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Hi @CasperPLfor that budget you would find the following: 1. 2008-2010 Nissan Xterra 2. 2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ 3. 2008 Jeep Wrangler JK with the 3.8 Engine I have put the Nissan Xterra on top because it's a great on-road and off-road vehicle with plenty of boot space, and performs better than the Jeeps of this era and budget. The 4.0 engine is very powerful. The Jeep TJ is very powerful as well, but i would not recommend to use this as on-road vehicle. The Jeep JK with the 3.8 engine is not bad as well, but you will have a hard time finding a clean one, and the performance is not on par with an Xterra (and not as reliable). You will find Xterra for around 18-20kAED for the 2008 model, but to get it ready for the desert you will need to consider the following checkups: * Plugs and coils * Air filter and cabin filter * Throttle body clean * PCV valve * Clean the MAF sensor * Brake Fluids * Check exhaust system for leaks / cracks * Verify if catalytic converters are still installed. * Drive shaft u-joints * Boots on cv joints and grease * front body mounts * Engine mounts * transmission mounts * steering links and sway bars * front diff bushings * LCA UCA ball joints and leaf bushings * radiator and coolant hoses condition * Replace all fluids (engine, transmission, transfer case, differentials, coolant) I recently purchased a 2008 Xterra which had a good engine and tranmission, but spent a lot of money getting it to the condition that i wanted, which included replacing almost all hoses, bushings, all shocks, engine and transmission mounts, etc... After that add a front skid plate, replaced the weak OEM tow points with reinforced ones, installed a flag holder and you are good to go ! If you are still reading at this point and did not run away, you probably have seen by now that with your budget of 25k it will be a bit tight to get the car 100% offroad ready. I ended up spending a lot more unfortunately, but you can be lucky to find one for 25k that was well maintained. Sourcing spare parts in the used market in Sharjah is also an option but i personally preferred all new OEM parts. (cry once...) PS The offroad version would be great to have as it has rear locking differentials. But i've heard from many Xterra owners that the rear differentials cannot be found in the market secondhand (very rare) so if you need to replace the rear diff in the future that might be a big issue. There are plenty of Xterra owners here and will happily pitch in to help further ! Dubizzle and other online car sites will probably be the best source. I would avoid buying an Xterra that has been modified too much. There are still stock models for sale that haven’t seen a lot of off-road abuse. That’s the one you need.

Dear Dune Surfers! @Mario Cornejo @Jaro Tuzinsky @Imran Kashif @DP1011 @Gerrit Bus @Beide Worku @Benjamin @Krishna R @Chris Wing @Santoso Marjuki.. Please confirm your plans for the weekend ( you can click totally agree). @Zed @Mohamad Anwer @Salim Akhtar @Karthik_LC200 let me know if you guys are still interested to join and have no alternate plans for the Saturday morning. Please ensure that your cars are in good condition and all known issues have been fixed. we target to start at Dawn, with an intention of enjoying the summer sunrise on top of a mighty dunes of Sweihan. Looking forward !!

These cars have finally become quite recognized by the offroad community, and the clean examples exchange ownership pretty fast. Both places you mentioned are indeed the main sources, but be aware that often you will see them being advertised for 30kAED while the owner might be open for some haggling to bring it down to a more realistic offer (this is very common here). Take your time and if possible try to stretch your budget a bit if you manage to find a clean example that's well maintained with good service history and not abused offroad. When i purchased mine earlier this year there was a very clean 2013 model for sale for around 40kAED which i found to be way over budget, but after replacing so many parts on our 2008 model, perhaps in the long end that 2013 would have been a better option

that's a very tiny area ! (0.13km2). You can probably shovel that area out in Qudra !

@DP1011 perhaps here next time ? https://goo.gl/maps/fg5txpMVuf3Mzppe7

I don't see a lot of desert here buddy:

I like slip faces and obstacles @Frederic

Fredy i like this idea of bermuda triangle . we are the offroaders are dreamers , wanderes and explorers .. even in the darkest mysterious spots like Bermuda Triangle . wish to join you but truly i have another triangle in same time to attend with family . my son high school graduation ceremony.

Fredy, don't forget to count the cars before and after...!

Hello everyone! I have sold my previous Pathfinder and decided to find myself something more suitable for the sand. After reading lost of threads and articles I limited my choice to Xterra and Wrangler. The budget I set up for the car is 25k and I'm planning to use the car on the road as well. What are your thoughts? Do you know any specific places I could find some good offers? Or maybe you or someone you know is selling the car? If yes, then please give me a shout!

