Gaurav

I agree Rahimdad on steering left and right being less effective on rear wheel drive cars, but majority of sedan cars are FWD and only handful are RWD, specially like sports or high end models. I written these steps to help everyone around and not only specific to Mustang case. Btw, super worst case scenario I didnt mentioned as it need specialize eye and patience, to tie the tow rope on axle and loop as a bridle. Its too tiring but sure shot way to recover with gentle pulls and not just one tug.

I use gopro for a long time, for best results use protune option, with narrow lens setting as normal or wide is quite balloonish on edges. I use original gopro mount on center dashboard, pretty impressed with mount quality for extreme offroad actions. Ordered a bag full sticker adapter and stuck on many places so that I can toggle gopro with mount to any position I need. I have seen good views from center windscreen just below rear view mirror on my friends car, but that place is bit distracting for me while leading drives, especially at night.

As DD mentioned most cars (if not all) has front and/or back screw in tow point covered in bumper color plastic to conceal the hole. Use the key or flat head screw driver to open the hole. Like below: If you still couldnt find it or owner didnt had that screw-in hook, then you can clear such situation in less than 10 minutes. Ask all by standers to clear sand under the chassis with hand, feet, or wooden pieces. Go back to your car, bring your shovel, reach under body and wiggle the sand away. Sit on driver seat and turn steering 5 times FULL left and 5 times FULL right. Step out to check if all 4 tires are touching ground and chassis is free. If no, go back to step 2&3. If yes give gentle gas (1500 rpm) in D and in reverse to see if car is moving in any direction. Even if car moves an inch, keep on moving the car front and back at 1500 rpm to make a flat path. Every time you move back and forth you will gain few inches and that's what we want. If further down there is more sand, use bystander to walk on it to flatten that track. Once car is moving 10-12 feet in one direction of its own, pull back completely, start gently to move the car, once car is in motion and crossed 7-8 feet give 3000 rpm gas with quick left and right turn to escape from sandy patch. Try to escape from the side where car just entered as that path must be already flat or easier to go back. You can even use bystanders to push the car, if you are too close to escape. 4-5 people is enough to push the car out completely.

Driving off-road is a very interesting and entertaining experience but there are a few basic things you need to check first before heading for your first off-road drive with Carnity Off-road Club. Every driver should know when to join for an offroad drive and when to pass until all below things are checked. VEHICLE Ground clearance: Minimum 8 inches under front and rear bumper is must. You will need to be careful while driving and slow down while descent and approach to avoid any minor bumper damage. If your 4x4 have EAS (electronic suspension), lift it to the max height and then measure it. Also read the manual to know what is the max speed you can drive with off-road height, as many manufacturer limit up to 60 Kmph with off-road height, which is plenty in most cases. Knowing that limit is better in case you go above that speed, so you can lift it again once you slow down. Tow hook: Your 4x4 should have at least 1 tow hook in the front and 1 tow hook at the back, more the better. Also you should check the integrity of all tow hooks and its appearance, if they are shaking or rusted or missing a bolt, then get them fixed before joining any off-road drive. Engine: Your engine should be in perfect working condition without any check engine light or any warning lights on dashboard or leaking oil or coolant. Engine takes more stress while off-roading so well serviced 4x4 performs better on off-road. If you recently bought the car and have no idea of last service, then it's highly advisable to get the engine service before your first off-road drive. Gear / Transmission: Your 4x4 should have 4L and 4H gearing option. AWD or SUV without LO/HI gearing option are not advisable for sand off-roading. Suspension: Your 4x4 vehicle suspension should be in reasonable and drivable condition. You can drive with stock suspension perfectly fine and then you can decide to modify it, if really needed. Any suspension lifted up to 2-3 inches are accepted, anything above 3 inches lift need trip leader approval before joining any drive to make sure if you have widened the wheelbase to lower the center of gravity in an orderly manner. Tires: Your 4x4 tires should be in good condition with enough tread and more than half life left. Tires nearing their end usually fail while off-roading, so check for date of manufacturing shouldn't be more than 3-4 years. No visible cuts or lost tread chunks or cracking sidewall should be there. Fuel Tank: You should always join the off-road drive with full fuel tank, as all vehicles consume double or triple the amount of fuel while off-roading. You don't need to change the fuel type from special to super for off-road purpose, continue with your fuel type as per manufacturers recommendation. Sign up: Once you have checked all these above points then RSVP the drive calendar and post an introductory message on the drive post - sharing your 4x4 details, previous off-road experience (if any), so that trip lead can acknowledge and plan the drive accordingly. OFF-ROAD GEAR You don't need any off-road gear or recovery gears for your first off-road drive, but if you have a shovel, flag and a radio (walkie talkie) then please carry it with you. Rest all the off-road gears and recovery tools will be shown to you once you attend the briefing and you can read more about them here: https://carnity.com/advice/offroad/most-comprehensive-list-of-off-road-gears-and-recovery-tools-r81 OFF-ROAD DRIVE Always wear long pants and closed shoes (no slippers) to avoid any injury or sun burn. Carry hat/cap/scarf, in case you need to spend long time under the sun. Carry plenty of water and soft drinks of your choice to keep you hydrated. Carry your camera mounts if you like to record the drive (no hand held). No carrying or consumption of any type of alcoholic drinks on the drive.

