Leaderboard

Excellent convoy lead by @Islam Soliman and beautifully performed by all fellow drivers . @Zixuan Huang - Charlie brilliant second lead . @Adhir Saxena, @JeromeFJ @Looperand @Sunil Mathew thank you all for this lovely day started and ended with technical without a sweat sparing that for the multiple shovels and tugs in between which run fantastic and quick. Thank you @Islam Soliman for this amazing ride it has been a pleasure 🙏👍 stay tuned for later pict and clips best day cheers 🙏👍

Good evening all, Thank you all for joining the drive. We had a great convoy that allowed us to do almost 60 km through a fairly technical terrain. We had few stucks and refusals, and in most of the cases self recoveries and shoveling worked👌. Many thanks to @Nivin & @Russ for handling the recoveries. @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil did a good job as SL with quick response, and always kept good distance from my car. Also kudos to your rope recovery. @Sunil Mathew was fantastic with his radio communication, always kept a close eye on the cars behind. 👍 @JeromeFJ is an experienced FB+ member. Thus was put at number 4 to support Sunil & Chinthaka. Thanks for your support. @Chinthaka Ruwan had no difficulty driving at number 5. Well done @Pacific good to see you reunite with your wrangler after 2 months break. Had a scary moment while criss-crossing a dune, but immediately you were able to maneuver out. @Russ drove exceptionally well without any stuck or refusals. Supported in recoveries and swept the convoy. Here's the stats from the drive

Thanks a lot @Islam Soliman for this beautiful drive this morning ! as usual, excellent choice of itinerary, and today really, it was a full menu, with the technical starter and dessert, and the mains of long dunes side and ridge riding. in addition, lot of opportunities to learn and exercise during the recoveries. Thank you @M.Seidam for the support and all the convoy for the teamwork !

I drove on same tack for the fist time with Fred two weeks back and it was effortless with zero refusals Thanks @Lakshmi Narasimhan @Frederic @Rizwanm2 for being patient and showing continued support wasn't aware same track at night could be game changing, I guess my only hesitation was to cross the tip of the dune due to darkness i seemed blind folded, also fear of hard landing post crossing the tip and kids getting motion sickness at the back seat added up to hesitation

Thank you @Frederic for a perfect night drive. it was short convoy and we had maximum fun. Except @Farook Veettil everybody was on time at the meeting point deflated and flagged. after long time we had our drive brief on ground with social distance and we were out in the desert by 8.10 PM. about 45 mins into the drive we heard some scattered voice over the radio calling for fredric, strange enough it was not any one from our convoy. Then only I figured out the ghost who calling for Fredric was farook who arrived at the meeting point late. Sorry mate you might have mixed up with the timing hence arrived late. we covered almost 50 km in pitch-black desert covering some technical dunes and long hill climbs including Faya. @Lakshmi Narasimhan it was nice meeting you for the first time and needless to say, you were perfect behind Fredric as second lead of the convoy. Behind Lakshmi was @Savio Fernandes in his Y62 patrol, you did great considering its your first night drive. There were couple of stuck mostly when crossing the dunes, you ended up in crested position. i understand it is scary sometimes to cross a dune with enough speed especially when its dark and you cant see anything. We all been there once, hence don’t worry you will master it in no time. @munkybizness you did great behind savio, I see lot of improvements in your driving compared to previous night drive I had with you. Also thank you very much for your support in recoveries. Hope i didn't blind you this time since you had your sunglasses on 😎 ... Have a nice weekend guys, hope to see you all soon.

