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First of all, thanks to @Felix Obst as without having seen his post, I wouldn't have realised that this part of the forum was here. His everyone. I'm Neil, and it's very nice to be here. I've been in the region since 2014 but only arrived in Dubai in January after three year stints in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. During those six years, I drove a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, which I'd bought to be able to go off road but never did but sold before I came back to the UAE but now wish I hadn't! The reason being that I live in Mira Oasis with my two rescue pups, Frankie and Zoya, who love chasing each other in the dunes at the end of the road but I'd like to be able to take them further into the desert and camp come the winter. Two months ago I bought my Jeep Wrangler, the 1995 YJ model which was lovingly maintained and I think restored by the previous owner who also converted it from an automatic to a manual. Although I learned to drive in a manual car in the UK back in the 1980s, and had always driven manuals right up until the aforementioned Trailhawk, driving the Jeep has has taken some getting used to as well having to drive at a snail's pace over speed bumps. I'm also not very mechanically minded. My brain just doesn't seem to work that way but still I'd like to be better and know what all of the switches do and the tools are for. I'm looking forward to joining this Friday's group led by @Vanessa8580 but rest assured I'll be leaving the girls at home this time around.

It's not about you buddy. It's about your 1995 model YJ (beauty) as Sri drives 97 XJ - great granny.

Hi to everyone, updated the entrypoint for our drive https://goo.gl/maps/3vAWT4rZNY9X5er98 location was changed to be compliant with Carnity's recommendations. It will be a really long and challenging drive (base track 65Km!). Can't wait to see you on the sand

I think he has also beaten up your great granny record...!

Pre Drive Thoughts Faced with the challenge of the heavyweight (literally) convoy signed up for the drive on Saturday got me looking again at proposed routes for the drive. At Fewbie Plus, it's safe for me to assume that all drivers know their way round their vehicles, understand how to get the best from them and have some experience of more advanced techniques such as ridge riding and criss-crossing. Keep in mind that when you are promoted to IM you'll be expected to be able to self recover, and assist in recoveries of your convoy (where requested) and be able to follow the drive without much assistance. So what's the point of Fewbie Plus? As the logic implies, it's that place where you are getting more and more drive experience, you've learned the skills and need to practice them and you're ready to push yourself even further outside your comfort level than before so that at IM level you can feel confident and focused. Where is all this preamble leading? Most people know that my signature is technical dunes: The small, closely-packed, technically challenging dunes where driving skill is more important than power and finesse the keyword. Bluntly, this is not the ideal territory for the large number of leviathans joining the drive. Winter time, this would be less of a worry, but at the end of this hot, dry summer, the sanity of driving a convoy with at least 4 big V8s into this type of terrain can be a questioned - after all, we want to be out of the desert on time, not the following day. So, I am giving serious thought to where we go, and as a result where we start our drive with the dilemma of where I think we should all be able and capable to drive against the risks and outcome if things do not go to plan. Please watch out as a result for the start point of the drive that I will publish tomorrow. I guess you all better hope that I sleep well. See you soon in the sand.

Welcome @Felix Obst . Glad to know you are past what happened unfortunately and everyone was safe. Life always throws up these little challenges, and especially difficult to bounce back when you had kids with you too. Rest assured you are in the right bunch of people who always believe in doing it the right way as much as possible. Take your time and stay safe

That's a beautiful looking YJ. Love the color. With a manual transmission, you are a very rare breed. Look forward to meeting up on the sand.

@Zixuan Huang - Charlie @topgear @Gaurav @BHANU PRAKASH VISHWANATH @Enrico Biscaro @Niki @Gregory @Chaitanya D thank you for all your positive feedback during my first hours of membership, I was thinking about joining since several weeks now and it feels like the best one possible for future adventure in the desert! What a great community, cannot wait to meet you and socialize (in accordance with the Covid protocol of course).

Thanks for sharing @Felix Obst - great to hear you and boys are good and are/have moved forward emotionally. Sounds like you're in the right frame of mind to make a comeback - congrats, and see you in the sand!

welcome @Felix Obst. I am naturally an apprehensive driver (not into extreme sports or challenges, with it taking me 10years of living in Dubai to take up this hobby) and what I valued most about Carnity's approach and specifically their marshals', there is never any pressure to perform a climb if not comfortable! I have sat out the 'fun' whilst others have had their time doing these climbs and only attempted when I have a sense of confidence! So as you join the club, you take your time building your confidence back and know there is no judgement or expectation other than that which you want to put on yourself. @Gaurav mentioned the laws of nature ... i will add what is also expected is that you must leave ego's at home ! no matter your car, your previous history off road, your Carnity rank - everyone can get stuck (so help out and be patient) and never to push or demand of others what you can or want to do in your car! It is humbling being part of convoys where our most experience drivers join newbie/fewbie rides just to support ... with Marshalls spending more time with shovels than driving to support and educate! Look forward to joining a drive with you soon and have fun as you restart this hobby!

