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We all are excited about starting off Night driving not to miss out on desert driving in summer to save us from the scorching heat. I was looking at options for improving visibility on drives especially for cars in the the convoy at back/ when one is following a car to have a better sight of the car in front. Simplest one can do would be to attach LED blinkers to their respective off road flags at the top or just below the flag so that it makes it a tad bit easier for the car behind to follow and for safety crossing taller dunes . Just the way a off road flag serves it purpose during the day, it would do with these at night. These LED blinkers are available on line - basically cycle LED blinking lamps which also come with USB recharging options. Cost varies between different options and colors but a basic one would cost around 30-40 AED and I suppose it is worthwhile to have these. Any other suggestions or advises is welcome

Congratulations @Farouq Owdeh 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 Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity 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 @Farouq Owdeh

Congrats @Farouq Owdeh!

congratulations @Farouq Owdeh, well done. Very pleased to see how well you drove last week in Yahar-Sweihan.

Dear Friends Morshedi @Morshedi Badar Tariq @Badar Tariq Alain Canivet-Abikhalil @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil Darren Brooke @Darren Brooke stavros papachristos @stavros papachristos Niekku @Niekku Gaurav @GauravSoni (Wait list #1 2nd drive) Thanks for signing up on this Newbie night drive at Margham off Lisaili / E66. Drive level will be slow paced relaxed drive for you all to get acquainted with driving in the night. Please remember the mandatory gears required - Shovel, Programmed radio , Off road flag , deflator and compressor. It is preferable to have spare battery for radio, LED blinker attached to the flag for better visualization , Spare torch for yourself along with other regular requirements on any drive. Off road lights is preferable to have , but not a must as you will be driving behind the car in front , so you just have to keep a closer watch on the tracks so that you don't miss them. Regular/stock high beam light +/- Fog lamps is enough. In any case we will not leave you back in the desert at night😜. Thanks to Richard @Wrangeld and Marjan @Jeepie for supporting this drive, which will definitely add more fun. Keep a watch for more updates closer to the drive date, enjoy your week!

Congratulations @imranaasghar81very well done, you deserve it. Your promotion should have been put on hold till you post pending videos. Hahahah

