Leaderboard

Congratulations @Najeeb Mohammed for reaching the Advance Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. ADVANCE Carnity Benefits Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Join any drive in “Manage” tab even when drive is full Carnity Contribution Committed to drive with Carnity off-road club only Lead/Support: 3 drives or more per month at least Forum contribution to earn Carnity points Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 drives are required for Advance promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Marshal / Crew feedback.) What you'll learn Advance GPS and navigational skills Route planning, back tracking, safe exits Technical and extreme recoveries Learn to lead on medium to tall dunes How to avoid or lead through technical dunes Fast pace extreme desert driving (optional) Skills required Meticulous planning and preparation Ready for new challenges or unexpected situations Leadership skills to always put the team before yourself Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, tool box, tie-down straps, fluids. Drive teamwork Lead Fewbie or Intermediate drive under Marshal supervision Learn to scale drive level as per convoy response Support in training offroaders at all levels Drive Joining All Levels Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Brette for reaching the Expert Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. EXPERT - Carnity Exclusivity Carnity Benefits Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Full access to Carnity without any paid subscription Join any drive in “Manage” tab even when drive is full Carnity Contribution Committed to drive with Carnity off-road club only Lead/Support: 3 drives or more per month at least Forum contribution to earn Carnity points Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 drives are required for Expert promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Marshal / Crew feedback.) What you'll learn Navigating with or without GPS on the fly Trip planning, safety exits and recce skills Basic firefighting and first aid techniques Basic knowledge of car and overheating issues Minimal response to vehicle breakdown and accidents Skills required Resilient, calculative and rational thinker Self-reliance, positive attitude and forward thinking Kind, selfless and considerate to other’s concerns Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, tool box, tie-down straps, fluids. Drive teamwork Lead Fewbie or Intermediate drive with Marshal permission Inspect vehicle for safety before the off-road drive Support Marshal to learn 1:1 Desert Driving Course Drive Joining All Levels Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

This used to be my favourite story to tell in pre-Covid times. I'm sure many of you are interested but many are too shy to ask and some can't find the words or think it's inappropriate to question on that. It's not so bad a question and it's all about friends making new friends and passing on the skills we acquired in over a decade of off roading each. Thanks to Dr @Chaitanya D for asking and @Desert Dweller reminiscing those good old pre-Covid days. @Gaurav bhai is my senior and has been in the desert for maybe 14 years if I'm not mistaken. I just completed 12 years in the wilderness. For @Gaurav bhai he caught up with life and some difficult decisions trying to nurture Carnity since 2010. While I continued to learn where he left off. At one point he supported me in my initiatives and events and started coming back to off-road regularly. He hadn't lost what he had learned since we learned things the hard way. @Carnity started up thanks to his Mitsubishi Pajero which he never gave up on. In 2010 if you googled up your car issues we would just see websites from either USA or South Africa or Australia. Another thing was the Pajero never made it to USA and was known as Shogun or Montero in other places. The biggest concern was these other model specs would be built slightly differently not allowing us to understand or work on our own cars. @Carnity became the first website to share information on GCC spec cars, proudly it is the only one to date in the Middle East. Back in late 2016 when I got really interested and started sharing information about my cars and checking regularly for updates and advise for my Nissan Pathfinder R50, I saw some interest in members for off-roading. I asked @Gaurav bhai if we could start an off-road club to which he was not sure. But after several discussions and couple of months of heated arguments we came to an agreement. @Gaurav bhai proposed I post 3 drives at different locations and he would support me. If we had interested members coming out to drive we would form our club or I would never mention it again. Agreement made. Our first official drive was on 27 Jan 2017. @Srikumar was on that fist drive and never look back. This and all 3 drives went full and soon we had enthusiasts and that's how the @Carnity off-road came to existence. Initially it was all about creating awareness about the different aspects of off-roading and passing on the skills and the art to fellow off-roaders. But the only constant thing in life is change. Thanks to @Gaurav bhai who thought we needed to put the structure into words. Although it might seem that I am a man of many words, but putting the technical details to words is what @Gaurav bhai did best. Revising the structure and improving with every drive became our passion. The newly joined off-roaders seeing things from a different angle became our strength. I'm very pleased to be coming close to 500 members in the club and how each one of you have contributed and made the @Carnity off-road club a success story. Each member brings their own flavour with their experience, culture and point of view as we have over 40 nationalities coming out every week to help us grow this common passion for this ever growing sport of off-roading. We have been through many hardships and difficult decisions. But together we are proud to make the decisions best for everyone's well being. One such challenge was Covid19 which we are still all trying to deal with on a daily basis in all aspects of our lives. We at @Carnity made a decision to be the first club to introduce drives with the Covid19 restrictions in place. Our community who understands and stands by our decisions are our strength to continue doing so in the toughest of times. Love our community and love each and everyone of the members striving to wake up at 3 am for drives posted at 5 am. For taking pics and videos and sharing it on @Carnity and their social media channels and making @Carnity popular among family and friends. My sincere thanks to all of you who read it through. It's your efforts that makes us stand out among a sea of clubs.

