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Trip Report Convoy 1 Another beautiful morning with the Carnity Crew ! Upon my arrival at the Solar Park Innovation Centre, i was glad to see already 5-10 cars which were deflating and getting to know each-other. By 07:00 we headed out to the briefing point (thanks to @Gaurav for finding that sweet spot). For the first time we compressed the briefing a bit, mainly because we see so many hungry faces, but also because some explanations can be done better when the action is there, and also due to the introduction of the essential briefing read on the website: https://carnity.com/brief We settled for 4 convoys, and headed for the dunes, eager to taste the sand. The first half hour in my drive lead, i came across enough patches and technical dunes that i kept wondering myself if i was not somewhere in Lisailli (an area known for this more tricky kind of terrain). Luckily i found an excellent second ead in @Nayan Shenai who kept sufficient distance, communicated with the convoy really well, and slightly rerouted on some areas where we knew @Mohammed Osama his Subaru, or the mighty F150 from @Melenany would face difficulties. As we normally not do any sidey's on a newbie drive, we came across 2 or 3 dunes which were perfect to do some training on steering control and momentum. All drivers managed really well and i was impressed with all of you ! Of course we had to do some straight-up straight-down dune crossings to learn that 'leap of faith' feeling, and to learn that we should not smash on the brakes, but let the car and its weight gently come over the dune. with @Xaf as my sweep who is always a blessing to have around, and seeing him teaching some tricks to handle steep descents with big F150 truck, reassures me that Xaf is always analyzing on every drive. Comes with the job i am sure @Colin Jordan i hope you can stretch your legs a bit more on the next coming fewbie drives. I am sure you will love it ! @Dale Panganiban - Fabrication, @Mohammed Osama, @Magellan @Jolly Abraham @sheri @Chaitanya D @Nitin Mohan @Melenany all you guys did really great. It takes a team they say, well then i must say it was a perfect team ! See you soon in the sands again !

From the morning drive 👌

You’re just jealous that the desert spirit kept choosing my flag 😌 As always, @Srikumar’s lead delivered, beyond expectations. I was sad when I realized the time was up and we had to head back to the Finish point! It was fun and just makes me look forward to more expeditions.

@Frederic @Nayan Shenai and @Xaf thanks for guiding convoy 1 through the drive. It was very exciting to do those small slope sidees...hope we learn and get it right everytime. @Rahimdad, @Gaurav and @Srikumar thanks for the whole arrangement managing other convoys. Cheers and see you all again sometime soon

Looking forward to more of those sidey's, thanks for those @Frederic

It has been an amazing drive today!! It has been a big step for my second drive and eventhough it has been quite challenging it has been an awesome experience! Thanks to @Gaurav for an amazing guidance and to @Mels Wolf for getting stuck on purpose so we could learn how to tow a car!!! Thanks for everything!! Cannot wait for the next one!

good lead by @Srikumar and sweep by @Wrangeld and big thanks to Richard to sit with me few times to give more confidence on slope sides. @Jeepie has done grate recovery. Thanks for the entire organisers and looking forward to have such nice team and drive on coming weeks. see you all soon. Take care.

@siddharth maheshwari we ask everyone to come on time, 6:45 SHARP. If you arrive by 07:40 you would have missed the entire briefing anyways. Please arrive on time and respect everyone's time.

Cheech : Hey man , am I driving ok ? Chong : I think we are parked man . ( taking a puff )

Sorry @sheri, @Zed, @Nizam Deen, @Salarios, @tjsingh for tomorrow afternoon newbie drive RSVP limit has been reached and cannot be extended for any car. Please dont come to the meeting point, as unfortunately I'll have to refuse it as we cant increase any single convoy size to more than 15 cars as per new safety rule we have implemented recently. Hope you understand the safety norms, and try to RSVP events more ahead of time, next time.

Yet another drive done and it keeps getting better Spot on lead by @Srikumar and sweep by @Wrangeld and the recovery pro @Jeepie @Jamy B.s flag had a ball in the sand it seems :)) Posting some pics in the Album

