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Drive Report Well that was eventful! We started off just at the side of the highway and followed the track for a short while before we ventured left into the gentle dunes The scene was as perfect as you will see: gazelles darted around amongst us, no less than 6 hot air balloons dotted the skyline as the sun rose majestically on the horizon. So far so bliss! We continued at a nice pace, playing where we could and tackling some small technical patches, which I had no doubt @Malachy McGrogan and @DANIEL NOGUEIRA would handle very well in their XXXX – long trucks as I had driven with them before. The only issue we had was when I stopped on a steep incline to assist @Malachy McGrogan and the entire contents of my boot fell out!! 🤣 Thanks Daniel for helping me get it all back in. (note to self, don’t open your boot on a sharp incline) Everything was going to plan as we picked our way to the promised land of Margham’s play area. However, @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ 's wrangler had other ideas; a small innocuous refusal left myself and @Ale Vallecchi scratching our collective heads as to what to do next. @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ realised there was some fluid loss and we discovered the car had a traction issue. After a lot of shovelling and an unsuccessful tug from the back, we changed tact and @Rizwanm2, using two ropes, pulled him from the front. We still couldn’t get him out fully, but we did manage to get him on the flat. Credit to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for eventually driving his car out of the little gully, and with that the only option available to us was to lead him safely out via a track and onto the tarmac. With all issues resolved ,and with the agreement of the convoy, I decided to up the pace and hot wheel it to Margham. This provided us with opportunities for ridge riding and criss-crossing, which everyone handled really well and aside from a couple of second attempts, presented no major issues,. We were at the halfway point and had covered a lot of kilometers when @Arda Yagcioglu 's car decided to throw in the towel. We tried in vain to tackle the overheating issues and with the car also losing power it was decided the best policy would be to exit. I picked a very gentle path to ensure @Arda Yagcioglu didn’t have to push his car too much and we all reached the original deflate point intact. Every drive is a learning curve, cars overheat, transmissions fail, and a plethora of other obstacles are thrown our way. This is why we love to drive in the desert. We don’t just get to see nature in all its glory, but we are constantly challenged, whilst having the most fun you can have in the desert. Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for your assistance. @Rizwanm2 for being my second lead and of course to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQand @Arda Yagcioglu for providing us all with learning opportunities. Until our next adventure 😊

Don’t stare too much at the Hp and Torque values. This car is indeed meant to be a “soft roader”. Even a 2.7 Prado that hardly has more power can do wonders in the right hands, and that goes to show its not all about horsepower, but also how the car delivers that power to the wheels.

Trip Report What a beautiful day!!! This place is amazing with huge dunes, drops, flat areas and super soft sand in some areas. With few stucks and refusals we were able to complete our exploration drive on time by the grace of god. I had visited here last February with our carnity team as a passenger with Rahim bhai and this was my first drive as a lead. We had a amazing drive with a super convoy and everyone had performed extremely well. Thanks everyone for joining the drive and coming to the meeting point on time. @Vanessa8580 was the first one to reach our meeting point and she was waiting for me to arrive and open the gate for which i had the remote control , we started our drive by 8.15am after our safety briefing and explaining drive plan. As per my planed route we passed through tropic of cancer in middle of desert and took a small break and few pictures there (off course it is a imaginary line) & from there we drove all the way to see a famous "YELLOW TRUCK" among offroaders the old abandoned Oshkosh water tanker which is deteriorating in middle of desert and burying in sand for many years. The only information available is that it is lying there since 20years and above. We reached there by 2pm with a lunch break in between at a date farm in the middle of the desert which is surrounded by huge dunes and it has no access to the road. @Kailas was my second lead and you had done your duty with perfection, @Tamas Hoffmann you were amazing, you drove extremely well and whenever you got a chance i is to see your drone above us, we hope to see your drone footage soon. @Anoop joseph your first fewbie drive and you impressed us the way handled your pajero and i wanted to open your Awning at our lunch time but it was not required since we reached to the date farm on expected time. @Mus_hus78 you drove like a champ and i hope your height fear had gone after this drive. @Jeandre Bezuidenhout you were amazing, whenever i see blue coming it made me smile on my face that the hole convoy is moving. @Goutam your yellow jeep was glowing in front of yellow truck. @Vanessa8580 was my sweep and i thank you again for joining the drive and for your support at the back and not leaving anyone behind. I was accomplished by my daughter who will be a offroader too when she turns 18 I missed our carnity team with whom i had been there before @Gaurav @Srikumar @Emmanuel @Frederic and @Rahimdadsee you all soon.

