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Drive report: Thanks @Krishna R @Benjamin @Chris Wing @Gerrit Bus @Mohamad Anwer @Santoso Marjuki @Mario Cornejo for joining the drive.. The day started with hiccups with @Looper dropping out early morning due to a leak in Cooling system coupled with a "Block" due to road construction forcing to find an alternate path to the start point which took almost 40 mins for us to assemble. Th drive started with good pace which everyone responded beautifully, going through the amazing dunes - side slopes, ridges just next to the starting point, we circled back to them as we had another overzealous / extreme set of cars driving parallel to our convoy allowing ourselves some clear space. At this point, my passenger developed motion sickness forcing me to stop couple of times. lesson learnt.. no matter how much they say that their stomach is strong, no more passengers on an IM drive.. period. with a few minor refusals, we made our way to the second section, when it happened. On a S curve maneuver, which ends on a ridge ride and criss cross, i saw the Gladiator of @Gerrit Bus have a rollover through the corner of my eye. We rushed to check on him and with gods grace, he came out of the car unharmed. The team stood up to the challenge and recovered the car with amazing teamwork and coordination. we were able to switch on the car and it basically drove itself out. At this point we decided to exit and on reaching the tarmac, we removed the broken windshield and made it drivable on the road after completing all legal formalities with the police. We had the last hiccup with Mario blowing up his rear tire on a small metal rod just as he moved after inflation. (ouch) Thanks @Mohamad Anwer @Krishna R @Benjamin @Chris Wing @Mario Cornejo @Santoso Marjuki for the brilliant support during the recovery. This is one of the worst fears of any driver and you came out of it like a true gladiator @Gerrit Bus. We all learnt something on the day. please update us on the status of the car. i hope to see you soon back in the desert with you amazing car surfing dunes again. Its also a reminder for all of us of the ever present risk and i thank @Carnity for putting an amazing off-road structure which bring in lots of checks and balances to ensure that the driver is mentally strong and skillful with capable cars to drive in these terrains. See you all soon on sands!

Not even a minute and got full within 30 seconds! Amazing! 😂

@Marketa Dobesova @Arvind Uchil @Gautam Banka @Mohit Gurnani @Imteeaz @Ron.P @Patrick @Juan R @Ignacio Quindós thank you all for joining the drive last evening, I hope you all had as much fun as I did covering a grand total of 58kms. we had everything that we had planned for except of course a mini popout, but we did plan for a beautiful sunset, to a taste of night driving and of course some lovely flowing dunes to play on. We also encountered some unexpected traffic, I have never seen traffic like that since I have been driving in the desert in truly was a sheik Zaid experience. you guys all drove extremely well and that was evident from the very few refusals and stucks that we encountered so well done to you all. @Marketa Dobesova thank you for an absolutely brilliant second lead, you followed my instructions well and gave clear and concise inputs to the rest of the convoy, was a pleasure to have you follow me, correct the lines and keep the convoy on the right track. @Ignacio Quindós thank you for accepting the late change and stepping up to sweep the convoy, excellent job at the back giving me regular updates makes leading with confidence so much easier when you know what is happening at the back. @Imteeaz fantastic support as always in the CF position your calm nature and clear head in dealing with the couple of issues we had made the drive much smoother for sure. @Arvind Uchil I hope your passenger is feeling better and really glad you were able to complete the drive with us. Have a great week ahead see you all again soon

@Davie Chase thank you for organizing such a lovely trip to capture the sunset; it was really got me pumped up for the week. Couple of minor refusals (including mine) made this adventure even more enjoyable. Supported by @Marketa Dobesova who made sure that everyone followed her tracks, we managed to cover quite some distance considering that we exited the dunes after 8 PM. @Ignacio Quindós amazing sweep making sure that we do not leave anyone behind. @Arvind Uchil @Gautam Banka @Mohit Gurnani @Ron.P @Patrick @Juan R you were all great during the drive, which enable Davie to push the convoy a bit more. @Ron.P please get your tyre cleaned from the sand during the pop-out; otherwise you may feel some weird vibration during onroad drive. Until next time we meet, enjoy your week.

Big thank you to @Davie Chase for an amazing drive experience! The area was beautiful to explore. I hope to drive with you again very soon. Thanks also to @Marketa Dobesovaand @Imteeazfor your support throughout the drive! @Juan R was really nice to meet you. Get your fewbie plus upgrade quick 😜… A little taste of what we saw. Rest of the images in the gallery. Have a great week!

