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Drive Report Last weekend we tried to go from Lisali to Margham but for one reason or another we didn’t make it. This week I decided to flip it on its head and do Margham to Lisali and guess what, we still didn’t make it. But that’s no bad thing, sometimes you enter into an area that’s just so delicious you have to keep eating it up! And what a feast the sand Gods served us today. Massive credit has to be given to the convoy as the dunes in this area are quite deceiving, they look cute and playable but there’s a nasty hidden pocket or sudden ‘bump’ just waiting to trap you. The sand can get super soft too as @topgeardiscovered and needed to deflate more. Well done @topgear for dealing with all that churned up area at the back. @Malachy McGrogan you continue to amaze me by how well you control that massive truck of yours, as mentioned before we had lots of little traps and small twists and you handled it all brilliantly. It was also great to see @Jose Martin darting around in that little Pajero of his. Chapeau for your excellent driving today and I’m delighted your family got to see you do so well. As we left Margham to head to Lisali we tackled some smaller more technical dunes and kudos to the guys with the LWB Pajeros and Landcruiser @bassel el rafei @RaYan E and @Gaurav Soni who hardly put a wheel wrong the whole trip. Your driving was excellent. Well done! As we made our way out of the technical area I was supposed to go one way but ….and here’s the joy of off-road leading. I’d been in this area once before, I had studied the GPS maps, I had planned a route of sorts, but from the corner of my eye I was enticed by another area and the dunes that lay ahead. Or was is the gazelles? 😉 hee hee This is where we picked up some speed and found countless more opportunities to side slope, criss-cross and ridge ride. I think we could have driven all day long but, all good things come to an end. With the amount of bobbing , weaving, sloping and twisting we had done for 40+km one of our younger passengers decided enough was enough, or his tummy decided for him. Rather than put the young one in any further discomfort we headed to the sabka and a nice flat track to exit. Many many many thanks to the senior drivers for their wonderful support: @Ahab Shamaawho did a fantastic job as second lead, following my announcements and rerouting when needed. He also used his winch to help one member out of a tight spot. Well done @Ahab Shamaa , I love being part of your off-road journey and its great to see you progress so far in such a short space of time. Further thanks to that eejit @Craig Finlayson who despite being a complete wrong ‘un, did a tremendous job as CF, He was always on hand, giving advice and helping guide drivers when we had a couple of small refusals. You did great! Final thanks to @Brette for keeping an eye on everything at the back for me and helping to keep the convoy moving. It makes leading so much easier when you have such strength in depth. That we did 40+km with hardly any stops in this tricky little area is to the credit of all the drivers in today’s convoy. Thank you all so much, I had lots of fun! With that I shall bid you all the very merriest of Christmases and a prosperous New Year. I hope to see you all in 2021 for further adventures in the sand.

@Gaurav you got 2 RAMs in this drive...this will be fun

Although driving alone in the desert could be the biggest mistake in life ....... What would a person spending most of his time living in the desert do if his car is stuck with two cross wheels in the air without a differential locker !!!! I came across this video on YouTube where desert people explain their creative solution to this . To our marshals and expert drivers ........ what is your opinion ? It would be great if this can be tested .

@Foxtrot Oscar @Craig Finlayson @Brette thanks for a great drive today. Cracking dunes and solid company made it very enjoyable. Seasons greetings to all and see you in the new year @Ahab Shamaa i'll hold out for that breakfast roll in 2021 😁

Now will make sure to split you guys in two convoy.

HI @sertac, Sorry, I have to leave the drive. Already updated the RSVP. Thanks

Different surfaces have different effect on the many gadgets available to us in our modern cars. Remember all the people I have repeated told today's cars are learning from you as much as you are learning to drive them. We at Carnity encourage all makes and models and encourage you to try out different exercises in your cars to see what a difference each thing can make in different situations. That is why getting a refusal or a stuck means that it is learning opportunities for all of us. The video does give you a good idea, but on solid ground with cross wheels in the air, plus I am not even sure if he is keeping that TC button pressed for 10 seconds to completely switch of the TC, thus he finds out that TC is not completely off. It is only when you learn and let your car and your persistence surprise you that you can help newer member to learn and grow within this environment. I love this community and all the members who strive to learn and share, a recent trend that has really touched me is the sharing of information for specific type of vehicles which will be documented and stored in an organized manner which will help the newer members around. Thank you @Atif bhai for sharing this interesting video, maybe someday we can go out to the sands and make our own video by trying out the certain options available in your car. It will be so much more helpful for the conditions we drive in.

