just got back from little sahara ok after 4 days of fun, the weather was good and the sand was smoothish with the help from wind on thurs and friday. but even with the new elka dune shocks my back took a beating[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img] after trying to keep up with my 9 year old son on his 400ex and my buddies 15 year old son i started feeling my age. made me think that a sand car might not be such a bad idea for beating around the sand even if i rode the quad part of the time and sand car the rest of time. i really dont want to spend the huge bucks for a monster 4 seater with a V-8 nore do i want a car i have to wrench on all the time. i did look at the sonic and short sand cars with the busa motors seems like they would do the job (and fit inside my toy hauler) but i am not sure because i live so far away from sand and dont want another useless machine in the garage[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] maybe if i could street legal a buggie and drive it around here i could live with it. sitting here now thinking about my next trip (june saint anthonies) i don't know how my body will do with another 4 day riding trip when we ride from 9am to dark. anyone else outthere have a buggie that can give some advise about what direction to go? my chiropractor said i have a degerative disc problem that will only get worse and beating my spine on a quad will make it worse[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] i love duning and will fight to continue our trips out there, just need to be more careful about how much abuse i take.



p.s. check out pic #7 on my photo page that might have been my last real jump!!! ouch[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Yes Yes Yes They are a blast!!!!! Just cost $$$ to get them right

 

Some friend's of mine decided this last trip out that they are going to get a sand car for basically the same reason. They're looking at a Sand King....I think that's what it's called.... 'busa motor, etc. The thing is going to cost them 25K.... One of the salesmen was in our group, and had brought his out. Considering they only dune ride about 2 - 3 times a year, I think it's a HUGE waste of money myself...But it's their cash, and can spend it anyway they like.
Given the opprotunity, I'll be happy to ride in it occasionally, but would rather be on a quad.
J.

 

Jeff, sorry I wasn't able to meet you out thier at LS last week[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] would could have gone wrong did, LOL I will just leave it at that.

I know you had great weather,and hopefully enough wind to keep the dunes smooth. What you need is a good used Honda Pilot!!! for around 5500 you can get one in great condition,and they run well.


Ya, jumps like that are for 20 year olds!!! us old guys cant take the beating any more[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]





bigger.

 

Jeffroe, When I left Olahoma I took my sandrail with me. Since there are no sand dunes nearby in Ga. I made my rail street legal. One problem you will run into with a street legal rail is getting insurance on it. Of course every state has different requirements. As far as ride, they are easyer on the back with a few exceptions. One is that with an ATV you can make allowances for a rough landing by letting your legs take some of the shock of a landing. With a rail, if you ever bottom out it will directly compress your back. Some ways to avoid this is to look for a rail with suspension seats and plenty of travel on the shocks and don't get to carried away jumping. I found that in a rail the seats and harness help hold your back in a position that gives more support than an ATV can ever give you. You should maybe consider a used unit that meets your needs and not have to put as much $'s in it as you will end up needing diffrent tires for the street and sand maybe a diffrent trailer to tow it with and ect. Before you buy, try to spend some time in a couple of different rails and see if that is what you really want.

 

Well said!!!

 

jeffroe,

as you may know i am a chiro also, i dont see how riding your quad is going to speed up or effect

your deg joint disease, being fat,out of shape and not doing cardoivacular exercise is what is going to hurt you...not saying you specifically, but mobility and movement help keep you alive.....

alot of chiro's get a little crazy with there idea's....my 2 cents keep riding---biomechanically the quad puts your spine in a beter position to absorbs jumps and bumps than the sitting position of the rails...plus your ankle, knees and hips will take some off when on the quad..

your azz will be the only thing between your spine and the jumps on the sand car....

does your chiro ride? i do !

 

There is a guy from around the little sahara ok area.......and I rode in his dune buggy......it was awesome. He had 2 cars, and huge tailers and truck to put them in. I believe he was, or worked for "Rich lawns".......

 

Jeff:

I spend over an hour and a half talking to the other Chiro on the forums (Crackerjack).

I'm not looking for it for back issues. . . I'ld just like to have the toy.

Lately with work I'm not getting to take as much time off but, the way I look at it is the more fun I can have when I'm off the harder I'll work to get the time off.

Hell, I gotta spend my money on something.

I'm working on talking the Wife into it. When I do. . . remind me and you can fly out and hook up with us for a trip for some rides.

I'm sold on the Busa rails myself. Three seats would be nice as we have a daughter but, if I can get the Wife used to driving it I'm fine getting on my quad if we all want to go out.

Have to talk on the phone again one of these days. . . its been a while.

These things really can be reasonable when you look at the cost of a quad and by the time you get done getting paddle tires, pipe, etc. (or in our case. . . etc., etc.,etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., ) you aren't into one of these cars for much more.

Let me know which way you go. . . .

 

Hi Jeff,

This is Matt. Regarding your question on the mini rails, I do have some feedback. I have a long travel short sand car that has a turbo charged 1317cc streetbike motor. Regardless of the brand, all of the long travel models have a pretty decent ride. My car has the fox air shocks and it rides o.k. I have ridden in the TomPro cars with the King Shocks and they ride unbelievable. It is pretty tough to bottom out these cars even on large jumps so your only worry is handling the chop. Again, the Kings (especially with bypasses) are far superior than the air shocks. These types are also much more expensive than the fox shocks. I agree with you regarding the lack of justification for having $50k sitting in the shop for only a few trips a year. Regarding the performance of these little rails, let me put it to you this way, my turbo short sand car will smoke my new DSBusa that I got from you. It's all about the turbo that pulls so much power from these little motors. The following is a list of different brands that I have researched. Short Sand Cars, King Sand Cars, Sonic Sand Cars, Sand Bullet, Sick Sand Travel, and Tompro Designs. Good luck in your search and you should have told me you were in the market we could have worked a trade. Give me ring if you want some more info. 559.312.6312.

--Matt