When starting as an off-roading enthusiast in UAE, you will come to hear about deflating your tyres, and setting your tyres to the right tyre pressure is one of the first things you will need to learn to master. The main reason for deflating your tyres is to obtain a longer footprint in the sand, and that enables you to drive on the sand, instead of digging into it. Tyre pressure is defined in PSI (pounds per square inch) or Bar. You will find both readings on your pressure gauge. In UAE most people use PSI, and the gas station compressors also use the PSI identification. Below you can see the corresponding PSI and Bar readings. As a beginner level offroader, you should reduce your tyre pressure to about 15 PSI. This is low enough to enable you to drive in the dunes without the risk of the tyre coming off the rim. This 15PSI is also perfect for on-road-tyres. After a few drives, and depending on the terrain, or if you have offroad tyres, you can slowly deflate further down to 10-12 PSI. Take note that the risk for having a pop-out will increase, so don't be afraid to post your questions on the Carnity website or consult one of the marshals if you are not sure about your tyre pressure. There are different ways of deflating your tyres, and each have their advantages and disadvantages. The more you will practice, the sooner you will find out what works best for you. How does a stem valve looks like ? The stem valve is consisting out of 3 pieces. The body, that is made of flexible rubber, the core, and the valve cap. Take note of the following: - The rubber valve body wears out over time. Once you start to see cracks, it is advisable to get it replaced at the nearest tyre center. - The valve core is a tiny component with a small rubber gasket. If you remove them on a weekly basis, the gasket slowly wears out or the core can even break. Carry 5-10 spares in your vehicle. The tyre center often give them for free. - The valve cap keeps dirt and sand from entering into the valve, so it's advisable to always screw the cap back on. The process of deflating / inflating goes by either pushing in the valve core, which allows air to be released, or by removing the valve core, which is a much faster option. How to check the tyre pressure ? Verifying your tyre pressure is really easy. Get yourself a pressure gauge, and push it against the tyre valve, or screw it on (depending on the model). You will see the reading in PSI or Bar. The digital ones are fine, but one day the battery will be empty, so a good old analogue is preferred to have as well. PS if you find that your gauge has difficulties reading the tyre pressure, and you really need to push it hard onto the valve, this is an indication that the valve core is worn out. Replace it with a new one and you will see that this will solve your problem. Which tools to deflate and how much time will it take ? 1) Set of keys, a rock, or anything you might find in your car (+/- 15 mins) PROS: CHEAP and plenty of stuff available CONS: Takes a very long time which you could use for a smoke or a chat and risk on damaging the valve stems. 2) Valve Chucks (4-5 minutes) Buy 4 of them and stick them on all tyres simultaneously and then wait about a few minutes (as per your type and size of tyre) to arrive at around 17-18 psi. Then take one tyre at a time and use your pressure gauge to further decrease and finetune the pressure of each individual tyre. PROS: Fast and Cheap CONS: none that i know off. 3) Stem removal tool (2-3 minutes) Available in most hardware shops. Enables you to remove the valve core stem so the tyre pressure comes down very fast. PROS: Very Fast and Cheap CONS: Be careful not to lose the stem as it can blow out. So taking some spare is advisable. Be careful not to deflate too much as it really goes fast. Use a stopwatch and learn to find the perfect timing when to screw it back in, and then double check with a pressure gauge. 4) Rapid Tyre deflator and pressure gauge ( 4-5 mins) This tool enables you to loosen the stem, quickly deflate and immediately take a pressure reading. PROS: Professional tool for reasonable price, pressure gauge and deflator in one tool. CONS: Might take a bit of practice to get the hang of it. The fake chinese ones are failry unreliable. As with all tools and gear, we advise you to practice a bit at home to become familiar with them. It is also recommended to carry two pressure gauges, so you can compare them with each-other and double check your readings. Often we have seen pressure gauges giving accurate readings at high pressures (35) but very inaccurate results at 10-15 PSI which requires a good quality gauge. Do give us your feedback on your favorite tools !

