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Drive RSVP is now closed. Convoy order below. Please go through the tutorial videos and make sure your cars front and rear tow hooks are in order. Hope all of you also have the required gear for the Newbie level drives. No gear = no drive. See you all tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM sharp and we will be using Radio channel 1, 446 006. 25. If you need to contact me in case of an emergency, my number is O52 6771O76. @Emanuel @Haitham Khattab @Juzer Gandhi @Luiz Nóbrega @Eli Zandro Hamoy @Suresh K @Dimitrios Kalogirou @Alfred Alinazar @Azeem M @Rajat Verma @Abdul Basit Khan @jeetu sharma @Sharat Nambiar @Vanessa8580

An amazing area and great drive, thank you @Gaurav It started as a foggy morning on my way to Al Qua'a, but by sunrise time it had cleared. We all arrived at the meeting point, fueled the cars and set off to what promised to be a fantastic area to explore and play. It was a long day, but worth every second of it. @Gaurav, @Ilya, @varunmehndiratta, @Ahab Shamaa, and @Rizwanm2 it was a pleasure to drive with you and hope to see you soon.

@Rob S I agree. It enhances your approach angle and also offers your front tyre more space since it rubs against your mud guard at times, allowing your tyres to rotate freely. @Asadanother issue with metal or aluminum bumpers is that when they are involved in an accident insurance will not cover them because they are illegal. Plastic bumpers, on the other hand, are designed in such a way that pedestrian collisions are not as fatal,my front skirting survived the Liwa Drive, but I saw it on another car split into two pieces and decided to replace it🙂, sharing below and after images

Dear desert wanderers, @Mohamad Anwer @Trekado @Ahmad Shaker @Ben84 @Joji varghese @Vaibhav @Junaid120120 @Waqas Parvez @Rsjiv Samuel @topgear @Davie Chase @MMansoor @imranaasghar81, excited and happy to have all in the drive including first drive WL. Apologies @Daniel Yang, extended the drive more than usually allowed. At least you are joining another drive over the weekend. Added the first drive WL hoping every one will perform well. We will be using channel 3, and will have the support of @Mohamad Anwer @Junaid120120 and @imranaasghar81. Hope the support team will not have to do much shoveling and tugging. Depending on the convoy performance, and if all perform good, will try to have a session of E & D, hoping every one will like. Badayer area is very nice and most of off-roaders like to visit and enjoy. Below the convoy order, and for any emergency, you can reach me on 0506318834. Look forward to see you guys in sand tomorrow morning, fresh relaxed and ready for fun.

Dear @JeromeFJ @Amir Amiri @Humayun Ghias @Pacific @Looper @Matt.T @Sunil Mathew @Ranjan Das @Ashok chaturvedi Pre-drive details below: 1- Please be on time and bring all your passion for off-roading and pull as much as you can of yourself out of bed.. trust me you will need all of it. 2- Be at the meeting point by 7:00am (or before) and be ready to move max by 7:15max (deflated, flag erected, 4H on, radio on and set, airbags/traction/abs all set....) 3- Please ensure your programable radio is on, fully charged and set to Channel 4 (446,081) 4- Briefing will be done on on the sand before we start moving 5- Please be prepared for a demanding drive which you will require your undivided attention. Bringing passengers is ok provided they will not be a cause for distraction and don't have known motion sickness or fear of heights. 6- Please ensure everything in the car is tied down and no moving objects 7- Please check all oils, tow hooks, and ensure no hanging parts below the chassis. 8- please ensure you come with a full tank (as much as possible) in addition to all necessary gear for this drive level specially your safety flag and radio (NO FLAG or RADIO = NO DRIVE) 9- Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/jtZXG4XXN56exRBU6 10- Convoy Order:

Hi all, Been a few conversations across various threads and on the drives so thought I would write a dedicated post and encourage others to share their photos also. In my personal opinion, the front bumper skirts need to be removed straight after your absolute newbie. While some have got through Newbie levels without issues, myself and others have not! For front bumper cut, I did after some research and understanding that this was the most susceptible area for damage if approaching or coming down at angles other than "straight ahead". I did this ready for Fewbie and it gave me great confidence and removed any damage worry from my mind. Note: to cover the holes, I suggest to go shopping on amazon and search "bumper retainer clips" and take your pick! Alternatively, find me on a drive, I've got loads now 🤣 Mine is GXR/VXR Prado 150 2014-2017 model year Below is the "Before Removal" Here is the "After removal" For Bumper Cutting, below are some photos

Yes, to ensure max protection to the SWB minnows in the middle

Before and after pics attached. I stayed modest compared to Rob. I had the spoilers (already cracked the rear) removed and installed a bash-plate the problem with the adventure model Prado are these spoilers and the holes they leave behind when you remove them. Mine is plugged and looks like a Dalmatian but I can live with it. Still cracked my bumper at the fro t though, so cutting at some point will be inevitable.

