Gaurav

Congratulations @Remco Snoek for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. 

Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank.

Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment.

Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club.

P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear.

Fewbie:

Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels.

Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

5 minutes ago, marks said:

Hi Fred,

i never did my absolute Newbie trip with you guys in the past. I also just asked a friend to join the club and we wanted to go together. would it be possible to join this time?

Absolute Newbie drive does exactly same as newbie, but at much slower and easier track.

If you were fine with newbie drive, then you will enjoy more with newbie level than with Absolute Newbie. We don't have any restriction for this, but recently added these drives to increase the comfort for first timer.

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely.

MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions

MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST

Two Way Radio Guidelines

• Every Offroader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic.
• We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. 
• Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving.
• Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops...
• No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it.

MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING

Drive Details

Level:  Newbie, Absolute Newbie and Above (All Levels)

When:  July 10 2020, Friday.

Meeting time: 5:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point: Mahafiz Tree Shade - https://goo.gl/maps/Yku5BTg4T2pJUbhF9

Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance.

What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 09:00 PM

End Point: ADNOC Station Tayba - https://goo.gl/maps/hejHgLsYf2cxheoU9

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE:

• Limited to 15 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM.
  • 1 Lead Marshal + 2 Senior Members + 12 Members.
  • If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. 
• Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
• Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
• Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others.
• Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month.

PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

Just now, desertdude said:

Then the right course of action is to replace the clutch. Not lock it.

Only if you can shed light to 100% prove whether clutch is culprit or not?

Not that newspaper test or hand movement test, as its one way test, to test its running at half RPM.

I mean how will you make sure its engaging at right thermal point as designed 15 years back and not half an hour later?

54 minutes ago, desertdude said:

A properly working fan is more than enough.

Agree and I never denied that.

Read again my earlier post

3 hours ago, Gaurav said:

Great, while at workshop ask them to do the radiator clutch fan direct as that will help a lot, as in aged cars many times viscose clutch doesn't engage in right time and keep turning fan at half the rpm when engine need better cooling at full rpm (as per actual design of clutch).

A mechanic here will reach to this 500-1000 dhs fan change after changing 20,000 dhs worth of parts,

3 hours ago, Gaurav said:

And this thing is almost impossible to trace by the many mechanic here. 

Thanks for wonderful and detailed trip report @Veedooshee.

You and @VipinShetty really surprised me yesterday as being two new newbies with relatively heavier car failed to get crested in the whole drive, where I was waiting for an excuse to teach Matti and Colin. Of course @Carlos Fernandez being slightly older newbie and with SWB wrangler has no chance of stuck if you two in front are doing so good in flattening all the crest.

Luckily and thankfully you gave all of us that one moment to train and then plenty more to revise it properly, lol.

Everyone drove very nice and hope everyone enjoyed the lead too with a tiny twist of night drive.

Thanks @Gregory Perkin for the responsible second lead.

Thanks @Nacho and @E.C. TAN  for amazing sweep and keep on updating me of the drive progress.

Thanks @Colin Jordan for center forward, you had a very nice questions on tow rope recovery and that's how one should reason out things while learning to understand fully. Your tow rope and shackles are good, let's start putting them to good use now.

Thanks @Matti Brockman for second center forward and plenty of digging and tugging support, please sort your shackles as your rope is perfect. And keep using them more often to advance your learning.

Well done @Ale Vallecchi you finally got the award of "Boring Drives" without any stuck and tow rope. It should probably be the highest award for any trip lead, but we don't recognize that as we love getting stuck to learn new stuff, lolololol.

Really well done Ale, for perfect planning and leading the whole convoy with good pace, excitement and safety.

@J J you are fantastic in giving rightful tribute to Ale with Ale Ale Ale Ale song in your drive video. Very creative. 

I have even gone to the extent of doing a decibel test before and after and it hardly made any noise difference.

@desertdude it's an industry MYTH that you are referring to and I have done my extensive research based on calculations and data before suggesting this.

