Srikumar

TRIP REPORT As I reached the meeting point, it was good to see that most of the cars had already reached and started deflating. There were a few new faces for me and after a quick introduction, followed by the Newbie briefing we started our drive towards the medium range dunes at the back side of Qudra. After getting around some of the small but which can be annoying semi - technical dunes we reached to the nice dunes where everyone had plenty of opportunity for side slopping, broad ridge crossing. Everyone managed the terrain extremely well, as I was bumping up the level bit by bit. Except for a couple of stucks which was easily managed by @Frederic and @Nacho (under the guidance of Frederic), there were hardly any stoppages in the convoy and a decent pace was maintained throughout the drive. With sun setting early these days, it gives us all a chance to try out a bit of night driving which posses it's own unique set of challenges. @Hennie Schoeman was my second lead and had a perfect drive through out except for the last stuck 10 m away from the road where he got himself caught in a nasty pocket with powder soft sand.. And we can probably say it was the case of 'One Man's mistake was another Man's opportunity', as Freddy got his chance to inaugurate his new winch for which he was waiting throughout the evening. Well done everyone for managing a Newbie+ drive so well. Special mention to @Frederic for supporting the drive. I was able to push the level, knowing you were there in sweep. Thanks buddy. See you guys next week. Take care.

Yes you can by digging from below the center of the car to create a similar V between front and rear wheels. I remember we did that once as a car was stuck on a ridge on an upward hill climb

10 cars is perfectly normal for Intermediate level drives as we assume that the drivers have enough driving skills to reroute a bit to avoid cross tracks, and if still not possible to be able to plough through the churned track. And in the event if the area is a complete soup, at Intermediate level you can inform the trip lead and do a complete reroute or if you need the trip lead to come back and help in rerouting the same can be announced over the radio.

TRIP REPORT It was the perfect Absolute Newbie Drive where we had thrills and fun without having to take out the rope or even the showel. As usual I had reached the meeting point by 4:35 AM only to see that @Tbone and @Anand Nataraj had already reached and had begun deflating. As the entire convoy started trickling in, we did the check of everyone's tow points and helped out those who needed assistance in deflation. After the newbie and COVID19 briefing we started off on some flat tracks so that everyone gets used to the pace and feel of their cars in the sand. We then moved towards the medium range dunes of Qudra, where we practiced small side slopping,going up and down a dune, riding on broad ridges to have good steering control. @Xavier Treasurer who had previous off-roading experience in gravel and mud was facing his first challenge on the sand in the responsible position of second lead. And he did an absolutely brilliant job understanding when to follow and when not to follow me. It made my job of communicating with the second lead much more easier. @Baskaran P.R though started the drive with a bit of apprehension, but slowly settled and his confidence started to show as the drive progressed with lesser and lesser refusals. Hope you had a good time. @Yasas Dharmadasa joined us with his manual transmission Cherokee Liberty and it definitely seemed to have a lot more grunt than the automatic version. Managed most of the terrain pretty well and wherever had a refusal he listened to the radio instructions and managed to self recover himself. Well done. @Athula Dharmadada joined us for the second time, but this time in a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2005 model. Ofcourse with this car being a proper 4x4 with better ground clearance compared to his previous trip with an AWD Pathfinder, it sailed through all the dunes with the minimal of fuss. @Sandyman85 had a nice black stallion in the form of a Dodge Durango. It took him a while to start to get a proper feel and throttle response on the car, but in the second half of the drive, i hardly heard any refusals from him on the radio. Well done. That car is not easy to drive, but it does have a lot of power and its only a question of harnessing it properly. @Francois Swart had a beautiful Pajero 3.8 SWB and he was gliding through the entire route with a lot of ease. That car has a lot of power in comparison to its weight and is a good offroader. @izzumonv did the very wise choice of changing his ride to an Xterra and even though he was at the back end of the convoy he didnt struggle one bit through all the cross tracks left by the cars in front. Well done. @Anand Nataraj is another Xterra addition to our club, and I was mighty impressed with his capabilities as a Newbie. He rarely struggled and was doing all the sideys in a very smooth manner. Keep it up. @Paulina Kolicka joined us along with Tamas Hoffman and managed her Pajero nicely. Maybe its time to ask Tamas to get you your own offroad ride. 😉 @Yusuf Esaf managed his Patrol Y62 very well for his first desert drive. Though the car is a V8, its a very heavy car which needs a lot more effort but you did very well. Finally a big shout out to @Tbone and @Janarthan for excellently managing and helping the entire convoy and getting them moving in a smooth manner. Moving forward you all will be joining the Newbie drives and not an Absolute Newbie drive. Drives are announced every Sunday at 11 am, and they go live on Sunday at 7 pm. Due to the high demand, these drives get full in about 10 minutes, so please be online at 7 pm to book your spot. For the next drives, please bring along a deflator, pressure gauge, flag and radio as a minimum. Learn to deflate your tires and checking them precisely Learn to fix a flag on your car Learn to program and fully charge your radio Also like I mentioned during the debriefing, join the Carnity Whatsapp Drive Notification to get the latest updates on the drives, so that you can RSVP on time for the next weekend's drive. Please have a look at below topic which describes the tools needed for every level: Please have a look at below grading structure that explains various off-road levels: See you next weekend on the sand. Till then take care and drive safe.