Searching for Water - Drive Report "We can't help being thirsty, walking toward the voice of water" - Rumi Water must be in high demand during this hot and dry summer, as what was expected to be a 12 car convoy, driving around Qudra "Searching for Water", eventually became a 26 car affair. First and foremost, thank you very much @Gaurav, for taking the lead of the second half of the convoy, which made it possible to open the drive to all the many and enthusiastic waitlisted members. It was a pleasure to see @kiranshinde, @Joji varghese, @Savio Fernandes, @Adam James, @Damien Ranjit, @Gilbert Khalil, @Naim Aoun, @munkybizness, @Hilal Sharafudeen, @Richard Franks, @topgear and @varunmehndiratta, and I hope you enjoyed the drive as much as I did. As planned, we launched the drive along the bike track, cutting across central Qudra, exploring first the long range white dunes between the bike track and the pylons, where a great deal of slip faces end on flat surfaces, studded with mud rock formations, remnants of old sedimentary deposits of silt and clay, and testimony of a relatively recent past when surface water was available in this area. Water can still be found at 3 different locations, just north of the bike track: one is a natural set of fresh water pools, fed by a spring just above, the other is a small stream originating from the sand just below a tall dune, and the third is a the "famous" man made crescent shape lake that has recently seen headlines in the local press. North-west of here, just beyond a set of tall dunes and deep sand bowls, and past an area of technical dunes, the presence of water can first be guessed by the presence of numerous trees, feeding themselves with subterranean humidity, and then it becomes manifest with the appearance of a large lake, surrounded by a palm tree plantation. From here on, the terrain is made of the well known and navigated northern Qudra long range dunes, where the 2 more small bodies of water that we found, also in their still natural state, are the preview of the much bigger and landscaped Qudra Lakes. In all we managed to find and drive by 7 lakes or springs, and at the same time managed to quench our thirst for desert driving and exploration. A very well executed drive by all members. @Zixuan Huang - Charlie at SL, @Islam Soliman at CF and @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ executed with precision and care their respective roles, providing an extra feeling of safety and control to a relatively inexperienced convoy. @Mahesh Khatry, @Alexanderrr, @Nibu Venu, @Ferl Brown, @Tom V, @Pieter Potgieter, @Ajit John, @Ramandbx and @Rsjiv Samuel, all drove very well and smoothly, certainly exceeding my expectations, responding with ease to the increased level of difficulty that the drive presented, especially toward the end. The couple of stucks and refusals that occurred in the final part of the itinerary, were likely the product of fatigue and loss of concentration, which is understandable considering the length of the drive. We ended up covering 63.3 Km, in 3:59 hours (including two long stops for briefing and relaxation), at the fast average moving speed of 28 Km/h (16 Km/h total). Thank you all again, from both convoys, for joining our search for water in Qudra's desert. See you all soon out there.

