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X- terra all the way, if you get one with diff lock (off road version) you can do everything ( except rock crawling) which other expensive cars do ( No comparisons with brands or personal preferences , my advise is purely considering this will be your 2nd car for off road which should not burn a hole in your pocket!). I definitely wish to have a Jeep- Rubicon once I have the money !🤣 Other cheaper options which you can consider - Pajero SWB, Wrangler TJ, Pathfinder (2005 and older) , bear in mind to get a clean one is a task. Have a look at threads below for more advise There is a thread on used car for off road use by budget on the website which is immensely useful

@Ale Vallecchi great drive exploring the lesser known areas far away from the crowded sought after bowls and rocks. Great to catch up with you all and have a chat at the thunder road grill. Driving behind @Desert Dweller ( it was great to see how she was managing the technical areas ) made my job easier , as I could gauge how to maneuver the tricky zones. Some pictures uploaded in gallery ( all PC: @Mohamed Seidam) Can't wait for the Part 2, bring it on!!

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE - Sea to Mountain Exploration drive's report Exploration was the goal, and explore we did. The drive's idea was to find new locations, off the beaten track, with potential for providing new learning experiences for the members, and the possibility of honing less developed off-roading abilities. This first exploration aimed to find a way from the sea to the mountains of RAK. To face such daunting task, we thought of filling up with some munchies at Barracuda's Thunder Road Grill, before setting off into the little known territory. After meeting up with the rest of the drivers by the Emirates Motorplex, just in front of UAQ's russian plane relic (see link above to witness its last landing), we ventured into the "savannah" like environment that characterizes the first kilometres toward E611. The plants here benefit from the high water level seeping through from the sea, and belong to botanical families which thrive on soils high in salinity. Vegetation is very abundant, mostly of creeping ground plants (gourds), or low bushes, both thorny and succulent. The sand dunes are very low, and covered, for the most part, by the abundant vegetation. Occasional higher cordons rise from the low plain (we are actually below the sea level here), with small goat and camel farms perched on their tops. Even these low dune cordons are tricky to navigate, due to their tightness and the presence of numerous steps and pockets. Moving toward E311 the bushes leave more room to groups of taller Ghaf trees, which become quite abundant once across the highway, giving the area a more forested look. Goat farms, herds of camels, and some small sabkhas, white from the evaporation of saline water, separate E311 from a large, very irregular, cordon of dunes (almost a plateau), beyond which E611 is occasionally visible. Playing on these dunes proved to be a small challenge, due to their tight and unpredictable nature: yet play a little we did, practicing some side sloping in a deep send bowl, with a big Ghaf tree in its middle. With E611 in sight we drove along the eastern side of the sand plateau, on a track jammed between the trees and the dunes, until we found ourselves on an elevated sand ledge, dotted with gnarly trees, where a couple of major stucks on the very churned sand forced us to make a prolonged stop, just while dusk turned into night. That's when the Rumble in the Jungle begun: the whole group came into action, some shoveling, some tying double ropes to the cars, others literally clearing the ares from the sturdy shrubs, or illuminating the very tight spaces where the recovery manoeuvres were taking place. After the successful group recovery effort, the delay meant we had to find our way out of the area with an exiting night drive, looking for, and trying to follow, very faintly marked tracks, away from the fenced area close to E611, and back toward E311, on the other side of the sand plateau. After a couple of failed attempts we did manage to climb the tallest dune of the day (and night), and reached the exit point: it was 4:46 hours after departure, with 38.6Km on the odometer, driven at an average moving speed of 16 Km/h. My hat goes off to all the drivers, for managing very smoothly a very difficult and unusual terrain: good job @Kalahari, @Pancho, @Desert Dweller, @Chaitanya D, @Srikumar (special thanks for your guidance and assistance during the more difficult moments of the drive), @Najeeb Mohammed, @Rinelle Sanaani (you missed the fun night part of the drive), and the Pajeep duo (@Jeepie and @Wrangeld), for brilliantly navigating at the back, on very challenging tracks. See you all soon for Sea to Mountain Part 2: from E611 to Al Khail, at the foot of the Hajar Mlountains. In the meantime, have a great week.