Trip Report Wow what a different day for me. For the past few months I had been doing early morning drives only so it was so different to be driving out during broad daylight and driving back in the dark. My sincere thanks goes out to @Wrangeld who after an exhausting morning drive joined me to support my afternoon drive with a commitment for Saturday early morning. It was great for me to have a social distancing brief after a long time, @Wrangeld again stepped up to deliver a humorous and awakening brief where everybody was involved. As we all agreed that @Wrangeld should be a fly sweep we marched on with our original convoy positions leaving @Wrangeld to keep an Eagle eye on our convoy. Within a few minutes of departure I was informed @Wrangeld was tangled and headed back. It was amazing to see how a little digging and proper use of all tech on his Pajero he was able to wiggle himself out. Not only that with a tree right below he masterfully avoided it to join the convoy safely. I had attended a drive earlier led by @Jeepie and @Wrangeld and I loved their route so much I tried to get as close to that route as possible. Many members love this area like myself due to the amount of fun learnimg we can apply at all levels. Today my mission should I be ready to accept it was to level it down to Newbie. To my surprise everyone handled themselves so well I could have easily got carried away. As we drove through handling everything what the desert had on offer we were treated to some awesome play areas one behind the other. We all took our turns at impressing everyone with the amount of steering and throttle control we possess. More than anything what impressed me was the calm and safe way everyone managed to steer down when momentum was lost. As we had our fill in the play areas we headed to the power lines as 2 cars had to leave. The rest of the convoy continued in pursuit of reaching the top of Fossil Rocks. After a few tries and realising that some of us wouldn't make it, the rush on top and with bare rocks on top which meant we had to drive around it anyways, we came back down to reroute around Fossil Rocks. I must confess that going around Fossil Rock with the dunes around are not the easiest, but I'm so proud that the convoy made it through with a little help. From here it was easy to just drive through and have a little chat on the radio. At this point we inflated and left with a silent promise to see each other again on another exciting drive. @Anvar Sadath Bekal was an excellent second lead with his Pajero. He was in with his beautiful girls and I just loved the smiles and energy from them. Its been some time since I last drove with him and his improvement shows with great steering and throttle control with good lines. @Michael Gazi and his Pajero had a point to prove. He too showed great control and his pleasant smile and friendly approach was wonderful thing to carry through the drive. Very calm approach following the tracks with great competence. Well done. @Badar Tariq completed the trio of Pajeros up front with just as much finesse and it was a treat to see how well he managed his Pajero. @Sreenath Giridharan came and really showed us what a 4 cylinder 2.7 litre Fortuner. After witnessing @Jolly Abraham with a similar vehicle there is a lot they can learn from each other. @Umar Kamal with his Jeep Grand Cherokee managed the entire trip very nicely. However the throttle control needs a bit of work as he over sped through a bump on one of the sideys. Thankfully nothing major and we managed to recover the plastic pieces from the site of the bump. Insha Allah it should be sorted out soon and hope to catch you again. As discussed in the beginning of the drive please remove the rear bumper lip also it will just give you some additional clearance. @Brette has mastered the JGC and he can guide you better if you want to continue using it. @Ashy also has some experience with the JGC and he too can help you if needed. @Senthil Kumar did extremely well with his JKU limo. I had selected him as my Centre Forward an important position and he did really well filling up those huge shoes. He also chose great lines to drive on and really handled his ride well. @Arman with is Wrangler was cautious, which is always a good trait at the newbie level. That being said he did not let that get in the way of having fun and learning in a safe way. I am looking forward to seeing him use the power of the TJ to his advantage as we discovered together with his kind permission. @varunmehndiratta drove amazingly well and was in our second limo of the day. I really admire the way he drove and handled the entire trip. However a little mishap with the radio and caused a bit of a menace, but nothing we could not handle. With some information exchanged we will now make sure to lock our radio keypads so that they don't accidentally change channels in case of a bump. @syed salman raza had his own surprise in store as he rode in with his Ford F150. I have to admit that I love the grunt of his 5.0 V8. It was wonderful to see him flattening the dunes behind him. Just one little slip into a pocket which saw the little Pajero with a big heart pulling it out. @Harold Roberts was a treat to have with his FJ Cruiser. Queit, yet handling his FJ with grace. Great concentration and joyfully following the convoy to perfection. @Shehab Alawadhi who had his dream come true did amazingly well with his Ford F150. There is a reason these are some of the best selling trucks in the world. With an amazing personality riding the F150 made our convoy secure in sweep. As a sweep he was always updating me about the convoy situation on radio. I hope I made you proud as your lead, and as promised I will have you as my second lead on our next drive together. Once again a special shout put to a special person, @Wrangeld who makes any trip filled with humour and joy. With your little black Nt for a Psjero you saved the day in so many ways. I recognise you must have been tired from your morning trip and had an early morning appointment on Saturday, but that did not stop you from adding that much needed energy to the drive. Until next time keep tuned to the upcoming drives and don't forget to sign up on time.

