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I was looking for someone to help me out with updating my CV. @Wrangeld any suggestions on who could help?

@Xaf I was in bed sleeping. Seriously I just returned from Karachi and had an issue getting myself and my car started. All sorted out on Saturday and back in action from this week. @Wrangeld amazing write up. Usually I enjoy reading through your write up recalling each moment of the drive. However with me not being on this drive you painted an excellent picture in my mind with your words. Totally awesome x infinity.

@tjsingh would be my absolute pleasure - something I do for a number of people!!

Posting images in the gallery but this line-up deserves to be on the drive thread too. Amazing turnout and wonderful drive. @Wrangeld your trip reports are awesome and like Rahim Bhai said, they paint the perfect picture for those who missed the drive.

Congratulations @Tbone for reaching the fewbie level with Carnity Offroad club. Based on your first newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Social media sharing & inviting friends & family to join offroad club is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels.

Yes fewbie on same time, sri will be posting it shortly. Afternoon, I might post an Intermediate drive, waiting for the ministry of interior approval.

Congrats @Tbone

congrats @Tbone

Congrats Buddy!

Congrats @Tbone looking forward to see you soon.

Congrats @Tbone ! You managed very well !

The family keeps growing and that’s what makes it so worthwhile waking up in the morning and seeing those people who are hungry for some adventure. @Gaurav came back with a bang and baptised the Pajero for a wonderful 2020. Good to have you back buddy. @Srikumar Your briefings are the main secret ingredient why we hardly have to take out shovels and ropes. People hit the sand and understand the basics and keep a cool head. @Obaid.Sultan.1987 got crested with the mighty big Range Rover but kept the smile on his face and I saw he truly enjoyed the drive as I was driving behind him. Due to the larger convoy, our Fewbies got the tasks to either sweep, take second lead, or help out their fellow team members. @Ale Vallecchi @AKR @Adam Marston @Xaf @Wrangeld @Jeepie @tjsingh a shoutout to all of you. I heard really good feedback from you guys. Carrying knowledge forward is a great thing and makes the group become a real tight family. Looking forward to many more of these drives !

Thanks for adding the wall of fame Gaurav. I really could not remember everyone!

@Wrangeld I have lately started looking forward to reading your trip reports. There are no words in my vocabulary to describe your writing skills other than to say it's pure poetry and makes us relive each moment of what was a wonderful day.