Congratulations @Lorenzo Candelpergher for reaching the Intermediate 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. INTERMEDIATE Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 drives are required within last 6 months for Intermediate promotion. (Drives can be a mix of Newbie, Fewbie (50%) and Fewbie plus, depending on your adaptability, learning progress and Marshal’s feedback) What you'll learn Basic GPS and navigational skills Basic tow rope and winch recoveries Extreme side sloping and long hill climb Tall dunes ridge riding and criss crossing Precise control over technical dunes Fast pace desert driving Skills required Adventurous and thrill seeker but in a safe manner Level headed under stressful situations Responsible, dependable and accountable Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS. Drive teamwork Manage center forward position with Trip Lead’s permission Learn/assist recoveries under Trip Lead’s supervision Re-route convoy and coordination, when needed Learn to lead small portion of Intermediate drive under Marshal supervision Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie, Intermediate and Exploration drives only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Junaid Sayeed for reaching the Intermediate 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. INTERMEDIATE Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 drives are required within last 6 months for Intermediate promotion. (Drives can be a mix of Newbie, Fewbie (50%) and Fewbie plus, depending on your adaptability, learning progress and Marshal’s feedback) What you'll learn Basic GPS and navigational skills Basic tow rope and winch recoveries Extreme side sloping and long hill climb Tall dunes ridge riding and criss crossing Precise control over technical dunes Fast pace desert driving Skills required Adventurous and thrill seeker but in a safe manner Level headed under stressful situations Responsible, dependable and accountable Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS. Drive teamwork Manage center forward position with Trip Lead’s permission Learn/assist recoveries under Trip Lead’s supervision Re-route convoy and coordination, when needed Learn to lead small portion of Intermediate drive under Marshal supervision Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie, Intermediate and Exploration drives only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

This is great news! Thank you all @Gaurav, @Rahimdad, @Frederic for the consideration. I look forward to new adventures in the sand with the fantastic Carnity community. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude to @Wrangeld, who is probably the one who has followed my trajectory from newbie to intermediate more closely: your constant encouragement and tips were really useful and made a big difference. And thanks to @Jeepie as well, as you were always there too!

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for a wonderful evening. It was well managed and for me the real challenge started after the sun setting as till then it was a relaxed drive through a very scenic route. A couple of nasty stucks one of which I was guilty brought the entire team together. 😁 Even with the blockage of the preplanned route, you managed to scout an alternative route which for me was the main highlight. Well done.

Hi Everyone My Durango gave some trouble last trip and I have decided to get a weekend offroad only vehicle. I m stuck between Xterra and Wrangler ( my family choice 😊). I saw couple of 2012 Xterra (very few cars available without mods) for under 30k but wranglers are above 50k similar year and most modified and used offroad. I m also thinking about getting a pre owned or new wrangler from trading enterprises. Need some advise on getting a new car to offroad or get used modified wrangler with fingers crossed 🤞

Really hope this help, curb COVID spread now and bring figures down.

This is my exact current setup. Durango for tarmac and xterra for getaway

If you are looking at a 7 seater look at the pre 2008 Prado. Very good offroader with Toyota reliability. Otherwise I would also recommend an Xterra. But please check the maintenance record as I have heard from more than a couple of people of engine issues. List of options at various price levels are posted in this article With winter approaching some of these traditional offroaders like Wranglers, etc will start becoming expensive.

Thanks @Chaitanya D it was great drive and another experience to observe from the passenger seat 👍

As a Jeep guy i am driving a Xterra just because it is logical. One day i am sure i will go back to Jeep. 2012 Wrangler is not new. Surely you will face some issues. On the other hand Xterra very reliable. It is your choice between a car with a soul but need some maintenance time to time or car is not fun but reliable.

