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Convoy 2: Trip report. With the change in weather the drive to the meeting point was quite foggy but was happy to see that everyone was deflated and ready on time. Thanks guys, that gave us a little more time to play. After a quick brief and reminder about the Covid restrictions, we were of heading to Fossil Rock. The first 30 minutes or so saw us navigating through a lot of shrubs at a very slow pace. As soon as I thought we were in the clear, we passed convoy 1 and saw they were having a few refusals at that spot so we headed further up through the shrubs for another 10 minutes before hitting some nice rolling dunes which were not as churned up as the regular dunes heading upto Fossil. Here I increased the pace a bit but I had my doubts on whether the convoy would be able to keep up, but after a few small criss crosses and sideys I realised this group meant business. We kept the pace and very soon it was play time, we reached the long dune before fossil and met convoy number 1 there having their fun so we went to the other side and had our fill. Once everyone had enough, we again made our way towards Fossil Rock only to run into Convoy 1 so again a slight reroute and we were on our way. On the final stretch up to Fossil Rock where we had to cross the track, I could again see Convoy 1 and Richards newbie convoy in line to get there. We headed a bit further down the track and then entered from the other side of all the cross tracks and headed up. The cross tracks were bad but everyone made it up without any problems. We then waited up there till Convoy 1 came up and then decided to exit and make way for Richards Newbie convoy. We were on our way out at 9.30AM so I checked if everyone had their fill or if they still wanted to play and they were still hungry so we headed over to a small play area on the other side of the pylon track for another 40 minutes before finally heading out. Every one did really well with just a few refusals and stuck towards the end. Well done guys. @Ashythank you for being an excellent 2nd lead. You are getting a hang of the JGC and handling it pretty well. Big improvement over the last few drives. @Mikhail Lukichev, we have all seen you for a while now and although you are not a regular due to your work and shift timing, you don’t show it. You handle the Prado pretty well and had no major issues other than a refusal on a pretty churned up track that could have happened to any of us. @VipinShettyyou too have definitely got a hang of the JGC and now over the next few drives, I would suggest concentrating on the acceleration response and figure out that sweet spot so you are not always pushing it to the max. @Franco Swart, well done buddy, your little pajero never seemed out of place with the wranglers and the mighty F150. @Ali Abas Ali Thank you for being the CF on this drive and keeping any eye on the entire convoy. Well driven too and you definitely got that 4runner in sync with you. @siddharth maheshwari, well driven. Seemed like you just could not get enough of play time.:) @Hatim Patharia, you managed well for the most part but going forward try and keep an eye on the vehicle in front of you to see how much gas they give and try and do the same. The wrangler will get you through most places but sometimes you don’t need all that raw power, give it just what is needed. Once you get that balance right, you will also enjoy it more, @Francois Germishuys, What can I say…You make that beast look like a toy and managed very well. I can see you are enjoying it more with its new shoes. Very well done. @Hennie Schoeman, Thank you for being my sweep and keeping the convoy moving. Well managed and thank you for helping Hatim with that refusal on our way out. Well done everyone and see you in the sand. Thanks @Mikhail Lukichev lovely pics.

Thanks a lot for the wonderful drive! I took some pictures, all of them you can find in the gallery. Here are just a few of them.