First of All Thanks to @Wrangeld and @Shamil for this wonderful first hand experience of Desert drive. it was fun and full of thrill. this was the end result of the drive. Lets start from the starting; little bit background story, I drive Ford Explorer 2017, I started driving in 2007, I consider myself a good driver (on Tarmac of course). Desert driving is one of my bucket list item. I was super excited to join my first Drive. my Preparation before Drive; Deflator : I brought this Fancy brass deflator. it cost more and slow also. only benefit is you can do all 4 tires together still it is slow. I will suggest use this one, cheap and fast (even deflating one by one tire) this small things matters the most. you will realize till you finish reading full post. like I did till we reached almost end of the drive. Pressure gauge: lot of them are available I will recommend digital one. its little more precise than analog one. Radio (walkie talkie): Baofeng UV-5R (one of the recommended on Carnity) available in 70 AED in Dragon mart. Compressor : also recommended on Carnity, double cylinder Camel compressor from Dragon Mart, there are lot of compressors available there similar look and color. I did not find a camel one however I find one which has a sticker of camel on the compressor. salesman tried to convince me that this the one i am looking for. I bought it for 280AED. at the end of the trip it inflated all the tires very fast like 3-4 min all 4 tires. Water and Snacks: if you are lucky that someone else has refusal or stuck than you will get time to drink or eat, otherwise will not get time to think of eating anything or drink during the drive. but its important to have lots of water with you. before you start reading further, please keep in mind, Everything in this post is my opinion and views based on my personal experience, discussions and your views are most welcome. Lets start the drive; if its your first time, there is no harm in reaching at start point little early. why? I reached exactly at 6:01am, most of the drivers were there already and tires were deflated. (I had fancy slow deflator, was not sure how this will work than till our Marshal @Wrangeld started Briefing I was not finished with deflating, also my gauge was not good so I was not sure if my tires are deflated correctly, I asked our Marshal @Wrangeld to help me he tried to help me quickly. however tire pressure was not up to the mark. (so if I would have reached before time this could have been avoided) I am talking about deflating a lot because its very important to have right pressure. lets talk about actual drive now, in my group there were Wranglers, Land cruiser and Pajero. I was the only one having 4WD which is fully controlled car computer (similar to AWD but little better) Ford call it Terrain management System (TRS). I was assuming I will be the first one to have refusal and I will be first one to stuck but I was not. anyways drive went well both @Wrangeld and @Shamil. both were very helpful specially during the refusals guiding why we stuck and how to overcome. during the whole drive two words were always coming back in conversations on the Radio i.e. Momentum and Gravity. Momentum is your friend and gravity is nature ( never fight with Nature, much more powerful than me you or any machine). lets come back to my car again, my car has good power and it TRS responds well but momentum is also important. it does not matter how good is your car, how good your tires are if you dont keep the momentum. most of the cars had 4LOW gear in case they have refusal or stuck to come out. in my case I had only one friend Momentum. during our drive with momentum I have peaked on the angled sides of dune where some of us were not able to do so, this does not have to do anything with ability of car or driver, its the Momentum which takes you higher. I faced refusals on the places where no one expected may be because of not enough momentum or breaking. one important thing here, during drive there are lots of things processing in the mind one of them is your steering position. if you have habit of loosing steering wheel to bring wheels straight after turn on Tarmac than be cautious. while on side slopes car wheels try to turn uphill and back of the car start to go downhill. so without breaking momentum steering control is also important. breaking is really very less needed thing I felt in desert driving because it breaks the Momentum. simply stop acceleration in case one need to stop than just let car stop on its own unless its not a collision situation. ups, downs, drops, slopes crossing with small refusals we managed to reached almost end of the drive.... big stuck was on the last big obstacle, it was a big drop combined with a soft sand bowl. I took breaks while coming down and momentum was gone and I got stuck. while trying it became that big stuck that @Shamil was also Stuck while trying to unstuck me and it became the recovery situation. I am impress with Carnity recovery team, they were there to help up in like 15-20 mins. whole recovery took around 30-40 min. while recovery, recovery team find out my tires had more pressure than recommended. we ended the drive at last exit inflated the tires (thanks to compressor, car was ready in 3-4 min for tarmac) @Gaurav and other recovery team members, Thank you. Keep it up. End conclusion: its an amazing experience however choosing right tool is also important. from deflator to car. in my case I am impressed with my ford explorer it did well. I had doubts that I will be able to do that much off-road drive with my car. only lacking was low gear to crawl out. It was busy ride did not get too much chance to take lots of pictures, however there are some pics I managed to take while others had refusals.

Congratulations @Farouq Owdeh, enjoy the new level

Congratulations @Farouq Owdeh on your promotion. Hope you continue to enjoy learning and polishing your off-road skills at this new level.

Congrats @Farouq Owdeh

@Ilya Golubinsky, Thanks for the share. I got these fast deflation valves too, such a life saver😃 Previously I used to remove the valve core stem, I did not mind waiting 40-50 seconds to remove the stem. But couple of times I had the issue of valve getting stuck. And with BFG's, its not easy to fix quickly. So I wanted an option to avoid valve core stem removal. This was the perfect solution. Plus the deflation happens for my 285's in 10 seconds.

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for taking the time to organise interesting itineraries even for Newbie level! Cant't wait for the drive ! See you on Friday

Congrats @Farouq Owdeh!

@Rizwanm2 and @Lakshmi Narasimhan please don't worry. We are manually reducing the RSVP to 1 to avoid any confusion. I have 10 members plus 3 support, thus total 13 cars. @Rizwanm2 you've been added to this drive. Waitlist as of now for 1st drive: 1 @Sinol 2 @Pacific 3 @Jon M Waitlist for second drive: 1 @GauravSoni 2 @Lakshmi Narasimhan

Hi @Rahimdad i saw earlier there was a spot open in RSVP. but i did not sign in, however when i checked now RSVP limit has reached. not sure who has left and join the drive. To be fair and equal to all the members i would like to suggest a system control to block the RSVP once drive is reached its limit. when someone leave, only drive lead should be able to add the next driver to the drive list. Other wise there is no point in waitlist.

Only my second drive guys so hope I don’t hold you up!

Updated convoy list 1. Chaitanya D Black xterra 2. Thomas Varghese white xterra 2nd lead @Thomas Varghese 3. Chintaka Ruwan xterra @Chinthaka Ruwan 4. Russ Ford raptor @Russ 5. Islam - Black Yukon sweep @Islam Soliman Will use Radio Chanel 2 for communication See you soon

I would want to join night drive and experience it and learn the night drive, to do it safe and to enjoy can do any thing and this is not expensive one, good suggestion!!!!