Congratulations @Lorenzo Candelpergher, probably the first patrol y62 in intermediate?. Well done 👍

Then you will have plenty of options and even you can look at a SWB models. Keep us updated on your progress.

@Desert Dweller you snatched the words right out of my mouth. If you need information on a thread, You can always rely on this guy Fred. He shares information on all he knows, So relax enjoy and let the good times flow.

Sounds amazing, sorry I missed it !

Congrats @Junaid Sayeed 👍

Mabrook !

It’s really more than ever to abide to precautionary measures , MASK is one effective one of them

Everyone is damn right above. And also driver needs a new eye-test for driving license or learn to drive off-road without any distractions. From 00:13 - 00:15 seconds there was a clear visual in front and still he couldn't brake or alter the path.

Congrats @Junaid Sayeed. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.

You have earned it. Congratulations

Congratulations @Junaid Sayeed !

Congrats @Lorenzo Candelpergher!!!

Congratulations @Junaid Sayeed.

Congratulatioms @Junaid Sayeed

congrats @Junaid Sayeed

Congrats @Lorenzo Candelpergher!!

Congratulations! @Junaid Sayeed.

@Junaid Sayeed Congratulations!

Congrats @Junaid Sayeed looking forward seeing you in one my convoys soon !

@Srikumar Hi Sri.. I will probably keep the durango and go with xterra..will probably trouble you all again once I have the list of shortlist 😁

Agree what @Chaitanya D said, getting a clean one will be a bigger task. 2012, under 30K, never been off road sounds good to me, try for an off road version if you can. If this is only going to be your weekend getaway car, suggest to invest less, learn the art and later you may decide all by yourself. Cheers!!

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi it was a different experience and looking forward to explore the second part...

Thanks Ale, it was a great drive and I really enjoyed the group spirit.

While offroading, we cross dunes by using different methods, based on how the dune is formed and what the drive level is. Once you have spent some time in the desert, you will slowly start to pay more attention to the dune formations and how we cross them. Once you reach Intermediate and Advance level, you'll need to start learning how to read these dunes in order to navigate and create your planned routes in the desert. As a rule of thumb, the prevailing wind in UAE is blowing from a North-Western direction to South-East direction from 10AM onwards. At night and in early morning it will be reversed and blow from the South-East to North-West. This is something you should remember and you will notice when you zoom into certain areas with your navigation app (Google Maps, Gaia, MotionX, Mytrails,...) you will notice that the wind from that side has caused the dunes to take on their shape. This is a general rule and will not always apply, as you will see that in certain areas where wind is coming from different directions, you will see for example "star" dunes appearing. There are different types of dunes which are separately described below. As you can see in below picture, a dune is formed when the prevailing wind blows on a mound of sand, where the grain will move into the wind direction and create a ridge. The sand which falls on the other side of the ridge, creates a slipface, and this sand is not compacted by the wind. This is the main reason why we generally drive on the prevailing wind side or the convex side of the dunes on the Newbie level. "A dune is a curiously dynamic creature," wrote Farouk El-Baz in National Geographic. “Once formed, a dune can grow. It can change shape and move with the wind. It can even breed new dunes. Some of these offspring may be carried on the back of the mother dune. Others are born and race downwind, outpacing their parents. [Source: Farouk El-Baz, National Geographic, February 1982] The shape of dunes is affected by things like the strength, direction and consistency of the winds; the consistency and amount of sand; the hardness of the terrain and the amount of vegetation. Below we will describe the most common dunes found in the UAE. Different Dunes Crescent or Barchan Dune This is the most common dune. It forms the shape of a crescent moon when the wind blows from one direction. We generally use the words concave and convex to describe both sides of the dune: * Concave is a shape that curves inwards. * Convex is a shape that curves outwards. Crescent-shaped mounds generally are wider than long. On the concave side you will have the slipface. These dunes form under winds that blow from one direction, and they also are known as barchans. Parabolic Dune A parabolic dune is similar in shape to a barchan, but it is just the opposite. The tips of this dune point into the wind, and its main body migrates with the wind, forming a depression between the tips. Because of this formation, parabolic dunes are also known as blowout dunes. These dunes often occur when vegetation stabilizes sediments and a U-shaped blowout forms between clumps of plants. Example of Parabolic dunes near Faya: https://goo.gl/maps/ob8xu3y8VJJvF6hk8 Longitudinal or "Seif" Dunes They are also often referred to to as "sand ridges" or "seifs". Their length can range from a few meters to many kilometers and their height from a couple meters high to a couple hundred meters high. Wind pushes the sand and forms ridges parallel to the prevailing wind direction with slip faces either side of the crest. Linear dunes are straight or slightly sinuous sand ridges typically much longer than they are wide. They may be more than 160 kilometers long. Linear dunes may occur as isolated ridges, but they generally form sets of parallel ridges separated by miles of sand, gravel, or rocky interdune corridors. Some linear dunes merge to form Y-shaped compound dunes. Many form in bidirectional wind regimes. The long axes of these dunes extend in the resultant direction of sand movement. Barchanoid Dunes These ridges are similar to Barchan dunes. They are connected in long crescentic waves as the sand supply is much greater than that which forms a Barchan Dune. Star Dunes These dunes are formed when there are several prevailing wind directions - there is a complex wind regime. Typically there are three or more slip faces, whilst the dunes do not migrate they grow in height. Star dunes are radially-symmetrical, spyramidal sand mounds with slipfaces on three or more arms that radiate from the high center of the mound. They are created when the winds blow equally from every direction, causing the sand dune to grow many extensions and resemble a star. They are rare and are fairly stable and remain in the same place. Some are landmarks with names. Example of a Star dune: https://goo.gl/maps/jRnYghQc8ACzVz6T7 With this knowledge, the next time you step into the desert, you can start looking at the different dune formations, and this will give you lots of knowledge that you'll be able to apply in the future when leading and navigating off-road drives.