Thankyou all enjoyed every bit of my first fewbie drive. Special thanks to Asif and Vanessa for all the tips, Learned a lot during the drive. Also I am here with sharing some shots taken during the drive. Looking forward for drone footage done by Tamas and thanks for bringing the drone, waiting to see it in different dimension. Thankyou all @Kailas @Tamas Hoffmann @Anoop joseph @Mus_hus78 @Jeandre Bezuidenhout @Goutam

I believe or i want to believe in one year they will add 3.5 engine same as Pathfinder. Even a freaking Altima can be bought with 3.5. With these specs this car has no chance to be a serious off roader for UAE.

Good morning adventurers, Today's drive will see us meet just off the Shuwaib road . We will follow a short track and enter into the sand where we shall tackle some fairly technical dunes before reaching the huge dunes this area has to offer. We can look longingly at the dunes and when it is safe to do so,( traffic permitting etc.), we shall attempt to climb and side slope on some of them. It really does depend on you and the area ( which is very popular with our fellow desert driving enthusiasts.) This is an ambitious drive, there will be some technical areas and I need you all to have your wits about you in order for us all to stay safe and have the most fun you can have on a Saturday afternoon My proposed convoy is as follows: @Foxtrot Oscar (Angela)- Black Xterra - Lead @Tamas Hoffmann - Pajero - Second Lead @Nithin Vaidir - Landcruiser - @Archibald Jurdi- Jeep Wrangler @DANIEL NOGUEIRA Dodge Ram @Mohamed Seidam Xterra Centre Forward @Probir MukherjeeLandcruiser @Ahab Shamaa FJ Cruiser @Yasas DharmadasaJeep Cherokee @Athula DharmadadaJeep Cherokee (blue) @Anish SPajero LWB sweep We will use radio frequency 3 (three) See you all soon

Drive Report Ever had a feeling of Déjà vu? ….and so it was, another drive and another car had to exit with mechanical issues. We tried, oh boy did we try, but after 1 hour and 15 minutes of trying everything we could think of we decided to leave @DANIEL NOGUEIRA to enjoy the scenery as the rest of the convoy attempted to make up for lost time. We headed into the wonderful playable bowls and slopes of what was to be our playground for the next 2 and a half hours. It didn’t take long before we encountered our first challenge and with the convoy itching to tackle the dunes they had been looking onto for an hour and so we climbed, ,one by one, as high as the sand, our cars and our skills would allow us to. I was so pleased to see everyone handling the challenge beautifully and special mention to @Nithin Vaidir who was on his first fewbie drive and drove excellently. At the foot of the mammoth dunes are some lovely playable technical areas and that’s where we headed to next. We bobbed around, dinked about, going up and over, across the tops, sliding down, and sweeping around. We had a couple of small refusals but nothing major and it is to be expected in the soft red sands of Shuwaib. We were all having so much fun and it was apparent everyone’s confidence was growing. The allure of the towering dunes was just too much to resist and with everyone more than up for the challenge we headed back in. I wanted to make up for the lost time and pack as much as we could into the short time we had. So, we climbed one, then another, then another and another until we finally made our way back to the start point where Daniel was waiting. It was on these climbs and side slopes that @Archibald Jurdi demonstrated brilliantly and instantly the need to steer down when the car loses momentum. @Probir Mukherjee showed his skills in self recovery, @Ahab Shamaa flexed his FJC muscles with a side of panache thrown in and @Yasas Dharmadasa and @Athula Dharmadada both waved the flag for how to get the most out of Grand Cherokees. Very special thanks to @Tamas Hoffmann who again was my second lead and again didn’t let me down. Second lead is no easy task, a split-second call to reroute and knowing when to keep your distance is a special skill. @Mohamed Seidam, it was great to finally meet you and your willingness to help at all times was greatly appreciated. Of course, @Anish S as sweep was keeping an eye on everything at the back and driving brilliantly as always. I’m sure Daniel was delighted with the lift home too. I said this morning that this drive was going to be the most fun you could have on a Saturday afternoon, I wasn’t wrong. What a brilliant convoy, full of laughs and fun all the way! Well done all of you!! PS. I have now decided I will never speak of mechanical issues again. Like Shakespeare’s MacBeth, which is only known as the Scottish Play for macabre reasons, all my previous drives to date, including this one, will now be referred to as the ‘Scottish Drives’. We shall speak no more of it Until our next adventure. 😊