This is without doubt, one of the best written reports by an AN I have seen in my time at Carnity. Thank you for taking the time to put all of this in writing because it will help so many other drivers in the future. It is really pleasing from my side to see that the lessons we wanted to get across came across - momentum, gravity etc. I think that you will find Rahul that unfortunately these is only so far you'll be able to go in terms of drives with the Explorer, because your skills will be better than the capabilities of the vehicle - but until that time, enjoy every drive, and please keep on sharing your experiences.

Looks like we will witness the rising of the crescent moon announcing Ramadan commencement during our drive. I request any experienced members to point out the rise of of the crescent moon and stop the convoy to pay our respects to the age old fool proof method of sighting the moon for Ramadan.

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalilyou are #3 in the WL. Thanks

@imranaasghar81 I had to look over my shoulder when I read this as I was watching those vids on Instagram!!! ... but don’t do it ... don’t do it.... you’ll turn our FJC into an S-Class (I’m tempted lol). See you soon and post those videos else you’ll be the first carnity member to be relegated.

Thank you @Chaitanya D for the drive and for the advice. As always driving with you is fun and experience. @Islam Solimanthank you very much. Thanks for all who joined, we had a really good time👏👏👏👏

Waitlist as of now for 1st drive: 1 @Rizwanm2 2 @Sinol 3 @Pacific 4 @Jon M Waitlist for second drive: 1 @GauravSoni 2 @Lakshmi Narasimhan

@Ale Vallecchi I would like to be added to the waiting list.

Preaching to @Lakshmi Narasimhan about human fatigue I realized I'm waitlisted as #1 in @Ale Vallecchi's Friday morning drive and waitlisted here too. As its humanely not possible and insane to attempt both drives I request @Rahimdad to kindly exclude me from the waitlist.

Be careful @Lakshmi Narasimhan. Friday morning drive is at 6 and this night drive finishes by 2 or 3am early Friday. I doubt its humanely possible to drive almost whole night and the drive morning also with the same concentration. Its your call so choose wisely. Remember we cannot overcome our human fatigue limitations.

It was a great drive today. It was short convoy but team was amazing. Happy to drive with more experienced drivers. Had a great time with you guys and learnt many new things. Hope we will drive again soon. Thank you guys. @Thomas Varghese@Russ@Islam Soliman @Chaitanya D and 2nd Lead.

Thank you all 🤗

@Rizwanm2i can see only 9 rsvp pls go ahead and book now!!!!

Hi Rahim bhai, sure pleasure to drive with you after long time. 😀

Thanks for update. see you soon.

i was just getting up from my chair to leave and this intimation arrived. It will be fun with such a short convoy.

@Lorenzo Candelpergher this drive will be my debut as an Intermediate.

@Chaitanya D, got some emergent work ... cant make it for the drive. Aplogies. hope to drive with you soon.

Congrats @imranaasghar81, very well deserved... keep enjoying!!

Congrats @Rawad Bahsas!

@Chaitanya D I have meeting confirmed in office hence I would not be able to join today.

This is a great @Thomas Varghese@Lawrence_Chehimi observation and it happens specially on older tyres also after popouts the tyre must be cleaned thrououghly. In my experience we should regularly replace the inner tyre valves as well. they cost nothing.

Dear @Chaitanya D I withdrew my RSVP due to unexpected afternoon commitment today . Have fun guys 🙏😉

congrats @imranaasghar81. Last time I drove with you I was thinking it was time for your promotion to intermediate and now its a reality.

First of all so many are waiting before me!!! If I get spot here I will take off on Thursday and sleep well before drive, if I feel tired I will back out!!!

Sure my. W @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader @Danish Mohammad @varunmehndiratta @Shehab Alawadhi @Danish MohammadMohammad as your 2nd drive had to remove as of now. Sorry for that.