Hi @Waqas Parvez, your mod looks super nice, I'm researching to do similar or replace the bumper for fibre one. Metal look nice but apparently one would need to pull it of every year to get trough inspection. Besides we do not have kangaroos here ... I have a 2021 Prado Adventure (with additional lips/spoiler below bumpers - even lower then without). Would you mind sharing where did you get skid plate and bumper trim? My whatsapp is +971525086821. Thanks.

RSVP is now closed. I welcome @KKIRAN, @Tom V, @Mark D, @Jona, @Imteeaz, @Tareq Al Turq, @Mo., @Simon Dawood, @Osama M and @Sudhanva Sonawane to this drive. We will be using carnity radio channel #2 (44603125). The convoy positions are as in below. See you all in the sand.

First drive to see so many FJ’s

Oh yeah, it will be fun tomorrow thanks @Hisham Masaad

It all depend on performance @imranaasghar81, otherwise will be always on 50mm above sea level 😅

@Ranjan Dasabsolutly.. It was long time back that I managed to be number one in the list and yelled with the pleasure of a conquer.😁

Well done @Rob S for sharing the details to help others. Maybe you can spray paint the clips to match white, just a thought. Unless you like the looks of having 13 parking sensors in front, lol.

Thanks for starting this thread @Rob S. You are right, bumper trim is probably the most viable and cost effective solution to improve Prado's approach angle. Worthwhile to mention few options for custom bumpers that i came across during my search but most of those designs were for metal bumpers. Not only are they expensive, they add quite a bit of weight to the nose whereas the idea for dune bashing is to keep the car as light as possible. So from a cost - benefit point, I found this option is more about the looks of the car than actual need on the drive. They also become an issue for RTA passing. The other option is to get a custom fiber bumper. Found a guy in Sharjah who does all types of car bumpers. The benefit i found was that it provides a finished look and had provisions to integrate light bars but the idea of improving the approach angle was the same as what a bumper trim would provide. btw I havent been able to decide on any of the above options for now 😂. My front skirting has survived my drives so far.

Thanks @Hisham Masaad

half of the convoy is FJC 😈

@Shaaz Sha confirmed

Hi @Shaaz Sha I removed myself from the drive as i have to work this Sunday, see you next time.

Big dunes Hisham yeah 😬😬😬

@Hisham Masaadas we both are positively waiting to join your the convoy. to have the fun with all of you.

Cmon @Hisham Masaad 2 more to go .. add us .. we wnt disappoint u hahaha right @Rsjiv Samuel

Confirmed !

Confirmed

hi @Shaaz Sha, confirmed

Confirmed @Shaaz Sha

Confirmed

Hello 👋, @Tom B @Vinod Damodaran @ASAD. @Morshedi @Imran Kashif @hugo @Michel Van Woudenberg @Joseph Raju @Issaaand @Andrew McCarthy As we have a long WL, plz confirm your availability before finalizing the convoy order. Thank you guys

you are a life saver for Prado owners @Rob S 😄. Just for reference if you could add some before/ after pictures would be great. I think i have seen the black painted rims somewhere already 😂

Thank you @Mario Cornejo - I hope I join you on a drive soon. Love your SWB 😍

Can see Monday’s 7PM pressure at work @Ashok chaturvedi….. have been there and done that! 😉

@Islam Soliman.. oops sorry..so silly of me. I have removed myself from your AD drive and wish to join tomorrow (It will be my only drive). I hope I get through. Many thanks.

Thanks,i have recently install suspension which gave almost only 0.4inch lift,my standard tyres were 19inch with 265/55 and the rims were 8inch in width, the new ones are 17inch with with 265/65 and rims are 9inch in width,with 0 offsets,after install the rims and tyres i felt significant improvement on road and off road drive.

@munkybizness congratulations, great news!

Hi @Waqas Parvez thats very neat. Looks like you have done the lift also, if so which one did you go with and what offset wheels? Did you get bigger tyres with the wheels as well or are these the stock 265/65s

@Hisham Masaad confirmed

I just noticed that you are already added to the drive.. for further communication, you can use the comment section under the drive post itself. ... Cheers

Hi @hugo There are the known places like Qudra: https://goo.gl/maps/MGTbmawgUkw2cCkz7 https://goo.gl/maps/X8H9YPDYBURMz8Mo8 https://goo.gl/maps/cNAha6wuBTQTEfzH8 Mahafiz area (you can use the pylon track to access): https://goo.gl/maps/GBEn99M9KLZASz2eA Overall i would recommend you join us for drives in the several areas in UAE, and keep your GPS device on (Phone with GaiaGPS app). If you see a nice area that is not too crowded, just save it as a waypoint in your GPS to visit later with friends. Focus on finding something that is not too deep inside the desert (in case you have friends without offroading experience), close to an exit track, and not an area where you would be constantly disturbed by cars zooming around.