@Ahab Shamaa - target market and segmentation will determine the consumers for the Nissan: I think that they are creating a soft roader which will appeal to a much wider market target segment than off roaders, who are attracted to the height and feel of a Jeep, but have zero need for the off road functionality. Nissan is a mass market manufacturer, more interested in selling more vehicles than worrying here about if the off raodign community is horrified that they create a car which is potentially underpowered for driving in the desert. We are potentially looking at this question through the frame of our limited experience [that the Xterra is an excellent off roader] and Nissan sees a much wider audience that will buy into the whole off road idea, without actually using it. Is the Xterra a strategic vehicle for Nissan, as a critical part of the range? And do Nissan expect to sell even one of the new ones to the off road community. Probably not - but they don't care. Look at what they did with the Pathfinder. It's gone from a capable off roader to a slightly bloated family cruiser. The result, less use off road, more sales globally. Jeep and Land Rover have an offroad heritage. To create a ridiculous off road version fits 100% with the brand values and history. They will catch their demographic by selling power (and even more power). So bottom line, you're probably right that Nissan are not that intent on positioning the car as a serious off roader. But then the number of serious off roaders is a lot less than the number of supermarket carpark vehicles.

Wow this brings me right back to our adventure in February, and the moment i saw the drive being posted I told Vanessa immediately it was a Must to see and explore this area under the guidance of such a wonderful Marshal. Another flawless execution of a well planned drive as we can always expect from you @Asif Hussain ! See you soon in the sands !

I would have loved to join @Asif Hussain. So many good memories from our last Yellow Truck drive!

Dear all, here is a link of my video posted on my FB page. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10159467057219750&id=790369749 I am uploading the full RAW videos to a shared folder that i can share. Please message me of FB with your email if you want access. @Mike Kraher nice views of you overcoming that bump in the middle of the climb @8:36 time stamp @Bala Krishnansince i was directly behind you, there are decent views of your Prado @Sanjay Malik thank you again for mounting my cam on your windshield

As we all know the performance of any vehicle is how it handles in the different road condition ( speed , brakes , suspension , aerodynamics ... etc ) . for the newer version of Nissan Xterra I believe it’s a completely different one and incomparable to the X from 2006 till 2015 even for the ( 4WD ) titanium and platinum trims of it in terms of performance . I am really unsure how a vehicle of 4 cylinders 165 HP / 2ton can navigate the terrain we do? NISSAN-X-TERRA-CATALOGUE.pdf

@Sandyman85, @Emmanuel, @Gaurav@Sajit Modiyil, @Chaitanya D, It’s very surprising for Nissan to be only offering a 4 cylinder version, while the Defender and the Rubicon are about to release their V8 versions with 500+/450+ HP respectively ❤️ I guess, Nissan doesn’t want to position its X as a full time off-roader, and doesn’t see itself in the same competitive class as other popular off-road cars? What does does our marketing guru @Wrangeld think of this? Moreover, what do @Foxtrot Oscar, @Mohamed Seidam and the rest of the X Tribe think of the newer version of their rig?

