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Man keep it 30% and you will be safe, don't listen to rule-breakers. For second question I am also curious to know the answer.

Hi Gaurav, Trail Blazers from that period have a known issue with the seat frame that breaks. The most common problem is a cross brace that breaks because it is not strong enough, but if you know of a good welder, you can remove the seat and have it repaired relatively cheaply. Another common problem with Trail Blazer seats is the runners that either break, or stick in one position. This too can be repaired by most garages, but I would advise you to go to a garage that can do TIG welding, since ordinary arc welding will just break again because the weld is very brittle.

I am sorry I beg to differ on this. I find automatic gears are much better than the manual. I have used all my 4x4 in automatic gear and once tried Nissan Patrol (SWB) in manual gear and partially regret my choice at times, when the comfort of auto is needed to free one hand to handle the constant walkie talkie communication. My Nissan patrol first gear was too short and second was too long, I always used to struggle in steep hill climb and if I don't quickly downshift from third to second just above 3k RPM I will loose the momentum and car looses the power. Another thing is that manually shifted gear involve lot of delay as compare to automatically shifting gear that take few ms. This alone point is a kicker and makes a big difference in all intermediate drives, while negotiating long hill climbs. For the point of stretching any one manual gear for long time, same can be achieved in all modern automatic gears that has high rev range and if throttle is fully pressed they won't downshift until 6-7k band.

There are so many versions I heard here that I am literally confused now and need some help guys. 30% allowed but up to 50% acceptable (no fines) Up to 30% allowed only Driver (30%), rear passenger window and back glass can be anything Front (30%), rear (50%) and back glass (boot) 30% Second doubt is, does the high end tinting films block the GPS and Mobile signals....? Does the front clear screen of high end brand like 3M crystalline block the GPS signals....?

I would still vote for manual gear buddy, as it gives 90% advantage over regular desert driving vs 10% downside, as you explain and I totally agree on the such exceptional situations. Manual is also awesome for self recovery as oppose to auto which might shift from 1 to 2 on slight vehicle movement, where you want to pull out yourself in first gear due to extra soft sand by spinning wheels as soon as you get initial momentum.

Gaurav is right about a lot of the advantages of an automatic, but only as far as petrol engines are concerned. The only real disadvantage of an automatic on either a diesel or petrol engine is that is does not offer the benefit of engine braking when one goes straight down a sand dune unless you have a lock-up torque converter. However, a manual geabox on a diesel engine will beat any automatic anytime, since it develops most of its power at low RPM's, which prevents a lot of wheelspin on loose sand, because a lot of gear changes can be eliminated with a diesel running at about 3000 RPM.

With the title itself many will jump up and down and swear on manual, but I am really confuse based on driving with few of my friends and have different experience. When manual gives full control to stretch the gear as much as you like, auto gives seamless shift on uphill steep climb when you are unable to shift with your hands or on long side slope when both hands are super busy. Really appreciate some advise from the user who have used these both gears in sand dunes here in Dubai. Thanks.

Hi Gaurav, Unfortunately you have to remove the seat from the vehicle to prevent burning the carpets during welding, but also because the frame is inaccessible if the seat is not removed. Also, you need to have the upholstery removed from the frame to prevent damage during welding. It might be possible to weld the frame without removing the upholstery, but I don't advise it. The picture shows where the frame usually breaks. The two, thin bars running at right angles between the seat runner tracks are the most common failure, but sometimes the riser brackets can also fail. The best thing to do is to remove the seat and have it repaired, since almost all seats from Trail Blazers from this period are either broken, or previously repaired, but with a repaired seat you never know what you get. The repair might have been poorly done, meaning that some power adjustments may not work. I hope this helps.