Congratulations @Sajit Modiyil for reaching the Fewbie 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: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Basic self-recovery techniques Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle 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 and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

FJ Cruiser is having a fuel pump recall for 2014 FJ. Al Futtaim Toyota had replaced it for free last week although my car is out of warranty under the recall campaign. I did some research on the recall and below is what i found. The cars that might be applicable for Middle East from the list below would be Avalon, Corolla, Land Cruiser, Tundra and Camry. Worth checking if you or your friends have these vehicles. https://www.courtesytoyota.com/toyota-fuel-pump-recall.htm Toyota Vehicles impacted by this fuel pump recall 2017 & 2018 & 2019 Toyota Sienna 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser 2018 & 2019 Toyota Avalon 2018 & 2019 Toyota Sequoia 2018 & 2019 Toyota Corolla 2014 & 2015 & 2019 Toyota 4Runner 2014 & 2015 & 2019 Toyota Land Cruiser 2018 & 2019 Toyota Tundra 2018 & 2019 Toyota Tacoma 2018 & 2019 Toyota Highlander 2018 & 2019 Toyota Camry

Congrats @Lorenzo Candelpergher

Congrats and well deserved @Lorenzo Candelpergher

Congratulations @Lorenzo Candelpergher 👍

congrats @Sajit Modiyil

Congrats @Junaid Sayeed looking forward to driving with you soon.

@Lorenzo Candelpergher tjis is great news and well earned and deserved. Looking forward to using your newly promoted status on the drive Friday.

Congrats @Lorenzo Candelpergher. Well done.

@Chaitanya DD @sertac @Janarthan Totally agree and Thanks for the valuable feedback. I am also thinking of giving up durango for a 7 seater offroader. But it's getting hectic to clean up and maintain the daily drive and weekend offroader. I will probably check the available xterra and hope I get something problem free.

@Nitin Mohan no issues. Enjoy the Qudra drive. Following on the waitlist, will clear waitlist as soon as the drive load comes down. 1. @tcarrimjee 2. @Sreejith Sreenivasan

It even rhymes 😁

Ah Ha! Where there is a question there is a thread by Fred