Trip report: Another beautiful drive, fast paced with continuous fun around majestic red sand dunes, filled with bowls presenting opportunities for crisscrossing, ridge riding and side sloping. In several occasions, we took turns to test our cars and skills going up high dunes, under @Emmanuel‘s watchful eye. And that was including Iftar bowl! Stucks and refusals were minor, despite the very soft sand and the difficult area. Chapeau to all drivers, especially those who were newly promoted. @Tero Vallas passed his first second lead test with flying colors. A very skilled and most importantly calm driver who adds to the relaxed vibe of such a drive. The same goes for our sweep, @Alexander Alcala, whose role was crucial to me personally, as I was relieved knowing he was at the back making sure no one was left behind when we had to find our way. @Craig Finlayson, as usual with his great vibe and calm when having to manage tricky situations, contributed to the success of this drive. I also want to thank the rest of the convoy for assisting during recoveries, waiting when asked to, and managing the area where we were surrounded by a huge number of cars which slowed our pace as they were unexpectedly crossing our path. If I have to be picky, which I easily am 😁, I would add a couple of things to avoid in the future: 1. Do not alter the convoy numbering even when you have got momentum to keep going when the car before you had a refusal or is making a second attempt. We have seen this lead to cars crashing and we certainly do not want that to happen to anyone. It is better to wait even if that gets you stuck. 2. Keep a safe distance, although you might fear losing the car in front of you. On myriad of occasions when I had to make a loop and go again, I found myself closely followed by the car behind me which sometimes hinders that attempt as there is not enough room around bowls. Apart from that, I truly believe it was a fun drive where we all enjoyed the area and what it has to offer.

Well guys, we Just made home safe.... but my car lives the desert and decided to spend the night there... it's a weird situation, because I cannot be pulled, and I couldn't find a 4x4 recovery to put the car on top, since my electric steering wheel just stuck and doesn't move at all... tomorrow morning I will bring a mechanic and see what I can do. .. Thanks for all, today with my mom in and little daughter in the car was a different drive, and my mom was impressed with all the convoy on trying to help, support and being very nice ... @Foxtrot Oscar we are not talking about that matter any more (she thought I was joking when I radio about the issue) @Anish S and @Mohamed Seidam, thanks for the ride back to Dubai, no words to be thankful as we are... I want to be back to that place for a drive, this dunes looks very fun

Did Anyone check out 2021 xterra? Any review or feedback?