Congratulations @munkybizness Enjoy your drives

congrats @S Jacob

Offroading in the UAE desert requires you to deflate your tires. If you are lucky to be exiting nearby a petrol station, you can make use of their compressor to inflate your tires before going back on the tarmac, but that is not always an option. For that reason, having your own compressor will be a necessity and this should be a piece of your off-road kit that you know won't leave you stranded. Depending on the size of your tires, or the type of compressor you are using, inflating can be a task that will take you anywhere between 2-4 minutes and sometimes up to 25minutes. With the hot blazing sun shining down on us most of the time, we want to get this job done as quickly as possible. In below article we will be going through some of the technical issues related to using a compressor, and what to look out for when purchasing one. Hot, Hotter, Hottest The main problem with all compressors is that they run hot. The friction that occurs when air molecules are squeezed together generates heat. This heat can be felt at the piston head, but also on the hose itself. That is also the reason why most compressors have cooling fins and a piece of metal pipe at the outlet to allow the heat to dissipate and to avoid the hose from getting too hot. You should always be careful in handling a compressor after inflation, as it might burn your hands. It is normal for parts of the air compressor to get hot sometimes, especially if you are running the compressor for an extended period or if it is particularly hot outside. The best thing is to keep the compressor in the shade, run it for a limited amount of time, and not to exceed the duty cycle that is mentioned in the technical details. What to look after when buying a compressor ? 1) Warranty. A premium brand should provide 4-5 years warranty which will make the higher price worthwhile. This is hard to find nowadays. 2) Output in liters per minute (lpm). The more the better of course. Everything from 50lpm upwards should be fine. Some will show a rating in cfm (cubic feet per minute). 2.3 cfm = 65lpm. Unfortunately these values are not always very accurate, as manufacturers can put whatever they want on the box, and on top of that, some manufacturers will give a flow rate at 0psi (free air delivery), while others will give the flowrate at 40psi (which is quite demanding for the compressor). 3) Duty Cycle: Air compressors heat up when running so most have a limited consistent output before they need to stop and cool off. This run time in-between cycles is called a duty cycle. Manufacturers typically represent run time with a number, such as “20”, which means you can run the compressor for 20 minutes every hour. sometimes they show a percentage. 20 minutes would indicate a 33% duty cycle. Keep this in mind when you are using the compressor every week. Avoid exceeding the duty cycle time as in a short period of time it would overheat / destroy the compressor. 4) Quality of the coiled hose, pressure gauge, and clip-on chuck. 5) Automatic pressure shut-off function. This makes the compressor stop automatically when you are not engaging the trigger. 6) inline fuse and thermal overload protection. Will come standard with premium models. Below a typical specs example of a Bushranger Black Max: Duty cycle is 30 minutes @40psi at 24°C ambient temperature. Obviously the ambient temperature will be much higher for us here in the UAE, so you will need to take that into account. Keep the compressor in the shade while using (or even on the inside of the car if possible) and keep your engine running. These compressors are rated to work most efficiently at 13.8 Volts, so your alternator should be running. Below i will be going through most of the brands we have encountered in the club, and how we can rate them: Premium Brands (****) Brands like ARB, Bushranger, TJM, Dobinsons, and Mean Mother, are the most famous premium brands that will be providing a quality unit that should last years. ARB and Bushranger/Viair have the advantage that you will find spare parts for them, so if you are interested and savvy, you can rebuild your compressor later on. Price range of these compressor is from 750 AED upwards up to 2500+AED. The main reason why they cost more is due to the quality of materials used, higher duty cycle of their compressor, and of course marketing as well. ARB ARB has the single cylinder unit for about 1000AED, while its big brother will be around 2,700AED. They have by far the best quality of hoses and gauges. MeanMother The Mean Mother Adventurer is the only brand/model we know of in the UAE that offers 5year warranty, hence this model has become very popular in our off-roading community. You will find the Adventurer III model for around 750AED (150lpm), but now there is also the Adventurer IV which is having slightly better performance (180lpm) and costs about 999AED. We have heard about a few models failing but were replaced within warranty. Bushranger / Viair Bushranger/Viair has a range of different models with output ratings from 52lpm up to 72lpm. (Black Max for 800AED and Max Air III for 1120AED). The Max Air III has an automatic pressure shut-off. Their compressors are extremely reliable, but i have never been impressed with their yellow plastic coiled hoses and clip-on, except for the black hoses they use on the old SuperMax and the newer Max Air III model. Their smallest model (RV Air for 599AED) is the minimum in terms of output flow (52lpm) and will take quite some time to inflate your tires, but should work fine. Dobinsons Dobinsons have the Zenith model (170 lpm) that is being sold for 999AED. Quality looks top notch with good set of accessories and backed by a premium quality brand. Midrange Brands (***) Golden Camel The "Golden Camel" brand with its red compressors, sold in single cylinder and double cylinder models are fantastic performers for the price (200 AED for the single big cylinder 160lpm, and 280AED for the double cylinder compressor (300 lpm). Yes the hoses break, the electrics fail sometimes, and it won't be the most reliable compressor, but for that price it's worth a try if you want it. You will find the hoses also separarely in DM, and if you are a bit handy with a soldering gun you might make an attempt to replace the switches or solder a wire back on. They now even have a mighty big 4-cylinder unit, but we have not been able to get feedback of these units for a longer period of time in use. The problem nowadays is that you have even "fake" Golden Camel compressors, who look 100% identical, but their quality is even more of a question mark. I recently bought one and it started overheating and shutting off after only two tyres. The vibration coming from the compressor makes me wonder about the tolerances used in the manufacturing process. On the other hand i also have a single cylinder Golden Camel that has been going strong for 3 years now and never failed. Vitaly Vitaly is a brand that basically re-labels these Chinese compressors and sells them at a higher price in hardware stores like ACE and Speedex. Again they are a bit of a gamble and the only advantage you will have is you will get at least 1year warranty through these stores. T-Max These compressors are looking very similar to the DM Single big cylinder compressors and the Mean Mother Adventurer. There is a smaller 72lpm unit and a big 150lpm unit. Prices are similar to Vitaly, and T-Max seems to be a reputable Australian brand, so perhaps the build quality will be a slight notch above the DM compressors. Volcano I recently stumbled upon this brand via a shop in Ajman. They are manufactured in Taiwan and the K100 twin cylinder model costs about 350AED, is very small, and serves great as backup compressor (flow rate of 60lpm). Their biggest compressor model is the B850 which is being sold for about 650AED. Have seen them on sale in DM as well. They come in a sturdy box, with decent hose (like the Bushranger top model) and have a pressure gauge with automatic cut-off. Flow rate is 98lpm. Brands/ Models to avoid: -The smaller "Golden Camel" Compressor. Absolutely worthless. Also sold under the "X-Cessories" brand name. -Mini compressors to connect to the cigarette lighter: Will last only a few drives. Not made to inflate weekly from 15 to 35psi, unless you want to wait for 25mins or longer. Will overheat easily because of this. These are made for sedans and bicycles. The Black and Decker and Michelin models seem to work better, but it will take you upwards of 25 minutes to inflate your tires. If you happen to have one of those, i strongly recommend to only inflate to about 25psi you can then drive to the nearest petrol station and use their compressor. If you are in the market of buying a new compressor, i hope this article can shed some light and useful information that will guide you in the right direction. As you can clearly see, inflating tyres on a 4x4 in the summer heat requires a big powerful compressor that can quickly inflate your tyres before overheating or shutting down.

