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Dear Desertnauts Let's prepare for Sunday's drive. We'll meet, deflate and leave from just opposite Sweihan's Africa farming grounds. From there we'll take one of the big, long cordons that characterize this area of Abu Dhabi. This is the northernmost cordon, the closest to the urban area of Al Ain. We'll move on a westerly direction, all along, through tall dunes and ample sand canyons, until eventually we'll reach the site of Planet Dune's capital city of Arrakeen, and more precisely its famed Tilal Resort grounds. The convoy, a good mix of different ranks, will be the following: @Jeandre Bezuidenhout in Second Lead @essam ibrahim at #3 @Marek at #4 @Abdullah A. at #5 @Amr J at #6 @Gautam Banka at the Center @Sam Selim at #8 @Tanveer Ahmed at #9 @Abhishek Chikara at #10 @Giacomo at #11 @Glenn W at #12 @Hani crest king in Sweep. About the libations at the court of the Arrakeen's rulers, at Tilal Resort, all those who have not had the possibility to respond, may still do so before or during the drive. Looking forward to see you all on Sunday morning. Enjoy the weekend.

Once again let me remind you that this drive has a potential of a lot of quick twists and turns and while we will fight G-Force, we will respect Gravity. We start at Faya and end the drive at Tilal Sweihan near the Fuel Station. We will wage our fight on the G-Force on Ch 2.

Good morning all ! @J-P L@lucasmatt@Yury@Natalia Koryakovtseva@Amal Sunil@Dipu Francis@Sandeep Padhi@Luke K P@Sviatoslav@ArSaLaN@Premjit Vappala@Ishraque@JAISROCK@Hani crest king@Haneef Thayyil@frederic demolder@Mohit Gurnani@Aser@Warbs@Probir Mukherjee We will be using Channel 4 as our radio channel: 446.081 Mhz. See you all tomorrow !

Ford ranger raptor. Ultra capable in desert, comfortable on road, great power to weight ratio, and no mods required. Big tray at the back for camping gear if you want to camp. I went and test drove about 10 different vehicles across all price ranges,.. put together a spreadsheet of spec, price, driving experience, warranty etc Check and details like clearance, angles at front and back, tyres, wheels, suspension, power to weight. Feed it to chat gpt for analysis, Then go buy the ranger raptor 😎

Welcome to the community mate! Any Jeep owner such as @Looper above or myself will tell you to go for a Jeep. It is a lifestyle. The most iconic offroader, lots of utility, safety and most of all... offroad capability. I've owned almost every generation of the wrangler and the JLs are probably my second favorite after the TJ (which is good since you want a new car anyways). Based on the criteria you mentioned above I would recommend that you get a Wrangler JL Sport. When you have some spare time, go visit some off-road showroom. It will give you some perspective. I know you said no mods but some are very important for the longevity of the car. Customs Off-road sell fully loaded JL sports with upgraded suspension, bumpers, tow hooks, lights, etc (all the essential upgrades to avoid risking damaging the car during off-road and making it more capable) for under 250k. I've seen some beautiful brand new 2022s go for about 180k. Depending on how far you think you will take your offroading... both the 2 and 4 door are equal in capability. A 2 door will eventually start slightly outperforming a 4 door because of its shorter wheelbase and lower weight but it’s a really small difference. All my Jeeps were 2 doors because I liek the look more and they are my desert toys and I also have a second car as my daily. There are many custom off-road shops that you can visit. Those are my 2 cents. JEEPER for LIFE 😎

Thanks @Gaurav for leading us on a fantastic drive. Thank you @Imran Asghar for coaching and pulling us out of the sand, and thanks @Emanuel for the great Pajero tips - they were a game changer for me today!

@Aser @Alex M@lucasmatt@Amr A@Premjit Vappala@Luke K P and hopefully @Glenn W and @Imran Asghar Thank you all for joining our celebration night. We will be meeting up at 6PM at the posted location point. You can deflate to 15psi to ensure easy driving to the camp point. If you decide to join later, there is a GPX track attached. We will be only a couple of dunes inside (5mins from meeting point). If you have some space left, try to bring some firewood if you can, as it gets chilly in the evening. Feel free to camp if you like. Bring some drinks, snacks, or BBQ, for yourself and whatever you are happy to share. Friends or family are welcome to join (no need to RSVP on the event). They can either jump in your cars, or if they have a 4x4 /SUV they can join us on the sand. Soo you all tomorrow ! DXB-AUS_TRACK (1).gpx