The Desert is a Fickle Mistress Where to start? OK – firstly, an apology because not everyone on our drives will get an honorable mention in this message. Please (please) excuse me for that – for a start, I am unsure that the Carnity server has enough room for names of all the people with whom we enjoyed another spectacular day out in Al Qudra, secondly, this was such an epic group of drivers that I may have lost track of one or two. Fortunately, Carnity never loses track of a driver, so we all made it home safely. For a Petrol Head like me, before we even got out of the parking lot to the deflation point, it was clear this was going to be a special drive. Not one, but three Hummers. A Range Rover (Sport) and the beast of beasts, a GMC Sierra AT4. Surrounded by assorted, Patrols, Land Cruisers, Jeeps, Pajeros and Trailblazers it looked more like the forecourt of a very spectacular 4x4 specialist than a troop ready to face the challenges of the sand. From a housekeeping perspective, with such a large group, everyone really appreciated and respected the need to be at the meeting point on time. Yes, it’s an early start, but that applies to everyone and waiting around in the cold is no fun when all you want to do is get into the dunes. After our briefing, because of the large number of vehicles we were split into 2 groups. My experiences from the Newbie drive are limited to the excellent leadership of @Gaurav, with whom we had yet to have the pleasure of a drive. @Srikumar led the other group, and could be heard from time to time over the radios, including one perfect moment when the instructions he was giving were the perfect guidance for the person who had refused on our drive! In general, due to the large amount of rain that fell recently the dunes in Al Qudra were quite benign early in the morning. The hard packed top layer meant that all the drivers felt like masters of the desert. On one side, that’s a fantastic entry point to the whole experience of off-roading – and is just as legitimate a ride as any other we might face, because hey, it’s gonna rain some time! On the other, this might give you just a little too much confidence in the dunes, and that would be a dangerous thing. With @Jeepie at the wheel it was smooth going as she managed to restrain what might have been my playful tendencies and drive excellently at the back of the pack. Conditions might have been benign for most of the ride but it was not without incident. As is ever the case, we had the chance to learn some new techniques. Thanks go to @Obaid.Sultan.1987 for cresting his car. Gaurav was able to show is how to remove the crest from the car rather than the other way round … or would have, had the sand not been so incredibly wet deep down and refusing to play ball! In the end, we got two recoveries for the price of one as we also go to see the kinetic ropes in action and even a winched recovery – not bad for a benign day out in the dunes! Reassembled, refreshed (thanks to all who brought and contributed to the tasty food and drinks) and debriefed it was clear that all the Newbies had had a great experience, enjoyed their day and mainly departed from the desert with their vehicles intact. @lucky appears to have not been so, again! As a recent Fewbie, and watching the drive from the passenger seat, I really enjoyed seeing how I must have looked/reacted but a few weeks ago and to see the confidence with which @Jeepie handled the drive. Hopefully we will see many of the first timers back again soon. It was great to meet everyone. To my great advantage and pleasure it was decided to return out into the desert for a Fewbie drive after lunch and prayers. Our numbers slimmed to 8 vehicles this drive showed once again that no matter how easy conditions might look going in a straight line over the dunes, side slipping, crest driving and cross axle moments completely change the nature of the experience. The ‘confidence’ from the morning drive dissipated and was quickly transformed into the concentration needed for the afternoon. We moved fast, we drove high up the ridges, we crested, we crossed and then we did it again and again and again, moving from one phenomenally beautiful location to another, eventually being led by @Frederic to the area around Solar park which was in equal measure, fun, technical and terrifying. This was big grin, at times sphincter tightening stuff. For this Fewbie there were more than enough challenges and challenging moments to satisfy any potential frustration from sitting through the Newbie drive. Did we get stuck? Yes, of course (in my case anyhow) – but truth is that something that might have been a challenging refusal a few weeks ago was managed with more ease and calm thanks once again to the excellent coaching we received since we joined this incredible organization. And, hey! If you’re not getting stuck, you’re not trying hard enough. A big thanks to @Jeepie who left me in the driving seat for the whole of the Fewbie drive. For me that was important because my big takeaway from this week was that a little more skill and care changes the driving experience massively. Engine power can get you out of a lot of trouble, but a bit more skill and a bit less power means you have a lot more control and meet and match the challenges much more effectively. Five weeks ago, could I have imagined driving round the lip of a bowl and successfully coming out the other side? Five weeks ago, I would have been either too terrified to try or too stupid to realize that trying was complete idiocy. I truly hope someone has the video because that was an even more ‘yeehah’ moment from what was a fantastic ride. @Gaurav, thanks for taking up places we did not expect to be this early in the 4x4 career. @Frederic, thanks for leading us to your back yard. @Srikumar @Xaf your advice on how to improve is/was always appreciated and taken on board (after all you were looking at my tail pipes most of the day! @AKR keeping the faith with Jeeps with you is a pleasure. @Tbone, first time out as a Fewbie, impressive. Am I looking forward to the next outing? Of course. Where else can we learn in such a safe environment with such professional and friendly people. Thanks, once again for being allowed to join this family.

Good job @Tbone

congrats

Congrats .👍🏻

Nice drive, good conditions for a newbie drive. @Rahimdad @Emmanuel where were you 2? 🧐

Congrats!

Had the same problem this morning. Selecting big JPEG files made the uploading hang. When I uploaded them one by one it worked fine. If you resize them to smaller size you should be able to select multiple.

