Leaderboard

Hi Gary - I've done this before, all parts were ordered through Amazon (.ae or .com depending on availability). Here is a rough list of parts: - Flexzilla hose 1/4" Inches, 25 foot long - 3 of them, of which you use 2 as main lines and the 3rd hose you will use to built two short whips of about 5 foot long. - 4 Closed air chucks - 1/4" Brass ball valve - Air splitter 1/4" NPT 3-Way air manifold - Barbed T-couplers (you can get these in Speedex) - Loctite 542 Thread sealant 50ml - Metal brass pipe fittings and couplers 1/4" or Color Connex coupler & Plug Kit I reused an analog gauge from a unused inflator, I prefer analog as I don't have to deal with batteries, my recommendation on this is to choose a 1/4 NPT lower mount gauge with a range of 0 to 60 psi, and 2.5' to 4' face. If you go for a digital one, then it is best to go to amazon .com and choose one, I like the one that Measureman sells for $12.97. For my system I used an ARB dual piston compressor and a 4 liter ARB air tank with an air outlet located outside of the car and covered with a dust cap. But perhaps one of the most important parts is, when installing the compressor, ask the guys in the garage to explain how will they run the electrical lines and air pipes (if any) and show you images of previous works they've done. I've had bad experiences of garages doing extremely bad and unsafe electric installations, but there is one where I just had my recent air system installed and they did, in my opinion, a very neat job.

Dear Sand Sailors Thanks for all the kind words and your feedback on the drive. Honestly, it was the each one of you and ofcourse collectively as a group that made it fun and awesome - the banter, the camardarie, the spirit of challenging ourselves really added to the overall experience and a fun saturday morning. Oh i totally missed to share - it was my 25th Lead Drive and surely couldnt have asked for a better way to celebrate it with you all. Thanks again. I have been travelling, so didnt had chance to share my feedback on the drive earlier. In general, between the posts, beautiful pics and awesome videos you all have covered the basic gist of how amazing the day was - starting from word go till the last climb up on Iftar Bowl. Honestly, with all the climbs we did this saturday, Iftar bowl felt like a small baby . For Data buffs : Overall we travelled around 48Km. i.e. at an average moving speed of 18.67Km, which may sound slow. However, add to it a climb up of a whopping 1.25Km, it takes the whole element to another level. Yes guys, we went up 1.5 time the ht of Burj Khalifa. It was just awesome. Sand was super soft and traffic that beats SZR at peak time. Each and every play area we explored, we witnessed multiple cars stuck or crested - a good reflection of challenge terrain offered- however on the whole drive, we took out ropes and shovels just once. Ofcourse, we had regular refusals but nothing that wasn't self recovered or nicely guided through with limited assistance. Kudos to all of you for achieving this feat. @Ishak @Felix Obst though thanks to @Bashar Beasha and his videography skills, you both lost your position, still as always, you did really well through the drive. Amazingly receptive and prompt in making all the adjustments - not an easy feat on super crazy high climbs around Area 53. Thanks for your support But what can i say - Its not you, its me - so its Bashar next time 😜. @Bashar Beasha dude you were awesome on this drive, totally a different person compared to our last drive togather - super confident and at ease. Very well done. @Ahmad Nerat Your ear to ear smile through the drive kept me pushing to step it all up. Was amazing to see you sail on your LC. @Mark B 1st Fb +, Area 53 and a crazy convoy hell bent on climbing every dune they saw, anyone can get nervous - been there done that. The fact you could eventually manage to beat it all - without needing any re-routing, without any major stuck or refusal is a good reflection on your skill set. This gladiator has no limit. Very well done, see you soon. @Gary F Brilliant as always, ofcourse you made sure we give @Benjamin and @Krishna R a chance to take out their weapons. @Benjamin @Sunil Mathew @Krishna R thanks for your support - you kept the convoy togather and ensured each of the refusals are handled with patience and ease. @Bjoern @Patrick van der Loo @Jaro Tuzinsky - as always a smooth drive for you all. Hope to see you all soon. Thanks all, have a nice week ahead.