@Jeepie pics uploaded ✌🏼 And thanks for a really good drive, this drive was the first time that there was a lady who was not one of the leads or sweepers @Veedooshee i was well impressed as she was better than most men driving the same car, i found some of the sections quite challenging so well done to her for managing it without any issues! Ive driven with most of the guys on this drive before and Ive noticed that all have improved well, which is a good thing... I also have to note a few issues which keeps happening on most drives which the drivers need to start working on to improve moving forward from my point of view (definitely issues that Fewbie and above should have already learned to avoid at this stage) 1- waiting to long to follow the driver in front of you then getting lost and not following the correct route (very dangerous as “we” me and @Jeepie have seen on this drive) 2- stopping on the crest of the dune, and then 9 out if 10 times getting stuck. This becomes an issue for the rest of the convoy especially when you are following the car in front of you and they already cleared without any warning to the rest following, if the cars in front of you cleared then the chance for you to get into any dangerous situation is very small so no reason to stop because you will get stuck! If you have to stop “on” the crest then let the nose of your car tip over and face down before you stop. I have never experienced any situation where i had to stop on the crest for any reason even if the car in front of me stopped on the other side of the dune, if the cars flag in front of you is not visible anymore (and no stop warning was given) then it should be safe to get over (very important to have a flag) you will have more than enough time then to assess whether to stop or to continue. If you absolutely have to stop just over the crest in this position your car and your flag would still be visible to the following car which will allow the driver to stop if he sees your car stopped. 3- stopped on the other side of the dune waiting for the cars in front of you to move on and not informing the drivers behind u, in this position you create a danger for the following cars that CANNOT see your car or flag anymore (always an issue with the middle size dunes, with big dunes there is a lot of space and with the small dunes you can still see the car in front of you or at least you can still see its flag) you only become visible to the next car as he gets on/ over the crest of the dune, in this situation the next driver most of the time just stops on the crest and then gets stuck or they need to swerve in another direction to pass you. When you have no choice but to do this then PLEASE notify the team over the radio that you stopped, thats why we all have radios to communicate with each other, the radio is not just there to let everyone know you need a bio break ..... (again safe following distance between the drivers is a must). 4- listen and follow instructions giving to you, if you dont fully understand or didn’t clearly hear the instructions then DO NOT proceed to drive, stop and ask again until you are crystal clear on what to do, in this drive I again as with few previous drives see people doing the opposite what is told over the radio, and then getting stuck or getting them in a dangerous situation.... 5- leave enough space in from of you to be able to get to a save parking spot in case you have to stop due to the convoy stopping due to refusals or whatever reason, this for me was an issue few time on this drive where i have to anticipate the drivers moves in front of me and then also trying to give space for the driver behind me because im in a difficult situation because i suddenly have to stop with my big truck due to the drivers actions in front of me, the dunes certainly made it difficult for me to just suddenly stop and in few instances i just could not stop and wait for the cars in front of me to re-attempt to follow the lead and i just had to pass them and follow through and then stop in a safe place behind the lead. 6- Getting stuck.... as with many other drives I keep seeing drivers getting them self stuck and then just keep driving like nothing is wrong and then just dig themselves in more and more when they clearly are not going anywhere. When your vehicle is not moving forward anymore and you are stuck or unable to move forward anymore just stop, 9 out of 10 times recovery will be much easier to manage. Then when you are stuck, unless told by someone to remain in your car for safety reasons please get out and be the first to start digging unless told otherwise by someone/ the lead. I see guys sitting in their cars waiting for the rest of the convoy to start helping with the recovery before attempting to get out and help, at the end of the day its you that got stuck so you will need to help with the dirty work, like this you learn how to do the recovery and most probably understand why you got stuck in the first place and how to avoid it as you see the results of your action. Lastly during this drive I on several occasions radio’d in stucks and refusals in front of me and even behind me, its not always possible for the driver that has a refusal or who got stuck to notify everyone of this so please, if the driver in front of you have any issues get on the radio and inform the rest of us, like this the leader knows thats going on and can stop the convoy, few times I radio’d in refusals/ stucks when @Jeepie clearly was in a difficult spot to just stop, so early warning makes it easy for all of us. Thats the end of my observations, I hope it’s constructive and whoever reads it will remember it for the next drive.....

2.5L 4cylinder 165HP with Diff lock

2021 xterra is almost like an Xtrail with 4 cylinder engine ... hope they bring V6 option as that's what people here are demanding. If Nissan listens to customers feedback

Thanks @Rahimdad@Wrangeld for an awesome drive today. It was really exhilarating day in desert with lots of soft sand, steep slides and awesome play areas with beautiful slide slopes. Self assessment : loved every bit of my wranglers ride today. It truly is a mean machine. Important lesson learnt - lock the frequency on walkie talkie 🙂🙂. Only time I had refusal today, my walkie talkie jumped the frequency and I missed important instructions from Richard in my self recovery mode..though managed to find my way out, it truly ratifies the safety norm - don't overlook the minutest of details in every tool we have. Another tip that I practiced today and cherished every bit of it (learnt after watching multiple offroading guides/videos and practiced today) - while going down a steep slope, look under the side view mirror (not in the mirrors, under the mirror) to get a clear view of slope....worked great for me so sharing with all... Thanks all for great afternoon. My daughter and dad both enjoyed a lot in your company.

New Xterra is down in terms of power and torque. But it is a well equipped off-roader with rear diff locker, hill descent etc. They should’ve included VQ40 as an option atleast.

It's been sometime since I enjoyed a drive with you @Jeepie and was glad to have made it today. Thank you so much Marjan for an excellent drive taking us through this route (while I thought I would recognize the way but actually didn't😬), only the pink rock stayed where it is🤪. Great drive guys...cheers see you all soon😊 Thank you @Ashok chaturvedi sir...I totally see that point of view of the Pajero following Pajero..but ya challenges are part of the learning process and we just handle them...😄. Kudos for doing those spins well, it was so enjoyable..totally agree...