Great shot 👍👍👏

Wonderful trip report @Wrangeld that left me and sri with lots of less words in our trip reports, if we still feel necessary to write on lazy Saturday evening. Many Thanks @Srikumar, @Frederic, @Lucky sAm, @Wrangeld, @Obaid.Sultan.1987, @Ale Vallecchi, @Jeepie, @Xaf, @Rizwanm2, @Edward Davies, @AKR, @Adam Marston, @Amit0103, @tjsingh, @Brette, @Mahmoud Hamzawy, @Seldon, @Matti Brockman, @Joe Biju Joseph, @IMAMP, @adelishakk, @Kavindu Avanka, @Tbone, @Junaid Khalid, @Martin., @Mostafa Taha For waking up early and showing up on the meeting point on and before time. I truly love when people are on time to respect each other time. This was my first drive after a long break and I was equally charged up and waiting to see the dunes and new faces after a long time. Looks like Carnity wanted to welcome my Pajero come-back with so many new faces that I think it was a second biggest turn out for the newbie drive with 28 cars. With the help of rain and hard surface, all newbie got a leverage to learn at a much discounted rate and everyone did wonderfully great within their vehicle capabilities and attentiveness during the briefing. I really appreciate everyone's patience and enthusiasm to learn off-roading in a proper structured manner than just hitting the dunes blind-folded. Few minutes of reading, listening and slow pace drive might look boring in the beginning, but I bet as you slowly climb the ladder you will appreciate the slow and steady learning curve. All our off-road briefings are kept to bare essential to get started as fast as we can, so that remaining part newbies can learn on the drive, during the recoveries and by observing the technical recoveries. I highly recommend every newbie to go through each pinned topic on the offroad club homepage: https://carnity.com/clubs/off-road-club and general discussion section: https://carnity.com/forums/forum/588-discussions to learn more about what we aren't able to share and explain in the morning briefing. These topics will answer lot of your curious questions and put you in a right track if you wish to pursue further: How to get promotions? What are different level of drives? What all offroad and safety gears are required? What is Carninty grading structure and how to get offroad certification? Please share your feedback that will help us learn new things from newbie perspective:

Maliha - Kalba Desert is a very good learning ground for absolute newbies for their first time desert driving thrilling experience. If you have already driven in sand before then you can learn more from experts having decades of offroading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridge to test your off-road control. Drive will start with detail briefing, followed by 2 hours of driving in sand dunes and then break for refreshment over a feedback and assessment session for each offroader. After the break, we will head to the Fossil Rock enjoying the beautiful climb and amazing landscape of the desert sand and mountain in one place. The other side of fossil rock offers a picturesque view of vast desert from top of the mountain, making a perfect selfie spot. All first timer absolute newbie drivers will receive a detailed briefing before the drive starts to learn the basics of desert driving, techniques and etiquette. They will also receive the safety advise, recovery procedures, best practice and debunking the myth of desert driving. Newbie briefing will end with an individual advice on your 4x4 vehicle gearing, tire pressure, traction control and SRS options to enjoy your first desert drive thoroughly and safely. When: 24 January 2020, Friday Meeting time: 6:45 AM, the convoy will move at sharp 7:00 AM Where: Adnoc Petrol Station on Maleha Road GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/ye28yTnTSYr Level: All levels (Absolute Newbie and Newbie). Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance. Plan: Drive, train and enjoy till about 11:30 AM What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 12:00 PM - (much before Friday prayer) Friday Prayer Mosque: Maleiha Mosque - https://goo.gl/maps/fqXy8Q5tmLck9jER6 MUST READ: First off-road drive checklist Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Off road Driving Etiquette's Off-road Convoy Rules Off roading - Everything you need to know Please RSVP on the below calendar.

Due to the shortage of time last week, there was some unfinished business on the dunes south of the Solar Panels. So lets attempt to reach there this time starting from Al Faqa. The area provides long range dunes that offer a perfect playground to ramp up the pace a bit and stretch the legs of both car and driver. We will explore the area, and alternate between side sloping, ridge crossing, and enjoy whatever this area has to offer. This drive is for Fewbie and above level only. When: 24 January 2020, Friday Meeting time: 06:45 AM, the convoy will move sharply at 07:00 AM Where: Al Faqa GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/dt57TRJ3ak4SrCkX8 Level of drive: Fewbie and above Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance. Plan: Drive and enjoy until about 12 PM, with some small breaks in between to have breakfast and snacks. What to bring along: Some snacks, plenty of water - whatever you like with little extra to share, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 12 PM Please RSVP the below calendar event

Brette - aweesome photo. Thanks for sharing this.

Thanks, I will try again

Hi Gaurav, I tried uploading to the gallery several times but it doesn't work. Any tips?

