Morning Intermediate Desert Drive - Sweihan Adventures - Abu Dhabi - 27 May 2023

[Krishna R]

My first Intermediate and yes, it was eventful.

As @GauravSoni mentioned, there was a road block on the entrance to the starting point but we all figured out a way to reach the starting point. There were a couple of other convoys at the meeting point as well, we waited a bit for them to clear off and started to the massive dunes of Sweihan 😍

 The convoy was doing great with high climbs and sideys and we were in a constant climb and switch mode until a ratatata convoy crossed us. we took a detour and continued the pace on some more dunes.

We went on to a practice area where we had to climb a dune, switch and side slope on to the other side. I completed the maneuver and came down when I head a "creak" , looked in my rear view and @Chris Wing was following me, so i continued not thinking much about it and then we heard on the radio that the gladiator was sideways. Raced to @Gerrit Bus who was unresponsive on the radio. @Mohamad Anwer and @Santoso Marjuki were behind Gerrit and had a clear view of him from the top of the dune. Went to the gladiator and to our relief, gerrit was unhurt and was able to climb out of the gladiator by opening the roof.

What followed was the smoothest of recoveries I have ever seen. It was a tricky job. The car was on its side on top of a dune with a soft deep bowl. @Mohamad Anwer and @Santoso Marjuki anchored the gladiator from the top of the dune and @Chris Wing pulled it with a winch like precision. I am sure we couldn't even hear a soft thud when the car came back down on 4 wheels. 

 @Benjamin brought the car down the bowl with a tug from @Santoso Marjuki and @GauravSoni started scouting the exit route. The recovery was a class act from @GauravSoni who was surprisingly very composed and executed the recovery and exit perfectly.

To our surprise, the gladiator started and was also drivable (Unlikely for a jeep  ) and we had a slow newbie drive exit. 

Once out, @GauravSoni INSISTED on getting the police report which was done quite quickly and ensured peace of mind for gerrit on the way back home. We helped him clear some debris off his car so that it was drivable safely on road. 

 @Benjamin Great SL. Need to check on your gearing while climbing buddy.

It was nice driving with known peeps @Mohamad Anwer @Chris Wing You guys did great on the drive as well as during recovery as well.

Great meeting @Santoso Marjuki  for the first time. Great guy with a nice car and skills to boot  

 @Mario Cornejo I kept telling you that I like your car and maybe jinxed it man. What happened at the exit was just not meant to happen  

But alls well that ends well. I am just thankful and proud that we were able to manage everything as a team. Shit could been worse.

 Until next weekend guys.

Stay calm and enjoy the week!

[Benjamin]

It was a great drive @GauravSoni for me it was a drive to practice support skills and go back to the basics. I had for so long not needed to worry about gearing or different transfer case driving options which led to myself losing a lot of momentum when needed to climb this is mostly due to my onboard computer being reset and the jeep acting completely different. 
 

as @Krishna R mentioned gearing was my main issue. After switching to auto-manual or tiptronic which works much like a sequential gearbox whilst also changing my transfer case to 4-part-time (4 wheels moving all the time unlike 4-auto) I was managing my jeeps weight through the tight corners with enough fishtail to align myself for the next crossover. 
 

This is when @Gerrit Bus unfortunately toppled his unit of a car which I’m still so glad I didn’t have to use the first-aid kit and he got out perfectly fine just with a little more adrenaline and a lighter jeep to help him get to rescue. After hoping the worst didn’t come true his car made a full recovery and managed to escape the desert luckily I caught up to him before my exit and all looked good from behind! 
 

@Mario Cornejo was amazing in the dunes until unfortunately got a blow-out at the exit. After putting some support lessons to reality the drive that started for myself as a below performance ended up being one I learned from and became a better off-roader.

 

@Chris Wing always great seeing you on a drive and supporting whenever you could 

@Krishna R you did great for your first intermediate drive man! You handle that X-terra like a beast someday we will make the ultimate support team 🤘

@GauravSoni you handled all the situations that went wrong like a pro the recovery of the jeep was smooth and perfect team coordination was key I’ll look forward to your next drive together  this time I’ll bring the A-game! 
 

@Mohamad Anwer great to see a familiar face always happy to see your positive attitude during every drive I’ll see you in the next one  

 

@Santoso Marjuki Great driving man! I hope to see you in the next one  

[Mario Cornejo]

Hey guys - first of all we are all grateful that @Gerrit Bus was not harmed, I hope we see him back on the sand soon.

It was a fluid drive up and everyone was driving beautifully before the unfortunate events, and it cannot remain without acknowledging the efforts that everyone gave to recover Gerrit’s car and then to help me with the tire issue.

Thank you everyone, I truly appreciate it!

Until we see each other again, I want to wish you all a great week ahead.

[Gerrit Bus]

Fellow dune bashers @GauravSoni @Looper @Krishna R @Imran Kashif @Benjamin @Chris Wing @Mohamad Anwer @Beide Worku @Santoso Marjuki @Mario CornejoWe are now a week on from our eventful drive and my Gladiator is in the workshop awaiting an estimate. It is going to be a long road as many parts need to come from the USA. 

I want to thank all of you for the excellent support provided to me, even well after the drive time had finished. The camaraderie is exceptional in our club. 

Below a link of the event :

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6CPHcTCFH1XipPwU6

[GauravSoni]

Thanks for the video @Gerrit Bus all the best ! hope to see you soon in sand!

[Mohamad Anwer]

@Gerrit BusI hope the car gets fixed soon and you gontonthevdesert at the earlierst. However, I highly recommend you dont install the back box enclusure, and to check the suspension balance on your vehicle. 

 

[Gerrit Bus]

15 minutes ago, Mohamad Anwer said:

@Gerrit BusI hope the car gets fixed soon and you gontonthevdesert at the earlierst. However, I highly recommend you dont install the back box enclusure, and to check the suspension balance on your vehicle. 

 

It has now been two weeks and the repairs have not even started yet. I am still waiting for the insurance to give the go ahead. Then parts need to be ordered from the USA. So this is going to be a long road.

[Zed]

7 minutes ago, Gerrit Bus said:

It has now been two weeks and the repairs have not even started yet. I am still waiting for the insurance to give the go ahead. Then parts need to be ordered from the USA. So this is going to be a long road.

don't want to be a bad-news bearer, but it took Nissan 3 months to fix my Y62 after rollover, and that is with constant whats-app-ing the supervisor every week on the progress 🥲. Their reason was the roof had to be ordered from Japan and sent via sea as some parts cannot be air-shipped...  but I'm not convinced 💁‍♂️

Edited June 9, 2023 by Zed

[Gerrit Bus]

2 hours ago, Zed said:

don't want to be a bad-news bearer, but it took Nissan 3 months to fix my Y62 after rollover, and that is with constant whats-app-ing the supervisor every week on the progress 🥲. Their reason was the roof had to be ordered from Japan and sent via sea as some parts cannot be air-shipped...  but I'm not convinced 💁‍♂️

I have already prepared myself mentally for a similar scenario. This is going to take many months I am afraid.

[Zed]

5 minutes ago, Gerrit Bus said:

I have already prepared myself mentally for a similar scenario. This is going to take many months I am afraid.

first wait until you have confirmation Insurance will cover 100% of all repairs. Once confirmed, browse Facebook Marketplace, Telegram Buy & Sell Offroad Cars, etc.. you will see ads like 8,000dhs Cherokee, 10,000dhs PathFinder, 15,000dhs Jeeps. Buy it since you need a weekend car anyways, then sell it again when it's winter and once you get your Gladiator back 😊