Interpid Fossil Rockers I was asked more than once if the Fossil Rock decsent is Newbie level today. Truth is that is can be and sometimes it is harder than others. Today was one of those where it was a little more challenging. Normally there is quite a lot of sand to protect any small arroers of judgment at the top and today it was all steps and rock - so brilliantly done everyone: I would never have decided to go with this if the standard of the driving elading up to the Rock had not been so good. @Ahab Shamaa did an excellent job in 2nd lead for the first time. It's a responsibility to follow the lead and change course where needed and I was delighted to see how you handled this role excellently. @Magdy Zahran - your enthusiasm was infectious! Really great to have you on the drive and good to see that you understand the potential of your car. @syed salman raza when the car works, you are really getting to grips with it. You do need to sort out the reliability as the low fule moment was a real concern and we nearly had to let you exit early because of it. We all know you are comitted and enthusastic and admire it, but the car needs to be up to your standard of driving as well. @Luca Bregni big lesson of the day ... I think you will never forget that button ever again! @Sai Baskaran glad you enjoyed it and it amuses me to think that I was going to play a practical joke on you. I knew you could make it. @Ranjan Das same for you. You are getting better and better each drive. Keep it up. @Federico Galbieri you understand what you jeep can do and are silently and effectively honing that skill. @Sandeep Padhi well done controlling the electrics on your car. it has great capabilities - but not all of them are really designed for the sandso keep on learning these rules. @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ second time out in the Wrangler - you still need to understand the use of the power a bit better. But great drive today. @Nithin Vaidir the LC is a difficult beast to tame. You are getting there and need to be a little less tentative from time to time. @Sharooq Fassul I know that Lorenzo had you in his eyes the whole trip and from what i could hear, a little more gas from time to time would be good. What's next? Keep driving with the same passion you showed this week. Newbie time is not about scaling the highest highs or crossing the most comlex dunes (that comes later) it's about learning the art of 4x4 in sand. Get this right now and the excitement will build and build - safely. See you soon in the sand.

DRIVE REPORT Murquab is an area that we normally preserve for Fewbie and above level, but recently we were able to find a clean track that leads us all the way through up to Solar Park. Taking that opportunity, and a massive convoy of 18 cars did come with some challenges but all did amazingly well. From the deflation point in Murquab, it looked everyone was excited to explore this new area and see where it would bring us. With the help of @Wrangeld to get the massive convoy lined up, i found myself already in Solar Park while the back of the convoy was still on the tarmac. Many people ask me why we don't increase the drive count, and one should understand the convoy dynamics of adding a few cars and the consequences: every car added will easily 30m length to your convoy. Having said that, everyone did fantastic on this first stretch through Murqab and the sight of some gazelles is always welcome. You all did so well that after 2 hours we reached the exit point, so i decided to cross the road and make our way through Qudra South. Recently some construction has been going on to extend the high voltage lines, and we came across a whole lot of road blockages and had to drive along the construction road to be able to enter the long range dunes. We started to have some small first stucks and refusals over there, and also helped out a couple that wanted to go camping but got themselves stuck. The next stuck was a nasty one, with an F-150 crested along the dunes on its belly. After quite some shoveling we decided to take the little blue and give the truck a gentle sidewards tug to pull it off the crest. The recovery took some time and we saw the sun coming down faster than a Swiss skier from the Alps. The last part consisted of making our way out to the exit in the dark, which is for beginners a more challenging task, as suddenly they have to drive closer to the vehicle in front and follow the EXACT same tracks, or they would get themselves into trouble. It took all the support from @Jeepie @Kalahari @Wrangeld to keep the convoy moving in one single pace and with the right distance in between. We made it out and passed a lot of people who decided to have gatherings with 30-40 people and more doing BBQ and music. Qudra on a winter evening is becoming a bit like Global Village it seems. Special thanks to @Melenany for being an excellent second lead, totally in tune with the truck and re-directing where needed. A massive thanks to Everyone in the convoy as you guys did so well and took on the challenge of driving with me See you guys soon back in the sand !

Thank you @Wrangeld for your review and for leading the group into so much fun and challenges! Thank you @Lorenzo Candelpergher for following and taking care of the convoy in such an efficient and outstanding way! I had so much fun! Everything was just perfect, and I fell in love with Fossil Rock! Looking forward to the next trip with you guys!!