From all the thousand words of trip report, u just pick on 8 words. Means someone was really hurt......!

Well done @Javier M for your first lead and from the video it definitely look an awesome drive you guys had. Looking forward to drive behind you soon for a new taste of lead. @Shamil love your video and editing skills, you are getting better and better with these drive videos. keep it up.

@Wrangeld your writing skills are truly exceptional and more importantly emphasizing on the learning while you learn is the key take away for all aspiring off-roaders. When seniors share their lessons or write a tons of valuable information it might get lost/ignored by newbie, but when another new off-roader share such information as an experience it will truly embed in their mind for a long time. Off-roading is an amazing motor sport/hobby here in UAE but many people underestimate its risk and associate danger involve as they only see offroading as 4x4 splashing sand without any disclaimer. Very well written trip report and nice way to convey the core message. Looking forward to drive with you soon.

Jeep Wrangler eTorque 4Xe - 48 Volt Mild Hybrid with 2.0L 4cyl. Turbo Aren't we going back in times by 10 years when all car manufacturers were launching hybrid and then changed to all-electric and now going back to hybrid again, next stop all-petrol......? What do you guys think?

Welcome @Lucky sAm and @Gijo Javob to Carnity and it's off-road club. For tomorrow drive, just follow Srikumar (trip lead) advise above.

Cloud forecast seem dicey and so as today its filled with broken clouds everywhere.

Welcome @Rizwanm2

Welcome @Vanessa8580

Are we there yet.....? Are we there yet.....?

Restoring or keeping any old car alive require lot of patience, taste, money, free time and resourceful thinking.

What a fantastic new year celebration and great turn out from amazing folks we had last night. I started little early and saw @sertac reached the meeting before anyone, so we both went to the new year spot to secure it by unloading all our stuff and asking our wives and kiddos to stay there until we get everyone from the meeting point. Except Adil and Roshan everyone showed up on time and we started from the meeting point after a quick brief to drive with inflated tires. Thanks @sertac and @Rahimdad for following the request of bringing the firewood but we wouldn't be able to run whole night bonfire with just two people firewood contribution. So we all decided to send one guy for the most difficult task on NYE to buy a firewood. On 31 Dec daytime itself, all firewood runs out so hoping to get something at night would be a difficult task. Thanks to @Shamil for accepting to take this challenging responsibility and hopping on several places until he found last 3 bags of firewood. Shamil seems like a man who doesn't accept - NO for an answer, well done buddy for saving everyone's new year with warmth and happy moments. Everyone brought the great food and amazing selection of drinks that keep on circulating through out the night and we all thoroughly enjoyed the music and live karaoke session by all of us. Even my 5 y/o sang Christmas songs twice. After the new year start @Shamil playing on guitar was a star attraction as when we all got tired and sat next to the bonfire and Shamil kept playing guitar for beautiful old songs that we all have grown up with. It was a very good walk down to memory lane, to remind us about our school and college beautiful days on the first day of new year. Thanks @tjsingh, @Roshy, @Sri, @Rahimdad, @Shamil and @sertac for wonderful time. Have a happy and blessed new year.

Im in for a star gazing night, if anyone wanna join, lets post an event.

Nice work Fred, Im sure many must have missed it