Hi all, my name is Felix and I joined few hours back. I fell in love with off-roading about one year ago and collected a lot of drives and experiences since then. Unfortunately, one of them was not that great. I had a roll-over in January at the well-known iftar bowl. I was driving up the dune and decided too late to break up was too slow when I turned the wheel and rolled down the dunes with my boys at the backseat. Luckily it was a Jeep and we all survived without an injury but shocked. Needless to say, that the car was a write-off. I did some drives till then, but the experience is not the same, even if I know what went wrong, I see now dangerous situations everywhere in the desert. That’s how I found you – I love the drives that much, but I want to do it right and learn it from scratch again. My new ride is again a Jeep Wrangler but not with the same lift etc. I want to restart small and eat the elephant piece by piece. Looking forward to a lot of rides and adventures!

I'm not quite that old just yet

Welcome @Neil Jarman glad to see YJ around, one of the best production legend. I heard from a friend that YJ prices are increasing significantly now. Being in Mira with two pups you will be soon friends with @Vanessa8580 and @Frederic

The Jeep looks awesome! Looking forward to meet you on Friday!

Hi @Felix Obst First of all I would like to welcome you to Carnity off road club. I can assure you , after one year and a bit in here , you are in the place where the “ elephant is eaten piece by piece “ 😉 and Safety is an Absolute prime with no tolerance of compromises . Being vigilant is not the same of being hesitant and that you already had realized it by foreseeing the possible dangers of this inherently risky hobby . together with the best knowledge and experience and adherence to the desert lows and Mother Nature ( gravity is the biggest ) we can enjoy it to maximum. I look forward to drive with you , sometimes I also bring my little one as he is no less than his dad for the desert passion 😄

By your theory, Hafizah was also your lead. She's very good, but maybe just one more drive before she leads?

Hi Gaurav, thank you for the warm welcome. I really love off-roading that's why I was back in desert two weeks later to fight the "fear" and this was probably the best decision. It was hard for the children, took them longer and they played roll-over with their toy rubicons for a long time. I did a long analysis tried to remember as much as possible. I had the perfect set up for the desert and it was easy for me to keep up with an expertise group. But the point in time where the set-up was at at the limit there was no chance for me as beginner to master the situation. I know what went wrong and I spent some ours to re-program my head and do the right thing because I did it always wrong before the crash...as you said I did not care that much about physics, etc because just watching the pros everything just looked easy. Looking forward to meet you soon Thank you, well said I'm an even bigger fan of child seats they held them in their position. One more thing I can tell all the daddy's out there. Spend some extra time to fix the recovery gear and compressor in the trunk. Might be annoying but the compressor was flying through the car destroying the back windows not sure what would have happened if it had hit the boys heads...

Thx Charlie, I'm eager to learn and adopt. I'm looking forward to nice drives and lots of fun! Thank you for the nice words!

Yeah Sri, checks this point with Kabir's telescope every morning.

Hi Felix, I am certainly glad you are OK. I joined only 2 months ago and I am only at my 3rd Newbie drive. In addition, I took a couple of courses and those were real fun. During the courses I could feel the culture of this club is all about safety first. During my first 3 drives, the Marshal cemented the feeling demonstrating nothing is more important than everyone safety. No one is pushing you and just like when you hike in the mountains, the group pace is defined by the slowest person without making anyone feel inadequate of guilty. I found in Carnity a fantastic environment to learn and grow, everyone at her own pace. I am now looking forward to learn form you as I am sure you have seen a few…. Cheers Enrico

Hi Felix, Nice to know about you and your experience. My name is Bhanu Prakash and with construction background. I am cycling enthusiast and lately picked up Badminton which has become my second passion. I am an Absolute Newbie and will be part of your convoy.I am hoping that this is going to be a game changer for me as i am not only interested in adventure but also will give me the chance to learn about by car. I have twin girls who will be thrilled to come to the desert once i am into the drives. Hoping for best to all. catch you on the 1st drive.

Welcome @Felix Obst you are never gonna leave sand now. We have an old saying that a guy who comes back after an incident (esp roll-over), will never leave off-roading. Sorry to hear about your experience but glad that you and your boys were fine. Most likely for those age of boys, it must be fun and they might be asking you when we are doing the same again.....lol. I have 7 YO and all he asks is about stunts, drifts, jumps, and all crazy stuff that we avoid. Good to read that you realize what went wrong, as that's the first step towards safer offroading. And the second thing I like when you said - started seeing the dangerous situations everywhere - means you have really understood the mother nature, law of physics, momentum, and gravity with one crash course.

Welcome to the club @Felix Obst I regularly drive with my son strapped in the backseat. You and your boys are the testimony of the importance of being properly strapped in. Happy off-roading

Welcome to the club @Felix Obst! Sorry to hear about your roll over but glad to see you decided to be back on the sands! At Carnity club I have never concerned about safety, as safety is always well taken care of by drive leaders and support team members. With Carinity, I am sure you will regain you confidence soon to conquer the Iftar bowl and perhaps the super bowl too! Look forward to driving with you one day!