Don’t expect too much of it. It will be an underpowered SUV, 4 cylinders, 2.5L...

thanks @Frederic: After last weeks drive i really started questioning my ability and my car. Today was fantastic thanks for your kind words and for making me feel better .. see you soon

Drive Report These chilly winter mornings are definitely something to look out for, and in the company of such an amazing group this makes it even better! Like i mentioned in the briefing there are so many different types of drives. I could describe this drive as a hands-on drive where all of you could showcase and practice your skills and where some shoveling, wiggling, and pushing was involved. We took off in the larger dunes this area had to offer and made our way further East with the intention to find some clean virgin dunes which we eventually found closer to the exit track. On the way there we had to cross some mild technical dunes that came with some crests, refusals, and stucks, but for a convoy this size nothing to serious. With an excellent second lead @frederic demolder, followed by a few Pajeronitees (is that a word ?), @Sai Baskaran @Nikola Bozovic and @Mike Kraher who are coming to grips with the fact that the Pajero truly is a capable off-roader in the right hands and at the right psi. Well done guys ! Friends @Bala Krishnan and @Santhosh kumar Rajasekaran who both drove well. Unfortunately towards the end the Range Rover decided to act up a bit, and disconnecting the battery a few times did the trick to get it starting again. As the engine was in limp mode most of the time i can imagine it wasn’t easy to try to unleash the full V8 potential. @Sanjay Malik who has been off-roading before felt really at home with the beautiful Land Cruiser, and @Paul Zeitoun took the Dodge Ram to new heights and lows with massive power and beautiful roars on the dunes. Well done ! We had a very capable Wrangler crew with @Aus Alzubaidi @Nihal17 @Luca Bregni but also some serious girlpower with @Sara EL FANIDI and @Kaile Barrameda Glad to see you back in the saddle Sara, you drove with full confidence today ! A big shoutout to @Mukundan Nair who decided to support this drive and was an amazing help to all of us. Thanks buddy ! See you guys and gals soon back in the sand !

Thank you @Desert Dweller for your wonderful report and priceless support during our drive. I totally agree with you of course about your final comments. Along with radio communication, convoy discipline is very important at intermediate level, especially on that kind of tricky terrain. I’d like to thank my amazing supporting team @Tero Vallas, @Craig Finlayson, @Alexander Alcala, @Desert Dweller and all the convoy members @Rizwanm2, @jodha singh shekhawat, @marks, @Nabil Bishara, @Jun Zamora, @Luca Palanca Falsini, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe for making it safely and at a fairly high pace from Shuwaib to Badayer. (Self reminder for future drives : avoid Badayer area before sunset on Fridays during the season. So crowded. Almost unbearable.)

Today was my day bro.. my car broke and is sleeping in the desert... hahaha

Thanks @Foxtrot Oscar for the great fun ride. The lead and routes were great but unfortunately I experienced the radiator hose pop up issue in my car. Due to the pop up, most of the water and coolant got spilled all around the engine. We filled some coolant (wizard Angela pulled a bottle from her magic bag in the trunk) and water which was just enough to take me home eventhough I faced some power losses on the way. And yes @Ale Vallecchi, I got it checked just today, looks like some of that water created a short circuiting in the UNIchip unit which I am getting deinstalled(it was just there when I bought the car) And of course getting the hose replaced with a newer clip. Hopefully that will be all. Once again Thanks to all of you, @Foxtrot Oscar, @Ale Vallecchi, @Rizwanm2, @DANIEL NOGUEIRA, @Malachy McGrogan again for your patience and offers for help. Hope to see you again in another ride.👋

@Chaitanya D I got my XTERRA back from garage after fixing the steering rack leak today morning. I was impatient to try out yours & @Mohamed Seidam advices on the lag in acceleration when cruising @ speeds above 120 kms/hr. Viola the switching off of the OD button on the gear shift worked like magic. The lag is GONE. I understood what was happening before and the reason for the lag. Once you cross the speedlimit for the OD the gear shifts into overdrive but when you want to accelerate more the gear shifts to the 4th and it takes 2 or 3 seconds for this process. If the OD is switched off the car has no need to shift gears and speed up and its instantaneous. I believe it will cut the km/liter of petrol and as I run it regularly its not economical on highways. Surely in my next drive in carnity it will be switched off as who cares about gas mileage when you are enjoying and I believe it will be safe also as lag in acceleration is eliminated which is very crucial. Thanks everyone for the very valuable advice.