Congratulations @sertac for reaching the Expert Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. EXPERT - Carnity Exclusivity Carnity Benefits Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Full access to Carnity without any paid subscription Join any drive in “Manage” tab even when drive is full Carnity Contribution Committed to drive with Carnity off-road club only Lead/Support: 3 drives or more per month at least Forum contribution to earn Carnity points Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 drives are required for Expert promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Marshal / Crew feedback.) What you'll learn Navigating with or without GPS on the fly Trip planning, safety exits and recce skills Basic firefighting and first aid techniques Basic knowledge of car and overheating issues Minimal response to vehicle breakdown and accidents Skills required Resilient, calculative and rational thinker Self-reliance, positive attitude and forward thinking Kind, selfless and considerate to other’s concerns Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, tool box, tie-down straps, fluids. Drive teamwork Lead Fewbie or Intermediate drive with Marshal permission Inspect vehicle for safety before the off-road drive Support Marshal to learn 1:1 Desert Driving Course Drive Joining All Levels Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

The vehicle display shows tire pressure as those vehicles are fitted with the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System). These are pretty accurate, however take time to send readings to your dash. So do not rely on them when deflating as by the time it shows 12 PSI you'll already on 8 PSI. But just to keep a check as you're driving is fine, or to double check once you're done deflating.

Wooow awesome...feels so good and excited to take more responsibilities and learn more from knowledgeable people around in this Offroad world.. Special thanks to @Srikumar @Ale Vallecchi @Emmanuel @Gaurav @Rahimdad @Fredericwho helped me to climb the ladder. Thanks @Chaitanya D @Kalahari @Shiju Manuel it’s wonderful to drive with u guys

@Brette we have started our Carnity adventure around the same time, and i admired you (and still do) for bringing the JGC on a weekly basis which gave you a bit more of steeper learning curve in comparison with my little blue. You have come a long way since then, and your weekly support on the drives, your positive attitude, and friendly approach to all members have brought this well deserved promotion. The road is now open again for the next challenge which no doubt you will master very quickly ! Congrats !!

We need to split them up in two categories: 1) USA spec cars: These are mostly insurance written off vehicles from US that were involved in an accident or have flood damage. You can be lucky to find one which was exported for none of these reasons, but you will need to be extra cautious, do a VIN check and try to find owner/maintenance history and get the vehicle inspected by a skilled mechanic. In some cases the cars are imported in the UAE, quicky welded back together in a workshop in Sharjah, and thrown back on the market. In other words if you don't want to take these risks AVOID US spec cars. 2) Japan spec cars: These are mostly vehicles that did not pass the strict yearly inspections in Japan, or were exported because of age or other reasons. I have seen very nice low mileage Japan cars and personally would not mind buying one if the condition is fine. In both above cases the pitfalls is buying a salvaged vehicle that has been fixed up quickly, in other words a LEMON. But if you want to take the risk, benefits are much lower prices. Also note that some non-GCC vehicles do not have the same specs in terms of engine cooling / radiator, and will struggle in this climate. @DANIEL NOGUEIRA as you are in the business, you can tell me i am wrong or add your view on this.

@Frederic thanks Freddy. Yeah, it's been 1 hell of an experience but worth every minute of it. Yes going by the pic you posted, we both did our first drive with Carnity on the same day. That was the first and last time my wife came with me and also the last time the JGC had all her parts intact. 🤣

@Brette Congratulations!

Congratulations @Najeeb Mohammed. Enjoy your new rank.

Thank you @Rahimdad for this wonderful thread and I felt proud while reading the words you wrote about how the story begun exactly the same fire of passion growing with each single drive I have done so far. I have seen Liwa dunes Up to Ghaiathi in the heart of the empty quarter when I was at age of 10 or younger when I my dad used to take us by his land cruiser ( his nature of work let him drive ) ... I realize Carnity has relighted the fire of passion of the desert in me and more than that all the help and support from the very beginning from @Gaurav and off course my colleague and friend @Chaitanya D . at times of crises ( Covid 19 ) we stand still at home, at work , and yet behind the steering wheels Navigating the desert that we all love , with all the precautions on ! cheers 🚙❤️🌷

I will release my place on this drive, as I have another drive. Many thanks, and enjoy, Tariq.

You three are added on to the list. At the moment, I did not see any people sign out, but you never know. If I couldsplit myself in two and drive another drive at the same time - I would. We all would.