With the summer in full swing, the time is right to hit the home turf of Sweihan for a fast paced Night Drive. This is a call out to all those who need the rush of adrenaline by being on the edge of your seats as we roar our way through the night. We will find bowls, long sideys, ridges and criss-cross dunes in the Night's darkness with only our headlights to guide us through. So drivers, Start your engine!!! GENERAL OVERVIEW 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: Fewbie Plus and above When: 26 May 2023, Friday Meeting time: 9:30 PM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/ycN6CbtMcx9efCx49?coh=178573&entry=tt Approximate finish time: 1:00 AM, Saturday 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 Wednesday - 10 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 couple hours 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

@DP1011!!! See you 🌻☺️

no morning plans, only Sri's drive ends at 1am and your drive starts at 5am, but we've done this before with Lakshmi, lemme check my caffeine supply 😁

Thanks for the reply. I'm shifting more and more towards Xterra. Any recommendations on where to find a good deal? I'm searching dubbizle and facebook market, but both are full of dealers. Maybe you know some places where I can find more private offers?

One more thing, you will find the USA import models to be at least 3000kAED cheaper. I am personally not a fan, but it could be an option to consider. I think they are virtually the same as the GCC models (even same radiators i think). They might have a history of accidents in the US (write-off) but then again even a GCC 2008 without accidents would be a unicorn in my opinion. Mine is a GCC with some accident history but nothing serious.

@Srikumar I am dropping this drive, Just realized its my Wifes Birthday on Friday. I hope to join next time.

@Frederic After bermuda Triangle, Can the next project be : A trip to Galesnjak Island in Desert without passports ?

Good afternoon All ! Thanks for signing up ! Confirmed for the drive: @Michael Chattle@Felix Obst@Bjoern@Fabien Monleau@Rob H@James Lovell@Sebb@Hugo@Amr Aydin @DP1011@Simon D Waitlisted Members: Beide Worku @Beide Worku Tareq Al Turq @Tareq Al Turq Marketa Dobesova @Marketa Dobesova I wanted to share the planned area for coming weekend. Below you can see the Bermuda triangle we are planning to concquer. The Idea will be to drive along the pylon track and make our way to Marker 1 (top of the triangle). Then move in a straight as possible line to Marker 2, and then further on to Marker 3, and from there back to Marker 1. As you all know we don't usually drive in a straight line in the desert, so the challenging part will be to try to stick to that line as much as possible, even if that included going over slip faces and other obstacles This also means instead of the smooth flowing drives that i am usually well known for, this could be quite an intense drive with lots of struggles 😁 Anyways i am sure we will have fun in the sand as always and can afterwards print out a screenshot of our track and it will look 99% like below. Although that would be a real bonus If you have not driven in the dark yet, no worries. If you have additional night lights on your 4x4 that will help but it's not mandatory as you will be following the convoy anyways. See you soon !

Knowing him he will probably end up there even if he is not the designated sweep.

I have encountered it twice as your second lead,your like a lizard who suddenly disappears 😅,hope fully your brake light are working now😅 🤞

DRIVE DESCRIPTION Meeting at Tawi Nizwa we will meander our way around the dunes taking in the delightful scenery as we go. This drives latter portion will be after Sunset, so it is an ideal drive for those that have not driven at night before and want to sample the experience without starting in darkness. We will also hopefully have a beautiful sunset to savor as we move from daylight to twilight to dark. 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: Fewbie and above When: 28 May 2023, Sunday Meeting time: 4 PM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/PXcRwegWaX8dienE7 Approximate finish time: 7:30 PM 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. Recommended off-road gears: Walkie-talkie radio and off-road flag (MANDATORY), plus tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, shovel, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Friday - 12 PM. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you find you are unable to join, so your spot can be taken by others in the waitlist. If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, if an RSVP attendee removes themselves, you will be moved from the waitlist to the RSVP list as an attendee. A convoy list will be sent out the day prior to the drive. Latecomers will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Members without RSVP will be returned back - Without any exceptions. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. RSVP ON THE CALENDAR EVENT

