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@amir.rophail if you have done a few drives, even with another group, then you are most welcome to join as this area does require some experience. Look forward to seeing you on Friday.

@WiLfY, most welcome. Please RSVP the event.

May I join. Have done over 10 drives with another group.

@skumar83 great! Thanks a lot! Looking forward to seeing you all on friday then! Can’t wait

Was it Dr @srini62.

Hi All, This is to make everybody aware about the Service Recovery offer through Al Wathba Insurance. I have been insuring my cars with service recovery option for over 10 years now and all the insurance companies I have come across and dealt with had unlimited recoveries throughout the year without any restrictions. For the very first time in my life I got the insurance from Al Wathba Insurance due to their good customer service and convenience. However I was surprised a couple of months back when I was in Kalba/Maliha area and needed recovery. I called the IMC number given and they confirmed my insurance and car details. The surprise came when they told me that I was in Sharjah area so they will only tow my car to any garage in Sharjah, I insisted that the garage I deal with is in Ajman, but they refused and insisted that I take it to any garage in Sharjah only. I was further surprised when I was told this was the first of the 3 recoveries allowed during the whole year. As if this shock was not enough, I had a situation on last Friday in Liwa where I needed the recovery, I called the IMC number given and told them I would like to take my car to Musaffah which was in Abu Dhabi. They initially confirmed, but called me later to say I was in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi so could take it only within the Western Region. Not knowing Abu Dhabi so well I was really worried. I asked them to suggest me where I would take my car for urgent repairs in the Abu Dhabi Western region, but was told I need to tell them the place. Miles away from anything I checked with one of our fellow off-roader and he suggested Madinat Zayed. They confirmed that I could take it to Madinat Zayed and send the recovery accordingly. I am just shocked as I was not made aware of these clauses at the time I was buying the insurance, and since I had never faced these restrictions I was not aware that these restrictions existed. My main aim for starting this thread is to make everybody aware of the horrors of having such restrictions. So next time you are looking for a car insurance Al Wathba might not be the right choice for you, as you might be more comfortable with a certain garage closer to your place just in case the car needs a day or 2 to be prepared and ready to be in action again. I stay in Sharjah and if I had to leave the car in Madinat Zayed which is over 300 kilometers away it would be ridiculous to leave it so far, or have to pay heavily to get my car from Madinat Zayed to a garage in Sharjah after having silly restrictions and clause for the recovery services. In conclusion if you want to avoid the restrictions and clause for the recovery services which is added on to the insurance please do not use Al Wathba Insurance. Next time if you have to go with a new insurance company check the restrictions before paying and finalizing the deal. Just trying to save a one day delay and having to go back to register my car, I fall in a trap unknowingly, but if I had in mind the inconvenience I have been facing for this year I would have happily got the insurance from the known company I was previously dealing with and face the inconvenience that one time only. Please do share your comments and if you can share similar experiences and such insurance companies to avoid.

I think this is also very effective in humans

As we all know that RTA renewal for cars is for 12 months and insurance we get is for 13 months policy to cover the 1 extra month which RTA gives for a grace period. During this grace period, we can fix the failed car or compare the best insurance available in UAE. I have been driving all my cars during that grace period without any worry, but recently heard some rumor that RTA is issuing a fine if they catch you driving with expired mulkia even in a grace period of the 13th month. RTA fines are ranging from 500 - 1000 Dhs. Is it true? Has anyone got any fine by cops or scanner for driving a car (not parked) during the grace period....?

Ooo on my birthday 😁I'm not sure 🤗

Your doctor was too excited, once a week with the CARNITY will cure you ☺️

I have personally tested vaporub, cats wont go near that smell.

As per the title, do you think you could pass your driving test again? A lot of the members on here have been driving for many years, and as I can attest to, it’s easy to pick up bad habits, maybe not habits that are necessarily bad but not conducive to passing a driving test. If you were asked to do your driving test again tomorrow, do you think you could pass it first time?

I can pass my driving test with ease. Hopefully. I would pass my off-road test with flying colours. hahahahaha

Thank you for being brave and venturing out with us @Barry, rest assured we will try our level best to keep you safe.

I hope yes, if not been thrown to busy street to test my patience and tolerance level with retard cutting 4 lanes in one go and jumping in front of my car without an indicator or any sign of apology / thank you.

As i know its no problem driving during this period but on renewal time RTA will charge you daily from expiry date to renewal date AED 5 or 10 I'm not sure https://www.edarabia.com/dubai-police-traffic-fines/

As i am often going for short and small trips in the desert alone (not ideal, i know, but i stay near to the road), i've spent some time looking at the self recovery possibilities for desert sand. Our Aussie friends seem to have extensive equipment and tools to deal with getting stuck in the sand. I'd love to hear your inputs and feedback on the available equipment such as: * Maxtrax recovery board. The original or alternatives, or selfmade. * Hi-lift Jack. * Deadman anchor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxnwAkMh9U8 .....or other anchor such as your spare wheel. * Winch on your vehicle * Others... Would love to hear what works best in our Middle-East environment without breaking the bank. I always carry 2 recovery boards made from scaffolding platform that helped me out a few times already.