Hey @Niki Patel, Welcome to the club! It’s funny, I read your post on the FJ Cruiser Forum, and I was planning to respond to you and invite you to the Carnity Club, but you found the club on your own and beat me to it 😀 In any event, congratulations on your purchase. The Land Rover is a great car, but the FJ is the queen of the desert (I can see my fellow Jeepers frowning 😂). Yours is really nice, and I particularly love the big screen infotainment system. As an FJC owner myself (daily driver), my advice would be for you to view the videos and threads aimed at newbies on the Carnity site. They are very informative. Secondly, learn all you can about your car. How to put it in 4 low/4 high and how to turn off traction control and anti slip control. Also, learn how to engage the A-trac; it works like magic. I’ve seen demos where people who are stuck, engage the A-trac, exit the FJC and let the car get unstuck itself without intervention from the driver 😳 Finally, enjoy your car and Carnity; you’re in for a lot of great learning and loads of fun 😀 See you soon on the sand! Ahab

Hi @Frederic Thank you very much for this beautiful afternoon and... night 😉 It was an incredible experience 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Looking forward to meeting you for the next trip. See you Frédéric

Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club @Niki Patel ! We have weekly drives for all levels. When joining us for the first time you can book into the Absolute Newbie drive which is being posted every Sunday. You can do this by clicking on the calendar event, and then clicking on "Going". That will make sure you are on the RSVP list and further information about that drive will be announced.

Today’s drive was an epitome of Thrill and Adventure. We came across many breathtaking sceneries which allowed us to truly embrace the beauty of the desert. We really tested our car’s limits going up the Fossil Rock and then found ourselves doing a steep decent that required a lot of patience (An unexpected thrilling experience) Thanks @Wrangeld for being an excellent lead and for making sure that we were able to make the most out of today’s drive. @Lorenzo Candelpergher truly showcased his skills and experience by being an amazing support, making sure the tail of the convoy remained in order.

Hi all Am a new member and recently purchased a new 2021 spec FJ cruiser that I am desperately trying to get through the 1k miles run in period excited to join the beginner sessions and would welcome fellow FJ owners recommendations/guidance/warnings. I am keen to ‘explore’ the desert vs dune bashing or extreme off-roading... looking forward to start my journey with you all. thanks niki

The day of records: 100 Km Challenge successfully completed - Trip Report Even though we knew from the previous Challenge that driving 100+ Km in close to 4 hours is possible, there is always an element of uncertainty in such drives. In case of this particular itinerary, from Faqa to Qudra, one variable that adds to its difficulty is that, except from the first part of Faqa, all major dune cordons must be crossed from the slip-face side. This means that criss-crossing is trickier than when approaching from the dunes' hard-face, and that sometimes one must find a way around the cordons. However, there is an advantage with doing this drive in the morning, and in this direction, and that is not having the sun in one's face, making visibility easer. Another element of uncertainty of this drive was the length of the convoy: while the first Challenge was driven by 5 cars, the Sequel saw a convoy of 8 drivers. Initially this many cars worried me a little, also in light of the relative "greenness" of some of the drivers, tackling their first or second Intermediate drive. In the end, it was such a pleasant surprise to see all perform impeccably, bringing home an almost perfect record of no stucks, the only delays being 2 pop-outs. After a quick deflation and briefing, the convoy moved at 6:17am, first almost at a leisurely pace, in order to ease the transition of the new Intermediates to the new rank, than slowly picking up speed, driving smoothly toward each planned leg of the itinerary. We reached the first way-point at the end of Faqa in 1:02 hours; the second way-point at the end of Little Sweihan was reached in 1:40 hours., after taking care of our first pop-out (and changing the damaged tire); the third planned break, at the confluence of Solar Park into the "Bab al Shams" sector, in just another 1:02 hours (in spite of a second pop-out, this time sorted out just by re-inflating; finally we exited at Qudra west (next to the big farm on the tarmac road to Qudra Parking in exactly another hour. The most tested skills of the day, besides basic dunes' straight and criss crossing, and finesse-driving in the few technical areas, were bowl riding, and especially ridge riding, this latter mostly toward the end of the drive, on Qudra's super long range dunes. I was really happy to see the convoy move in unison, almost never breaking stride: well done @Mehmet Volga, @Yousef Alimadadi, @Biju Abdul, @marks, @Gregory Perkin, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe and @Janarthan. Comparing this Challenge to the previous one, we took 3:41 hours of driving time (Vs. 3.18 h), for 114.6 KM. (Vs. 104.4), at a slightly lower average speed of 23 Km/h Vs. 26Km/h (and 31Km/h while moving Vs. 32Km/h), climbing for 871 meters Vs. 570 meters. Thanks a lot for joining this challenge, and hope to see you soon on the sand.