For any type of off road driving in the UAE you need to reduce your 4x4 tire pressure. For mountains and wadi it's easy to reduce between 20-25 PSI irrespective of the tire brand, shape, type and load. For sand the tire pressure deflation is little bit tricky and if you follow below steps, you can decode this better. Before that you also need to understand that why deflation for off road driving is so important: Deflated tires are hard to sink in or dig in the sand due to lesser resistance. Deflated tires increase the sand flotation to reduce the load on Engine, 4x4 and Transmission. By deflating tire pressure you increase the footprint, that help you stabilize & offer better directional control. Image shows the two tires track: One with 35 PSI (left) and other with 12 PSI (right). Finding a perfect tire pressure for off road driving for your specific tire and 4x4 is based on bit of learning and experiments. Of course the lower the tire pressure better it is for dune bashing, climbing and self recoveries but too low is also dangerous for popping the tire out of its wheel. You can follow the below chart, if you are totally new to off road driving as an indication (ONLY). If you have a pop out on normal driving, then increase 1 PSI next time to find the best tire pressure for your 4x4. If your 4x4 is Long Wheel Base (LWB) with full load then increase 1-2 PSI more than below indications. Type/Brand of Tire Regular Driving Intermediate Driving Self-Recovering All HT Tread (Highway Tread) Dunlop Grandtrek Bridgestone Dueler Yoko Geolander HT Michelin Latitude Pirelli Scorpion Goodyear HT 14 PSI 12 PSI (Avoid sharp steering) 8-10 PSI (Inflate after recovery) All MT Tread (Mud Terrain Tread) Mickey Thompson MT BF Goodrich MT Cooper STT - MT Nitto Trail Grappler MT Toyo Open Country MT Dick Cepek Extreme 12 PSI 10 PSI (Avoid sharp steering) 6-8 PSI (Inflate after recovery) All AT Tread (All Terrain Tread) Yoko Geolander AT Michelin Pilot A/S3 Hankook Dynapro 10-12 PSI 8-10 PSI (Avoid sharp steering) 4-6 PSI (Inflate after recovery) Disclaimer: If you can't find your tire brand in the list then rely on HT / MT / AT section to be 90% safe. For knowing how to deflate the tires, please speak to any of the Marshal or senior member to show you how its done properly. There are more than a couple of ways and tools off-roaders use to deflate depending on their choices. All tools, ways and method are correct as far as you achieve the correct tire pressure. If you are new to offroading, I highly suggest to double check the tire pressure twice once you are done. Borrow the fellow offroader tire pressure gauge and check again, as many times your new gauge might go wonky and give false readings. Once you are 100% sure that your gauge is correct always, then you are fine to rely on your own readings. PLEASE DON'T DEFLATE WITH KEY AND STOPWATCH AND ASSUME IT'S 14 PSI. Secondly, always check / adjust tire pressure again after 30 minutes of sand driving as it might increase due to the heat and stress. If you are facing constant refusal at the beginning of any drive, I bet your 14 PSI has shot up to 18 PSI and you need to reduce the tire pressure more to bring it down to 14 PSI. This happens on almost every newbie drive, so it's fine and proven gazillions of time.

Just like any other sport or hobby, off road driving too has it's own etiquette's. Often times these are not spoken out loud or mentioned in public to not to embarrass anyone. If you like to continue off road driving, you should know these basic offroad driving etiquette's and follow them. Pay 100% undivided attention to the instructions: Whether it's in briefing or on radio communication while recovering, give your 100% attention and if you cannot due to some incoming call or passenger distraction, ask them to repeat. Most of the instructions are given so that you can drive safely. If you still live in the mobile world or loud music or radio volume turned down, you will miss out on critical safety instruction that can end up breaking your 4x4 or bones, seriously. Follow the instruction PRECISELY: From as simple as deflate to 12-14 PSI, drive in HI gear, engage to LO as soon as you get stuck. These instructions have been given to YOU for YOUR safety and enhancing your offroad driving experience. If you deflate to 22 PSI instead of 12, you will have endless refusals, stucks and A/T Transmission & Engine will soon overheat. If you don't engage on LO as soon as you get stuck, you will lose the most critical surface area in which LO gear could have saved the day, rather than toiling in HI gear for first few minutes and making the stuck even more worst for your car. Acknowledge the message: Always acknowledge the radio messages as the reliability of radio communication is highly questionable. Step out and help: When you are stuck and someone is helping you, it's a BASIC MANNER to step out of your car and help the Marshal or senior member who is helping you. You can help them clearing the sand, fixing the rope or inspect the stuck or plan of recovery. Sitting inside a stuck vehicle and waiting is the worst and most offending thing to do. If someone is helping you to check tire pressure, then step out and observe, how to delate to precise PSI. Disclaimer: In some 1% tricky angles or situation, if you have a doubt or difficulty to come out, ask the Marshal or senior member: If its safe for you to step out? Please don't assume and sit inside. Observe and learn: Every stuck and recovery has a lot to teach. Observe and learn from your stucks and discuss with Marshals how to not to get stuck again in a similar way. If you don't observe and learn you will end up doing the same mistakes over and over again. Learn Vs Serve: All the knowledge and experience are there to help you learn offroading and not just to serve you. So that as soon as you learn, you start practising it and become more capable offroader and be able to help others in the future.

