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Off-roading continues all year-round with Carnity. Our passion for off-roading does not stop when it gets hot, simply because we are as passionate as you are. What heats up the summer drives are the unique challenges and how we meet them to continue driving during hotter months - here's our summer schedule. Get ready to take your off-road skills to the next level with the Carnity ‘Summer Off-road Adventures’. As the mercury rises, we will be shifting our off-road drives to the cooler periods of the day in the Early morning, Twilight, and Night. Sunrise Drive Apr - 6 AM - 10 AM May - Aug - 5 AM - 9 AM Twilight Drive Morning - 4 AM - 8 AM Evening - 6 PM - 10 PM Night Drive Ramadan - 9/10 PM - 1/2 AM May - Aug - 8/9 PM - 12/1 AM The Fun Stuff After dusk, during the hot summer months, the desert offers welcome relief from the hot humid conditions in the city, with lower temperatures and a light breeze. It’s more peaceful and tranquil and a great opportunity to see wildlife that is less active and often hidden during the day. Driving at night adds a whole new element to your off-roading experience. Your car sounds and feels different, you have a whole new vista before your eyes. And of course, it's time to test your off-road lights and keep tinkering with adjustments to fine-tune. Day-time off-road drive adrenaline will be greatly amplified at night for more excitement and thrill when you climb up seeing the stars or coming down seeing nothing but just a few meters ahead of your car. These challenges will keep your heart racing to add an extra activity on your fitbit tracker. The challenge Driving in the dark involves a different skill set. You need to stay close to the car in front so as not to lose them, and far enough away to stay at a safe distance. You need your senses to be keen to pick up every visual and audible feedback to guide you through the dark. The sounds of the car in front, the glimmer from their headlights or yours, the sand crunching under your tires will all help you together. Testing your driving skills at night pushes you to new driving limits of sight, sound, and decision making as you’ll be taking split-second leap of faith decisions – literally driving into the dark. Requirements Lots of attention, focus, patience, and precision to master night driving skills. Off-road lights are highly recommended, but not mandatory. High beam headlights are mandatory. Attention to variable drive timings.

Trip Report: Even though a bit delayed the memories are fresh from our last drive at Fossil Rock. I remember going here as a NB about a year back in my Patrol and getting stuck all over the place🤣. Considering that you all can now cherish how well you drove here on Sunday as we kept driving, bumping the ante in the middle and ending with a flourish atop the fossil rock for a beautiful sunset. Many thanks to @topgear for being a perfect second lead and doing minor rerouting when advised. You were very clear and correct in all the maneuvers done including the longer and steeper sideys. Special thanks to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ, @Mohamed Seidam (including the awesome defacto report) and @Ahab Shamaa for supporting the drive and all the advises to members when we had some refusals and few stucks. @Mohamed Madani sorry for missing you out, hope you have the required gear by next time you join us. @Ranjan Pattanaik drove well with his explorer, improving every time. Well done and great to see how you are managing your car very well even in tricky places @Lakshmi Narasimhan drove well except for a minor fish tail on a sidey which he immediately corrected upon rehearsing it. Well done and you only get better as you drive more. Always remember " Do not fight Gracity" @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil drove his wrangler really well in all areas. Masterclass teaching with amazing advises from dear @Wrangeldwere quite evident . Great driving buddy @Dodi Syahdar did well in his F150 Raptor, quite a sight to see that monster climb with a roar every time on a sidey or hill climb. Well done @Ammar Naji gets better every time with his LWB Expedition. Be prepared for more roles supporting as 2nd lead/ Sweep . You need to get your experience come through to other peers in this club. @Richard Franks managed his red Rubicon well, controlled without any issues or hardly any . Great to see you bringing your son to nudge him into this sport and I hope he was thrilled. @Ranjan Das was seen driving his White wrangler without any issues as he gets better with his experience and confidence. Well done Fantastic COVID appropriate behavior by all which was really nice to see how we are adapting to live and enjoy with the new normal. Enjoy your week , for another adventure coming weekend. Cheers