Lovely pictures Thank you @Brette for the wonderful drive on Friday. I had fun

Hello @Niki Patel welcome to the club and I’m reaching out to say hello as a fellow FJ driver join the drives. It’s really helpful and most importantly fun.

Thanks to @Ale Vallecchi for a fun fast-paced drive. The route was carefully thought out, showed us a variety of terrain and reminded us that the 3rd gear (and even 4th gear) cogs still work 😂 Great to see a variety of wildlife, and the locals playing with the falcons. Not sure if anyone else spotted the red RC plane they were using to train the falcons. It was flying just before we arrived and was on the ground as we passed. For the stats guys I've attached some pics. See you all next time. Greg Untitled_102_720p.mp4

Sure bro! I’m a newbie myself 😀 I’m sure we’ll run into each other on a future drive real soon. Cheers! Ahab

Hey Ahab! Thank you so much for this welcome and guidance.. exactly what I needed. Love that FJ forum community and so happy to have found this group for fellow UAE owners. mines also a daily driver and weekend toy (once I complete the 1k miles running in ) I’ll prioritize going through the forum vids etc as recommended. I played with 4high at the hidden beach ... I’ll look to find a safe place to practice low and atrac ... amazing to hear how effective it can be in the dessert. I hope we get to join a drive together soon.. once I get confident and through the intros. lots to learn from this forum so will keep myself busy today

Nice to hear from you @Rahimdad, yes you’re right it had some changes and still going through MOD steps. You know I love Tundra but it’s small for family so my choice had to be Sequoia and I try to make it Sequndra lol.

Congratulations @Tbone!! Well done!

Thank you so much @Ale Vallecchi for the great leadership and arranging this fantastic drive, it was full of joy and new experiences. thank you everyone 🙏🙏🙏

Congratulations @Tbone

Yes @Gregory Perkin I noticed the red plane in the ground but didn’t know that it’s used to train falcons. Thanks @Ale Vallecchi we had a fantastic drive and this was my first intermediate drive and thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you @Wrangeld and @Lorenzo Candelpergher for this wonderful drive. The description of each driver is not very easy to provide , but you @Wrangelddid a great job with the details. Have a good week ahead .

Congrats @Tbone

@Wrangeld very well described . Makes me to want to join the newbie from time to time especially when come to fossil rock ( did it once as newbie before with whole family and it was fantastic ).

Many thanks and I am waiting for Sunday to register on the newbie first and then get in as many weekly rides as I can. Really look forward to meeting you on the dunes and again appreciate the welcome!

In the short time since I joined Carnity, I just simply assumed you already were a given ”elder” in the club - I mean whatever topic I was looking for on the forum, there was already a perfect article by @Frederic!! On the drives you always have been so amicable, relaxed and helpful, it has been pure joy to follow you! So ”well deserved” is a clear understatement, but big congrats from me!!

Congrats @Frederic 👍👍👍. You taught me the basics of desert driving !!

Thanks @Frederic, @Wrangeld and everyone for another great drive. Learnt a lot - as always - and loved the adventure! Can’t wait to see what next weekend has in store...

Thankyou @Frederic.. will need to check with Alfuttaim if addition of these bumpers / grills will affect the warranty , if not I will install ..and hopefully avoid nose dives

Hi @Probir Mukherjee The first thing you will need is a police report, which you can get from the nearest Police station. Once you have that paper, you can submit it to your insurance for a claim. Depending on the type of insurance you have (third party, or full comprehensive with offroad cover) you can make a claim. As the Landcruiser bumpers are quite low, it could help to get a bashplate / skidplate installed, which is a 8mm or 10mm aluminum plate that you can mount underneath the vehicle and that is folded upwards on the front. In the next occurance you would make a nosedive this one will take the impact.

