A sandrail, or sand rail, or sandcar, or rail, is a lightweight motor vehicle specifically built for traveling across a wide variety of off-road terrain. Sandrails are popularly operated on actual sand dunes, such as Glamis, Pismo and Rasor in California, St. Anthony Dunes in Idaho, or Little Sahara in Utah.
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Sandrails are typically lightweight vehicles that use high flotation tires, allowing the car to skim over the surface of the sand without getting stuck. A sandrail has a low center of gravity which permits it to turn even on the face of a sand dune. Many types of off-road vehicles are relatively top heavy and can only safely climb or descend steep hills with a mostly perpendicular approach to inclines or downhills.
Sandrails are built from a tubular space frame chassis that incorporates an integrated roll cage. There are usually no windows, doors, fenders, or body panels. The engine is typically at the rear or mid-engine mounted. Originally becoming popular in the 1960s, they used lightweight air-cooled engines like Volkswagen engines from the VW Beetle (~200 pounds), early air-cooled engines from cars such as Porsches or the Chevrolet Corvair (~350 pounds). Those older technology cars were often called "dune buggies", derived from the VW "Bug". Today new models use more efficient motors featuring water-cooled engines, often Subaru boxer engines, or Ford ecotech engines. With the added power of new computerized engines, they also incorporate better suspension and steering geometry for handling.
Sandrails are not to be confused with the Meyers Manx design. They commonly share the Volkswagen engine originally. The main difference being a Manx is based from a shortened VW bug chassis and have a fiberglass body, while a sandrail is constructed of a tubular chassis.
Front tires are sometimes narrow to allow them to dig into the sand while turning; other designs use wider farm-implement tires to gain more flotation and minimize the sand thrown into the laps of the occupants when turning. Sandrails often use large rear "sand tires" (to provide traction and flotation) that incorporate rubber paddles. Sandrails are almost always rear-wheel drive.
Most sandrails use a manual transmission, although automatic transmissions are used as well.
The sandrail industry has grown dramatically due the increased popularity of the vehicles. New turn-key vehicles can cost between $10,000 – 100,000, depending on the design. One popular configuration seats four adults and has around 400 hp (300 kW), weighing around 2,000 lb (910 kg) empty. Jumping two to four ft (0.6-1.2 m) off the ground is common play seen at most duning events, with some exceeding heights of ten feet.
The use of helmets while "duning" is increasing due to the increased performance of the sandrails. Additionally, use of eye protection (goggles/ballistic-grade glasses) is highly encouraged. In many duning areas all sand vehicles (motorcycles, Quads, sandrails, UTVs/Side by Sides) are required to have a whip antenna with a flag at the top, at least 8 feet off the ground (check local laws). This helps to prevent collision as vehicles go over sand dune hills, minimizing accidents.
Some states, such as Arizona and Utah, allow registration of sandrails and other primarily off-road vehicles for "on-road" use. In these states, sandrails registered for on-road use usually must meet the minimum insurance coverage required by normal vehicles. Necessary modifications to be road worthy include a wind shield, turning signals, license plate. These requirements may vary by state.
Sandrails have been employed by the military on many occasions, such as the Chenowth Light Strike Vehicle. They are still in use today by the Navy SEALs. Design of these vehicles is based on the chenowth model and have been modified for a third seat above the engine to control a .50 cal machine gun.
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