Whoa! @Wrangeld 😀 that is a very lucid, well thought off and scientific explanation 🤣 With that, I don’t foresee any Xterras anytime soon in my future 😜

Thanks a lot @Foxtrot Oscar Angela for the very pleasant lead: great choice of tracks, very smooth ride, and well managed, reassuring, handling of the situation we encountered with the cars. BTW @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ, let us know what was the problem with your car, hoping it was just a temporary issue.

Dear All , I want to thanks to everybody especially Shivkumar being really good chief , and other friends being very supportive in my first drive . I was very surprised how event organized , handled and completed. Hope to see you soon thanks and regards Baris

Ya’ll should buy Japanese cars; much more reliable 😜

Haha, I had assumed so but thank you for letting me know. I hope its nothing too serious and I see you and your son next week.

Thank you @Frederic for this encouragement. The team was fantastic this morning. Indeed it was a very full morning including driving and manual work! 😂I think we will be ready next year for the Dakar or the Camel Trophy.😉👍 Thank you to everyone who helped me get the Discovery out of a tricky section.🙏👍 See you next time !

Never question the ability of your car. You will see other Carnity members on your drive very soon driving that exact same car and taking it anywhere. Enjoy every drive and focus on keeping the pressure at 13-14 psi throughout the drive. See you soon !

Thank you Fred and Mukundan for the drive today, really enjoyed it and enjoyed the socializing during the stops, really a nice group today. Got to still better understand my Ram, amazing on large surface no matter how high the dune, but gets very tricky in tiny spaces 🙃🙃 Video to follow

@Veedooshee, @Ashok chaturvedi @Nivin @Francois Germishuys @Shaaz Sha @Mehmet Volga @Abu Muhammad @Ahab Shamaa Posted some pictures in the gallery

Hi everyone, Good day ahead!! Thank you guys ☺️ for a perfect morning fewbie plus drive. Thank you @Jeepie for a great lead and selection of terrains and @Veedooshee for the second lead. The drive was a perfect combination of ridge rides, small dunes and technical dunes. It was a pleasure to drive with a great convoy today...with two roaring monsters @Abu Muhammadand @Francois Germishuys and our cool CF @Nivin and sweep @Mehmet Volga and of course @Ahab Shamaa with his extreamly extream FJ behind me. I think me , @Ahab Shamaa and @Mehmet Volga had all the real fun today being at the tail end of the convoy. It was nice to see @Abu Muhammad @Nivinand @Francois Germishuys moving and at times felt like @Nivinrunning for his life like a small fish in between two sharks. Me and my little monster were looking for patches to get away from the sand churned up by @Abu Muhammad beast. And finally at the RISE & SHINE time we all had enough time to evaluate our selves conquering the heights. It was nice to see @Ashok chaturvedi charging to the top with his pajero (for which he had doubted the capability of the car in first attempt 🤪)All together I believe we all had a clean great drive ..even though we had few refusals and stucks which is a part of this great sport. Thank you all once again and catch up soon in the Sands. Keep cool👍👍

It was a shame that we were only nine cars, or was it? Because we ended up with a very strong convoy and less cars also means less people getting into trouble😜 After a bit of a bumpy start with all the green, and both @Nivin and @Mehmet Volga playing with the ropes, trying out all the recovery skills so @Abu Muhammad had to come to the rescue, we managed to drive quite a lot. I took you all to the low and easy ridges near the bottom of Pink Rock to see how you were coping and to gain some confidence, which didn't seem really necessary because everyone was doing great. It was a bit of a shame that there are so many cross tracks everywhere, but I hope the shaking kept you alert. Finding our way around Pink Rock and finding a lot more ridges with @Veedooshee keeping enough distance to be able to reroute where needed and sometimes riding the ridge longer than I could, I felt confident we were all ready to climb some bigger dunes and do a bit of criss crossing. We started with the dune next to Big Red and even there it was completely churned up, but we all got through and up. @Francois Germishuys you helped out others when they were having refusals in a very calm way and I think you did a good job leaving a clean track for the people at the rear us much as possible. I am just sad I didn't manage to get you stuck😝 @Shaaz Sha and @Ahab Shamaa you did very well at the back of the convoy and I am glad we didn't need to use Ahab,s winch. @Ashok chaturvedi were managing well and a stuck with a little bit of shoveling is something that happens to all of us sometimes ( unless your name is Francois) I thought it was very good that you didn't give up and just tried again and succeeded. Well done everyone