You might have to define "off-roading trips" and capability in the desert a bit more. If you are into the dune-bashing style of off-roading (most popular here in the UAE), then surely the Jeep Wrangler, Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota FJ Cruiser are the preferred options. Most come however with some compromises in terms of reliability, space, or others. If you are more into doing long "offroad" or overlanding trips, and love spending lots of time on the road, then you might want to consider looking at: * Land Cruiser Prado (capabilities, reliability, space). * Ford Everest (less popular but with some mods could be quite capable... less known). * Ford Ranger Raptor or Hilux Adventure (if open bed is ok for you).

add hilux gr (or sport?) to your list too if you are considering a ranger raptor (sorry @Luke K P) - a little less power (until supercharged), but you have this idiot-proofness built-in with ability to install any suspension lift you want with insane amount of options available. And it's freaking smooth as a butter on a highway, surprisingly + equipped with A-trac so with some experience it would be impossible to get this thing stuck...

@Mike M.

I would ask you to look for the low-tech options while off-roading. I would defiantly stay away from too many electronics. They simply don't work in the high stress situations. The 4x4 fail, they won't get into low gear or get in and just stay in low gear and refuse to move. At 250k budget you can look for a Jeep - I can confirm that you can take one directly from the showroom to the dessert no mods needed - If I want to go for it now, then I will go for a Sport version of, not Rubicon. Because Rubicon was meant for the rock crawling specifically. The gearing on the Sport is better for desert. Sahara is a more well anointed Sport - but meant for mall crawling and you might need to change the wheels in sometime in the future. you have the option of 2 door or 4 door. I were to buy one now I will get a 4 door. The quality of the Jeeps have been slightly suspect lately but still manageable and a large community of Jeep drivers everywhere here. edit: only issue brand new Jeep is you will break the rear bumper without a lift: 2 door on the first drive but 4 door will last a few. That is why people like fitted out cars such as @Batuhan Kulac suggests in the next post. One more option similar to the Jeep is Ford Bronco if you need a more modern take on the Jeep. Though Jeep was refreshed for 2024 I still think Bronco is more modern in relation to features. But it has more electronics than I would feel comfortable. Haven't seen many in the desert still though so most they are put to use on road. More in the Ford family you can look at the Rangers the younger brother of F150s. On the retro end you can look at Super Safari Y61. Many swear by the capability of this beast - a no nonsense beast at that which aged like fine wine. It is old mind you, so no bells and whistles - but reliable as well as cozy comfortable on the road even at high speeds. Definitely more aerodynamic than a cow. Toyota Prado 2024 may come across as slightly under powered. I would not comment on it. The big brother in the LC300 EX trim is also can be a great option. But I hate the centre console in them. My final take on the subject: Check out everything you are suggested and finally go buy a Jeep in your budget.

Guys I want to do an experiment. If possible, can you guys install "Garmin Tread" app on your phones - I will set up a group ride on my phone and all the members who have the Tread app installed on your phones can join the group drive I will create on my phone. Thanks in advance...

Hello Carnity, This is my first post in this forum. Long story short is I'm looking to buy my first offroading vehicle and i'm looking for recommendations. It is only going to be used strictly for offroading/road trips (I already have a daily car) I'm looking for something that is very capable in the desert I prefer buying a new car I would like something that will require little to no mods in the beginning Budget is 250k So far I've only test driven a 4 door rubicon 3.6L which felt quite nice, but just wanted to get more experts opinions and recommendations in case I'm missing out on something. I'm also not sure if I should consider 2door vs 4door (I don't have kids).

You’re gonna get me in trouble but you know I always speak my mind

I wrote this feedback / opinion not long ago: please feel free to go through it as I think it answers some of your points ur looking for: That being said and it all depends on your character and profile, if this car will be ur first offroader, I strongly suggest to go with something that will teach you the art and skills of driving in the desert with minimal dependency on tech or power to mask any weakness. I started off with a pajero and I couldn’t be happier or more satisfied that I started with one of the most under powered, yet extremely reliable SUVs. It literally forced me to learn how to drive in the desert based on pure skills as there is 0 power that will help you to hide or mask any weakness. Once you master the art of driving and the best lines to choose to flow like water, then I would recommend you to go for the only vehicle that can do it all with 0 competition in the current global market: All ICONIC brands accounted for in my statement (it’s my humble and personal opinion). This vehicle is the Ford Ranger Raptor. I know my recommendation is a long route but you can take my word for it when I say that Pajero drivers see lines that no other drivers can see because those drivers never had to develop that skill due to their vehicles’ capabilities. Very long answer but hope it helps somehow @salahb

@Gaurav thank you very much for Frifor drive, it was amazing, hope Fridays will be the DAY! Was happy to see you back @Batuhan Kulac Thank you for support

Hi @Ale Vallecchi in response to lunch, unfortunately I’ll have to miss it on this occasion. But I’m looking forward to the drive!!