Welcoming @Rami Hanna - 1999 Pajero 3.5 - Proud owner I just met near my office and stopped him on the busy street to say hi (too bad), as you hardly see these beasts in pristine condition and still running with full pride and honor. Looking forward to seeing you Rami more often on drives or near our offices.

For experienced and inexperienced offroaders: please state the difference between dune bashing and offroading in your own words, experience or examples.

offroading term and SUV is two highly misunderstood term here from Audi Q3, BMW X3 is also SUV and LC and Patrols are also SUV. Good explanation, but no one care reading and understanding one unless they break their cars by themselves.

Some very good point made by desertdude for defination of offroading of different countries means very different than us here where sand is everywhere, I have also done offroading with my Honda accord on roadside and then deflate to come out, lol.

LOL boy talk about cryptic messages. I wouldn't have guessed in a million years the discussion was suppose to move in that direction! But yes ofcourse its a very valid point. When you say off roading people in Europe think Mud plugging. when you say offroading people in US think rock crawling or dusty desert gatch tracks of the mountainous deserts of the south or snow covered tracks of the north. When you say offroading in Africa people think of jungle crossing in washed away muddy tracks. When you say offroading in the middle east new european expats think Going for drive in the wadis. lol. Only old potatoes like us and locals understand off roading in the middleast to be "dune bashing" Whole point is it means different things in different parts of the world. And most of todays girly suvs cuvs crossovers with their crappy front wheel drive biased 4wd systems can cope pretty much alright in most of versions of offloading mentioned above. And since real hardcore desert duelers are in the super minority not many manufacturers cater to our actual off roading needs. Neither can most of us afford or put so much money towards the few remaining real desert ready cars. Next appropriate question I guess would be to list the few remaining desert worthy 4x4s as in new out of the box without any mods. Think thats going to be a very short list!

I just said personally I dont like the term dune bashing. It just sounds to brash and negative to me. Also you haven't been on drives with some of the companies. Like now out of business FTC was a disaster drive from the word go. They use to start from big red and blaze through their route. Hitting almost every peak in that side of the sanbox till faya and then back because their camp was in nizwa across the road. Also you forget our regular safari was for 2hrs actual drive time of 1.5 hrs plus 0.5 hr drinks and sunset break. Also I like to dispel the myth that Safari Company Desert Guides are just lame drivers and can do short fixed routes only. This is actually true for most working for small operators. The kind that offer 60dhs safaris on Groupon. But the bigger more organized tour operators had I say had because most of the old guard has left now very skilled drivers, some even working today with big car names to day for their hot weather and desert testing. Evening sun downer tours was just the bread and butter but we had a lot of trips of many other types. From 3 day liwa excursions to 15 day desert trials in liwa. Overnighters in Shuwaib and sweihan. Trips to Khatim in Abu Dhabi And we all drove according to the kind if guests we had. Some liked it rough and some preferred a relaxed cruise. Surprisingly middle aged women enjoyed the most "bashiest" rides and young big buys who always said they wanted the hardest drive were the first to stop the car and throw up. Anyways just though I clear this misconception that all desert safari guides just plonk through a fixed easy route ans can't drive for shit. As professionals we drove for our paying guests so they get to experience the desert, not to show off our driving skills. But when the guests wanted a ride of lifetime they also got that. And repeat customers asking for the same guide went with last time over and over again is testimony to that.

Offroad is anything off the trmac road - beach, kacha, gravel, gauge track, wadi, mountain, desert, dunes etc. , dune bashing is bashing the sand dunes at low or high speed. wht is the prize for winner?

Offroading is a general term which can be even a drive through the wadi, jungle or the desert. Whereas dune bashing is specifically pertaining to offroading in the desert. Also, I think dune bashing is more pertaining to a high speed drive through the desert while offroading in sand is like going at a relatively slower pace through some technical dunes

So means, necessity is the mother of invention in that Supercharged Patrol to climb faya in the least amount of time. And we got impressed by the necessity of camping light setup in 10 seconds, lol.

The way I see it, if the manufacturer has to put a light under the bonnet for midnight inspection, then the car can't be too good 😂

That idea reminded me our iconic car Ambassador "The Amby" In old models it is to have bulb with on off switch at engine bay

I know it's hard to prevent winch cable from fraying once it is used regularly, but I still like to ask this question in case some of us has figured out the way to stop winch cable fraying? Firstly it will extend the cable life, second it will offer safer recoveries and third no more bleeding hand while operating the cable to align while spooling in.

On my expeditions through Africa I have on occasion seen people use 3/4 inch steel chain instead of rope on 15 and 20 ton winches. Although they can't fit the same length of chain on the winch as a rope, some claim that a high quality, properly rated chain has the same breaking strength as I/2 inch steel rope, but with the added advantage that a chain does nor fray. According to one party of Australians I once came across in the DRC, a chain works great for recoveries in mud, since since you don't have to wash the chain to get the mud off, which if you don't, makes the hemp core rot which in turn, causes wire strands to break. Personally, I've always used aluminium ropes before switching to synthetic ropes, but trust the Australians to always find another way of doing stuff. Can't imagine what would happen when a steel chain breaks under a pulling load of 10 or 12 tons, though.