Wow @Jeepie superb shot 👍👍 A picture worth thousand words.. 👍

Guys you have amazing spirit am really more & more interested to get within your group Looking forward for the next ride and can't wait to see the dunes again

Posted my photos in the gallery and looking fwd to see more from others. https://carnity.com/gallery/category/172-newbiefewbie-drive-al-qudra-17-jan-2020

Ok fine one is a donkey with extra legs I'm really liking the looks on this one Pretty Snazyy Hyundai. The rear end reminds me of an Aston Martin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO_6eIl4E2M Oh and the Donkey

All that extra weight you carry because of the body extension and extra axel and wheels negate any precived advantage. It's one of those Jeeps things that no one gives a shit about other than jeepers like your twin front diff jeep which should belong together in the same collection of bullshit wranglers. Maybe have them over as part of to the soon to open off road museum in Sharjah in the mods gone wrong section

We’re always told never meet your heroes or you’ll be disappointed. This applies to cars also. There are cars we’ve all dreamed of driving or owning, how did it go when you met your hero? For me it has to be the Escort Cosworth. I always had the poster of this on my wall as a kid. In my eyes it was the car that god would drive. My cousin bought one and I got a chance to drive it. Super disappointed. I was expecting supercar performance but in reality it was a hot hatch with a cool spoiler. I still love how they look but I would never want to own one now.

bird watchers asked, is that not a Crested Range Rover?

Explain this 6 wheel thing to me please. What I’m thinking is that even if the rear axle isn’t powered, surely it increases floatation? Ie, even if you spin the middle axle, the rear axle will still be on top of the terrain so you should sink in?

Old cheap bastard ghetto fix is thumb tacks or as sertac mentioned staplers

Hence I said donkey with extra legs and if you watch the video you'll find out the 3rd axel isn't even connected to anything and is just extra weight being dragged around. All mouth and no trousers

Six wheels might be kind of useful on something like a Land Cruiser. But on a Jeep, six wheels are only good for what exactly? It does not even look good- in fact, it makes this Jeep look like donkey with a serious birth defect.

Yes when i was young i had the Cosworth poster as well, in Rothmans stickers (1986), but my dream was the Golf MK1 Karmann Ghia. Went to see one later on, but like most convertibles in Belgium the roof was leaking everywhere and it drove like a wheel barrow.

Congrats @Tbone you deserve this based on what you showed this weekend. Look forward to continuing to look up your tailpipe!

Well real car enthusiasts really don't care about any of that. These are just fads that come and go. Like all of a sudden everybody is a JDM fan ever since fast and the furious released. 99% haven't even seen one let alone drive one. These are just boring Japanese sedans of the 80s and 90s but all of a sudden they are cool now! I remember walking through lot after lot of these RHD jap jdms as these were parked in the open spaces back then behind Megamall in Sharjah. That time they were being exported to Africa and other places and dirt cheap prices like 5-6k per car. Every once in a while we came in that was remotely cool like a 2dr Corolla or a turbo starlet or a Mark II which was basically a boring Cressida with the straight 6. More interesting that the cars were the aftermarket ricer mods by the japs on them

And that's where written guarantee on the receipt kill all doubts, misinformation, lies and shenanigans.

Agree with @Gaurav the fabric (nonwoven) has lots of quality difference. I’ve worked in nonwoven manufacturing for 12 years and have seen horrible stuff. Best quality is PP (Polypropylene). Worst is Polyester, especially from recycled sources. Look at texture and tenacity. If you pull it a bit it should not immediately deform.

Speak to Yahya in top leather 0506555429. I have used him many times and his work has always been perfect. Even if it costs more. I would avoid al khaskha. I used them once for a classic Mercedes interior. They lost half the parts. It took me 4 trips to Sharjah to try to get the stuff back and I had to search the shop myself to find them. In the end I didn’t even get everything and had to order new parts from Germany.

@desertdude that’s exactly what I had in my mind until yesterday but got more clarity today when I visited 3 shops. 250/- guy isn’t giving 3 yrs warranty and he just said it could stay this long. If it was the same cloth as of 600/- guy, I would have definitely selected him for the job. But his cloth sample was very cheap quality and so thin that from cloth side you could see through the foam. The cloth 600/- guy showed to me was same to my company installed cloth in color and texture

Thanks guys. I called Sara Autos in Al Qouz too and they said 1300/- plus VAT. So, I am going with the one giving 5 years warranty in 600/-.

Whatever you choose go with the one offering the maximum guarantee. No brainer. Why should you TRUST there words and empty promises when they cant Trust their own workmanship.

Hi, I’m just a beginner and would like to explore more about off-roading. Was a bit hesitant to venture out alone. Saw about this event online and would love to join. I drive a H3, hope its good enough.