Congratulations @Nafiz 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 Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Basic side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity 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 Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @S Jacob 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 Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Basic side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity 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 Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

@Niki I did consider making MM as the onboard setup but was informed by the dealer that the 5 years warranty will be revoked if I do that. They will honour the warranty period as long as it remain a portable unit. I will think about it since MM should be able to re-sell easily, as you said, due to the long warranty period.

Thanks to @Anish S and @Wrangeldfor a nice drive yesterday. The fine red sands of Nazwa and the elevation changes throughout the drive was lovely. There are some pics in the gallery. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! 😀

Congratulations @munkybizness well done and well deserved

Congratulations @S Jacob

Many thanks @Kailas for the drive this morning. Quite intense with the continuous pace, and the steep ridge crossings. An excellent way to be back on the sand after one month. And also to discover a new area ! Thanks to all the convoy for the attitude and mutual support in the recoveries!

Hi @Islam Soliman, I think u r missing out @Adhir Saxenain the convey list

Thank you @Brette for this morning drive, it was my first newbie drive after several fewbie ones, and still I learned several tricks from you specially as it was my first time as 2nd lead. @Tbone thank you for the support during this trip. Some photos are added to the gallery in addition to these videos captured from the top of Pink Rock. @Daniel Yang @Gilbert Khalil @Jason Grima @Joji varghese @Michael Glavanis @Nafiz @Peter Hager @Ramandbx @Rsjiv Samuel

Thanks @Kailas for the excellent drive today…it was a crisis crossing feast!!! lost control on couple of crossings with some refusals too. Had my share of learning experiences. there was some confusion regarding the radio frequencies as many of us were on the old channel 5 - 462.887 while some were on the new one 446.106. https://carnity.com/forums/topic/16442-updated-carnity-radio-frequencies?tab=comments#comment-89131 better we all tune into these new ones excellent support from @Nivin and @Russ, helping out with recoveries.