Hi everyone, Since starting my off-roading journey I have noticed that both of my "standard" sunglasses that I had, whether polarised or not, were way to bright for off-roading. With the sunglasses on, I often found myself pinching my eyes a bit, causing slight fatigue when driving on a bright sunny day. After doing some research, I found that sunglasses are categorised by lens darkness. Have a look at the attached chart. Your run-of-the mill sunglasses you can buy at the shopping mall typically have a Cat 3 lens which refers to the darkness. You can check your glasses' Cat number by looking at the inside of your temples/frame. What Cat are you using? Now, the much less common Cat 4 lenses are generally not widely sold and are used more for applications such as winter sports in bright snow. After a lengthy journey looking around in Dubai and calling some optical stores, I found that Decathlon sells several models of Cat 4 sunglasses. There are options on the Amazon US store too. The darker Cat 4 sunglasses have been a game changer for me, allowing me to drive in absolute comfort on a bright day. Only having to switch to my Cat 3 sunglasses close to sunset. Just thought I would share that, for those that thought sunglasses = sunglasses when in fact different darkness levels do exist!

I built a 4-way hose myself a few weeks ago. Sourcing parts was the biggest challenge and took me a while to get going. But once I had all the parts, it was extremely straightforward, and I loved the build journey. Largest parts: 1 x Analog Pressure Gauge 1/4" NPT --> took the longest to secure. I bought it online after scouring through Deira markets and not finding anything less than industrial grade 1 x FlexZilla 3/8" 50ft Air Hose with 1/4" Male NPT (2 of the connections can directly connect to chucks. so you only need additional ones for the remaining tyres) --> available on Amazon & Ace Industrial parts: bought all of these at a hardware store. Dragon Mart also stocks them. 5 x Brass Hose Fittings - 3/8" adapter + 1/4" NPT Male 2 x 1/4" Female NPT Plug - this connected using a quick-coupler to my compressor main-line 3 x 3/8" Heavy Duty 3-way barb fitting : was used to connect the two cut-away single lines to 2 x tyres + one to bring the two sides of the car together 5 x Heavy Duty Brass Air Chuck 1/4 Female NPT (1 spare) 1 x 1/4" Brass Ball Valve Shut-off switch - 1/4" male + female NPT 30 x Hose Clamps with flathead-screwdowns Tools: Teflon tape Hose cutter (I used a sharp knife) Some soapy warm water Like a tailor, measure twice, cut once. I put the hose next to my car and gave it enough slack before cutting. Good luck with your project

You can find most of the parts in dragon mart i think (AB section)or building materials mall in warsan .

I bought a 4-way hose, but I don't use it. All things being equal it takes more time to set up the 4-way hose and to pack it back than a single hose. Plus, I have a bluetooth module and when a tire is full, I switch off the compressor (just a soft switch off) and change the hose from tire to tire - this gives the compressor a few mins to cool down. Having said that - I would encourage you to go ahead with the project, as it is worth doing for the experience irrespective of all other factors and wishing you all the best.

I also bought the 4 way hose that is sold here but stopped using it after 3-4 times. Don't get me wrong, quality and built is great and it's high quality in my opinion. I just find it too cumbersome to set everything up and then roll it up neatly again. It's a nice idea but I ended up not really saving time and found it to be more hassle than benefit.

Fun DIY project, I’ve done it before but after having a couple of hoses and connectors failing on me, and finding it difficult to source a decent digital gauge and couplers online, I’ve done some math on it and came to a similar price as to what this off-road hose guy is selling them for (the slight difference would be his markup).

Thanks @Bashar Beasha you are the best.,. They are amazing🙏🙏.. Done you are the SL designate for all my future drives, @Ishak you are fired 😀😀👍

I personally tried several sunglasses expensive and normal brands , polarised and non polarised. But the ones that i currently use are the ones from Decathlon i dont know the exact model but i have picked then for very high sunlight and polarised, for me it was a game changer . I always felt there are 2 particular timings which are really annoying to drive ( without these sunglases ) . Just at the sun rise due to the sun blasting in my eyes and the second timing is within two hours from sunrise when the light angle reflects on the sand causes a mirage kindof effect which makes it harder to read the sand. Thanks for bringing up this topic

Apart from the above info on cat 3 or 4, which I didn't know before. I always found the polarized lens showing the sand dune formation, ripples, and ridges clearly versus non-polarized. Test of these is super obvious when leading on white sand (faqa, lisali, etc) during peak sun hour. Thanks for this new info, will explore more on my next purchase.