Here's my perspective, as a marshal and someone that started desert driving quite recently. You may not believe it, but I am a salsa dancer. I was a terrible dancer when I started, but I practiced, and even once I got better and better, I continued to go to help in beginner lessons because I knew that practicing the basics is never a bad thing, and going back to the basics there is ALWAYS something to learn. What's my point? We are always learning. If your mind is open to it, you learn something every time you drive. On an 'easy' drive, I have the option to focus on an area of my skills that I want to improve and give it the time and energy that I cannot when the drive is fast paced or complex. Go back to the basics again and again and again. That way, the more challenging things will come easier (and safer). Beginners really appreciate you sharing your experience. We do not normally do drives focusing on one skill because it's not a class. We are not leading a tutorial. We are leading fun drives for the convoy. If you want more practice, sign up for drives at a lower level and do the same challenges again and again and again. What most of our members do not really see is that the most senior members of the club spend more time driving with the most junior members than driving extreme drives (which we all could). We know that we learn a lot more from this experience than hanging off the side of a cliff or riding a 3km ridge.

Hey @Gaurav, now that I have auxiliary lights on my car, I often wonder how I ever managed to drive without them 😀 After you install off-road lights, you start asking the same type of questions like “what did we do before cell phones, or the Internet?” 😂 My last drive with Sri ran into the night, and it felt like I was driving blind, even though my car had fog lights and Vision X off-road spot lights. I had to drive at night in the desert to finally understand what pitch black means 🤣 All I remember is driving close to the car in front of me to take advantage if his lights 😀 As to buying option, I believe it’s worth investing in good lights if you decide to install some. Many good brands out there; Denali, Rigid, Baja, etc. I went with the Baja Design https://www.bajadesigns.com/Products/LP6-Pro-LED.asp because they have a cool running daylight, and have a high and low beam setting. This is not to mention the 5 year warranty and the interchangeable white/amber lenses. The main thing to have in off-road lights, is two lighting patterns; i.e. lights that have spread beams to illuminate your surroundings, and spot beams to illuminate the path in front of you. Luckily, most good brands make a light that has both beam patterns... The cost of good quality lights is still high, but it pays off in the end because you don’t have to keep on replacing the cheap ones 😀

I installed four 6” Rigid Industries 360 degrees. https://www.rigidindustries.com/360-series-360-series.html They’re not cheap but I do love them! I suspect with the evening summer drives coming up I’ll probably add in more just to light up the night!

Off-road light is a very touchy subject tbh. I come from era where these luxuries used to be 8K-10K in price from 2008 when LED light bar I have seen it for the first time. I have been driving on stock high beam headlight perfectly fine till 2016. My personal experience with off-road light is quite limited as I never researched extensively and went with some friends suggestion as a rush job. First two lights I bought from Sharjah I regretted (non branded). Third one I bought from Toby, dragon mart (Chinese too, but slightly better and affordable brand) I liked it for what it was worth I guess under 500 dhs. I have a feel (maybe im wrong) that after 2-3 years this Toby light brand has reduced in its power, so I will still test my lights this season and jump on something better. I remember @Srikumar has done some better research on CREE, 3D, 4D, 5D lens setup and bought something nice too. @Frederic also got some side shooters, that I will be looking to install too. There are many other good brands like Hella, Rigid, IPF, KC, ARB and many more, so will let other guys who have used and bought some good brand lights will advise further. @Ahab Shamaa, @Craig Finlayson, @Alexander Alcala appreciate your brand wise feedback and choices you've made. Please tag more guys, if you know someone have good off-road light setup.

Can't wait for the night adventures to start. Mine starts from Friday with @Wrangeld. The only perfect excuse to tell your wife that you are out at night and driving aimlessly in the desert. Probably the family would leave us if they find out their hubby is more interested in drives than them.

This is me reading the thread!

From my experience I can only tell you to have good friends. The only LED bar installed on my vehicle is thanks to my best friend on my birthday.

@Lakshmi Narasimhan I can understand your enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. I'm like you. But what is the fun if you learn everything very fast? Very soon you will run out of things to learn as you progress through the drives at a fast pace. You should drive under all the marshals and you will learn more. Each Marshal and his style is different. There is no perfect learning. Its that you perfect your skill with experience. For that you need patience. I'm an Intermediate. Do you think I know everything? Absolutely not. Keep driving and you will slowly gain the confidence & experience. I need to drive with for eg @Gaurav which I did only one till now. With @Rahimdad, with all the marshals. DON'T TRY TO VENTURE OUT IN THE DESERT ALONE.