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.

A big Shout-Out to all our offroad club members from across the globe 🌍 Congratulations on reaching a new milestone of having over 50+ Nationalities Offroaders in Carnity Offroad Club. One of the very few off-road clubs in UAE that welcomes and appreciates multicultural members. At Carnity Offroad Club, we drive united as a truly multicultural family, bringing with us our thoughts, experiences and share interesting knowledge with our ever-expanding Carnity family. We pride ourselves at speaking different languages, having different views on our car knowledge and Off roading, but drive in Unity as it is the - way of life in true Dubai, UAE style. So come and join our Carnity Offroad Club and add your own special flavour to enhance UAE’s ever-popular Offroad experience. Below is the list of the various nationalities. In some nationalities even though there might be more within our group, we have mentioned only max 3 people. If we have missed out any nationality, please let us know and we shall update this list. 56 and counting - as of Oct 2024 Afghanistan: Ali Abbas Ali, Abu Muhammad Argentina - Martin, Miguel Ibarbia Armenia - Yerem Davtyan Australia - Jessica Lambert, Luke P. Bangladesh - Jalil Belgium - Frederic, Vanessa8580 Brazil - Jorge Stepniak Felippe, Daniel Noguira, Daniel Rodas Canada - Adam Marston, Brett Eicher, Mike M, Emanuel China - Zixuan Hang (Charlie) Denmark - Soren, Frederik Bisbjerg Egypt - Melenany, Mark Sorial, Nabil Bishara El Salvador - Mario Cornejo Ethopia - Beide Worku Finland - Matti Brockman, Tero Vallas France - Emmanuel, Frederic Demolder, JeromeFJ Germany - Ace1988 Greece - Stav, Alex0171 Hungary - Tamas Hoffmann, Archibald Jurdi India - Srikumar, Asif Hussain, Gaurav, Ranjan, Indonesia - Zed, IMAMP Iraq - Aus Alzubaidi Iran - Yousef Alimadadi Ireland - Barry, Gary and Benjamin Furphy Italy - Magellan, Ale Valecchi, Lorenzo Candelpergher, Enrico Biscaro Jordan - BIG T, G.Huz, Hisham Masaad, Mahmoud Taha Kuwait - Azam V2.0 Lebanon - Edouard Malaysia - E.C Tan, Anthony Tan, Topgear Mauritius - AnishS, Veedooshee, Imteeaz Mexico - Javier M Moldova - Alexanderrr Morocco - Jamy B Netherlands - Panda82, Xaf, Jeepie, Mels Wolf, New Zealand - Warren Flay Pakistan - Rahimdad, Bilal Ahmad, Atif Palestine - Mohamed Seidam The Philippines - Jun Zamora, Rinelle Sanaani, Kaile Barrameda Poland - Szymon Stankiewicz, Piotr Kolodziej Romania - Arman Russia - Mikhail Lukichev Scotland - Foxtrot Oscar Serbia - Marko Todorovic, Predrag Acimovic Slovakia - Jaro Tuzinsky, Misha Puskar, Martin M Singapore - Jerry Han Spain - Vsmano, Nacho, Jose Martin, Sri Lanka - Rizwanm2, Athula and Yasas South Africa - Kalahari, Gertjan, Paul Zietsman Sweden - Per A, M.K, Christian Andras Switzerland - dberclaz Syria - Noor, Basil Turkey - Sertac, Halit Mert Issever, Denizzalbayrak, Mehmet Volga Ukraine - YevgeniyDYM United Kingdom - Richard Melish, LewisCocks90, Wrangled, Tom B. Imran Asghar, United States of America - Jeffrey Osito Pilgreen United Arab Emirates - Shehab Alawadhi Venezuela - Alexander Alcala

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.

Everything you need to know about Off-roading in UAE from Desert, Mountain, Wadi and Camping As simple literal meaning off-roading means any terrain off the road, but it gets way too confusing as per so many people different understanding with not enough clarity. After spending 12 years in UAE off-road scene, I feel this write up will help many offroaders clear their doubts and explain a lot of intrigue details to other aspiring offroaders. Off roading is a way of life For a vast majority of UAE population venturing offroad over the weekend is a way of life, that you sneak away from your busy lifestyle and enjoy the adrenaline rush to forget all your worries and recharge yourself. Why and how do you forget your worries? While off road driving your brain has to process hundreds of instructions per seconds that you will eventually forget all you were thinking in the first 5 minutes. And this process continues for the whole offroad drives and keeping you super alert at all times to have the best experience every time. Offroading is an act of driving a standard, stock or modified vehicle on any surface other than the tarmac road. It can be on loose gravel track, beach sand, desert, dunes, mountains or in wadi's (riverbeds). There are several different ways of off-roading in UAE based on your adventure appetite from leisure drives with stock (unmodified) vehicles to slightly modified vehicles to competition level with highly modified vehicles. Off road drive Sand Driving This is the most basic and first step towards an offroading. This requires your standard road 4x4 vehicle with proper 4x4 and LO gearing or even AWD vehicle is acceptable to a certain extent, but not an SUV. All you need to do is deflate your tires to 14-15 PSI to gain more traction and increase the footprint of your tire to spread the vehicle pressure on a greater surface area. At first, learn some basics of offroading in the sand in UAE. Plan your entry and exit points carefully either by following offroad books available in UAE or by existing trails from wikiloc. This level of a drive can be done on the beach, desert or any place close to the habitat territories. In the desert, it's usually restricted to either flat tracks (sabka's) or easily passable tracks on the broad dunes. Dune Bashing This is the most common level of offroading in the UAE, where the group of offroaders get together and venture in desert dunes and explore the uncharted and uninhabited territories. This requires a proper 4x4 with minimum 8-10 inches of ground clearance and deflation of 10-15 PSI depending on the tire and vehicle load. This level of drive organizes in the desert having plenty of dunes to make your own path on virgin sand dunes. This challenge requires special skills of reading the sand and riding the 4x4 with precise control to continue moving without getting stuck. Self-recovery in the sand is the most important skill that every offroader should learn after the first few drives. If you are stuck in the sand, then listen to the instructions very carefully without getting panic. Get out of the car to analyze the situation and also to help the person who is helping you either by shoveling or by fixing the tow rope to your car in the proper recovery point (tow hook). Once you are out of the stuck, do remember to get out of the car for removing the rope and thanking the person. In dune bashing chances of getting stuck are very high and that's why most of the offroaders venture in groups to help each other with proper offroad recovery gears. You can join the like-minded offroad club freely available over Websites, Facebook, Meetups and Whatsapp groups. All you need to do is join a couple of few to find where do you fit the best, as every offroad club and groups are different and unique in their own ways. Some people do prefer private drives over the club and vice versa, check out the reasons here. Mountain Driving This is the second most common level of offroading in the UAE, where offroaders get together to explore beautiful mountains, wadis, and gorgeous camping spots. This requires a proper 4x4 with minimum 8-10 inches of ground clearance and deflation of 22-25 PSI depending on the tire and vehicle load. This level of drive organizes in scenic mountains either accessible by gravel track or by tarmac road to a partial extent. Traversing through rocky mountains or riverbed, do require a special skill that is easier to learn with capable offroaders. Similar to dune bashing, you can join any offroad club for quickly gaining the right experience with safety. These are the Top 3 off-road mistakes in Desert & Mountain that you can learn and avoid. Off road cars Depending on the level of off-road adventure you seek, you need a capable off road vehicle to make you a good offroader. Not all 4x4 and SUV are made equally capable and some are better, stronger and more reliable than others. To begin your offroading journey you can take your regular road vehicle if it's equipped with 4x4 gearing and LO gear option and also have 8-10 inches of ground clearance. Once you get a hang of this new offroading hobby it's always better to invest on a separate dedicated offroad vehicle because of several reasons: You can enjoy the best of both worlds: a comfortable vehicle for road and stronger vehicle for regular off road use An offroad vehicle will be limited to weekend bashing to prolong it's offroad usable life, as every offroad car require more frequent maintenance than the road car. If your offroad vehicle is under repair, you can still safely use your road car for daily commute. You can freely modify your offroad car by trimming bumpers, lifting the suspension, additional lights etc. You will be more comfortable in pushing the rev limiter in 20-40K dhs offroad vehicle than in 200K road car. Here is the list of best offroad 4x4 cars under 10K and 20K dhs in UAE, if you really get serious for offroading. After every offroad drive, you need to check your vehicle before hitting the road again with these post offroad drive car care checklist to make sure if your vehicle is safe for the road again or not. For more serious and regular dune basher, you should learn from other offroaders mistake to know what went wrong just before the accident. These discussions and feedback from seasoned offroaders will help you avoid the disaster and save your life and vehicle. Last but not least wherever you venture, please do not throw your trash or anything as it's a house of beautiful wildlife who get killed by eating plastic, tins, glasses and even metal threw as garbage. If you spot anyone doing it, please explain this to them as many people think that desert is an abandoned area and they can throw anything there. Due to this inconsiderate approach authorities are fencing lot of conservation area and also issuing hefty fines for offroaders littering in the desert or mountains. Feel free to ask me any question for more details or suggest me to add more valuable points for offroading in the UAE.

Different ways of crossing sand dunes Throughout the Carnity Offroad briefings you might have heard the terms "straight up and straight down", "side sloping", or "criss-crossing", and these are basically different techniques that we use in desert for crossing the sand dunes. Each come with its own risks and by learning and understanding the technicalities behind them i hope we can all learn faster and get more confidence in executing them. I hope below tutorial gives a more clear understanding on the subject and we can use it for future reference. 1) Straight Up - Straight Down Carnity Offroad Level: Newbie and Fewbies Description This technique is one of the very first we learn to apply when learning offroading. The trick is to approach the dune straight up with "JUST" enough momentum to make it through, but not too much to damage bumpers or cause a jump. One should always take into account the resistance that the sand offers based on different areas, and even more on different seasons. Most sand dunes have two sides - The windward side, which is the side where the prevailing wind blows on, and can be recognized by the wavy lines of the sand. This is the side where we ride on because the sand is more compacted and firm to drive on. - The slip-face side, this the softer backside (smooth side, no lines) of the dune which is generally not recommended to climb on, but this technique can later be learned as you advance through the off-road levels (slip-face attack). How to tackle It is advisable to start off at the bottom of the dune with applying a decent amount of power, and start letting go of the gas once you have climbed 75% of the dune. By that point the momentum should carry you further, and as soon as the car front wheel touches the crest, leave the gas completely or apply a bit of gentle braking when needed, to let you slide on other side of the dune safely. In fact the perfect technique is finding that right amount of momentum that you don't even need to apply brakes on the other side. Some gentle blips of throttle can help at the top to push you over the edge, as you learn and master this first step. If you run out of momentum going upwards to cross the dune, do not worry or panic, this is called a REFUSAL. Gently reverse and slowly come back in a straight line as you have climbed up. Announce on the radio that you have a refusal. Reverse up far enough so you can take a second attempt but this time with a bit more momentum. Risk Level: Low to medium. Approaching too slow will increase refusal and might cause stuck at the crest. Approaching with excessive speed might damage the bumpers or cause a vehicle to jump. Apply gentle throttle and slowly increase after learning. Take note that every dune is different and each approach will need to be made slightly different in terms of speed. Associated Risks: If you approach the dune too fast, more likely you will cause the bumper damage because your reaction time will be reduced substantially at very high speed. 2) Side-Sloping Carnity Offroad Level: Fewbie and upwards Description This technique is very fun and addictive, but it needs to be executed with a clear mind and a good experience on the behavior of the car. That is the main reason why this technique is only used from Fewbie level onwards. It is very critical to understand how gravity works and as we always says: " DO NOT FIGHT GRAVITY ". this applies to this technique most of all. When you approach a dune that you want to side-slope on, you need to carry enough momentum to get you through. This does not necessarily mean FULL throttle, because that depends on the type of dune. As soon as your car is on an incline, it will have the natural tendency to try to come down. The more momentum you carry, the further you will get. It is extremely important that you do not fight this by going higher up the dune at that point, but to steer down in a smooth way. Braking at this point is also very dangerous. While doing side sloping try to choose smooth path as possible and avoid stepping on rock, bushes or bumps that can bounce you and disturb the whole balance and tip you off or result in dangerous fish-tailing or tire pop-out at high speed. EVERY MOVEMENT OR ACTION YOU DO WHILE SLIDE-SLOPING NEEDS TO BE DONE IN A SMOOTH WAY, SUDDEN BRAKING OR EXTREME STEERING CAN LEAD TO ROLL-OVERS. Best practice: Always visually mark the entry and exit of the dune that you wish to do side sloping on. Stick to the initial plan as far as possible and exit safely. If you are new to this, then watch and observe how others have done before and try to replicate that as much as you can. The best thing to keep in mind is to think about "HALF MOONS" What i mean with that is that you should never make 90° turns during any kinds of these activities, but make smooth half moons during approaching dunes or crossing them. Risk Level: Medium. With proper training and guidance you can eliminate the risk of a roll-over for 95%, but one should always be aware of the risks involved and take all measures possible to minimize these. Keep both hands at the steering wheel and your full attention on the view ahead. Do not get distracted ! Associated Risks: If your vehicle is lifted more than 4 inch of OEM stock height then your 4x4 center of gravity will be less, and this will increase the risk of roll-over or flip by 50%. Same goes for bouncy (non-standard/rated) suspensions. 3) Criss-Crossing Carnity Offroad Level: Fewbie and upwards Description Criss-crossing is the art of riding the ridge of the dune and crossing over to the other side. Also here it is vital to understand that the approach towards the ridge, as well as the crossing over needs to be done in a smooth, half moon way. So basically you approach the dune along the length, you can stay on the ridge for as long as you want, but don't lose momentum at this point, or you will be crested lengthwise in the exact middle. Now the trick is to choose the right point at which you cross towards the other side. This feels scary at the beginning, but soon you will get the hang of it, and cross ridges without panicking at all. Make the criss-cross movement again in a half-moon method as seen below. Below picture shows the right and wrong way to criss-cross a dune. On the left side you will see that the approach is smooth and as soon as you cross over to the other side you gently steer down. Braking at this point is again very dangerous. In the right-side scenario, the angle of approach is very sharp, and during higher speeds this can result in a roll-over. EVERY MOVEMENT OR ACTION YOU DO WHILE CRISS-CROSSING NEEDS TO BE DONE IN A SMOOTH WAY, SUDDEN BRAKING OR EXTREME STEERING CAN LEAD TO ROLL-OVERS. Risk Level: Medium. With proper training and guidance you can eliminate the risk of a roll-over for 95%, but one should always be aware of the risks involved and take all measures possible to minimize these. Keep both hands at the steering wheel and your full attention on the view ahead. Do not get distracted ! Associated Risks: If your vehicle is lifted more then 4 inch of OEM stock height, then your 4x4 center of gravity will be less and this will increase the risk of roll-over or flip by 50%. Same goes for bouncy (non-standard/rated) suspensions. 4) Hill Climbing While this technique is not immediately necessary to cross dunes, climbing a mighty big dune will bring some fun and adrenaline in the equation. At first, you might feel intimidated and not sure if your car can handle this. With the right techniques at hand you can at least make a safe attempt and see how far you can get. This technique can be practiced from Newbie level onwards on small hills, and later you will learn to approach taller dunes from Fewbie level and up. Again it is extremely important to make a smooth "half-moon" circle at the top. If you run out of momentum and come to a standstill, DO NOT attempt to make a turn, but put your car in 4LO, and slowly reverse down the dune while keeping your wheels straight. The low gearing will help you in keeping that slow pace. As you begin to learn this, it's always advisable to make a smaller U-Turn to learn how your car reacts and how your mind reacts when you take the first turn on top of dune. This needs to be done with confidence and without any doubt or fear, so that you don't brake on top and do the complete U-Turn without braking and in a very smooth manner. Practicing on small U-Turn will build your confidence and after 5-10 small U-Turn attempt you can try higher and higher by understanding your vehicle dynamics and limitations. Risk Level: Medium. With proper training and guidance you can eliminate the risk of a roll-over for 95%, but one should always be aware of the risks involved and take all measures possible to minimize these. Keep both hands at the steering wheel and your full attention on the view ahead. Do not get distracted ! Associated Risks: If your vehicle is lifted more than 4 inch above OEM stock height, then your 4x4 center of gravity will be less and this will increase the risk of roll-over or flip by 50%. Same goes for bouncy (non-standard/rated) suspensions. Safety of all offroad enthusiasts is the most important thing. This is an extreme hobby that brings confidence, thrills, and people together as a family. We can only do whatever we can to make all safety instructions clear and concise but in end it's up to the offroader behavior to understand all risk and associated risk involve and enjoy safely. Open for any questions or comments !

Hi @Neil Jarman Welcome to Carnity. I live in Mira too. I have a Manual Jeep as well, but still getting a hang of it. See you soon in the desert.

I remember once posted a thread regarding automatic vs manual in offroad drive . It might be of some help 😉

@Gaurav need to drop out due to come unforseen commitments. Hope it gives sufficient time for someone else to join.

https://goo.gl/maps/J8ANQqsgYVLnjTEn6

Dear can you please share the exact location?

Pre Drive Thoughts The dunes are living, moving entities literally shifting sands as the wind moves them from one place to another, changing their shapes and structure in new and unexpected ways. I visited Margham last week to be surprised that an area that had been full of lovely wide play bowls a mere 6 months ago was no longer the easy cruising route that I remembered. Which is partly why I wanted to bring a Newbie convoy back into this area. Even though the big bowls are no longer quite the fun they were, this route benefits from: Some amazingly beautiful scenery and different pink colored sand all the challenges that a newbie needs to conquer (ascents/descents/light technical/swooping dunes) Lots of virgin sands (a lot less cross tracks) Options to end the drive in three different locations This is a drive where you will put what you learned to date into practice and learn some new important skills that will be needed as you continue in your off road journey. See you soon in the sand.

Hi Vanessa 1) Mitsubishi Pajero 2014 2) Absolutely none - I signed up for a absolute newbie drive after hearing from my friend who joined last year and very much excited on this new journey. 3) yes In terms of tools, a deflator with pressure gauge,potable compressor, flag, Radio, gloves, showel. Most importantly lots of enthusiasm to learn on this new journey.

These Dubai boys are judging us lightly...🤫

Hafizah Okunnu @Hafizah Okunnu Enrico Biscaro @Enrico Biscaro Tom V @Tom V Alexanderrr @Alexanderrr Joseph Sebastian @Joseph Sebastian Ramandbx @Ramandbx Ferl Brown @Ferl Brown Muhamed Ameen @Muhamed Ameen Pieter Potgieter @Pieter Potgieter Bernard Kalaani @Bernard Kalaani HI All, Myself and @Islam Soliman look forward to your company on our drive on Friday. What to expect? A challenging, soft sand landscape with some of the most beautiful sand that we have in the area. You'll be challenged on this drive, because the dunes are a little unpredictable and because the route to pass through makes you climb, descend and traverse in ways that for a Newbie will be novel or more technical than what you have experienced before - especially if you just did your Absolute Newbie last week! Why Margham? It will be a chance to try some small bowls, some longer descents, to practice driving over crests and enjoy some flowing undulating landscapes that range from sabkhas to ridges and everything in between. Bring your A game with you and enjoy the fun. See you soon in the sand.

Thank you looking forward to meet you on the drive. I'm happy to share all my experience how not to do it. I'm sure your children will fall in love with the desert, too. It is the highlight of the week for my boys and they are asking every day if we will go on a ride! see you soon - I'm sure you will love it! Hi Enrico, this is exactly what I was looking for. You have to learn it right from the beginning, once it is in the DNA its hard to re-train. I tried it by myself but I want to reach the next level. Looking forward to meet you in the sand!

Oh goodness...didn't see that coming...just couple of hours back thanks to @Lorenzo Candelpergher got added to Sweihan drive (despite it being full).... this is a tough choice Sweihan with Lorenzo vs small convoy with Luca and no poking the nose.....wow i can't make this choice .. @Luca Palanca Falsini we go to Sweihan the following week? 😂😂 These are insanely coolest options @Carnitycould offer ..

We love to confuse everyone, incl. ourselves sometime, lol. Sat IM switched to Fri after sending the notification due to some internal shuffling of leads and drives at short notice.

My daughter has the same one...we tried it on a camping day an year or so back...naked eyes can really see far...😂😂😂

Moving Sep, most drives will start from 6 AM - 10 AM, means by 9:30 we can exit and inflate. This is general guideline for all trip leads from Srikumar, however individual timing can be considered (if needed).

Hey @Luca Palanca Falsini just a thought/suggestion - yesterday it got too hot by 930am, unless some specific reason any possibility to start it early and end by 930ish? It's intermediate so even if we start in a bit dark believe would be okay with most .

I have a note to add to this thread. Even if there is no pop out its always good to check your tires for any sand intrusion inside the tires when you are driving on sand at lower pressures as sand gets inside the tires occasionally. I have a recent experience of this phenomenon. One of my tires was losing air from 35 psi to 12 psi and lower in a time frame of 2 days. I was bewildered and thought probably I managed to induce a hairline crack somewhere in the tire as 2 tire shops checked the tire for any leak after inflating to 60 psi and nothing was found. In the 3rd tire shop when I explained to the technician he immediately said there is a sand intrusion inside the tire and between the beads. He proceeded to remove the tire from the rim and surprisingly there was lot of sand between the tire bead and the tire. Probably it entered the tire when the tire was getting flexed by the constant sharp steering movements or hits on small bushes or by the jumps. This happened to the back tire and not the front. I was under the impression that sand intrusion inside the rim will happen only during pop outs and this incident changed that perception completely. When we are driving on sand its always good to check for everything in the car preferably after at least 2 to 3 drives and make sure everything is in order so that we can avoid unfortunate incidents during the drive and bog down other drivers who have come there for fun and waste their time because we were lazy to take care of our own car.

Do you know your roles and responsibilities while off-roading? Offroad driving is one of the most famous adventure activities in the UAE. But due to the nature of this adventurous motorsport sometimes things do get unpleasant and everyone involved needs to know their roles and responsibilities clearly. Desert worthiness vehicle: While off-roading, every vehicle get pushed to its limit and for this reason, every off-roader needs to maintain, check and fix existing vehicle problems before every drive. Follow your owner's manual schedule maintenance for extreme driving (harsh environment) intervals and not standard road driving intervals. Preventive maintenance will save you much hassle and time in the long run. We are not mechanics - As much as Carnity trip lead and support offer the first level of vehicle assistance when things go wrong, but they are not mechanic and no one should rely on that emergency support to avoid any maintenance. We are not an Insurance provider - In case of an accident, please follow the UAE road accidents procedures and check with your car insurance company about off-road coverage and recovery plan (if any). We are not a desert recovery company - If your vehicle breaks down during the drive, Carnity trip lead and support will try as much as they can to help, but their vehicles aren't tow trucks to recover a dead vehicle or partially working vehicle out of the deep desert. There are professional desert recovery companies like AAA to assist you and take full responsibility for not causing any further damage while recovering a non-moving vehicle from the desert. We will never leave you alone - In case you ever need to leave your vehicle inside the desert to arrange insurance or recovery, then Carnity trip lead and support will drive you down to the nearest tarmac exit. Mechanical Damage / Failure: Every offroader is responsible for his/her own car failure/damage. Especially in the offroad use some minor long-pending issues might amplifies due to the off-road stress and it should not be blamed on anyone other than the owner of the car. If you have any remote doubt that something might fail in the upcoming off-road drive, then please get that fixed first and then join for next week's drive, rather than taking chances and/or increasing the existing damage. It's always a good practice to join a newbie drive first after some crucial repairs or maintenance to test your vehicle again and then join the Fewbie drive and then Intermediate (as per your off-road rank eligibility). Breakdown log reporting: Every trip lead is reporting the vehicle breakdown after the drive. Occasional breakdowns or accidents are totally acceptable, but repeat breakdown of the same vehicle will not be appreciated. Please look into repeat vehicle breakdown seriously before it becomes a concern for everyone. Two cars involved in an offroad accident: Please decide on the spot, whose fault it is, and report to the neighboring police station for appropriate green and red paper for repairs. Most insurance companies don't cover offroad damage so please make sure if you drive expensive 4x4 with comprehensive insurance, please check your offroad cover properly. Take a lot of pictures and videos of the accident site as Police always ask for this and also save the coordinates of the location as sometimes police like to revisit that area to verify the accident. Single car damage in offroad: In case your car flips or rollover or have any impact damage, take a lot of pictures and videos of the incident as Police always ask for this and also save the coordinates of the location. Tow point failure damage: Every offroader is responsible for their own car tow point strength, integrity, and load taking capacity. If your car tow point fails during "ANY" sort of recovery and damages the other offroader car, then you will be liable for all the damages including the car, driver, and passenger bodily injuries. To avoid such a situation always recover gently and gradually increase the intensity of the tug. If you still suspect that a lot harder tug is needed use the support strap, dampers, or sandbag to secure both ends of the tow rope. Damage while recovering: As much as every trip lead and support are trained to prevent the damage while recovering any vehicle, but the ultimate responsibility of any damage while recovering lies with the owner of the stuck car. Scenario 1: In some cases when your car nosedive in the sand pocket, the front bumper damage is already done, but it becomes visible when your car gets fully recovered out of the pocket. Scenario 2: While recovering a stuck car by a tug, if the stuck car doesn’t stop early enough after the recovery and hit the recovering car, then the stuck car owner is at fault and liable for all damages involved. Lubes / Spare Sharing: Many offroaders do carry a lot of spare fluids, oil, coolant, and other spare parts for emergency situations. If your car breaks down and someone offers you their spares or lubes, have the courtesy to pay or replace that in the next drive. Offroad Gear: Every offroader is 100% responsible for his/her own off-road gear, tools, and equipment and should know how to use them safely and how to take care of them in terms of regular maintenance (if any). If you lend your tow rope to someone, it's your responsibility to make sure that it doesn't have a knot. If you lend your jack, either stay around to see if it's placed on flat ground to not bend or brief them properly. If you lend your toolbox or tools, you need to make sure it's used as intended and they don't break. If you winch someone, you should know your winch capacity to do the recovery safely. If you lend your compressor, make sure it's not overheating or wait for it to cool down. Shovel, flag, radio, etc. is also your own responsibility & share it at your own risk. Off-road Promotions: As per Carnity Off-road Structure every off-roader has been assigned an off-road rank based on your driving skills, vehicle capability, and overall attitude towards off-roading. These promotions, ranks, and structures are in place to make sure that everyone is completely safe including you and your vehicle during all off-road drives. Due to safety reasons, there is zero-tolerance while promoting offroaders in Carnity off-road club. Once anyone applies for the off-road promotion, the request goes to all trip lead with who you have driven to access your off-road progress. Mostly all promotion requests are accepted immediately. For some, we request them to do a couple of more drives with the feedback in which you need to improve. Please accept and respect this club policy to help us maintain a safer off-road experience for everyone. Emergency details for all off-roaders: Please fill up all Emergency details here and also take a print out to keep the same in your glove box. It is mandatory for all off-roaders driving with Carnity Off-road Club.

You can transfer your previous off-road experience in three steps. Join the "Newbie" drive for the first time with Carnity off-road club (Mandatory). Do the self declaration on the drive post with the area and number of drives you have done in the past. Trip lead & support will gauge your driving skills and then you can apply for your Fewbie promotion. Please go through Carnity Off-road Structure to understand all off-road ranks we have. P.S1. This only works ONE-TIME when you join Carnity and not thereafter. P.S2. This only work from Newbie - Fewbie promotions only.

Well done @Frederic for taking so much time to share this great off-road knowledge. Very well explained and documented with perfect diagrams and videos. Only thing I like to add for all new offroaders, learn and follow above instructions to the max but never fight the gravity. If you had a bad feeling for any side sloping, criss crossing attempt, exit safely and make another attempt rather than fighting the gravity. Small deviation of track can also cause lot of difficulty and push the car to the soft patch, in that case simply accept the defeat and exit down without fighting with mother nature. Even experienced offroader do have refusal and repeat without any hesitation, that's the real fun and challenge of offroading.

Amazing to see such a diversity in the club. I guess we all have one thing in common: We made the UAE our home away from home, and as an expat we need to get out, explore, travel, and meet friends, colleagues, buddies, that makes us feel as our home is here. I feel very blessed to have met so much amazing people yet, and look forward every day in meeting more !

In my personnel experience Jeep Commander is very powerful beast but expensive to maintain. Keep away. The LR Discovery 2 is a good option, but not a climber and missing central difflock unlike the Discovery 1. Toureg is fancy, but I have only seen one in the desert and after breaking a 40K bumper in a newbie drive was never seen again.