Wow that’s interesting to learn and I never looked into it. Weirdly enough I tried different sunglasses in the past and when leading in difficult terrain (bright white dunes with little shading) i still prefer no sunglasses at all. It takes a while to adjust but eventually trust my eyes better without glasses. I’ll definitely look into the cat3 glasses and see if that helps !

Wishing you a blessed year with lots of fun taking the XJ everywhere !

Now that @Benjamin and I have gone through a number of compressors blowing and or just failing, both low and Mid end, we have gone to ARB and it got me the thinking. I know a number of people in the club had 2 or 4 wheel inflation hoses, looking online they seem to be expensive for parts that should be easy to pickup in a building supply or AC parts store. I came across this site with instructions for building one, and its quite simple if you have ever done any plumbing in the past. https://tozalazz.com/4-tire-inflation-system-tutorial-how-to-make-4-tire-inflator-deflator/ I thought it would be fun project to build two sets, has anyone here built their own hose set? Got any tips on where to go for parts ?

Tyre problem sorted. New shoes for the girl

We request every member that joins this drive to go through the below information and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquettes and responsibilities. MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities DRIVE DETAILS Level: Intermediate and above When: May 7th 2023, Sunday Meeting time: 5:30 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/q7F7boRYZthgm3Yf6 Approximate finish time: 9:30 AM Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Mandatory off-road gears: Tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit, Tow Rope, 2 Shackles and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 9 AM If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list. RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list. Latecomers will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Members without RSVP will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON BELOW CALENDAR

MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Drive Details Level: Newbie and above (all levels) Meeting time: 3.00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Dropped pin https://maps.app.goo.gl/SmfJjJBJSjvqWtHK6 Action Plan: We'll drive from Solar Park's tarmac road toward the Bab al Shams's road, crossing the southern Qudra area, in search of .... water, that is either the remnants of its presence, or the still active and maintained water springs and lakes that characterize this part of Dubai's desert (not the well known, "touristy" ones, but the truly natural bodies of water, springing and flowing amidst the sand). We'll cross all sorts of dunes, tall and low, open and tight, mostly in a south to north direction, working on our side-sloping and dune crossing (mostly straight, with first rudiments of easy criss-crossing, when possible, with absolute safety). I will have a Geologist with me in the car, who will point out the causes, and/or the significance, of the phenomena linked with the past and present water bodies that we'll see during our drive. Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 7:00 pM P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 cars maximum. RSVP will close on Wednesday - 5 PM. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members that do not confirm the terms of the COVID requirements will be removed from the RSVP list. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. Please RSVP on below calendar

Wow really interesting .. didn’t know about cat 3/4 element. In general one element I observed is Polarized end up being super challenging on white sand - they make it difficult to differentiate between shades of white - a major issue around Qudra once sun is out. Bought some sports one with multiple color glass options - realized black doesn’t work at all - kills the differentiation. Best I found are blue glasses. I don’t do much sun set time drives, however understand that green glasses work best for that time. Understand yellow and Orange are also good, sharp shooter usually use these - yellow surely didn’t work for me, wasn’t very comfortable. Orange haven’t tried yet.

Ah the signature taste XJ pizza ! We’ve all known and came to love it !

Wishing you a very happy birthday Sri.

sorry @Ishak 😂

I love the standard 2 wheel hose the FJ comes with, together with the built-in compressor. If I were to upgrade to an on-board or even the suitcase ARB compressor, I would probably get a hose that can inflate 2 wheels at the same time. But not 4. I find for 4 wheels there is "too much hose" and have to spend time dis-entangling it and getting knots out. I also like to wipe the sand/dust off the hose after inflating with a cloth, that would take me too long for the 4 tyre setup. I think the guy selling the hose also sells the 2 wheel setup. But in any case this build-it-yourself projects sounds like fun and I might give it a try for a 2 hose setup. Thanks for sharing that!