In this topic i am trying to go a little bit deeper into the whole concept of tyre sizes for offroading. Often, we start off with the stock 31inch tyres and find ourselves upgrading to a 32-33- or even 35 and more inch tyres, which might give benefits, or not ? First of all, we need to split into two categories: 1. Offroading in sand/dunes aka dune bashing. 2. Offroading in mountains aka rock crawling or wadi bashing. It is important not to confuse both, and they are almost opposite in terms of wheel size and i will explain this further below. We will not be discussing the fuel economy in relation of tyre size in below topic, nor the effects of the odometer reading, but rather focus on the performance aspect Category 1: Offroading in the sand/dunes What are the key parameters that determine the performance for driving in the dunes ? * Tyre weight (relation with overall size). * Surface area of each tyre on the sand when deflated. * Rolling Resistance * Tyre profile (aggressive knobby vs smooth HT tyre). Looking at above parameters, we would conclude that we are looking for a light tyre. The tyre profile in sand is not so important while driving but deflation is critical, and an AT tyre can be deflated further down safely compared to an HT tyre. We also noticed big differences during self recoveries on a smooth HT profile tyre vs a tyre with some moderate profile (AT tyres). Going for larger tyres results in higher weight on the axles, BUT seems to help with the contact patch area which is a good thing. So there is a balance that we are trying to strike. As a result of that you will see most offroaders in the dunes using similar tyres from the stock 31" to about 33" but not often 35" or more because of the negative effects that go along with that. (see re-gearing further down this topic). Category 2: Offroading in the mountains What are the key parameters that determine the performance for driving in the mountains ? * Surface area of each tyre on the rocks when deflated. * Tyre profile: AT Tyre is needed (HT tyre is not suitable for regular offroading in the mountains). * Ground clearance. As you can see, the key parameters for driving in the mountains are somewhat different because during rock-crawling you will be mostly in Low gearing and won't be needing the full top-end horsepower of your 4x4. The focus is more on using good torque and getting good clearance to overcome those boulders and other obstacles. As a result of that, bigger tyres would be performing better, simply due to the fact that you will win ground clearance without having to lift your 4x4, and the extra surface area of those tyres will give you better grip as well. And this is the main reason why we see so many Jeeps and Bronco's in the US on 35"-37" tyres crawling over boulders Re-Gearing: What's that all about ? source: https://www.4-wheeling-in-western-australia.com/differential-gear-ratio.html The differential gear ratio on a stock standard 4x4, are made to suit the tire diameter which the vehicle is originally came with. Using bigger diameter wheels/tires with stock ratios will cause more wear and tear on clutch, driveline and engine. Low range gear will also suffer as 1st gear low will now roll too fast as the tires are bigger, this becomes a problem when descending steep hills and climbing rocks and logs. Example: a stock 2005+ Toyota Hilux has 29 inch wheels/tires and fitting 33 inch rubber is quite bigger (4 inches in diameter bigger) this will cause the engine and entire driveline more stress and more power is then required due to the larger rolling resistance. The final gear ratio is suited for 29 inch, this ratio in this particular case is 3:5, referring to a chart it will state the same (29' recommended ratio is 3:5) and looking at 33 inch diameter the chart will recommend 4:1. Going by the chart any higher will make the 4x4 rev too much at highway speeds causing poor fuel economy. Changing the crown wheel and pinion is how the ratio is modified. Basically installing a new or reconditioned crown wheel and pinion with the recommended ratio will bring the 4wd driveline back to stock specification rpm and fuel usage. Once differential gear ratio mod is done the vehicle will regain its 1st gear low range and take off in high range will be improved or even back to stock. This chart is an approximate tyre size to differential gear ratio; it’s based on an RPM at 105 km/h (65 mph) and 4th gear on a manual transmission or 3rd gear on an automatic gear box (1:1 gear ratio). This is only a guide to get a general idea of which ratios would suit the vehicle in question. To get an accurate RPM the following steps and formula will give an accurate answer: Take a drive and record the rpm at 105 km/h (65 mph), the next step is to work out what the current ratios are in the vehicle. This can be revealed by calling the manufacturer or even calling a differential repairer giving him/her the Vehicle Identification Number, also known as VIN. Once all this information is known use the following formula to get the accurate differential gear ratio for the larger tires: Example: The rpm is 2806 at 105 km/h (65 mph), the current tires are 29 inch, the factory ratio is 3.73 and the new size upgraded tires are 33 inch. RPM: 2806 Stock tires: 29 inch Stock ratio: 3.727 New Tyre size: 33 inch 2806 = 65 x 3.727 x 336 / 29 (rpm = mph (not km/h) x diff ratio x 336 / tire size) Now the correct rpm is known for the vehicle (2806), the next step is working out what ratios are available for the vehicle, some makes and models won’t have as many choices as others. Say the following 3 ratios are available 3.909, 4.100 & 4.88. The new tire size wanting to be fitted is 33 inch and the rpm needs to be a close to the 2806 as possible in order to keep it to stock specs. Just a quick scan at the differential gear ratio chart it’s obvious that a ratio of 3.909 is too low at 2587 rpm, ratio of 4.88 is too high at 3230 rpm. But looking at 4.10 with the rpm at 2713 is the closest to 2809 stock rpm. New Specs: RPM: 2713 New tires: 33 inch New ratio: 4.10 Please share your experiences / feedback !