Hi all, another post to share what ended up being surprisingly difficult to understand best tyre and wheel sizes for Prado when off-roading. I will not focus on “what tyre is best?” But more what size! Plenty of posts on what tyres are best if you use the search within this forum! It’s also important to note that for sand driving, the aim of reducing tyre pressures is to increase the contact patch once the tyre deflates. There is an article here on Carnity (will try to find link later) that roughly concludes that while the area of this contact patch is important for floatation, the shape is also important and a slightly longer and slimmer contact patch may perform better than a shorter and wider contact patch (this was relevant in my final choice!) Wheel size https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/charts/rim-width-range-and-measuring-rim-width-for-tire-size Almost all advice was to move to 17inch wheels regardless of whether car was fitted with 17’s, 18’s or 19s as standard. I did not research if they very latest models can’t fit 17s so this would be worth checking but I don’t believe it is an issue. 16s will not fit over the brake callipers on majority of models. The rest of the article will be based on the assumption you move to 17inch wheels or keep the current stock 17s if you have! The link above also shows suggested Rim width and tyre size. If you select 265 width tyres, its good point to note that the recommended wheel size 7” to 9” so avoid any extra wide wheels unless you go to wider tyres! Tyre size https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/ Link above is your friend if you want to go into detail. Standard 17 tyre size is 265/65/R17. 285 wide tyres will fit, and there are guides from various Australia sites but do involve lift kits and other adjustments and not convinced these are required for desert driving here in Dubai. (Maybe help to increase ground clearance if you are driving in Wadis often) Two main options suggested for Prado were 265/70R17 and 275/65R17 (and can be fitted without a suspension lift). 275/65 tyres offer a wider footprint (275mm vs 265mm) and increased sidewall height of 7mm (179mm vs 172mm). Due to the additional width, some Prado owners have faced rubbing issues on the body mounts unless the offset of the wheel is changed. 265/70 tyres offer same width footprint (265mm) but a larger increase in sidewall height of 14mm (186mm vs 172mm). With the tyre width not being changed, and only the sidewall height increasing (with the Prado having a large wheel arch gap) i am told and believe there should be no issues. This tyre size is my recommendation based on the fact that larger sidewall gives greater ground clearance but will also deform to create a longer and slimmer contact patch after deflation. Wheel offset Standard Offset for my 2015 Prado is +ve 25. This means the centre of the wheel sits inwards 25mm from the centre of the Hub. Most Off-road wheels offered to me in Dubai were Zero offset. This means that the wheel moves outwards by 25mm. This helps to create a wider stance and in my option makes the car look better! You will find various articles about offset changes, impacts on suspension, wear and tear of components and scrub radius so will leave you to come to your own conclusions here. So what did I do . . . . ? I settled on keeping my standard 17” wheels with 7.5” width and went with 265/70R17 tyres, I also opted to add a 30mm spacer (leading to theoretical offset of -ve 5. Overall, I am happy with the changes, I believe the spacers added to better handling with the car feeling more stable on the road. Tyre wise, so far no issue with any rubbing and the car looks a bit more like a proper 4x4 and less like a family wagon.

Hi @Roger Theodoro and @Deepak 11 You are now attending the drive . 1) Can you confirm the 4x4 you will be driving ? 2) Do you have prior off-roading experience ? If so please clarify 3) Does your vehicle have front and back towpoints ? This is mandatory before being eligible to join.

@Islam Soliman I'm sorry I had to leave the drive as an urgent meeting sprang up unexpectedly for 9am tomorrow. Just praying the best wishes of whoever got into your drive will grant me this meeting successful.

morning @Hisham Masaad am confirming

Dear @Brette I’m always equipped to climb the dunes. All set for the drive. 👍 Looking forward for another drive experience and challenges. Waiting for the convoy number.

Hi @Foxtrot Oscar - FYI Hi @Nadeem Ansari i believe you are referring to the Absolute Newbie drive being led by @Foxtrot Oscar on sunday. link for the same is as below. You can go to link o and RSVP or (in case RSVP is full) waitlist yourself for the drive. Cheers

Spacers exist in 2 inch (5 centimeters).

It was my first Fewbie drive and was full of technical challenges and loads of new learnings.. thank you @Islam Soliman for this wonderful drive !! thank you @Vanessa8580@Alexanderrr @Charlie for the support! The photos are uploaded in the gallery.

I purchased mine secondhand, but there are plenty offroad shops or even online webshops where you can order them.