Thank you everyone for an overwhelming response. I have rated this drive as a Fewbie as this will be a first time night drive for many. The level will not be exactly Fewbie, but due to the challenges presented in the night and the prospects of learning from this drive I have rated it as a Fewbie. Waitlist as of now for 1st drive: 1 @Rizwanm2 2 @Sinol 3 @Pacific 4 @Jon M 5 @Lakshmi Narasimhan Waitlist for second drive: 1 @GauravSoni 2 @Thomas Varghese Note: *SMALL CLARIFICATION* Thursday night drives are part of weekend drives now as per the new summer drive schedule. So it will be counted as a "one drive per weekend" restriction until Monday night. From Tuesday morning onward anyone is free to join multiple drives.

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for the info. Looking forward to drive with you..see you soon.

Dear Desertnauts. As I enjoy finding a theme for all my itineraries, this one has been inspired by one recent Fewbie outing, when we found this perfectly laid track, just smoothed out by some kind of machinery, that allowed us to speed, highway style, from the yellow Murqaab dunes to the white Lisaili cordons, without having to worry about the very difficult technical terrain separating these two great off-roading areas. Combine the presence of this "highway" with the fact that the sun will constantly be at our back, rising in the east to west direction, and Solar Park will be our goal, to understand why we'll be enjoying a "Highway to the Sun" drive. Despite its romantic, and possibly comforting title, the drive itself will not be a particularly relaxing one, from the point of view of the technical difficulties of the two areas will explore. They both have some tall dunes: Murqaab with smoother and wider ridges, Lisaili with sharper ones. There will be soft sand patches in both. There are a few deep bowls in both, wider in Murqaab, and tighter in Lisaili, where they tend to form "canyons" of successive bowls, to ride as a rollercoaster. We'll proceed with care, working on our skills, mostly focusing on side sloping, and perhaps some rudiments of ridge-riding. @Pmaraziti, @ARAGON, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @Russ, @JeromeFJ, @WaYan, @Gregory, @Chris Wing, @Warren Flay, @TT_Dubai, @Ranjan Pattanaik and @Roger K, thanks for joining, and stay tuned for more detailed drive's info coming to you this Thursday. Enjoy your wee. Hi @Thomas Varghese. You are #1 in the WL. Thanks @Lucas Neo you are #2 on the WL. Thanks a lot.

Trip Report A bit late to write this but nevertheless the memories are fresh from what was a fast drive while it was day and continued into the darkness. Specifically planned with IM level so that the intention was to drive fast , and to get aquainted with night driving at this level as a preparation to what was coming for the summer- a plethora of night drives , at various levels to keep the drives cool and interesting. This area in Lisaili is a perfect ground to test drivers at any levels, and we specifically entered tight to supertight dunes with soft to supersoft sand to test you all at IM level. I was delighted to see how everyone managed the tight technical areas at the start along the dirt track from off love lake . Very impressive - especially by @Jack Thomas and @Rob Harper who were driving some monster trucks - F150 and a super charged Tundra respectively. Both had hardly any issues roaring the super LWB trucks. @Hisham Masaad played 2nd lead role to perfection, but only thing I observed was you need to speak on your radio more loudly and acknowledge . Good self recovery in a tricky spot and I hope now you know how to control your throttle well with that great FJC of yours. @Shaaz Sha has finally come to terms with his new toy - Red X, improving in all aspects without any issues as did @Tero Vallas who managed his LC Prado amazingly well. @Mario Cornejo was riding his SWB super safari aplomb with gusto, no issue again to all the challenges thrown and it was great to catch up with you after all the amazing feedback about your driving and dedication the the club. The father-son duo @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ managed well in the back and great to see your improvisation every time. Glad to know you have managed to fix your jeep shoulders now. @Ahab Shamaa we missed you out on this drive and hope you are enjoying your upgraded FJ. @Islam Solimans experience at the sweep meant we were sure no one was left behind and he was always there for managing minor refusals etc when needed. Shukran habibi for your support. This bunch of signs ups with varied cars and experienced drivers is always great to drive with. It was indeed good to see how nicely all of you have prepped your cars with some fab off road lights which literally lit the convoy all along. We drove along Lisaili ( at love lake entry) , Murquab all the way to a small patch separating from Faqa and winded back to exit at Murquab mosque on time. Well done everyone and get ready for more thrills with longer and faster night drives!! Cheers

Installed these Fast Deflation tire vales - absolutely love it. In Formula Tires got them at 550AED with the installation Deflating the tire in 15 sec (I normally do 2 meausures to catch the correct pressure, but in any case it takes another 5 sec per tire)