TheSamba.com :: View topic - Estimated cost to make a sandrail street legal?

Wed May 27, 2015 3:22 pm

Trying to justify a rail to the wife... it's currently an offroad rail.

Anyone give me a very rough estimate for making a rail street legal?

Headlights
Tail lights
Turn signals
Hazards
Manual wiper
Emergency brake
Mirrors
Horn
Speedo/Tach/Gauges/Switch Panel/Ignition/etc

I'm sure it's a very tough number to guess... But is $500-$1000 unreasonable?

Wed May 27, 2015 4:00 pm

Where do you live? Pull stuff from the junkyard and you can keep it cheap

Wed May 27, 2015 4:35 pm

Yeah, what is required is hugely different from place to place and you don't indicate in your avatar where you live.

Some places it's near impossible to get a rail registered for street. Some places it's very nearly a no-effort deal.

A couple of posters on here have recently described the process they've gone through to get their rails registered for the street.

Wed May 27, 2015 5:16 pm

Start wit ha rail, work up a budget of what you think you can get everything for. add a zero, or two! I kid!!! Starting point? No rail. Rail. rail with trans and steering intact. Rail with engine that runs, or runs well.

I'm in Pennsylvania. My initial lie to the wife was $2500 for a running rail and another $600 to get it past inspection. Engine needed work, brakes were shot. Got all that done and PennDOT decided to fight me. It got expensive. In the end, two of them lost jobs, two got suspended for a month, my rail is #1 street -legal rail in Pa. DWP ( Dave, member here) has #2. Dave was VERY HELPFUL in getting mine through.

Depending on where you live, it might be a breeze. Be prepared to fight!

So, fill in the blanks and we can get you all the help you need.

Wed May 27, 2015 5:18 pm

my apologizes guys... I'm from Ohio (added to my avatar)... I did read the process a guy went through to get his rail titled, and didn't seem terrible.

That's the "starting" point... Pretty stock rail, but very clean, and I can do it right. :)

Wed May 27, 2015 5:22 pm

Anytime my wife asks how much something is or if a part is new I tell her I had it in the shop and I just hadn't put it on yet.

Wed May 27, 2015 5:28 pm

He is in Ohio, it is easier here then in most places. There are even a lot of already legal rails for sale here which is probably the best way to just buy one already licensed. If you are building one from scratch to license it as a home built save the receipts. I sold a licensed rail less engine a couple years ago for $800 it was a roller but the license was what was valuable. Bought it running and driving for $1000. the prices have gone up but you should be able to buy a licensed one cheaper then building all new here. The one I had was licensed as a dune buggy. I currently have my Baja race cars licensed here even though they were not legal in Calif where I built them. Here getting them licenced was no issue open bobcat included, one was even a salvage title... go figure. Oops just saw you already got one after I posted lol.

Wed May 27, 2015 5:42 pm

oldschool5er, still a lot of useful information in your post, thanks a lot :) lol... So it's easier to spend $800 on a junk titled rail, than pass a $60 inspection?

Wed May 27, 2015 5:44 pm

Need front brakes, rear tires, etc. or just put a set of old stock tires on it until you get it passed. You should be able to get the rest done well under $1000 especially doing it yourself. If you already have a rail like you then $60 and doing whatever it takes to get it legal is the best way. The thread you saw about licensing a home built in ohio was a accurate description, but I think you can get away with less receipts if you can trace back to who you bought it from. btw Nice rail.

Wed May 27, 2015 6:28 pm

Street legal front & rear tires....

This may help on requirements...

http://www.semasan.com/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_OH.pdf

Dale

Wed May 27, 2015 6:32 pm

The rail comes with a bill of sale... do you think that will satisfy the inspector? Or is he gonna want more documentation that i won't be able to get?

Fri May 29, 2015 12:33 pm

Any idea what frame this is?

Fri May 29, 2015 1:05 pm

I have no clue, but if it's going on the street, there are at least 3 places I'd be adding braces to that roll cage. Windshield hoop needs on going to the top side rail to form a triangle. Rear hoop needs a pair fore and aft of it to the top side rail. I'd consider tree bars too. That top will fold in on you in a crash. Reinforce it. TRIANGLES are very strong!

Thu Jun 11, 2015 4:54 pm

Anyone know what I need to do to register mine in Florida???

Thu Jun 11, 2015 5:12 pm

You might start by looking here....

http://www.semasan.com/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_FL.pdf

For others with same question in other states...

http://www.semasan.com/page.asp?content=tag_title_toolbox&g=SEMAGA

Dale

Thu Jun 11, 2015 5:25 pm

I know absolutly nothing about ohio laws, but here in utah i was able to carefully go over the law and find out exactly what i needed and cut a few things off of my original list. as you are reading through the laws, if they reference some law about fenders, go read it! they might have exemption clauses. trust me when i say you will know the inspection manual better than the inspectors. after getting my rail legal, i had an inspector fail my truck because of a non-functioning licence plate light. i challenged him on it, he whipped out the book and passed my truck. another time they tried to fail it because of mud flaps, whipped out the book and did some measuring. it passed again. :roll:

Sun Jun 14, 2015 12:47 pm

Can anybody tell me the manufacturer of the exhaust on the op's sand rail? I have the same exhaust, Looking to buy a new exhaust tip!

Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:51 pm

rossl1 wrote: Can anybody tell me the manufacturer of the exhaust on the op's sand rail? I have the same exhaust, Looking to buy a new exhaust tip!

Are you seeking the whole stinger from the bolt flange-out? Or are you looking for a SuperTrapp spark arrestor/muffler to put on the end of the stinger?

This car looks like it has a piece of galvanized exhaust tube welded to the flange, and a SuperTrapp welded to the end of that.

Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:11 pm

http://www.dune-buggy.com/techtips/street_legal.htm

Sun Jun 14, 2015 5:05 pm

The stinger from the flange out is what I'm looking for. I ordered an empi swivel stinger and the bolt pattern was too small.. :(