Convoy Numbering We would be using Carnity Channel 1 for this drive. See you at 4:30 PM.

It's not an issue. But please ensure he is sitting with a seat belt.

Thats exactly what we would be covering in the Absolute Newbie Drive. See you tomorrow morning Thanks for the update @Kailas. Hope to see @Gok Krish soon.

DRIVE RSVP IS CLOSED Convoy Numbering 1. Srikumar 2. Xavier 3. izzumonv 4. Yasas Dharmadasa 5. Athula 6. Sandyman85 7. Francois Swart 8. Tbone 9. Anand 10. Paulina Kolicka 11. Gok Krish 12. farazcan 13. Yusuf 14. Baskaran 15. Janarthan See you at the meeting point at 5:00 AM

I guess you need more guys like @Kalahari to break this vicious circle

noted. Have a good drive

@Sandyman85 @Yasas Dharmadasa @izzumonv @Xavier Treasurer @Francois Swart @farazcan @Anand Nataraj @Gok Krish @Paulina Kolicka @Athula Dharmadada @Yusuf Esaf PREPARATION FOR THE DRIVE AND WHAT TO EXPECT 1) Please ensure that you reach the meeting point on time, i.e., 5:00 AM sharp. If you are late, you would be left behind. 2) Convoy numbering would be posted today evening after 6 pm. 3) Please spend 15 minutes of undivided attention to go through the Absolute Newbie briefing Video. This is absolutely necessary for the safety of you and your vehicle before your first offroad adventure. 4) For those who have radios, you can program them to the Carnity Frequency using the guidelines provided in the below post. If you dont have a radio, we shall provide you with a spare radio during the drive. We will be using Carnity Channel 2 tomorrow. (446.03125 Mhz). The instructions to program the radio are provided in the below post 5) All traction controls, ABS and Air bags need to be switched off. If it requires pulling the fuse, please do the needful. Incase of any queries you can always ask the senior members before the drive or better still, post your queries on this drive post and we would assist. 6) Deflate to 15 psi. Incase if you have any difficulties you can approach the senior members before the drive who would assist you. 7) Feel free to ask questions at any time. We shall be starting the drive close to Hammari Well at Qudra, and enter the desert through some nice easy tracks and dunes so that you can get familiar with your vehicle. As the convoy's confidence increases I shall be gradually increasing the level of the drive always keeping in mind everyone's comfort level. We will be driving for about 3 hours practicing driving in sand, proper steering control, crossing some dunes, and getting you and your vehicle accustomed to off-roading in general. By 08:30 am we will be heading out towards the Qudra parking, where you can inflate the tyres with your compressor or at the Last Exit gas station.

Congrats @Pancho. Love the fact that you drive down from Abu Dhabi, do 2 drives, finish the COVID test and go back. Shows your love for the sport.

Agreed. And the training is to help recover other vehicles 😜

You need to provide us with this secret information as you are doing the max number of drives in the club

@Pancho as you have got a spot on the evening fewbie drive, please sign out of this drive.

Fantastic Fantastic News. Well done Ale. You are someone that the entire off-road club looks upto and you have demonstrated the right set of leadership qualities befitting a Marshal. Well done buddy.

Yes, 17 inch will fit the 3.8 version

Congrats @Tamas Hoffmann

He is planning to upgrade it from a 'X' to a 'XJ'

This topic has diverted from a compliance with COVID19 regulations to how a person communicates. It's to avoid such misunderstandings that all the COVID19 regulations are given in clear writing and are pasted on every drive thread when you join. Unfortunately, from the above discussion it seems that no one has even taken the effort to read it through. So as responsible and educated adults you can either comply with the regulations that are imposed by the UAE authorities or have a choice of not attending the drives. It's strange that no one would dare step into a govt office without a face mask (even by mistake) but when it comes to a club the rules are expected to be relaxed.

Now that's a challenge being thrown. C'mon Jeepers

Also please check how much is the car lifted by in comparison to a stock JGC 2004 model.

@Shyam Karat welcome to Carnity Offroad Club. For Absolute Newbies we have a dedicated morning drive. It would be highly advisable that you join that drive so that we can start with the basics.

Hi Jodha Promotion is a separate thing for which you can apply for promotion stating your experience in the Carnity Offroad Club Structure V 2.0. However for the moment, you are rank is a Newbie and so you are eligible to join the Newbie Drives only.

@jodha singh shekhawat please join on the Newbie Drives. This drive is reserved for first timers with Carnity Offroad Club