Viscose clutch fan direct will take max 2-5 hp additional and won't scream or howl as you are mentioning.

I am using direct clutch fan since 5 years, especially for off-road vehicle with older cars - that's the bestest and bomb proof solution to keep borderline 4x4 run cooler.

On the contrary 4x4 will loose tremendous HP if its overheating or "RUNNING WARM" as oppose to less 2-5 HP used by clutch fan.

Bigger tires probably slows down more by adding several kg extra weight on all 4 axles than this clutch fan load.

Offroad tires makes more noise on highway than this fan clutch howling (so called).

I was like you too scared of all these before going this route and I havent "noticed" any big change in noise level or climbing faya from front face, before and after this change.

What you all have gone through yesterday was a part and parcel of the infamous Shuwaib area that start right behind Iftar bowl and spans to few kms with treacherous vast desert. I wont say this area is jinxed as many offroaders of my era use to call it, but this area is well known among offroaders community to test your patience, skills and teamwork. We have had endless incidents and issues in the same area that whenever we step there, we know that we are going to get into some serious action today.

It's very unfortunate of tow hook breaking due to sheer negligence as it broke with gentle tug, that means it has never been checked properly for integrity before. @Srikumar and @Wrangeld every promotion thread has this line, so now it's time to implement firmly and start sending drivers back, who don't understand the importance of acquiring off-road gear as basic as shovel.

Quote

P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear.

@Jeepie heartiest congratulation on successfully completing your first independent drive lead under Marshal supervision and that too in such a tricky terrain plus without any prior navigational research and planning. Really well done.

It is so nice to read that we have so many great contributors and team player than just silent observers who stand up to the occasion to help and support when the need arise. Well done @Kalahari, @Tbone and @Rinelle Sanaani

Great, while at workshop ask them to do the radiator clutch fan direct as that will help a lot, as in aged cars many times viscose clutch doesn't engage in right time and keep turning fan at half the rpm when engine need better cooling at full rpm (as per actual design of clutch). And this thing is almost impossible to trace by the many mechanic here. 

So the 5% extra noise of clutch fan is better than cooking your engine and moreover its your offroad vehicle so better cooling is always advisable to have great performance.

I highly agree with @Barry and @desertdude on not using any stop leak thing in cooling system.

And let same or other mechanic diagnose it 100% about the coolant leak, as in present summer all engine coolant system are working in 200% capacity to keep engine cool and smallest leak can be fatal on your next drive.

So please do not ignore or prolong such maintenance, it might be very pricey if you cook your engine.

Cooling system overheating on tarmac is a sign of overall cooling system inefficiency.

My best guess is probably it has some air pocket as you mentioned recently topped up with new coolant, so probably mechanic didn't bleed the air bubbles out.

You should do this first by yourself. Open the radiator cap when car is completely cold, top up the coolant in radiator if it's low, then start the car and let little bit of coolant overflow from the open radiator cap. This way some air bubbles might escape the cooling system. Ideally less than 5 min with open radiator gap is good enough and then close the cap. And drive for 30 minutes to let jeep reach its ideal temperature and then switch off the car. Let it cool off for an hour or two, do again same exercise for 2 or 3 times until air bubble stop coming out from the open radiator cap.

P.S. If too much coolant comes out as soon you start the car, switch off and show it to mechanic, there is something more serious that need to be checked with "competent" mechanic.

P.S. 2. NEVER EVER open radiator cap when car is hot. Let car sit for an hour or two before opening the radiator cap.

If after this bleeding the coolant system, still car overheat on the tarmac, let us know how high it goes. Ideal Jeep wrangler sits at 200 degrees Fahrenheit = 98.8 degrees Celsius. Little movement (upto 10%) with AC on while slow speed in this peak summer is borderline acceptable,if it shoots beyond 10%, do not drive.