Yeah I have 4 way and I did think that At first but you do get a lot more spare time while it’s inflating, apposed to moving from wheel to wheel but opinions are split on these 😬

Yeah mate ARB Is definitely the way to go

@Misha Puskar Sump Guard

Happy B'Day Sri and many more to come

Happy Birthday Sweihan Samrat (king)!! May you conquer everything the way you do Dunes of Sweihan🤟🏽! பிறந்தநாள் வாழ்த்துக்கள் @Srikumar🍻!

Yes that’s true, when i mentioned merging I meant that CalTopo can put them all into 1 gpx file, not that they would become one continuous track. CalTopo has a fantastic route planning and track library / organization setup, but the mobile app still needs lot of improvement.

Happy Birthday Sri! it's been a while but I'll never forget the Liwa trip with the engine heated Pizza 😁 have a good one mate

Congrats! Well deserved! It is always great driving with you!

Many happy returns of the day Sri 🎂🎊🎉. Godspeed to the XJ 🚀🚀

Happy Birthday Srikumar

Happy Birthday, Bhai. God bless you with all the best things, happiness and success in your life. And God bless you with loads of XJ parts, so you can always guide us ahead in dunes.

Dank je wel @Frederic! Thanks Simin, really appreciate your wishes! See you soon! See you soon @Sunil Mathew! Hi @Gary F, thanks see you in the sand! Thank you so much @Benjamin!

Happy birthday Sri, 🎂 🥳 🎉

Looks like CalTopo also does the same thing that Gaia GPS does exports/imports a bunch of tracks as indiviudal objects and does not merge them as One Continuous Track. Today I had to merge 10 differnt tracks so I imported them and exported them back. But when I re-imported into CalTopo; it imported the combined file as ten different objects and not as a single object - was I doing something wrong? On a side note; I like the fact that CaTopo shows the individual track names on the map. It would be easy when viewing tracks on the maps. In Gaia I hate that I don't know what track I am looking at.

@Jaro Tuzinsky congratulations my friend.... well done. Although i feel bad to know that you are not a pajero guy any more 🤣 Enjoy the new level 😉

A few clips for you @Varun Mehndiratta. Not the best quality. Would be better if I drive behind you 🫣 Auditioning for the role of second lead 😁 https://we.tl/t-zKcp9eXSTO

😃 Congratulations @Jaro Tuzinsky. Enjoy the new FJ with the new Level 👍🏼.

Super Jaro 🤩

Congratulations mate! Well deserved! Enjoy the next level 🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻

Congrats Prem @premindra rajaram..see you soon in the new level!

@premindra rajaram congratulations, welcome to the new level , look forward to seeing you on the sand.

Almost forgot I managed to get a clip of @Ishak climbing. @Varun Mehndiratta the comms certainly add to the fun, confidence and encouragement they sound awesome on the video too. @Mark B I’ve seen a few videos in the past of me driving and it’s helped to get an outside perspective of what the car is doing.

Wow this filled up real fast - by 7:07 already we had 6 WL. Thanks all for your great response - it’s very encouraging, a much needed one especially for these exploration drives. @DP1011 and @Fabien Monleau added you guys to manage tab. In case of change in plans let me know. Details for the drive shall follow over next few days, in due course - ensure your cars are in healthy state, tools all set and above all, make sure that in case of any change in plans, update rsvp asap - we still have 6 WL 😊 Have a nice week ahead. Your response has raised my excitement to another level. See you all on Saturday.