@Gaurav @Rahimdad @Srikumar @Emmanuel @Frederic @Wrangeld @Ale Vallecchi @Jeepie @Shamil @Asif Hussain Thanks to all of you for the endless support and advice through this journey and hope to live upto the expectations that this promotion brings. Looking forward to it.

Congrats @Brette!! Looking forward for your drives.

Very well done @sertac. I was impressed by your lead in the last Leaders Lead drive. You will do great in your new position. Enjoy it!!

Hurra @Brette !! Well done, with hard work and perseverance. Looking forward to your drives as Leader.

Congrats @Brette

Many congrats

@Brette Congratulations. 🤠

Congratulations @Brette

Well done @sertac!

Well done @Brette!

Congrats @sertac ! We havent been driving together very often but i am really looking forward to one of your leads very soon ! Keep up the good work !

Congratulations @Brette. Well done

Congratulations @sertac, well done

@Brette congratulations ! Looking forward to drive with you soon

@sertac Congratulations!!

Congrats @Najeeb Mohammed you have grown in lot of confidence from your Newbie drives to Intermediate drives. While your drive skills are very good, your willingness to be a team player is your biggest strength. Well done and look forward to seeing you help groom new off-roaders.

@Rahimdad @srikumar Ladies and Gents, I mistakenly subscribed to this drive in the rush on Sunday night. So I've removed myself and the spot is open to next on the waiting list. Enjoy!

Congrats @Najeeb Mohammed !!

Well done @Najeeb Mohammed. Great to be with you on any drive, always helpful 👍

Hi guys, yes I'm in the car business market, also I have a garage. So my point of view is on a lot of experience on all type of cars. Americans : 99% salvage cars as @Fredericsaid. For me it's good Cost x Benefit cars, because I dont see accidents as a big issue if it's been fixed properly since accidents happens to GCC cars as well. Sure that you will not have warranty nor service contract on this cars, but in the other hand you are paying much less. Maybe some insurance companies might not accept, but many will... about the heat, I ask you, what temperature does your car work on ? Should be 90 degrees, so do you think that a 50 degrees outside temperature will do any harm ? This "belief " came because most of the cars had a front accident, and many times pipes or radiator were not fixed how it should, that's why some heat problems, what could also happen to GCC cars. AC I never had problems because its American or not.... for me it's a good COST x BENEFIT. Watch out for luxury flooded cars with too many electronics, it can be an issue, but all depends on the conditions of the car.. Japanese: I dont trust in the km, they are always very low, what doesn't make sense. But usually all in good shape. Europeans : really need to check, I've seen cars that are not available in uae and also accident (salvage) cars.

Wow, this topic is awesome, I learned so much from it... as I always tell my teenager son; it's better to learn from others mistakes...

Thanks Richard. Yeah I was a fewbie when you and Marjan joined but could not keep up with the number of drives you'll used to attend. 🤪 Both you'll dedication and commitment showed with the amazing pace at which you'll honed your skills and grew. Been a pleasure supporting quite a few of your drives too. Yes, hopefully soon we can go back to being the way things were pre covid. Miss those night drives and BBQ sessions under the stars.

congratulation brette!! way to go!!

Congrats @Najeeb Mohammed well done.

@sertac congrats and well done.

Hi @Brette it's funny, I always have in my mind that you were higher up the Carnity ladder than me! Your calm and assuring nature always fantastic to have on a drive and your friendship, more than anything. We shared Liwa in February and I for one am hoping that as soon as we are allowed out to play again, we can spend more evenings around a campfire. Truly looking forward to being your support on a drive. Congrats

Congrats @sertac I remember you standing by our overheating TJ offering solutions and sense all those months ago. So pleased to see you get this promotion and looking forward to joining one of your drives soon.

Very well done @Najeeb Mohammed. You have progressed tremendously. Glad to have you Saturday for the Exploration drive, to celebrate your new rank.

Congrats Najeeb

Congrats @Najeeb Mohammed!

Congratulations @sertac wish you best !

@Najeeb Mohammed Congratulations!

Congrats @Najeeb Mohammed!

Dear @Emmanuel, unfortunately my car is undergoing some repairs (front bumper replacing and... yesss, cutting) and due to delays with the insurance approval they won't be finished before friday, so I won't be able to join. I therefore (and sadly so) canceled my RSVP. Enjoy the ride!

Self recovery Of @Nihal17 upon instructions from @Gaurav

@Rahimdad @Gaurav Having been lucky enough to join Carnity before Covid hit @Jeepie and myself have heard this story from you direct. I know I am but one of many to feel so lucky to have found @Carnitybecause, when all said and done this is a club with members who really do care for each other. Driving is what we do. Thanks to you, Carnity is what we are.