Dear Desertnauts, I'll fill you in on tomorrow's PM drive in the same way I'd like to manage our long trek: fast !! Meeting point - see below, as well as in the drive's post: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JmktsxXrpfie3SgLA WARNING: the meeting point is a bit tricky to find, when following Google Maps. I'll try to explain better. From Qudra's Last Exit, please take the road to Bab al Shams Resort (first right at the Qudra roundabout, coming from Dubai). Upon reaching the first roundabout, take the second exit, to reach this point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oeXzNh6zySDJZ7Hf9 Once passed the bike track, please reach the meeting point by taking a right dirt track through the sabkha, until you reach a construction camp, where I will be parked. In case of need, please text me on +971.522163122. Planned itinerary - entering from northern Qudra and exiting at Murqab (Inshallah) Meeting time - 3:00PM (not later, please, as we are hoping to cover as much ground as possible, racing against the sunset) Convoy Order - as below: @Lakshmi Narasimhan will be in SL @Nihal17 at #3 @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil #4 @Sunil Mathew at #5 @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ will be Center Forward @Chinthaka Ruwan will follow at #7 @Ashok chaturvedi at #8 @Humayun Ghias will be #9 @Russ #10 @Darren Brooke at #11 @Christian Andras will Sweep the convoy. See you tomorrow, at 3:00 PM. Have a great Friday.

As I rack up more "firsts" with Carnity, last night was a double-header with a tight-knit convoy followed by meteor showers behind misplaced clouds. Having done some parts of this track with @Frederic in the morning, seeing it at night brought a completely different view to the experience. For one, at many points in the drive, I was completely oblivious to the elevation we had climbed until we would descend down steep dune walls to realize how high we actually were. There were a few refusals and sticky sand situations but all of them provided new opportunities to learn. On Wednesday, I had boasted about how ready I was for "shoveling duty". The universe was listening, intently Thank you @Rizwanm2 for being such a tour de force as sweep. But thank you mostly for teaching me how to connect ropes and shackles to recovery points, where & how to shovel, and most importantly giving me the right guidance when I had refusals. @Lakshmi Narasimhan, you have hands-down the most kitted out Pajero I've ever seen. I think we deserve a forum post "teardown" on just everything you've built and added as you've gone along. I was taking mental notes the entire time. Your chase lights can be used to help planes (or aliens) land in the desert. You riding the ridge out of that bowl was masterclass. @Savio Fernandes - two drives in one day! There were many moments in the drive where you gave me just the right kind of braking warning with dips. It saved my nose on many occasions. The refusals and sticky situations are all part of the experience, and driving at night can be a bit nerve-wracking but you did great. Did those "teenagers" offer you to buy your car too? 😛 And finally, @Frederic thank you for a lovely leisure drive visiting forests, helping aliens find Sharjah, navigating us through exciting terrain, and planting a big fat smile of satisfaction on my face at the end. All of this while meeting two of my favorite people here. The total number cannot be counted on my two hands 🙏

My apologies everyone. Daughter got her GCSE results yesterday and i never got round to checking the group so see if anyone had dropped out and i had been added. Hope you had a great drive See you all soon

Thanks @Gauravand @varunmehndirattafor your fabulous support and guidance, great adventure's experience. Awaiting for next ride... Thank you all team members👍

Mabrook @S Jacob

@munkybizness great going. Congratulations!

Thank you @ShereenMK & @Damien Ranjit!

congrats Sherry.

@Nafiz congrats

Thank you 😊

@munkybiznessCongratulations & Well Done Mayank. Enjoy the new level!

Thank u @Gaurav and @Frederic… Happy and excited to take next step in the journey of learning….

Congrats @Nafiz !

The Golden Camel single cylinder is the one I purchased when started off-roading and later gave it to Vanessa. She’s still using it every week and never broke down. (Fingers crossed). I’m a bit handy so whenever something breaks I’ll tear it apart and make one good compressor out of 3 bad ones 😅