Gaurav

Prado pre-2008 are solid as gold and you wont find any low-mileage in 20K. Best are SWB Prado VX 2003 - 2008 Shape, but rare as hen's teeth now, impossible to find clean one. Xterra overall are much better and affordable, stick with GCC to reduce headache, try off-road version if you can, if not its still better better than Pathfinder (slightly underpowered) and 4 door Prado (heavier car) that might need lot of cosmetic arrangement of front and rear bumper trim, 2 inch lift eventually to be a perfect desert toy.

Comprehensive check with Tasjeel is good for 5 years or less old cars tbh. Don't waste money on that instead drive to a "trusted" mechanic and ask them to check all mechanical points properly. Your number 1 goal has to eliminate previously off-road driven xterra so that you can get some usable life out of it. Any sign of sand, bigger tires, snorkel, custom bash plate, off-road lights means mostly they are done with off-road life. Pricing seem steep, but u can double check or wait for others to comment as I'm not well aware of going market rate for Xterra. If you can wait till June, when school finishes and mercury rises, you might find a sweet deal from many ppl leaving country or selling in hotter months, such off-road friendly 4x4 doesn't fetch too much premium in summer. Last but not least, try to aim for off-road version if you can stretch, as if its your off-road toy then you will appreciate that lot more for having better suspension, underbody protection and rear diff-lock. All are very good and needed mods that you will be needing soon within 3-6 months time.

@Mikhail Lukichev please check the homework and advise if I'm missing something.

@Mikhail Lukichev you just read my mind. I rem being a crying baby last time, I was telling myself to prep and refresh some camera basics before hand to not to waste your time. Above list will def help and its time to dig deep on nikon manual. Thanks for the precise list, very helpful.

Hi @Matt.T single drive restriction is off for this long weekend drives.

Congratulations @Miguel Codes 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 Advance 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 And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Russ 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 Advance 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 And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Of course it wont as these are sporting events, they meant. The specific word - dune-bashing - is quite misleading as what they meant is the desert challenge, motocross kind of championship and competition and racing events. Call and ask them if regular desert drives are covered or not.

RSA, AXA, Oman and Tokio are comparitively good insurance provider who cover offroad accidents incl. roll over deep inside the desert. But still before buying you should read that clearly in your policy. 500 meter ref, is not an actual offroad cover.

All Carnity trip leads and support are fully trained to respond to such emergencies. Securing the passenger first, then car recovery along with GPS location, pics and videos for the cops and insurance. Mostly cops check the images and video, but sometime they do visit the area of accident. Once cops report is done, rest is "should be" easy and straight forward with "good" insurance company.

Sri and Chocolate doesn't go well together guys. Just beware.

Momentum was too slow to go that high unlike FJC speed of attack (more linear). Fought gravity without momentum (BIG NO). Left gas just before the flip. Inexperience hand to not to control fishtailing in time. He kept steering full right without having enough momentum when caught up in deep soft sand patch (0:35). Even FJC before had close call, but controlled well by marginally fighting the gravity and then steering it down just in time. Attacking soft sand slip face for the second car has to be done with greater momentum as sand is already broken now. Such super soft sand sideys should be avoided for the second or third car or announce the caution so that second or third car is aware of such higher risk and factor greater use to momentum and/or exit in time. LC is far heavier and underpower than FJC to try similar sidey without factoring the car limitation. Guess: FJC has better off-road AT tires to control the fishtail precisely and LC seems on HT (road) tire.

Hi Anoop, welcome to Carnity off-road club. Please read here and then RSVP the drive

Photography is an art that CAN come from any lenses of a phone, dslr or even potatoes Nokia. Keep it up @Veedooshee your photography art is an awesome and I'm always in love with seeing your photo composition. @Thomas VargheseI have D750 nikon but my majority shots are from samsung note and iPhone, sheer due to convenience and these days phone camera are really not that bad from potatoes Nokia and Ericsson age. Best part is today's phone is so fast that you can capture a moment in 2-3 sec with a phone as oppose to reaching and unziping camera bag and removing lens cover takes 10 secs atleast.

Ace, Speedex and any other offroad shop will have these hitch receiver like this. Just buy the rated one that should be engraved on it like 4+ Ton etc.

Hi @Will Seivewright you can join this Absolute Newbie drive and self-declare your previous experience.

Congratulations @SP kALATH 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 Advance 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 And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Chinthaka Ruwan 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 Advance 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 And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @darren thompson 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 Advance 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 And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Many many happy returns of the day @Srikumar God bless you with a lot of off-roading, good health and a steering pump. Happy Birthday Mr. Crew, have fun and enjoy your day today.

Better to stick to OEM coolant with whatever they advise. You can get Mitsubishi blue or green coolant from Habtoor or other OEM spare parts seller in Sharjah BM road.

Congratulations Angela @Foxtrot Oscar for reaching the Marshal level with Carnity Offroad Club. Angela has Joined Carnity two years back with great enthusiasm and previous off-road experience. Her passion for off-roading, and desire to lead and navigate independent drives with creative flair has been always appreciated by many of her fans in the club. Coming from a car enthusiast family, she has been always helpful and eager to expand her knowledge for extreme recoveries and controlling serious situations impeccably well. She has proven her way to be an all-around capable leader who goes above and beyond to help and develop new off-roaders with utmost care and commitment. She has adapted to the Carnity multi-cultural member base very nicely and become an ace contributor to the development of club and members alike. MARSHAL is one of the most prestigious and sought-after titles that comes after a lot of hard work, patience, tolerance, and dedication. Just like all the levels in Carnity offroad club is "NOT" only based on driving skills but instead based on the combination of your personality + intelligence + team spirit + adventure. This Marshal title is an epitome for all levels in the offroad grading structure. So if anyone wants to grow, they can set any of Carnity Offroad Club Marshal as a PERFECT example for not only following the driving skills and style but also observing their behavior, teamwork, presence of mind, calculative approach, patience, and tolerance to teach and support new offroaders. Carnity Benefits Earn reward and recognition from 1:1 Desert Driving Course Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Full access to Carnity without any paid subscription Join any drive in “Manage” tab even when drive is full Carnity Contribution Committed to drive with Carnity off-road club only Lead/Support drives as per Carnity drive planning Carnity off-road club betterment and advancement Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 20 drives are required for Marshal promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Marshal / Crew feedback.) What you'll learn Trip route planning as per convoy’s response Drive topic and calendar posting and management Deal with different cultures, mind sets and nationalities Explore new areas and conduct recce trips independently Basic car technical and electronic management skills Skills required Humble, approachable and social person Matured, pro-active, calm and composed Mentor-ship skills to train off roaders at all levels Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, tool box, tie-down straps, fluids. Drive teamwork Lead ALL LEVEL drives independently Assign and manage second lead, center forward and sweep Support and supervise senior offroaders at all levels Drive Joining All Levels Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive