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Trip Report That was an action packed drive - Fast pace sideys, criss crossing, a challenging recovery (in another convoy), technical dunes, shoveling, tugging, you name it, we had it all. I was driving with most members for the first time. So it was personally a challenge to set the right drive pace based on an unknown convoy strength. But the entire convoy was on the top of their game throughout the drive. We started off with a nice easy pacd in the long range dunes playing and circling on some nice virgin sands. That's when we got a call from @sertac's Fewbie convoy in Qudra, that had a vehicle stuck at a nasty angle. So off we went to help out in any possible way. When we reachwd the vehicle was already well secured and all it now needed was some careful manoeuvering. With some good team work from both convoy members and with Sertac behind the wheel, the car was recovered pretty quickly. From this point onwards the pace that was set was something every drive partipant should be proud off. With the convoy performing very well and us covering most of the long range dunes, I felt it's time to throw a different challenge, Technical dunes (closer to Little Sweihan). With patches of powder soft sand, the going started getting increasingly difficult. But what we didn't cover interms of distance, we compensated by some excellent teamwork. I am sure by the end of the drive every one had done their fair share of shoveling. As @Daniel Rodas mentioned I am still old school, rope is an option only after shoveling fails. An excellent SL by @Naveen Raj who still amazes me everytime with a 3.0 LWB Pajero and thanks to @Felix Obst for helping out with all the sweep duties. To the rest of the convoy members @Tom V @Alexanderrr @Daniel Rodas @Enrico Biscaro @Joji varghese @Rsjiv Samuel some brilliant driving and it was a pleasure driving with all of you. Till we meet again on the sands, take care.

Hi. @Chinthaka Ruwan, @imranaasghar81, @Matt.T, @munkybizness, @Thomas Varghese, @Aisha S, @Gregory, @Bernard Kalaani, @Chris Wing and @Adhir Saxena. Thank you guys for signing up and I welcome you all to the drive. This will be the convoy order for tomorrow and we will be using carnity radio channel 1 (44600625).

@Vanessa8580 thanks for a lovely drive and welcome back. Truly enjoyed today and it was great to be back again after my absence. @varunmehndiratta thanks for today and the write-up. Nice report of today’s drive.

Thanks @Vanessa8580 for leading us through this lovely drive - the terrain, the weather and the above all the energy of the convoy all made it a perfect start to the weekend. A brief drive report All reached the meeting spot at scheduled time. Drive to meeting point with hot air balloons up in the beautiful morning sky and nice breeze had already set the mood. And if there was any element not fully energized was well covered during briefing by ever smiling Vanessa and the overall energy of the convoy. Deflated and flagged up, convoy entered the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve at around 730am. As was the plan, with sun at our back, we drove South ending our drive at Al Qudra Cycle Path. Through the 3:30hrs drive, we explored the beautiful dunes, experienced some nasty soft patches of sand, enjoyed some fast drive at Sabkhas and thanks to Vanessa, convoy got some basic introduction to Criss crossing, an element of desert driving that i am sure all in convoy will have a chance to cherish further, as they move ahead in their off-roading experiences and ranks. Overall, we travelled around 42.3Km with moving time of 2hrs 32 min, at an average moving speed of 16.8Km/hr, really good for a newbie drive, especially considering the terrain. Its a good indication of how well the convoy as a whole performed. We had our fair share of refusals and stucks, however, overall all did very well through the drive. @Alfred Alinazar - thanks for your support at second lead, following Vanessa instruction to perfection through all re-routes and minor change in directions. Very well done. @Anton Dimov - From CF, i didnt had much of sight of your vehicle, however, from radio and little chats we had, understand you had almost a perfect drive with no refusals. @Simon Dawood You handled the pajero very nicely, you followed the lines well. As you would have noticed from your refusals, its all about approaching with the right momentum, so just dont be gas shy. @Joseph Raju - Very well driven, especially for your first NB drive. Super Safari is an awesome vehicle with lots of power in it and you handled it very nicely. As you would have noticed from your stuck at that soft patch, once the momentum is lost, there is no possibility to gain it back. So rather than trying to fight it, better to steer down in time and reattempt. @ahmed salama Man, your TJ is just awesome and you are very comfortable handling it. One small observation, follow the convoy tracks. Shortest distance between point A and B on a dune is not always the most suitable approach - especially on high dunes with plan to touch the ridge, key is to drive the curves/contours of the dune. I am sure you can relate it to the couple of refusals you had. @Gerrit Bus A prefect drive for you, as smooth as your awesome looking Gladiator. @Antony Abraham - There's no end to what Rubicon can do, dont shy away from giving some more gas and you are good to go. @Tom B and @Manish Kashyap - Being at end of a large convoy is never easy, however, you both had perfect drives with no refusals. Really well done. @Ahmed Wagdy - Thanks for your support as sweep and ensuring that convoy always stayed togather. @Karthik Raptor and @Dinesh Kumar A unfortunate that you had step out at last min. Hope to catch up with you sometime soon. Hope to see you all soon, for those interested, some stats from the drive attached below. Thanks again for the wonderful drive.

Dear Desertnauts In preparation for tomorrow's drive, we'll be meeting just off the tarmac road between Qudra's Last Exit and Solar Park, under the pylons, on the left side of the road. Please deflate as soon as you arrive. That is not the starting point of the DCT, so we'll begin our drive with a warm up approach to the actual starting line. Once there, I'll share with those who wish the 5 waypoints, so that all can follow the track on their applications. If all goes well, and we manage to conclude the circuit in good time, we'll continue the drive through Lisaili, until exit time. The following will be the convoy order: @Ranjan Das in Second Lead @Sunil Mathew at #3 @marks at #4 @Archibald Jurdi will be at #5 @Gok Krish #6 @JeromeFJ will cover #7 @Rawad will take #8 @Lawrence_Chehimi at #9 @Amir Amiri #10, and @Dodi Syahdar will Sweep. The radio channel will be chosen on the spot. See you all tomorrow. Have a nice Friday evening.

You might get a feel what happens to the people behind after your boat goes through.

Dear @KAMALIO @Naim Aoun @Mohamad Anwer @Vaibhav @Reggie Landicho @Davie Chase @Mario Cornejo @Ahmad Shaker @Trekado @Fabien Monleau @Stav @Simon Claes @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil below the convoy order. Would appreciate the arrival about 20 minutes early to be ready to start sharp on 2 pm.

Thank you @Kailas for the beautiful drive this morning. You managed to draw lines suited to the group in this difficult area. We all enjoyed the sneaking through the dunes and the high climbs ! The group as a whole did very well, following the radio instructions, keeping correct distances between cars, holding patiently while fellow drivers where doing their recoveries. We did not have to use shovels neither ropes, this is definitely a sign that you were all attentive to the tracks, and carefully following instructions during self recoveries. @Marcin Wronowski, excellent job as 2nd lead, holding when needed on the instructions of @Kailas. You managed the climbs with a fully loaded car, very well done. @Premjit Vappala, you were a bit fast on the first dune crossings, (watch the pic in the gallery) but this was corrected during the drive. You will continue to improve the balance of the car on the side slopes. @Joao, very well managed you FJ. You will continue to experience the beautiful capabilities of this car. @Juan Carlos Prego Perez, you will continue to improve your confidence after a few drives. Correct tire pressure has improved a lot the capabilities of the car. @JERINE_B, pay attention to side slopes and remember not to fight gravity, meaning steering down as soon as you loose momentum. Listen carefully to guidance during recoveries, and you will see you can get out easily in many circonstances. @Muhammad Qasim, very well driven, you are cautious and attentive to the track. @Sanjay Malik, it was a pleasure to see your LC quietly passing through the obstacles with no issue at all, very well driven. Thank you all for this nice morning in the sand. See you in a next drive !

Couple of shots from today's drive! @Mark D and @Nathan. Thanks all for great morning!

Excellent drive. 1st time climbing big dunes and it was fun. If not for breakfast, would have loved to do it a couple of times more.

@Chaitanya D thanks for the tip on the skidplate, the Safari is now better protected (and looks nicer too 😉)

@Shaaz Shai just got a position from tomorrow gaurav's drive, kindly remove me from waiting list, look forward to drive with you again in favorite area 53.

Can't wait to go back to area 53. My first and only time was on my first fewbie drive with @Srikumar It was by far the most challenging area!

I am in with Y61

I’m ready no matter the position in the convoy…see you in the morning!!!👍🏽

I have been doing some research on car cooler solutions and these are my findings. Hope it is useful for some. These are some of the questions you need to answer to decide on the right cooler for you: Cooling technologies – what’s available? Cooling and freezing in hot climates What size should your cooler be? Which energy sources do you want to use? Avoid a flat vehicle battery Are you concerned about noise from your cooler? Will you travel for long or short periods of time? Coolers for use away from the vehicle Is it possible to cool “passively” without the need for power? Do you want to pre-select a target temperature? Cold drinks for the driver Easy to clean features Refrigerate and freeze simultaneously Is there a cooler that can heat too? There are essentially 4 ways one can keep their food or drinks cool or cold and I have listed them down from the cheapest to most expensive, and have tried to answer the above questions. 1. Isothermal: or Passive coolers are your normal cool boxes. These are least cost options and don’t have any maintenance as well as any power requirement. One needs to provide cold substance - generally water ice, dry ice or ice packs to keep the contents in the box cold, which results in loss of space inside the box. But in the desert driving situations they are best as they can take any tumble without any worry. One can buy normal plastic ones in any supermarket or hardware stores as well as on amazon – they are the cheapest ones one can buy. You can also buy just water Jugs. These plastic ones are generally good for an afternoon drive. Going up the price range – Decathlon have some flexible cool bags which are light and give longer cooling period. Going further up on the value chain – you will find Dometic branded coolers that promise to keep the content ice-cold for days. How to Keep Your Icebox Cold for Longer: Pre-chill the food and drinks you plan on packing. Fill the cooler to the top with food and drinks. Freeze bottled water to store in empty spaces. Store your cooler out of the sun. Put the ice in last. Don’t drain the water when the ice melts. Pack all the essentials on top. Keep the lid closed. 2. Thermoelectric: These are the cheapest powered car cooler you see on the market. They are light weight, and they cool as well as warm contents inside. One can get these in very small sizes – e.g. 6 liters and up. Some drawbacks include, they are noisy operators, use a lot of battery power and as one cannot set temperature, and they heavily depend on the ambient temperature. They generally keep the inside temperature anywhere between 10-20 degrees C cooler depending on the models. 3. Compressor: They work like the normal household fridge i.e. they have a compressor built in them hence the name. The pros of these type of coolers, are that they use minimal power for operation. You may set the desired temperature anywhere between 10 degree C and -22 degree C depending on the model and the cooler will maintain that temperature – therefore it can be used as a freezer or fridge. From functionality point of view, it is considered the best of all, but one downside is that it can be a bit pricy. Some of the compressor refrigerator units work both on household power as well as car cigarette lighter port on the car while some models are designed to work with solar as well. You can get some of the models with dual zones and you can set individual temperatures such as one side as fridge and other freezer. Many users connect it to a standalone battery that is connected to the car cigarette lighter, so that the cooler continues to work while the car is not running and prevent drain on the main car battery, while keeping the cooler in operation. Some of the well-known coolers come with auto cut off function, whereby they switch off if the car battery comes down a pre specified level. Non-branded or Chinese (Crony) versions available for as lows as AED 440 for 15 liters ones on amazon. They will last well for a year or two but there after you might face some issues. Amazon and Dragon Mart are the best sources of these coolers. Dometic is the most famous of the mainstream brands. CFX3 is the latest series of their coolers. You can buy in 25- (going to be available soon) 35-, 45-, 55- liter single zone coolers and 75-, 95- and 100-liter dual zone coolers. They come equipped with Bluetooth and WIFI as well as accompanying apps, using which one can set the desired temperatures as well as monitor it and also monitor the battery. status. I was looking for the CFX3 25 for my 2 door Jeep to keep at the back but it would still be a bit larger. These coolers can be installed on their own sliding racks and can be tied down. They have sturdy handles. Older generation models are also available in the market. I would not buy them unless I am getting it at a good discount, or they are of the desired size, since one can buy some smaller size coolers that server the intended purpose. While the compressor technology is mostly same the designs have been changed since previous generation models and some functionality has been improved e.g. color screen for monitoring etc. ARB also have some decent coolers and my understanding is that ARB only designs the coolers and Dometic manufactures them for ARB. Currently Ace is running good discounts on Domestic Coolers. 4. Absorption: These coolers work using either AC, DC or Gas. It is most efficient while working on propane or gas and are used for off grid locations where electric power is scares but will use ten times more power using AC or DC sources of power. They need to be on level, else they won’t work. One cannot set temperature and can only reduce the internal temperature by 10-20 degrees compared to outside. They are basically gas based coolers that can also somewhat work on AC or DC power. My recommendation is to get an Isothermal/Passive cooler as the least cost option for desert driving and put some iced water bottles along with chilled water bottles in it. For camping or day trips I would prefer Compressor based coolers. For Small Cars (like in the back of my Jeep 2 Door with rear seat up) I will go for Dometic CF-11, CF-16 or CF-26 (while they are old generation, they work nice & Ace has a good discount on CF-26s for Eid). For larger cars I would recommend CX3 series coolers (latest generation, again Ace has some cool discounts running currently on the CX3-45s, I will skip the CFF series unless desperately going for that discount).

In by all means!! Tx a lot

Hi @Hisham Masaad, that would be great! Thank you!

Dear @Simon Claes and @Stav can extend the drive bu two, please confirm availability

Great drive today, a lot of fun! The pics look brilliant

@Sergio Big DawgI love it man!! looks amazing , looking forward to see it roaring again in the desert.😀

Beautiful drive and nice weather😍..special thanks @Kailas @JeromeFJ looking forward to next one✨✨

@Nathanjust checked the link, it is showing the correct spot.

I just saw that there's an empty slot open 🥺 Should've waitlisted myself before making other plans. @Gaurav need to drive with you soon

Sorry but tomorrow due to some emergency I won't be able to join ...@sertac .

@Gaurav Confirmed

Looking forward to the drive after a long break.

Dear @Tareq Al Turq @Myles Keague@Markus B @Ryan Tan @Rajat Verma @Meng kiat Ng @Mohammed Sirajuddin Thanks for signing up for your first off-road drive with us. Some pointers I wanted to mention: 1) Be very careful when you take the exit just before the meeting point. You will need to cross the bicycle track and it's busy on the track nowadays. They have the right of way at all times ! 2) Please be on time, or even better arrive 15-20 mins earlier so we can help out with deflating when needed. 3) Bring a pressure gauge, deflator, and a compressor please. There is a compressor at the Last Exit Petrol Station where we will be end, but this one is mostly out of order or working very slowly. 4) If you have a walkie talkie already, you can tune in to 446.006 Mhz when you arrive. This is our Channel 1 that we use for the Absolute Newbie Drives. If you do not have one yet, we will provide you with a spare one that you can use for the drive. 5) Please watch the Absolute Newbie Briefing video posted here above with your full attention, as this is the best preparation for your first off-road drive with us. 6) Please follow the COVID19 guidelines by wearing a mask whenever you are out of the vehicle and during the briefing. Seniors on the drive will by myself and @Mukundan Nair, we will be helping you out with deflating if needed, and during the drive if you have any stucks or issues. I am sure we will be having lots of fun tomorrow ! See you soon in the sand !

Good afternoon everyone. Below you can find the convoy numbering for tomorrow's drive. Newbie drive Murquab 10 december 2021 Attendees Level Car Pos # Vanessa8580 Marshal Mitsubishi Pajero LWB Blue 1 Alfred Alinazar Fewbie Mitsubishi Pajero LWB Black 2 Anton Dimov Newbie Lexus GX460 3 Simon Dawood Newbie Mitsubishi Pajero LWB 2011 4 Joseph Raju Newbie Nissan Patrol White 2006 5 Ahmed Salama Newbie Jeep Wrangler TJ 6 Varunmehndiratta Advance Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Grey 7 Dinesh Kumar A Newbie Toyota Prado Silver 2014 8 Gerrit Bus Newbie Jeep Gladiator 9 Tom B Newbie Toyota Land Cruiser 2021 10 Antony Abraham Newbie Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 2021 11 Manish Kashyap Newbie Ford Raptor Blue 2020 12 Karthik Raptor Newbie Ford Raptor Black 2014 13 Ahmed Wagdy Fewbie Toyota FJ Cruiser Extreme 2012 14 We will be using radio channel 2 (446 03125) See you all tomorrow at 7 !

@Mark D since you have an F-150 and looking for the strongest one, your best option is base plate bolted to your dash + RAM ball + arm with either RAM X-grip or strong magnetic, see below photos: Base Plate from https://www.builtrightind.com/products/builtright-industries-dash-mount-2015-2020-ford-f-150-raptor-2017-f-250-f-350

hi @Harshad Ashraf, you need to buy this kind of battery from Speedex Sh. Zayed or Dragon Mart: Don't forget to buy the charger too, as leaving these uncharged for 3 months will make the batteries dead 😁

You may want to consider buying an external sealed lead acid battery and a AC charger to use for use for lighting. I have seen amazon suggesting when I was looking for buying LED lights alternatively I have seen Speedex selling the batteries, so may be you can look at car parts shop.

congrats @Xavier Treasurer . Enjoy your new level.

@varunmehndiratta oh no … @Zed recognized my driving style which I am proud of- I am Carnity’s only (and therefore best) leisure driver and take the above as a badge of honor 🤣🤦🏽‍♂️. Zed’s only fault is the way he treats his beauty of an LC100!… for that I am submitting a demotion request for him

This is pure Evil @Zed For this one @Carnity tech team needs to incorporate Devil/Zeddy emoji .. .👹 😂😂😂