Day 7: Wadi Deesah - Tabuk (419 Km) By far, the most spectacular day, with the most astonishing views (that no photo can encapsulate), and with the most off-roading of the whole trip. After leaving our shelter, in the farmstead at the entrance of Wadi Deesah, we had the pleasure of taking our breakfast under a sunny sky, in a small palm grove just on the side of an imperceptible sand knoll, between the red canyon's walls, surrounded by oleander flowers, chirping birds (and the occasional bleating goat). Omelette and coffee, brewed with our faithful Bialetti moka, put us in the right mood to start the day, blessed by yet another crossing (the third) of the fantastic wadi, to finally exit on a narrow road, climbing the heights of the plateau that divided us from the Tabuk plain. In the outskirts of Tabuk we did the last shopping of fresh eggs and drinking water, before heading West, along Road 8784. Just before reaching the village of Bajdah we turned right into the sand and tried to proceed undeflated (as we had managed to do most of the time, so far, on the wadis floors and on the hard, rain packed sand) only to discover a super soft, almost powdery yellow sand, that got us stuck, and demanded deflating to not more than 11 Psi. From here, first stop the so called "Two Arches", a pair of rock arches on top of each other, at the top of a short climb, through which an immense expanse of red rocks, strewn on yellow, red and white sand, opened up as if from a spaceship's viewing deck. We had a quick lunch at the bottom of the Two Arches, on their wind protected side. With that done, we begun an exhilarating cavalcade on the vast plains, into a red sand canyon snaking its way through a vast plateau, then out again around succeeding sets of very tall slip-faces, each hugging the side of one of the plateaus that seemed to come at us, one after another, separated by white, very flat, mud-cracked plains, lurking past the hard-faces of each giant dune. Safety required that we drove our way around these huge dunes, and yet this took nothing away from the thrill of the drive. Occasionally we managed to drive the ridges of fatter, flatter dunes, descending sharply from them onto the mud-cracked plains. After four hours of this marvelous adventure, we found a magic site to camp, just at the entrance of a deep, very narrow canyon, protected from the wind by the warm sides of a red cliff, and still with a perfect sunset view, through the canyon's entrance, looking onto a dune to the west. With a sense of wander and awe, we cooked, chatted, and prepared to go to bed under the stars, in the deep, deafening silence that only the desert can offer.

Indeed a great drive, @Davie Chasenot too easy but manageable. thank you. and yes, the whole convoy was driving very well and out standby was minimal. I was surprised I didn’t get stuck somewhere myself

Drive Report: We started slightly later than usual, waiting for some later comers. I had planned to enter desert a bit down the line but couldn't sustain the temptation as soon as I could enter the dunes. The early entry meant that we met some very tall but soft dunes. We played on some long dunes in Faqaa area and then took one of many Sabkha to move towards Little Sweihan. After a brief drive though the large Sabkha, we entered some mildly technical areas and continued though some technical as well as smaller Sabkhas. Soon we reached Little Sweihan and started discovering all that it has to offer. At about 10 am we were ready to exit but were on the wrong side of Solar Park. The typical thing to do was to exit on E14, but I was not done yet. So, after a quick vote we decided to cross Little Sweihan towards Solar Park and exit. We completed the drive at the Innovation Center about 11:15 am. I could not have done what I did without the tremendous team I had on the convoy and excellent support from @GauravSoni and @Stumpy Paj @Gautam Bankaa: You did well for your first Fewbie drive on this kind of terrain. @Parliament: I know it was a successful drive, when I saw you after the drive. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. @Bravoecho: I guess it is finally time to upgrade the shoes. Just remember to rotate all tires this time. I would recommend you check out Michelin LTX AT2 tires. Have heard good feedback on them. @Adam James: I hope you had good practice after a long break, and you dusted off your off-road driving skills. I hope you had a good practice with the fabled A Trac system on your FJ. @Stumpy Paj: Thank you very much for being at the sweep and making sure we are all in good running order. Your quick instructions on the recoveries at the back were a boon. We did a decent kms in the desert, even excluding about 20-25 kms in the Sabkhas. Most of the stopped time came at the beginning of the drive where we had our first refusal and the pop-out. After that the other refusals were taken care of quite quickly.

Personally i preferer Antarctica boots as they seal really well compared to Decathlon and others , but you the laces is really annoying , my top preference is the Auto lacing system boots which are note really easy to find