@Frederic left some great points @CasperPL As most points have been met I’m not going to regurgitate everything that has been said. my advice is to continue to check dubizzle and Facebook marketplace for the car your going to settle with. But most of all the most important thing you’ve got to do when looking at used cars is to check the VIN number every car has one it’ll essentially tell you any accidents the car has been in and where. This is especially the case when buying a car from America or even Sharjah. You’d be surprised how good some of these cars look but underneath are barely holding together 😂

Rookie mistake - set-up your calendar so that you get a reminder everyday 2 months prior to this special day!

Hello @SrikumarSorry dropped out after signing up - my car is due for 1st service at 5K kms...knowing you and how we enjoy your Lead, a bit cautious step I have taken...

No other plans as of now @GauravSoni… I am looking forward to join this drive

@MMansoor Does she knws that U had signed up for this drive?😂

@Simon D I removed your from RSVP as going and added you into the manage Tab 👍 this allowed @Patrick to move into the RSVP as going from the waitlist

incase one overheats. Well we know which one thats going to be 😂

Man. I dare you to do the hat trick drive. Take both the LC and the jeep and keep one on standby. In case one overheats, just jump on the other and continue the drive

Thanks @Looper a really enjoyable well paced Saturday morning drive. I had lot of fun , and I mean this in earnest it was fun, with the challenge of turning circles following the tracks of your SWB Wrangler. I looked up the specs JL , JLU and JT 34.5 feet = 10.52 meters 40.8 feet = 12.44 meters 44.5 feet = 13.56 meters Bonus points for ending the drive in a parking lot. always good to catch-up @Bjoern @Patrick van der Loo @Benjamin happy you got to try out the new jack and jack support board. It was also fun following directly behind you. @Jessica Lambert good to see you, hope the tire issue gets resolved . Let us know if it was a defect or just the tire itself.

Good to know @Zed wont sweep.

Chivalry and marshal politeness: "I join your drive (Salamat), and next time you join my (night) drive" 👍🏻

I am not sure, but what I am sure of is that I am not going to be seeing the rear view mirror 😂

@Srikumar Bhai 🚙, is it still a FB+ Drive , I see 8 of 9 are IM and @Gary F is 0.5 IM Edit : Got my answer now, with @Asif Hussain bhai, 10th legend joining 😄

That statement is more made after seeing how BFG performs on different cars in the club and a couple of friends that i go camping with. On a powerful Jeep (280hp on 2000kg car), BFG will perform great as you have plenty of power anyways to deal with the fact that the tyre is heavier. Loss in climbing ability would be negligible. On a LWB Patrol Super Safari (250hp on 2600kg car), BFG will perform great on wadis and rocks, but become quite heavy on a car that's already a bit underpowered in stock version. Climbing big dunes would become an issue. People often think, "oh it's only 2,5kg per tyre difference" for example, but this is not static mass like your vehicle weight, but rotational mass, which has an effect on how the car accelerates. Anyhow you can sleep well at night @DP1011, as a Rubicon would fly up the dunes even on wooden wheels

Hi @Stan, you need to reduce the immage size. I use Picasa Photo Editor (long retired - still works fine) to reduce the size and upload. If you upload photo's to google photo with storage saver option and then download it should also give a reduced size picture. There are more tools available. Happy snapping!

Hey @Stan at times, the zoomed ( 3X) Iphone pics dont upload, and then what I do is, screenshot the image, post it, try doing this, and let us knw if it works? ( could be some insight for @Frederic and @Gaurav)

@Stan not sure on the Error mate maybe @Frederic or @Gaurav can assist, I did it from my phone but two came out black although I did not get an error message hope you get it sorted and thank you for the kind words of support

Hi, I am not going to get the chance to repair my tyre before the weekend, so I'll have to miss this one. Catch you next time!