My first Intermediate and yes, it was eventful. As @GauravSoni mentioned, there was a road block on the entrance to the starting point but we all figured out a way to reach the starting point. There were a couple of other convoys at the meeting point as well, we waited a bit for them to clear off and started to the massive dunes of Sweihan 😍 The convoy was doing great with high climbs and sideys and we were in a constant climb and switch mode until a ratatata convoy crossed us. we took a detour and continued the pace on some more dunes. We went on to a practice area where we had to climb a dune, switch and side slope on to the other side. I completed the maneuver and came down when I head a "creak" , looked in my rear view and @Chris Wing was following me, so i continued not thinking much about it and then we heard on the radio that the gladiator was sideways. Raced to @Gerrit Bus who was unresponsive on the radio. @Mohamad Anwer and @Santoso Marjuki were behind Gerrit and had a clear view of him from the top of the dune. Went to the gladiator and to our relief, gerrit was unhurt and was able to climb out of the gladiator by opening the roof. What followed was the smoothest of recoveries I have ever seen. It was a tricky job. The car was on its side on top of a dune with a soft deep bowl. @Mohamad Anwer and @Santoso Marjuki anchored the gladiator from the top of the dune and @Chris Wing pulled it with a winch like precision. I am sure we couldn't even hear a soft thud when the car came back down on 4 wheels. @Benjamin brought the car down the bowl with a tug from @Santoso Marjuki and @GauravSoni started scouting the exit route. The recovery was a class act from @GauravSoni who was surprisingly very composed and executed the recovery and exit perfectly. To our surprise, the gladiator started and was also drivable (Unlikely for a jeep ) and we had a slow newbie drive exit. Once out, @GauravSoni INSISTED on getting the police report which was done quite quickly and ensured peace of mind for gerrit on the way back home. We helped him clear some debris off his car so that it was drivable safely on road. @Benjamin Great SL. Need to check on your gearing while climbing buddy. It was nice driving with known peeps @Mohamad Anwer @Chris Wing You guys did great on the drive as well as during recovery as well. Great meeting @Santoso Marjuki for the first time. Great guy with a nice car and skills to boot @Mario Cornejo I kept telling you that I like your car and maybe jinxed it man. What happened at the exit was just not meant to happen But alls well that ends well. I am just thankful and proud that we were able to manage everything as a team. Shit could been worse. Until next weekend guys. Stay calm and enjoy the week!

It was lots of fun ! thank-you @Davie Chase . Should be posting some pics later this week

Thank you, @Davie Chase, for a beautifully spent late afternoon and evening 🙌 It was a great convoy with great drivers 😎 Looking forward to our next joint adventures 🤩

Got a roof top tent on my trailer. Howling Moon, quite nice. They are pretty well known for their quality. My family and I enjoy sleeping there. Quite comfy we don't worry so much about any wildlife crawling into the tent. But it is on an offroad trailer for overlanding as all the other stuff that would make the jeep heavy like fridge, batteries kitchen, water... but all designed for a family of 5 overlanding. If you look for a one person solution that is amazingly comfortable try the stretcher tent from Oztrail. Got one, really easy to set up and really comfortable. You can check both out if you want to.

It was a great drive @GauravSoni for me it was a drive to practice support skills and go back to the basics. I had for so long not needed to worry about gearing or different transfer case driving options which led to myself losing a lot of momentum when needed to climb this is mostly due to my onboard computer being reset and the jeep acting completely different. as @Krishna R mentioned gearing was my main issue. After switching to auto-manual or tiptronic which works much like a sequential gearbox whilst also changing my transfer case to 4-part-time (4 wheels moving all the time unlike 4-auto) I was managing my jeeps weight through the tight corners with enough fishtail to align myself for the next crossover. This is when @Gerrit Bus unfortunately toppled his unit of a car which I’m still so glad I didn’t have to use the first-aid kit and he got out perfectly fine just with a little more adrenaline and a lighter jeep to help him get to rescue. After hoping the worst didn’t come true his car made a full recovery and managed to escape the desert luckily I caught up to him before my exit and all looked good from behind! @Mario Cornejo was amazing in the dunes until unfortunately got a blow-out at the exit. After putting some support lessons to reality the drive that started for myself as a below performance ended up being one I learned from and became a better off-roader. @Chris Wing always great seeing you on a drive and supporting whenever you could @Krishna R you did great for your first intermediate drive man! You handle that X-terra like a beast someday we will make the ultimate support team 🤘 @GauravSoni you handled all the situations that went wrong like a pro the recovery of the jeep was smooth and perfect team coordination was key I’ll look forward to your next drive together this time I’ll bring the A-game! @Mohamad Anwer great to see a familiar face always happy to see your positive attitude during every drive I’ll see you in the next one @Santoso Marjuki Great driving man! I hope to see you in the next one

Davie, thank you she is all well.

Just few points to consider from a practical point of view: - As easy as it is to open and fold the tent where you can store all sleeping accessories like pillows, covers ...etc (which is a nice advantage), but you have to consider leveling the whole car as much as possible to have a comfortable sleep, i never thought about that untill i saw it with a friend it is not very easy on the sand. - for an FJ it will add a considerable weight in addition to wind resistance and noise on highways. I just added a roof rack and it makes to much noise driving 140km on a highway, eventually u will get used to it but the wind resistance will always make you reduce ur speed and consume more gas. - depending on the weight of the tent and if the car has an elevated suspensions already, the center of gravity of the car shifts significantly with inclination, just to consider especially when side slopping or with aggressive turns.