Join Carnity Offroad Club for an adventurous morning drive in the shadow of the Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai ! The place where human innovation and authentic desert meet, and where gazelles and oryxes can be spotted, is a beautiful playground to learn everything about the offroading hobby. The creamy dunes will leave you wanting more and we will take you to the best scenery this place has to offer ! WHAT YOU'LL LEARN? We will teach you how to drive your vehicle offroad safely and learn the best offroad driving and recovery techniques. Even if you have never driven in sand before, you can still join and learn the art of off-roading with complete confidence and peace of mind. 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. CAN MY VEHICLE DO IT? This drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicle having 8-10 inches of ground clearance along with front and rear tow hooks. Please check these two mandatory and VERY STRICT requirement before signing up. CAN I BRING PASSENGERS? Yes of course, but if you are an absolute new to offroading it is better to drive alone first to avoid any distractions. WHAT CAN I EXPECT? The drive will start with a detailed briefing, followed by 2-3 hours of driving in sand dunes and then followed by a break for refreshments over a feedback and assessment session for each offroader. You will learn about the following subjects: Introduction to off-roading Desert driving basics and etiquette Desert driving tips, techniques, myth and best practices Off-road and safety gear familiarization and recovery procedures Vehicle orientation, risk analysis, deflation and outdoor safety advice WHAT ITEMS SHOULD I BRING? On your very first drive with us we only ask you to bring your enthusiasm and willingness to learn. From a second drive onwards we ask you to start collecting the Essential Tools as per below attachment. More information on these items can be found in the advices section and in offroad club. If you already have the off-roading gears, then it's better to carry them along to help you learn off-roading at a faster pace. Carnity Essential Tools.pdf ARE YOU JOINING US FOR THE FIRST TIME? Introduce yourself on this drive thread. Share with us your vehicle details. Prior off-road experience (Yes/No) Confirm 8-10 inches of ground clearance along with front and rear tow hooks in good usable condition. RSVP the drive calendar Level: Absolute Newbie, Newbies and above (All level) When: 13 March 2020 Meeting time: 6:45 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point : Solar Park Innovation Centre Parking: https://goo.gl/maps/2qBH185tT39oWMMb7 Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. 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: The Endurance Masjid - https://goo.gl/maps/SXmkx2jntnK85DzB7 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. LAST WEEK NEWBIE DRIVE - RELIVE MOMENTS

With the current worldwide situation and pandemic declared by WHO with regards to the Corona (COVID-19) virus, as Carnity Offroad Club we want to take the necessary precautions in order to avoid the risk of spreading the virus. Therefore, from today onwards, we will implement the following basic steps until further notice: Please refrain from joining any offroad drive if you have any symptoms of upper respiratory infection, cough, or fever. Avoid shaking hands and touching faces without washing or using sanitizer. Please refrain from sharing food, snacks, or opened water bottles. No crowding up in groups next to each other at ANY TIME: Not while deflating. Not while stuck/recoveries. Not while inflating or during any breaks. All recoveries will be solely handled by Intermediate and above members, who is managing those drives. We hope we can count on your co-operation and will follow up on the situation closely. To maintain safe distance of 1-2 meters from each other while attending the brief, please follow the below pattern.

Great drive and great fun! Thank you all for having welcomed us and for the tips! See you next time!

@Gaurav is there room for me to join this drive tomorrow afternoon? Its says maximum RSVP reached! It was a sad day not being able to make the morning or afternoon drive today

Limit shall be increased for newbies

I want to join early morning trip. But it is showing limit has been reached. Can I come directly to the location??

Hi Monney, welcome to Carnity offroad club. We have these off-road drives every week, so you can join us from next Friday and try to RSVP earlier next time please.

I go all in!!

Guys Ilya and I just returned from a Enduro bike ride, both exhausted. We will miss the morning event at Solar Park and go for the 02:00pm event. See you in the future.

52 Now, RSVP on Thursday is a like an oil price, lololol We will have 4 convoys and we will be putting drivers based on their experiences. Feel free to join, if you like this drive max RSVP set at 60, so decide before that or 9 PM when we stop the RSVP for the day.

That’s very interesting. Im curious about how will it handle desert as Subaru is confident with it’s symmetrical AWB. Wish I could be there in the morning drive to see it. I don’t know if XV has it but X-mode could be a B plan as well.

Dear Marshal @Frederic Wooow.. 51 RSVP, I was not planning to join but am wondering how many convoys would it be, if you need Fewbie to attend I will be happy to join Looking forward to help

That is a secret which is being passed-on from the chosen ones only, and only on the 14th waxing moon of a circular year.....

This goes for everything now in this world of unlimited digital power. WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube universities convince, brainwash and hypnotize people views more than any advertising now. People believe their WhatsApp groups fwd so religiously that they keep on helping spread the rumour over million people in a day. If this all was not enough then FB came with recommendations: - which tires is good? - whole world come fwd to help this guy with best brand tires, sizes, prices and eventually forget to ask if he needs a truck, car, bike, bicycle or a tractor tire. People are busy on one side that they have no time for anything left now, then they are so free that they have all the time to scroll through mindless feeds x 50 times a day.