Great drive everyone. Thanks to the support team and @Gaurav!

Dear Friends to be fair for everyone. It’s an intermediate drive in the absolute dark and in the most notorious unpredictable terrain. You will need to be fully focused from the start till the end and the last thing you need any reason for distraction . However if you believe that your passenger is well accustomed and been in such environment especially in the dark and not known for motion sickness ( lights can induce motion sickness very easily with the maneuvers ) then please he or she is most welcome definitely.

Dear Sweihan explorers @waqar @Nizar Shawwa @nithish468 @Jessica Lambert @Marek @christian @Brett Eicher Please be on time 19:00 or bit earlier on at the meeting point so we can start on time and finish even ahead of time before the fog will be upon us . we will roll on channel 2 Check your lights and torches as well as your fuel tank full to the brim . Please check your gear and car and that all the junk behind is fixed and strapped . Please note that this is a no passenger drive for your own safety and them . The convoy order will be informed on site . the plan is to cross Sweihan from west to east and exit on Nahil side .

Congratulations 👏 🎉

Thanks @Aadi and see you soon

Imrannn, I had to sort some stuff out which left me Jeepless. We'll catch up tomorrow! Good to see some familiar faces haha.

Thanks @Frederic wish I could! but sadly no-can-do this weekend.. enjoy the day! 🦘

...or go even 16" if you have 2 door (2 door even with 3.8L uses 1 pot caliper which makes it possible to fit 16" rims) - 265/70 R16 or sth similar - more air, more rubber, better traction and no need to go oversize there: you can achieve much better traction in sand without risk of rubbing.

hi @Pats at 0mm offset without any lift.. you will get rubbing of your tyres on the wheel arches when the suspension is under compression. when suspension under compression and turning.. you will be rubbing the fender and wheel arches. On my pajero.. this resulted in cracked fender plastic trim pieces, and the front wheel well liners getting torn completely out exposing the wiring harnesses etc which run through the inside of the steel fender. you could look for a method wheel that has higher offset, as close as possible to your factory offset to avoid rubbing. Or get the stock 17' rims and mount the R17 tyres on it.

PLEASE NOTE: Drive timing has been changed from 1 PM to 2 PM Start and end at 6 PM due to Friday Prayer. @Steffi @Guido Ferriani @JAISROCK @Alex M @Warbs @lucas amat @Ozgu @Shary @Aadi @Zubail @Batuhan Kulac @Jason M @Abdallah Alnajjar @Probir Mukherjee @Imran Asghar

@Glenn W, @ChrisW, @Mahesh_, @Frans M, @Juan R, @Deepak Eswar, @Sherry Jacob, @Michael asir, @RiadJL, @Mike M., @Batuhan Kulac Thank you all for signing up for the drive. It is going to be a roller costar, with a lot of twists and turns at least at the start of the drive. Later on, when we move though the Northside of the dunes to Tilal Swaihan it will be a technical drive. we are tired and feel like done with it we will move north to drive through some flatter dunes to quickly move to complete the drive. Meeting Time published is the start of the briefing unless otherwise stated, which means you should have deflated and ready by this time for the briefing. We will complete briefing and start the drive in 15 min max. Please take into consideration the time you need for deflation of tires, setting up flag and camera gear etc. and arrive earlier accordingly. It is inconsiderate to make others wait while you setup your car.

Also note that your RAM is quite powerful, so use that power wisely when it's moving. If you apply that power when the car is not moving, you will get stuck very quickly.

Dear @Giacomo, @Jeandre Bezuidenhout, @Abhishek Chikara, @Sam Selim, @essam ibrahim, @Amr J, @Matt - monkeywrench, @Gautam Banka, @Tanveer Ahmed, @Abdullah A.. As you see from the post's content, I have thought of stopping for lunch at Tilal Resort, located just at the exit point of this drive. Would you be so kind to please let me know if you plan to stay, and how many people you may be with each car? We should reach the restaurant around 1pm max, and be able to finish no later than 2:30 pm. Thanks for informing. Dear @Glenn W, @Jessica Lambert, @Marek and @Hani crest king, I am thinking of opening the convoy to include all waitlisted members. Please confirm that you wish to join, and I will add your names. Also please let me know if you would like to stay for lunch at Tilal Resort, and if so how many people with each car. Thanks a lot.

I'll have to drop out as well unfortunately

@Looper, will have to drop off from this one unfortunately. Wife approval not obtained