@Lakshmi Narasimhan i want to reinforce @Gaurav point having been on a recent Fewbie Ridge Riding trip (3+ hours of ridge riding which means 3+hours of criss crossing with @Ale Vallecchi) As a fewbie+ on that ride i massively leveraged what i learnt as a newbie & fewbie with regards throttle control and especially momentum (not speed). without that prior experience the risks on ridge riding would have been far greater as momentum (not speed) ensured we were able to enter a ridge vs jump onto it and also the ability to exit safely as we didnt ride ridges at excessive speeds! The time spent as a newbie and fewbie on the foundations is essential as it ensured when we did the dedicated ridge riding or technical drives - our natural throttle/momentum management was instinctive. everyone learns at their own pace - you appetite is awesome and all i want to pass on as more of a cautious driver is that enjoy learning the basics as mastering momentum and throttle and steering in the sand makes everything more fun (and less risky) when you move onto the fewbie/fewbie+

Because all trip leads know the exact fine line to limit before it become scary or risky for newbies.

Interesting, @Gaurav, any recommendations for offroad lights based on your experience?

Yes. The learning never ends @Mario CornejoCornejo but in the end, it's a hobby and not a job. The marshal's hobby is, probably, learning.

Dear Friends MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ Jack Thomas @Jack Thomas Tero Vallas @Tero Vallas Hisham Masaad @Hisham Masaad Ahab @Ahab Shamaa Shaaz Sha @Shaz Shah Mario @Mario Cornejo Rob Harper @Rob Harper Islam Soliman @Islam Soliman Please note convoy number for tomorrow We will use Chanel 2 for radio Please bring your torch or led lights as back up in the dark for visibility during recoveries if any.

@Chaitanya D Merci ! Enjoyed the drive so much And thank you to all the convoy for the nice spirit.

Totally agree with you @Niki Patel. I was on that drive and I learned one valuable lesson from Prof @Ale Vallecchi. If you are on a ridge and the car before you slows down then just exit from the ridge to a safe position instead of getting perched on the ridge which makes 2 cars stuck.

@Thomas VargheseCongratulations!

Thanks for the feedback @Chaitanya D look forward to join your next exciting trips.

This is the exact territory of Fewbie drives. Doing these at Newbie level will be very risky and scare lot of drivers. What you already got a taste of these specific skills (in moderation) at newbie level is just enough for you to qualify to FB. As all trip lead pay extra attention to people who are unsafe in these maneuvers and advise them to practice more.

Thanks @Chaitanya D for the feedback and for correcting the flaws while driving and providing chance to make sure it is corrected.

This also explains the return of balance after the steam wash , same principle I guess.

All the Marshalls and leads are providing tips feedbacks to improve. To put use of all the feedback we need more drives to practice, We all are trying the best to take more drives possible along with work load. With relaxed rules for second drive it would definitely give every opportunity to put in extra efforts. Once we are out of sands theres no way to practice these skills. I am loudly thinking having one or two drives specifically focusing only on side slopes, technical dunes and criss cross and to practice these repeatedly in turns would help a lot in learning by watching and driving at Newbie level itself. Probably I might be looking to learn faster others might like to take it gradually, this is my view point only. Hope some drives can be arranged if its feasible and if it is welcomed by many.

Thank you to Dr @Chaitanya D for entrusted me with second lead. It is always nice to follow behind the lead and see how they use just the sufficient power to conquer the challenges patches and overcome the dunes. Not too much power that result in digging or too little power that result in getting stuck. Very good learning experience and appreciate all the instructions and reminders on safety too. Thanks to @Mohamed Seidamfor managing the center forward and @Ahab Shamaafor bringing up the rear. It was a great time with a great bunch of drivers. We conquered Fossil Rock with minimum issues. The weather was kind too and the sunset view was rewarding. This was my third visit to Fossil Rock and I get to see a different part that I have not driven before. I particular enjoyed the part where we looped behind and caught the sweep. Very fun quiet drive on a weekday.

Are you sure this is your car @Ahab Shamaa 😳😳😳

This is the essence of all this, right? There is more to learn apart from driving: recovery, terrain, navigation, drive in and out safely, etc. Enjoy the sand!

Hi @Chaitanya D,I thought tomorrows drive is postponded to 15 the and that's y I quit from the drive. Of there is drive tomorrow then I am surely in DOCTOR 🙏😁

Ramadan timing is perfect, 😀

Great timing for RAMADAN 🤩..... can’t wait to drive at night 😅

In almost all the drives I have been I could see only every one eager to learn more and want more, never saw any one scared. What I thought was newbie level slopes, criss cross if we practice repeatedly will help us, if this what we will do in fewbie level I am looking forward to that.