Check without AC while on tarmac if it stays fine then it needs better air circulation and need additional fan. I guess @Wrangeld recently got AUX fan installed, so do the same from any workshop near you. It's the easiest and fastest fix.

Secondly, you can get the viscose clutch fan direct by some turning guy, so it will always run at idle rpm and providing better cooling.

6 hours ago, Colin Jordan said:

Hi @Gaurav

unfortunately i missed the drive this morning, would it be possible to join this drive as i see the rsvp limit has not reached? 

Added your name 

Convoy Numbering

1. Gaurav Khanna - Crew - Silver Pajero
2. Gregory Perkin - Fewbie - Red Wrangler
3. Veedooshee - Newbie - White Pajero
4. VipinShetty - Newbie - Red Grand Cherokee
5. Matti Brockman - Intermediate - Red Wrangler
6. Carlos Fernandez - Newbie - Green Wrangler
7. Nizam Deen - Fewbie - White Prado
8. Colin Jordan - Intermediate - Red Wrangler
9. Jun Zamora - Fewbie - Green Wrangler 
10. Jose Martin - Fewbie - Silver Pajero
11. Nacho - Fewbie - White Wrangler
12. E.C. TAN - Fewbie - Grey Wrangler

2 hours ago, Chaitanya D said:

I am hitting bed soon to get up early morning. Starting early before it heats up is definitely much better than waiting for the overheating cars to cool in the hot sun. Well planned 👍

That's how we drive through out the year and still enjoy desert in the summer when its blazing hot. 

Actually this year got bit late for night and late evening drives due to COVID timings and restrictions.

6 minutes ago, Barry said:

It’s not a limit, it’s a target.

SUPERB.

All absolute newbies driving for the first time with Carnity off-road club, please watch 15 minutes newbie briefing video.

It is mandatory for everyone even if you have previous off-road experience.

Trip lead will verify by asking questions from the briefing, so please watch it in advance than watching it on deflation point and making the whole convoy wait.

@Biju Abdul @Adam Koster @Islam Soliman @Anam Fatima @Ahmed Farghaly @Edgar @David Ortells

We have lost two carnity spare radio's one with sticker at the back and one without it.

Both are Motorola MT777, if anyone finds it please return it to any of the Marshal or your trip lead. 

Thanks in advance.

JUST FYI

Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive.

4 minutes ago, Adam Koster said:

I can't see where to press the 'Totally agree' button but I've answered the questions below:

Click (on mobile) / Hoover on desktop on the tiny heart on right side under every post - to reveal 8 emotions.

3 from right is "Totally Agree

8 minutes ago, Ahmed Farghaly said:

It’s 2011 imported, i guess that’s why it doesn’t have that eyelet

Probably yes. 

Can you please take a closer and clear picture in hi res of the right and left chassis channel (bar).

Because those chassis channels have few holes on which that eyelet sits, so if those holes are accessible and not too far off, we can use the soft shackle (in case of emergency - this week) and you get the tow point install for next week.

5 minutes ago, Ahmed Farghaly said:

I’ve double checked the rear end, but it seems there is no point to two

Which year is your Xterra? Is it GCC spec or imported?

Usually xterra back tow point (actually eyelet) is on the left side, if you are standing behind the car and facing the car.

What Richard trying to explain is: You don't necessarily need off-road lights if you aren't leading but then if you have off-road lights you will see better, learn better and drive better even in the convoy situation.

Especially in night drive if your distance increases beyond 20 meters from the car in front for those few seconds you will end up leading by yourself and in those few seconds, if you have a better light you will feel more confident.

If you drive with stock lights, Hi-Beam is your best friend and you will be always chasing the car in front to not to loose him, and that creates a bit of sub-conscious pressure, that can be relieved if you have an off-road lights.

I have driven (followed) and lead offroad for 10+ years with stock lights as LED bars were god damn expensive to 5-6K and we were fine. I bought my first LED bar in 2017 and realize what a world of difference it makes when you can see properly in night drives.