Thanks for the drive @Frederic and support leaders .My learning from this drive has come at the cost of a broken bumper .When the convoy moved in the dark the car ahead moved away quicker than me .I tried to follow by sight as tracks were not visible so I ended up going over a ridge and hard fall .Luckily the jeep behind me saw this a veered left .I accept its my fault to drive by sight, I should have stopped and radioed for assistance to see the path. A suggestion for group in the dark is to move out slowly with cars following each others tracks to avoid what happened with me .Now for a police report , insurance claim and repairs .. is there any guidance for accidents in the desert to be reported to the police .Would appreciate.Thanks .

@Niki Patel Welcome to the offroad club in @Carnity

thanks @Emmanuel for wonderful drive today. it was super fun...

Hi all, thanks each and every one for a super charged drive... enjoyed it to the core as, many faces were familiar and special thanks to @Emmanuel for the variety of terrains, the pace of the drive and Soo much more . We had very few refusals and even though we had two pop outs @Emmanuel @Pancho and @Desert Dweller delt with the situation very well. Really sad about @Ali Abas Ali 4 runner's air bag Pop out and hope for a speedy recovery. Thanks everyone once again and see you soon. Keep cool and safe. 👍🙏🙏👏👏

Thank you @Mohamed Seidam for the supportive educational videos. Also Thanks to @Tamas Hoffmann, @Kalahari for great help and supports and everyone for their great teamwork. As always it was pleasure driving with you guys. .

@Carnity @Wrangeld and @Lorenzo Candelpergher thanks for giving us opppertunity to learn and meet good people in drive

Drive report When I woke up this morning, I wasn't feeling particularly well, I had a headache and my back was a bit painful but after a painkiller and a nice shower, I was ready to roll. It was nice to see that everyone came on time and at the right meeting point. Because it was a combined drive, we had to split the convoy in 2 and make sure the meeting points were not the same. After a radio check and a quick briefing we started moving with @Jeandre Bezuidenhout as my second lead, @Foxtrot Oscar in centre forward and my hubby @Frederic in sweep position. I have to say, it was the smoothest drive so far under my lead. Everyone drove amazingly well and we had no stucks and only 2 refusals which were resolved in 2 minutes under the guidance of @Foxtrot Oscar. We also maintained a very good speed and momentum and we drove 63 km in almost 3 hours which is really well done ! I had a great time and the weather was amazing and I am pretty sure the rest of the convoy also enjoyed themselves. I heard no complains. Well done everyone and see you next time ....

Congratulations @Frederic for reaching the CREW level with Carnity Offroad club. It is the highest position in Carnity Off-road Club, that anyone can ever attain. We all are absolutely delighted to welcome you to the off-road CREW level and looking forward to sharing our off-road passion and long-term vision together. Your passion for off-road and supporting the Carnity off-road club from so many different angles and multi-tasking various roles behind the scene, has truly helped and touched everyone around. You are one of the main reason behind this glorious success of Carnity off-road club in the recent past. Without your constant support, intelligence, planning, vision and true acumen we wouldn't have reached so far in such a short time. Some call you Radio genius, other calls you techy head, I prefer data scientist to hold all the keys of all the doors whenever we are in trouble to see the future through Fredy's Crystal Ball. Your technical knowledge, data sheets, statistical metrics have become totally indispensable for all of us around to manage, organize and equipped ourselves. Your continuous contribution and great efforts to improve the Carnity off-road club, plan to develop new off-roaders and a keen eye on safety regulations have resulted in great progress and well deserve this new off-road rank. Your off-road knowledge, vast experience, great teamwork, and critical observations have always helped everyone around in a very positive manner on the off-road drives and on the forum. Keep it up and its time for you to help other aspiring offroaders to demonstrate your skills, knowledge and above all the true passion for off-road with community spirit. CREW - Carnity Exclusivity Carnity Benefits Earn reward and recognition from 1:1 Desert Driving Course Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Full access to Carnity without any paid subscription Full access to Carnity for 1 friend or family member Join any drive in “Manage” tab even when drive is full Carnity Contribution Committed to drive with Carnity off-road club only Lead 3 drives or more per month with 1 Newbie drive at least Carnity off-road club strategic planning and be future-ready Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 50 drives are required for Crew promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Crew feedback.) What you'll learn Plan and manage weekly drive calendar Optimum utilization of existing resources Track all drives and manage all Marshal’s progress Strategic ideas to maximize participation and teamwork Adherence to all guidelines, procedures, terms and policies for highest safety standard for every offroader Skills required Visionary leader with strategic thinking skills Intensely focused and highly enthusiastic Skilled communicator and expert organizer Motivating team/individual offroaders at all levels 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, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, tool box, tie-down straps, fluids. Drive teamwork Manage all Marshals and weekly drive planning Conduct Leader’s Lead drive to train new Trip Leaders Support and supervise senior offroaders at all levels Drive Joining All Levels Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Great one @Frederic. Always a pleasure to drive with you. The drive was more technical rather than fun but we need some of those sometimes. We had quite a "colorful" crowd this time and it was nice to see the Discovery and F150 handling the dunes. @Wrangeld definitely needs to do something about that radio 😀. Richard, I might in Dragon Mart soon. Let me know if you want me to get you a Baofeng UV5r. They are around 70 aed and they do the job quite well... I will be adding some photos to the gallery sometime soon PS: It was sad to see some of the participants not wearing their masks specially towards the end of the drive when we had longer waits or we were inflating tyres. Are we still wondering if the virus exists?