Congratulations @Bravoecho for reaching the Fewbie Plus Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. FEWBIE PLUS Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 Fewbie drives are required within last 6 months for Fewbie Plus promotion. What you'll learn Advance dune and sand reading Advance recovery techniques Rocking and crawling to make path Learn to flatten/compact soft sand patch Self recovery from crest Advance side sloping and long hill climb Advance ridge riding and criss crossing Advance control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving FULLY control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Extremely attentive and focused while driving Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Bash plate and skid plate protected Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie and Fewbie Plus drives Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

@Mario CornejoI was able to squeeze in as the last guy

Hey guys - first of all we are all grateful that @Gerrit Bus was not harmed, I hope we see him back on the sand soon. It was a fluid drive up and everyone was driving beautifully before the unfortunate events, and it cannot remain without acknowledging the efforts that everyone gave to recover Gerrit’s car and then to help me with the tire issue. Thank you everyone, I truly appreciate it! Until we see each other again, I want to wish you all a great week ahead.

Boo @Bravoechothere goes the neighbourhood 😉

I think the origin of a roof tent was also to be elevated from the ground level, in order to be safe from animals, which is valid if you go camping in Africa or Australia for example, or in Northern US where you could wake up with a black bear in front of you. Here in the UAE we don't have to worry about these things, and can easily pitch up a 2-seconds tent that can provide similar comfort and not having to worry about the heavy weight, cost, and center of gravity. I think @Fabien Monleauhad one originally on his LC79.

Thank you @GauravSoni for the wonderful drive yesterday. It was a fun fast drive full of thrill and action until the unfortunate rollover incident of Gerrit's Gladiator. Thank God Gerrit was not hurt and the car eventually was drivable after straightening it. @Gerrit BusI hope you managed to drive home safely with the car, and I Hope it will be repaired quickly as it all seemed cosmetic. Thank you @Benjaminfor a great 2nd lead and for staring and helping recover the Gladiator @Chris Wing great CF and @Mario Cornejo nice sweep with your amazing SWB Super Safari, it was great to watch you speed down a dunes with a few amazing jumps, and I am sorry to hear about your puncture towards the exit area. To the rest of thr team @Krishna R @Santoso Marjuki amazing smooth driving bros💯👏 Hope to see you all again soon. Regards, Mohamad

As most of you Dakar drivers would know the road noise in the cabin of the Pajero gets up there at times, has anyone put in sound deadening. What areas had the most effect. I have done the floor and will start the rear 1/4 panels next. Plan is to do the doors last. The rear section had no sound proofing at all, that seams to have made the biggest difference so far, with the passenger foot well close behind

DRIVE PLAN Now that the Faqaa Express has reached Solar Park it is time for it to return. Faqaa Express will leave at 5:00 AM Sunday Morning & it will head towards Little Sweihan before it reaches Faqaa at about 9 am in the morning. Booking starts at 7 p.m. Monday and final call will be on Saturday Noon. GENERAL OVERVIEW We request every member that joins this drive to go through the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette 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: 21 May 2023, Sunday Meeting time: 5:00 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/ymuAZNGhHFUtKch49 Approximate finish time: 9:00 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 - 12 PM If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP 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

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: 3rd June 2023, Saturday Meeting time: 5:30 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Al Nabgghah, Umm al Quwain https://goo.gl/maps/d6sMBRgYvh5Hhafr9 Action Plan: Explore the route to the North, from Umm Al Quwain to Ras al Khaima. This is not a dune bashing time, but an exploration drive, crossing from the outskirts of Fallaj al Mualla to RAK. No high speed, but challenging driving conditions, as we will have to find our way through soft sands, and high dunes to cross. We will use farming tracks from time to time. Expect the unexpected, with sceneries totally different from our more frequent driving locations. Approximate finish time: 10:00 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. Recommended off-road gears: Walkie-talkie radio and off-road flag (MANDATORY), plus tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, 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. 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 THE CALENDAR

Congrats @Bravoecho totally deserved mate enjoy the faster pasted drives

Thank you, @Frederic, for the super nice adventurous drive ! I enjoyed it a lot with this awesome convoy of great drivers 🙌. Looking forward to the next expeditions 😎

Dear Jerome, Thank you for the message. In fact, grateful to you for giving us an incredible experience of the Nahal drive under your leadership and guidance and also appreciate your unwavering commitment, remarkable teamwork, and dedicated efforts that contributed to creating a truly memorable adventure for all of us. I would also like to sincerely thank Nathan, Bravoecho, Naveen Raj, Bjoern, Fernando, and Mehmet Volga for their support during the drive. Their assistance during the challenging moments, such as when I faced pop-outs, and the rear bumper became dislodged, was greatly appreciated. I’m looking forward to meeting you for future drives.

Yessir and u too.

Congratulations @Rajesh NG. Enjoy your new level.

Congratulations @Bravoecho Enjoy the new Level

@Mark B Painted, dried and installed. Will Be testing next weekend.