopped. The recommended 4x4 tire pressure was 15 psi. I wanted off the beach. Well 5 minutes later a 4x4 was passing by and stopped to help. He didn't get out of his truck, he said to put my tow strap (required for permit) onto his trailer hitch and he would tow me to the front beach which is supposed to be firmer.All for free. Well it wasn't firmer. Luckily 1 minute later another dune buggy came from the other direction. I flagged him down. He explained dunebuggys require even less psi. He used only 8 psi. It worked,and I have been oversand driving ever since. my "street buggy" that got stuck. the same buggy now street and oversand. So anyway my point if any is that all dunebuggys can be modified with taller tires to go offroad and I was wondering how many members go offroad weather desert, mountains, woods, or beach. I also wonder how many members want to but need help, advice on how to do it. As I can to help with tips if people want to. I have many trophys 3rd 2nd and 1st from many years of car shows. It was fun and I learned almost everything on vw dunebuggys from others at shows. I started out 20 years ago the biggest newbie you ever met. But I have the most fun driving on the beach in a dunebuggy. I drive it 3 hours in heavy summer traffic to the beach as is only lowering tire pressure to 6 1/2 psi. Buggy on Larry H.

I hear ya about the air down. We've done that for years in jeeps. How do most of you air back up? I'm familiar how jeeps do it, but do buggy's also carry on-board air-up options? Thanks for the insights, Mike

[lastmanx]

mike I have it easy. the beach I drive on has a shed with 2 large air compressors that feed about 7 lines. all for free it takes a very short time to refill tires. mind you there is a permit fee of $150. yearly or $50. 7 day. (Cape cod national seashore: race point beach orv offroad beach) but SHHHH its kinda a secret so it doesn't get crowded.

[GotManx]

I just carry a portable compressor like this:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/var-30033

[lastmanx]

does it hold up well with long term use. I've had the cheap $20. ones that can't run for 20 min. they burn out. so how quickly can it fill a 33x12.5 from 6psi to 25psi,as the other remote end of beach has no air pump and if it worked it would be handy. also how does it hold up in dusty dirt parking lots.

[GotManx]

I've had the cheap ones before too. This one is worth the price. It only takes a few minutes to refill buggy tires and I've even used on the motorhome to refill 19.5 tires to 90psi without trouble.

[lastmanx]

thank you sounds great. Oh I took a look at your gallery wow your manxter looks like a serious fun machine, great job.

[hillmotorsports]

I believe we have the same unit supplying the air ride bags in our motor home. A bit slow but it has to fill the 2 bags plus the 5 gallon storage tank. From empty to 120 psi takes about 4 minutes.

[andygere]

Lastmanx, please tell me what street tires you are running on the beach. I've been running Jeeps on Nauset Beach (and occasionally Race Point) for over 25 years, and agree that low air pressure is your friend. I run my Jeep at 11 psi, and never have problems, even in the softest, sugary sand. The tires on my Jeep are a modest 245/75 R15, but it's a completely different animal than my Manxter. I'm looking for a tire that will look good and ride nicely in the street, but let me tool around the dunes at Pismo for a once or twice a year trip.



My last buggy ran BFG TA radials, 275 60 R15s in back, and 205 60 R15s in front. I wonder if these would be adequate for an occasional romp in the sand? Here's a mock up of the current buggy with those wheels and tires. Ground clearance is a little low, but I can adjust the beam up a little bit, and the rear IRS has adjustable spring plates, so I should be able to get a bit more back there when needed as well.



By the way, +1 on the small compressor. I can get 4 tire fills on a similar unit before it starts to get pretty warm, and the tires fill pretty quickly. Mine runs directly off the battery posts with big alligator clips. We have air hoses at Nauset too, but sometimes there's still a long line.

[GotManx]

The BFG Radial T/A's are great sand tires. They are a passenger tire with softer sidewalls and when aired down they give a nice bulge with great floatation. I would probably run them somewhere around 6psi for the Manxter.

[lastmanx]

hey andygere I use Dunlop a/t radial rover 33x12.50 r15 on rear and cooper discover xt p225/75r15 in front. I have used other off brand 33x12.5 radials that also worked fine. also any p225/75r15 works fine up front. I usually buy whats on sale when I need them usually mount black wall as most p225/75r15 are whitewall. the combo I have now is only due to fronts wearing out and the lettered tires were a extreme deal, so I remounted the rear to be white lettered. the fronts wear due to full tow in of rear tires as suggested in the how to prep dune buggy book. the outer edge of tire wears then I flip them white to black or vice versa. same with back but wears slower. I run 20psi to 25psi for street front and back. in sand 6.5psi front and back,i don't get stuck. my buggy has 3 inch lift so tire clearance never a concern. I have 1968 style swing a 4 joint (cv) can only take a 31 dia tire. I had tom iacoboni's old manxter #16 with them it should have worked fine, but I sold it. a manxter is long I wouldn't go off road with any tire shorter than 31 dia. as you know we ride in the tracks so you need the ground clearance. your manxter tires may work but you may be plowing sand. your front tires may be too wide unless you beefed up the tyrods.

[andygere]

Thanks for the replies. I have a '74 IRS pan, so I'm limited in tire diameter by the long torsion caps. I had less than an inch of clearance on my previous buggy with the 275/60 15s, which are about 29" tall.

I'd prefer 195s over 205s in front, but BFG stopped making them. I don't get the tie rod comment though, how does that impact tire width?

As far as ground clearance goes, that may be my most limiting factor, but with the beam adjuster up front, and re-indexing the rear I can probably get what I need. Pistons is a big open dune area, so driving in the tracks is less of an issue than it is on the Cape beaches and trails. That said, I saw a few Honda Pilots plowing sand with their front air-dams while out there this summer.

[lastmanx]

with overly wide tires in front it creates a bit of drag so it could possibly bend the long tyrod end. the fix is to put an oversize pipe over it. the tip is in the prepping buggys and Baja book. not saying it will be an issue just something to note. the manxter I built had the rear irs torsion adjusted about 3 splines gave good ground clearance with 31dia. your reply sounds like your manxter will work, go for it.

[andygere]

Last Manx, I think the illusion of really wide tires in my picture is from having the 205 and 275s sitting in front of the really wide tires that are currently on the Manx. The front rims are 9" wide, and are really too wide, but I'll replace them with rims 6 or 7" wide when I go with the 205s.

In this photo, the picture of the Manxter shows what's on there now, and the green clone to the right has the wheel/tire combo I'm considering putting on.