Woow. Santa visited early this year.. @Frederic congrats.. ✌🥳

@Vanessa8580 @Frederic @Foxtrot Oscar Thank you for the speedy drive today! Moving over 60kmph through the dunes was definitely a thrilling experience. Link for the pictures https://carnity.com/gallery/category/383-fewbie-qudra-south-dubai-06-nov-2020 Link for the map https://s.amsu.ng/Hbg8mAbnqB6N

Thank you @Emmanuel for the wonderful drove today. First time in al faqa enjoined with the beautiful desert! Thank ylu to @Desert Dweller for your support durong the stack. See you on the sand very soon!

Thank you @Jeepie for the wonderful and calm drive also special thanks to @Tamas Hoffmann, @Kalahari for great help and supports and everyone else for their great teamwork. As always it was pleasure driving with you guys, see you soon.

Great lead by @Jeepie and excellent support by @Tamas Hoffmann who did a lot of hard work! Everybody did well, especially the new Fewbies who had to adjust to the higher intensity.

Fantastic drive for every new comer with Carnity ( if not with the desert) to get used to the basics under the guidance of @Srikumar and how one will be doing the drives in future to progress. Whatever little challenges were thrown at by the terrain were managed very well by all the Absolute Newbies, some of whom did not look like Newbie. Great cars in the convoy but some had low front bumpers - who had by now they should be well aware. Please try to get them sorted so that you improve the front approach angle not hitting and breaking anything. There are many advises and topics dedicated to your cars in this website which you can go through , know what is best for your cars. By next drive you all should have 1. Radio with the channels programmed. 2. Tire Deflator and know how to deflate to required PSI. 3. Flag. Well done all and enjoy the winter drives ahead which will become every more enjoyable!

This was a very meaningful drive . Excellent transition from sand to rock and a feeling of achieving something special. Wouldn’t have been possible without support from @Wrangeld and @Lorenzo Candelpergher who lead us and had our backs with a calm and composed mind. This drive will be in my memory for ever. Hope the same for all my fellow fossil rockers . Looking forward to many more.

If I had only one word to describe this drive, wow! would be the word 😀 Amazing scenery, commendable team work, and great leadership in the front and sweep positions. I learned some valuable lessons today, and I’m sure the same goes for my fellow drivers. Thank you all for the company, and a special thanks goes out to @Wrangeld and @Lorenzo Candelpergher for keeping the herd safe and in check 😘 See ya’ll on the sand real soon! Ahab

Final check before bed : 1. Truck fluids checked 2. Off road stuff in place and secured 4. Cell alarm set ( just in case ⏰ ) 5. Final worning to my son to go to bed ( punctuality and without exception rules apply ) last but not least “ sand “ dream and nightly all 🥱✌️🚙