You’ve seen some dune buggies on the beach lately and decided that owning and driving a dune buggy looks great. So you want to build a dune buggy because you are good with your hands and you want to save some money.

However, before you do anything, you need to know where you want to drive your buggy and what to do. There are basically 3 places where the dune buggies are driven, and each one requires a different construction.

First is the way. Yes, you can drive a buggy on the road. But of course it should be street legal and you don’t need a lot of the things other dune buggies might have, like 4-wheel drive.

There are some very good fiberglass street legal buggies that look great, and these are usually based on a vw frame and bodywork and built from there.

Then there is the classic place for dune buggies, the dunes. Driving on sand is probably the most fun you can have in a buggy, but you need a buggy with specific features. For example very light, with a good weight / power ratio. Big sand tires at the rear and small slick tires at the front. Front brakes not needed, but good quality rear brakes.

Then there is the off-road buggy designed for dirt. Maybe steep hills, mud, and trails. They need a stronger frame and roll cage because a rollover can be more severe (for example, hitting a tree). The tires are different, the front brakes are much more important, and the frame needs to be stronger. The riding surface you will be on will be rougher and will require better suspension, longer travel, and mud and dirt tires.

So if you intend to build your own buggy, you need to solve your exact requirements first. Frame, engine, tires, suspension, brakes, roll cage, bodywork, if desired.

So is it difficult to build your own buggy? Well of course it all depends on your skill level. If you’ve spent your entire life repairing cars, restoring cars, and rebuilding cars, for example, then you might be in a good position to build your own buggy. However, if you haven’t worked with cars much before, then yes, building a buggy is not easy. It takes skills, it takes money, and it takes time, and be prepared for many hours of frustration.

My first recommendation if you are thinking of building your own buggy for the first time? Buy a buggy kit or at least some high-quality buggy plans to work with. Now a kit doesn’t provide everything you need. You will need to provide your own engine, for example, but it provides you with some of the basic elements that are difficult to build yourself. For example, if you want a fiberglass stroller, the fiberglass body is not easy to make at home, so you can get a kit with a good body already supplied.

But my number one recommendation if you are thinking of building your own buggy for the first time? Whose. No, unless you have absolute confidence in your own abilities. It’s not easy, and it usually takes a lot longer than you imagined, and costs more, and while you’re slaving in the garage trying to build your buggy, everyone else is in the dunes cutting it.

There are very good places where you can find a great buggy for sale (or even a good buggy kit) at a great price. It is usually much cheaper than you could build one yourself.

So buy yourself a second hand buggy, learn everything you can about it first, learn everything you can about building a dune buggy, and if you really want to, build your second buggy once you know what to expect. At least you have your first there to drive when you get tired of building.