I remember seeing this video before, and was thinking about how creative these guys are. These tricks would of course only be applicable in solo desert driving, where self reliance and improvising skills will be a part of the game. On the other hand, what they call a "triangular" is quite rare, in comparison with a straight crest (where these tricks would have zero effect). And also depends on the type of vehicle. I will tag @Melenany in here so next time with this superlong F150 he is getting crested we can try this 😅

While viewing videos on Prado Diff-lock usage and during the subsequent discussion on Carnity forum, I came across a good video about the way traction control helps in off-road conditions and this may apply to all FJs , LCs and possibly other 4x4s. It appears that the TRC will activate even if kept Off in certain circumstances. https://youtu.be/XpY_QDM8Fqc

Congratulations @Federico De Chirico for reaching the Fewbie 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. Fewbie: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Basic self-recovery techniques Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Aravind Padmaraju for reaching the Fewbie 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. Fewbie: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Basic self-recovery techniques Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Luca Bregni for reaching the Fewbie 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. Fewbie: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Basic self-recovery techniques Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congrats @Federico De Chirico !!

Congratulations @Luca Bregni, all the best.

Thanks a lot and appreciate very much..I have both type of ropes and jack and board.

Congrats @Luca Bregni !!

Congrats !!

@Wrangeld thank you for all your efforts in planning a safe and pleasant drive for everyone. I also have kinetic rope, soft shakles, Maxtracks, and all other standard equipment.

I will be driving with Kinetic Rope and soft shackles. Plus all other standard equipment.

topgear @topgear Archibald Jurdi @Archibald Jurdi Probir Mukherjee @Probir Mukherjee Vijaysekhar @Vijaysekhar Salarios @Salarios Veedooshee @Veedooshee Goutam @Goutam Andrei @Andrei Mikhail Lukichev @Mikhail Lukichev Anand Nataraj @Anand Nataraj Ashok chaturvedi @Ashok chaturvedi Anvar Sadath Bekal @Anvar Sadath Bekal Looks like this is the final list for the drive. Please read the comments in the thread. It is likely that we will not be joined by any other seniors on the drive, so I will be looking to some of you to step up to the challenge to be our 2nd lead, Centre Forward and Sweep. As we have some quite experienced Fewbies in the drive, I do not imagine that this will be a problem. The bigger challenge might be the equipment that is on board in this convoy, so I would appreciate knowing if there are members on the drive with: Kinetic rope Hydraulic Jack While i carry both of these as a matter of course, I would like to know who else has them in advance as it will help me decide convoy position. Also, no excuses, SHOVEL and RADIO. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday ... See you soon in the sand.

@Ale Vallecchi please ignore my previous msg. got a space n afternoon fewbie Thank you

Great news! Thanks for rearranging the plans and making it happen for all the interested drivers @Gauravand @Ale Vallecchi

Since we are at Wednesday and we have 2 drop offs @jodha singh shekhawat and @Mehmet Volga are added to the drive.

@Danish Mohammad welcome, I will take care to make this drive as family friendly as possible. With the weather getting better it a wonderful time to bond with the family in the wilderness of the desert.

Good news for those who will come from Dubai and Sharjah: starting from 24 December, the DPI test can be done 72 hours prior to entry in Abu Dhabi Emirate. I just booked an appointment in City Walk (Dubai) via Seha app. See you there @Kailas, @Christian Andras, @Alexander Alcala, @Chaitanya D, @Jorge Stepniak Felippeand @Tero Vallas

Dear Rahimdad & Thomas Varghese.....Good morning... Yes" this week drive will be a special family drive for us too as my children are ready to join me. Everyone is so excited to go in sand...

Dear Desertnauts Considering the enormous number of wait listed members, it has been decided to re-open the drive, and accept up to 22 Newbies and above. The convoy will then be split in 2, with the legendary @Gaurav leading the other group. Therefore, I have added all those waitlisted to the drive. @Luca Palanca Falsini, @paolo dassi, @Ahab Shamaa, @Paul Zeitoun, @Santhosh kumar Rajasekaran, @varunmehndiratta, @Bala Krishnan, @AlexPol, @Hisham Masaad, PLEASE REMOVE YOUR NAME FROM THE LIST, IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO PARTECIPATE IN THE DRIVE. Looking forward for the final information before the drive, in the next couple of days.