Totally agree 9500 lbs are pulling strength and not breaking strength, usually breaking is much higher so that rope or cable doesn't snap if load exceeds, then simply will stop pulling as per winch limitation. Last week I have encountered this winch crying when recovering an FJ uphill so I'm sure 2 ton FJC must have become 4-5 ton and that's the first time I heard winch literally crying for help. In that scenario, I rolled the winch in a very small interval and stopped on every cm we have recovered.

I don't understand- If according to the seller both the aluminium and synthetic ropes have breaking strengths of 9500 lb, how can the aluminium rope have a "better" breaking strength? You are right though that fraying will occur on a synthetic rope as well, but the difference is that when it does fray, it does not draw blood like frayed steel or aluminium ropes do.

Maybe not everyone is using synthetic winch ropes because it is so expensive, as opposed to not everyone using it because it does not really work on cranes?

if synthetic rope was better then all the wiench and cranes would be using it...we have to take the better with its flaws here guess it means the bleeding hands..we could use cover for the entire length but then it would be thicker then it already is..guess the only option remains is using good fat gloves then

Grease or rope oil is a bad idea in sandy conditions. The sand sticks to the grease and after a few uses of the rope, the sand/grease mixture turns into a sort of grinding paste that will destroy the rope in very short order. I agree with @desertdude though, a synthetic fiber rope is far less hassle, and if you buy the right rope, you get one that is stronger than a steel rope of a similar diameter.

Totally agree with Sri suggestion which I forgot to mention. Use the rear end in such hard recovery when no options are there. I remember last year I have to give the strong tug to Ford pickup on top of Iftar bowl and used my rear end with more than 30 tugs to straighten out the face of Ford pickup. This one is also a good point, but these days you can also opt for soft shackles instead of modifying the hook to take the strap. Less involved job.

Thank God Mike didn't post that one, I've seen that and its super gross! And a very stern warning not to play the fool when recovering vehicles and that it is a very serious and dangerous business. But on the other hand, I worked for donkey years in the Safari business and really stucks and recovery was not a big deal at all! Mostly because the Land Cruiser has strong solid towing points front and back from the factory that dont need any shackels. All of us just had a good sturdy strap with reinforced eyelets on both ends, anyone got stuck, quickly unroll the strap, fix the eyelets on the Nato style pintle hook on the rear or the open hooks in the front and 9 times out of 10 a gentle tug was all that was needed. T Its only after I retired safaris and starting going on "private" trips did I see all of this. Maybe in the interest of safety, I think people should stop using metal hooks and shackles and modify their towing points to be able to take straps. Just a suggestion.

Also one more thing that can be added that in the event that they were forced to do such a recovery the Hummer should have at least used his rear recovery point instead of the front. He would have still had a smashed windscreen but the personnel injury could have been averted.

There is another video, I won’t post it. But it’s a stuck jeep, same thing, snapped rope, came back through the windscreen. The aftermath was a guy rolling around on a hospital bed with half his jaw missing. I detest towing people. Last time I did the guy hit the back of me and wrecked both our cars.

As you all know, when you get stuck in the sand, getting pulled is the first thing that comes to mind which means you need have tow cable as the most important accessory. Although, it is my first time buying any of these things so I don't know which one to get. I saw a strap for 40 dhs which I cant say was decent quality because I don't what a decent strap looks like. It had a breaking load of 4000kgs and limit of 2000kgs. Then there was steel cable with simple hooks on either side for 20dhs. Again, I cant say if it was decent quality because I don't know what to look for in a quality cable. Although, there was no written weight limit on the cable packaging. Do you mind helping? which one should I get? Even if any of those lasts me one day I will be happy and I think 40 dhs is a bargain, or is it because I don't know what a good strap or cable should cost. Although, if both of them are crap what and where should I get it from. I wouldn't spend a lot on it because I am not a hardcore offroader and my trips are severely limited. Thanks.

What you want is a kinetic strap that stretches when a load is applied to it, which reduces the stresses and strains on both vehicles. You may also want to research the topic of vehicle recovery, and learn how to calculate the actual weight of a stuck vehicle, which varies depending how the vehicle is stuck. To be safe though, get a kinetic strap that is rated for at least 15 tons- this will get you out of almost all sticky situations safely, and without damage to either vehicle.

Where is the facepalm emoji when you need it.

It wasn't being used in the sand so temporarily I thought why not use them torsion bars. It looked so good.

The weight of the engine acts on the springs and shocks anyway, no matter how the torsion bars are tensioned. Maybe you should find out where the car was fixed and go and ask the people there what they found?

Clicking sound could be cv joint or diff. I would look at the cv joint first. Is the sound coming from the front or back? Center or side? If you drive in a circle with the steering on full lock can you hear a click?

get your wheel balancing checked as your first incident highly raises doubt on unbalance wheel that only wooble at or after specific speeeds. then go with barry steps to eliminate.