Hi Rahul, Ford Explorer - two things. First remove the air dams at the front. They make the car too low if fitted. Secondly, please make sure that the D hooks for towing are installed. Whereas everyone will tell you they are fitted as standard, I have had one or two occasions where an Explorer did not follow the 'standard' rule. As @Lakshmi Narasimhan, for an absolute newbie drive, your car is fine.

Not gonna happen @Wrangeld 😉

That's great news. We have enjoyed @kolin joining our drives and hope that she will not be pushed out of the driving seat for ever once you get the off road bug as well.

Hello @Wrangeld and everyone else in the group. My name is Redza (or you can call me RJ). I've watched the tutorial video and my equipment is complete. I drive a 2015 Land Cruiser and have some experience driving off-road. My wife @kolin recommended me to join Carnity and I look forward to learning new things.

@Wadepat2 LC100 has inverted hook in front and strong pintle hook at the back from the factory. So technically you don't need any additional hooks, if you stock ones are in good shape (not shaking) and not rusted.

Thank goodness you didn't start off-roading 12 years back. There was a group which did night drives without lights. One fateful night they even left a participant behind. The best solution I have to start chewing happydent.

@Lakshmi Narasimhan in addition to all the fab advises here I would definitely advise you one most important part of driving - Enjoy your drives! You will definitely learn all aspects in due course may be a month early or late, but don't push yourself to learn all at once or all quickly. Driving safely on sand requires all skills - technical dunes, sideys, crossing , bowls and ridge rides. As you progress over time the level, speed , intensity and maneuvering improves.

This is a controversial topic. There are many good brands, but also depends on the esthetics that you are looking for your car. Me for example, having a wrangler, I prefer the round lights over the lights bars. I am a fan of Hella and KC lights. Also depends on your budget. And if you want a permanent fix or something removable.

As of this afternoon 😳 No comment 😀

@Wrangeld, wow good to know that. Lots to learn from you. I have been observing all the AB Newbie drives and Newbie drives where the most senior leaders spend their time, which is the very reason why Carnity is doing well and why I have chosen to associate with. You have given me good reasons to do more drives at Newbie level which was in my consideration for few days.

@Thomas Varghese As you rightly mentioned, I also try to take drives with every Marshall possible and also on every terrain. Also same terrain with other marshall has different pathways which is unique. Every drive is experience, learning and fun. I don’t see that practicing more will diminish that xfactor. If so all the leads should have retired by now considering their number of drives. But we can still hear them saying I am still learning and every drive is unique and the enthusiasm shown by them at their respective age levels. Take your self how enthusiastic you are in going for drives. Even though I would love to go alone in desert, I wont do that even if I drive for ages. Thats the reason I was looking to have more practice with leads to guide. My point was not to learn advance driving at newbie level. I thought if we have repeated more practice would help. As Gaurav mentioned thats exactly we will do at fewbie level my point is cleared and I totally agree with all of you.

No doubt about our leads and their expertise and the amount of safety measures they undertake before, during and after drives. We trust them and enjoy the drives with every one of them, thats the reason we could see many looking forward for many more drives. Totally agree on that.

I have been following explorer in front of me on couple of drives and saw that performing well, at this level definitely more than enough.

@Ale Vallecchi, can you please add me to the WL - my first drive for the weekend

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi. I waitlisted here because of @Carnity rules for the 2nd drive. Once the date was shifted to RSVP for 2nd drive to Tuesday it was only fair to join @Luca Palanca Falsini as I had RSVP'd there even before I got promoted and the slot was available. I believe every marshal should be leading a full convoy irrespective of the drive status.

No worries @Thomas Varghese You'll debut soon. See you out there ASAP.

Well done @Thomas Varghese, congratulations....👏

No. That's fine @ARAGON

Hi @Wrangeld..i have a stock jeep wrangler 4 door.. ..should i be removing the air dam under the front bumper?

No need for "sir", we are all friends here. Yes would love to see those Baja designs of yours in dark lit the whole convoy and make it like afternoon in Lisaili 🤣 with a cool breeze Not the forget the fantastic members signed up with great cars - well groomed FJCs , SWB Wrangler's, F150, Tundra TRD, LC Prado , X- OR and a SWB super safari. I wish I had all of them one day 😜🤩😍