I have always kept my political opinions off Carnity, mostly out of respect and acceptance of and for other members who may be from a different culture than me, and partly because this is UAE and I don’t want to go to jail, but you have hit the nail on the head with one of your points. It’s all about distraction from everything else that is going on. Control through fear. The same things happens year after year and the sheep fall for it year after year. It’s even worse now as more people are online more of the time, swallowing and spreading whatever they read on Facebook without even looking for or checking sources. I am flying on Sunday. Am I worried? No. But wifey is starting to get panicky and telling me I need to wear a mask. Modern planes all have HEPA filtration systems. The only way you’re going to get sick is if you sit beside someone who is already sick and they cough or sneeze on you. I seem to get the flu every year and realistically, corona virus is just like the flu with a slightly higher mortality rate, the only difference is they haven’t got a vaccine for it yet. I’m reasonably young, I’m reasonably healthy, I’ll be fine. If I get sick I’ll get over it. There is so much misinformation and BS being spread around at the minute. I heard the best one yet yesterday. Bill Gates started corona virus. Complete with Facebook posts to back up his conspiracy. I was pretty busy at work but I took an hour out of my day to search for information with links and sources to send to him so I could convince him. Bill Gates is an amazing philanthropist, screwing the world over with a virus just isn’t something he would do. If I changed that one guys mind, at least I feel like I did something good.

@Kalahari I have a "patrol" load of sand already in my car.... the feeling of somebody looking at my car if I am supposed to sell and telling me " oh- it's been off road!!" is quite saddening . :-)) hope I pass out with flying colors tomorrow...hahaha. @Jamy B. Please come prepared to pass !! That snake used to get very long with Nokia 3310 users . @Frederic just wanted to know how big (in number of cars ) was the largest in carnity of all time ?

I’m taking the test tomorrow firstly, so I’ll let you know 😉 The 50 cars convoy idea reminds me of that snake game. I don’t know if someone else played it before 🎮

Camel, cow and sheeps best friend Real green eco-friendly car

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. The seven P’s 🤣

I can relate to this I was using the JT Brooks deflators but I could not get them to work right no matter how many times I practiced I always got over-deflated in one tire. This last weekend I tried the IndeFlate Tire Inflator and Deflator and I loved it, I finished deflating first than the other cars around me and it took me around 5 minutes to inflate all 4 tires. The only con is that it seems a little overwhelming and bulky at first to see all the hoses but once you get the hang of it you finish very fast. This allowed me to install my flag while I was deflating so two birds with one stone.

Nice topic and indeed you covered almost all type of deflator for offroading except one more which I have used: Staun. People love their automatic deflation to precise psi you set them, but I couldn't master that PHD after months and lack of patience made me choose stem removal - fast, easy and F.Cheap. Carry valve stem whole strip that has 20 (i guess) and it cost 5 AED. After little practice, I stopped losing them and hardly replace new stem ever. If someone or Staun can set their deflator to 12 psi and ship them, I wouldn't mind trying them again as they sound too good to be true, but yes time-consuming.

Every offroad convoy has to follow these rules to keep moving the whole convoy safely at all times: Follow the car in front of you all the time. And also follow the path taken by that car (STRICTLY), until you learn to lead. As an occasional exception, if you see the car in front of you struggled or churn up the path, it is advisable to drive little left or right and then follow the same path again. Keep 5-10 cars distance all the time. Keeping it too close you will risk an accident and keeping it too long, you will lose the path. If you cannot see the car behind you, please stop and notify on the radio so that the leader can stop until they all catch up. Stick to your convoy numbering at all times, if changed due to some situation fall back to the same order as soon as you can but safely. If convoy is not moving due to some stuck / refusal, please be patient and stay safe at your designated position. No playing, side sloping or any breaking the convoy activities will not be tolerated. Radio communication is PRIME, listen and respond to it promptly all the time. Convoy positions Leader: The first car who leads the drive and everyone has to follow the leader instructions precisely with respect. Second lead: The second car in a convoy, who drives behind the leader and avoid or fix any unforeseen situation as it may happen. Everyone in the convoy needs to follow the "second lead" path like a magnet - at all times. Sweep: One or two cars at end of the convoy to help and recover stuck vehicles or advise the correct path after the refusal. Flying Sweep: This car can be anywhere to do the sweep duties of recovering stuck vehicle or coordinating the convoy movement.

Sorry guys can’t make it today. Due to strong objection from home 🏠 ministry... 😭😭