Good drive today! 40KM+ travelled. Only a handful refusals and one cresting! Credit to @Foxtrot Oscar for leading. She’s no bad sometimes...!

@Federico De Chirico congratulations

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Mskeen Arman and I.

Congratulations @Luca Bregni

Dear Frederic, I will have to drop out as got a personal engagement

@Ale Vallecchi HI Ale am really interested to join this drive to explore RAK desert is there any chance to add my name Thank you @Gaurav HI Gaurav long time not driving together in one convoy If there is a chance am ready to join please add me Thank you

Many thanks

@Wrangeld I was able to join today’s drive at margham. I will have to drop out and make way for interested ones. Thanks!

Hey @Ale Vallecchi @Gaurav would it be possible if @Arman and I are on the same convoy since you know we are cousins😂? Thank you!

@Wrangeld Confirmed from my end. Thank you....see you there 😍

Same here! From the presentation it looks like a challenging one... not sure I can cope with both drives in the same day.

@Tero Vallas I believe Prado is an All Wheel drive all the time, so on the road to give you the traction when starting off it would be 4WD and at around 40 KPH it would switch to RWD to save you on fuel economy. However in the desert we have very few times when we can go above 40 KPH so it will keep you engaged in 4WD. You will only press the difflock button when stuck and advised to do so preferably in 4 Low. Just remember t keep your traction control button pressed until you see 2 yellow lights come on and enjoy driving, together we will learn ad put in much more reliable content together on the Prado to help future owners.

@Hassan Almousa thank you for sharing the video. I get the logic behind their thinking, with cross tires in the air those are the ones spinning. By jamming the rear free tire more power goes to the wheels which are stuck close to how a difflock is supposed to work. However the vehicle for one is the old box shaped Nissan Patrol which is solid as compared to our newer rides with crumple zones, if you are tying it to your recovery point and with excessive force will you end up damaging your own vehicle? Another point is when he gets himself stuck, he is front heavy and trying to reverse it out which would never happen and only dig a hole, he never once tried showing what would happen if he drove forward. After applying his rope trick and after some digging in from the car would have recovered anyways. So I will not beleive that 100%. As the second time around when he did it to pop his tire back in he made it rear heavy and drove in front to dig a hole to stable his vehicle. Once done he used the air compressor to pop the tire back in and drove out back in reverse from a similar position as the first one with a deep hole and oil coming out of the hole without applying the method for the rope trick. I think with the age of internet, videos and viral social media there are people who show some good authentic stuff and some people who just try to ride the band wagon with their own videos. Sure we can try this stuff out with your vehicle, so have your tow strap, a tie down cable, a rated shackle, solid tow points and a disclaimer to say you are responsible for any damages caused to your vehicle and equipment in case of anything goes wrong. Oh yes, I forgot to add someone to take a video so you could start your own youtube channel.

Thanks for advising. There will be a spot for you in case you can make it. Just don’t forget that you will need to do the DPI test before 28th.

Hi Good video, as I have also been wondering a bit, when to use central diff lock and when not. I am typically driving without TRC and VSC systems, so they are off. Should I always use center diff lock on, when we are driving on sand ? Or is lock only switched on, when got stuck, etc ? Share your comments, please...

@Tamas Hoffmann, looking forward for the drone shots😀

Great! Booked 72hrs before also!

Dear @Emmanuel, it looks likely that I need to go to office on Dec 28th. This is not exactly confirmed yet, but it is best to take me out from the drive and give my position to next one in WL. If I don't need to go to the office, I shall rejoin if there will be still places left. This is also my 2nd. drive on that weekend. Sorry about this inconvenience !

That is true in performance equivalent . However I am really not quite sure if it has central locking mechanism !

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi and the team. Look forward

@Foxtrot Oscar seems like you missed out my convoy number..

@Wrangeld, I will drop out of the waiting list as I have secured a spot in RAK drive.

@DANIEL NOGUEIRA, Coffee? I was hoping for some Caipirinhas on the beach 🤣