Rahimdad

Thank you @shadow79 for your kind words and warm feelings. I am in tears and I am sure once @Gaurav bhai sees this he will be in tears also. It is our greatest pleasure to be around such wonderful people, we are truly blessed by God Almighty to have such a beautiful family away from our family.

@Asif Hussain it is a relaxing drive, we will find a suitable spot for BBQ and try to quickly grill and share a few stories. The drive can continue till the time the sun rises and it becomes hot. We will venture into areas you have not seen before.

@shadow79 you can come with me also and I will definitely give you an ear full. I promise to sound like your old annoyed granny who is on a vendetta trip. As for your grilled chicken, who can refuse, sounds like a plan and a half. Do let me know any costs to be shared or anything you would like me to bring from my side.

@desertdude with all our experiences combined @Gaurav bhai and me are also learning some new way of doing things. You are most welcome to join and I am sure if you don't learn from us, we can always learn from your vast experience. If only people here knew you through the drives we have than they would forget @Gaurav bhai and me and would be singing praises for you.

The last few drives have been amazing but the challenge of ending the drive on time due to Suhoor, so I will make it nice and easy so that we can have a relaxed drive. The plan would be to start easy and slowly work on the toughness bit to make sure the learning curve does not stop. Furthermore, I would like to see who has grown in confidence and lead the convoy for a short while, details of which can be discussed during the driver's brief. When: 29 June 2017 Meeting time: 10:45 PM, convoy will move sharp at 11 PM Where: Adnoc Petrol Station Maleha Road GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/mzb26kxzte72 Level of drive: Fewbie - Expert - Advance - All are welcome (absolute newbie and newbie as passengers only) Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance Plan: Night drive from Muhafiz to Camel Rock to Faya and further if time permits What to bring along: Loads of snacks, plenty of water - whatever you like with little extra to share, water, liquids, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: Open

Congrats @manums I kind of know exactly how you feel because it took me some time to get my license also, and I have seen you twist and turn in the passenger seat wanting to take control. As my driving instructor told me, you real test starts now driving without supervision. Be safe.

@Osman sorry for the late reply, but I agree with @Gaurav bhai, better Japanese than Korean. Rav4 might be simple with a few options as compared to its conterparts, but holds its resale value well. I have test driven CRV on 2 occasions, in 2001 and again in 2006, somehow it never impressed me. The problem with more options is more chances of it messing up with your happiness specially after the warranty is over. I had a friend who had a KIA and in brand new it gave him so many problems, even if just cosmetic like things from the cabin just falling off, the car staying with the agency for the repairs took time and that is annoying when it happen far too often. Just my 2 cents.

@BENNY THOMAS I guess you got your reply so I don't even need to say Yes, I do go off-roading. @shadow79 and @Asif Hussain you guys are too kind with you words, the truth is fater 20 years of experience off-road between @Gaurav bhai and me, we are still learning and our teachers are enthusiastic people like yourself who participate actively in every drive. @Benny Thomas, I guess they must have discontinued the program, but rest assured we will continue to help you and grow in every way possible. If you are booking the car at the Festival City branch get in touch with Gurmit Singh, he is in sales and he was present with me on my Jeep Academy training and is a very good friend since. You can quote him my name and ask him if they are still running the Jeep Academy and if you can get in on it. Hope this helps.

OMG! What a trip! I just don't know where to start. Reached our all faithful Adnoc pump on Maliha Road for the reality to kick in hard on my back side. I was without the services of @Gaurav bhai and we were 10 vehicles, out of which I would be driving with 2 of them after a long time and 2 I have never driven with. Safety was paramount and I would like to thank @Asif Hussain who came all the way from Abu Dhabi to be my second lead. A round of applause for my hand-in hand buddy @skumar83 and his sister Wonder Woman who kept an eye on the convoy in the middle which was a different position for him. A huge hug for @baselsm83 who this time around volunteered for the sweep duties and did an excellent job. These 3 individuals put my mind at ease and kept good coordination throughout the drive so that I could concentrate on the route. We had a briefing near the mosque in Mahafiz, deflated and headed out to some easy tracks. Before we knew it we were headed left of the pylon track into some easy dunes. Everyone performed well and they were sully aware about their rides which was good to know. Out of all @malav showed a huge improvement from the last time we had driven together. As per my habit I kept increasing the level of difficulty which everybody managed well. Everybody managed the terrain so well that I did not realize how soon we made it to the base of Fossil Rock, we all headed up and everyone was successful. As normal practice we got off and inspected the drop from Fossil Rocks which did not seem appropriate having to LWB trucks in the group. So safety first and we headed around the Fossil Rocks through some dunes to the power lines and headed down. From here we were supposed to head towards Faya from the back side, but with plenty of time on hand for Suhoor, a bunch of capable people with awesome support I got carried away. I took a right 700 meters before Faya and wanted to play on the back side of Faya. Did I make a mistake, or was this fate? The soft sands means we had to toy around a bit and find a suitable means to get the convoy through. This meant that at one point @Asif Hussain had to back up and he ended up in a pocket, this needed a few very carefully planned tugs from the front towards the right to change the angle of the car which were well managed by Sreekumar. Then we needed one big tug from behind which was over-zealously done by Basel Bhai. With these efforts Asif Bhai's monster made its way out of the pocket and once again behind me to be my second lead. The next little adventure was to tackle a double bowl, in and out of one and in to the other. There was determination to conquer the same by all and eventually after some delay we were all able to make it. Due to the shortage in time now we were forced to setup Suhoor at the high point behind Faya with a very pleasant breeze. This place was aptly named by everyone as the Suhoor Bowl, the most challenging part of your trip. There was plenty to share on the trip as usual and everyone was very generous in the quantity of food, The variety and taste also has to be mentioned here as we had another awesome lay, thanks to everyone. @shadow79 had the paan flying around which was a very welcome treat. After a very filling Suhoor and a quick Fajr prayer behind Asif Bhai we were packing up and planning the next round, which was the back side on the way up to Faya. Everyone reached on top with just me and Saleem Bhai crsted on top. Basel easily gave me a tug out and I gave a tug to Saleem. All cars on top of Fossil Rocks and Faya. There was only one hero on the day however, who was able to climb the front face of Faya without his monster truck breaking a single sweat. The champ was Adnan and his trusted GMC Sierra which made it to the top twice of the front face of Faya. Just as we were about t say our goodbyes, Saleem who our drive was dedicated to along with his Rav4 had an issue. The gear oil was leak and the axel had broken. At this point we said our farewell to everyone and Sreekumar came to the rescue to pull it back to the track from where it was and I towed it out to the road from there. With the knowledge that the tow truck was on its way we headed out to the Adnoc pump just outside Mahafiz and Sreekumar and myself inflated our vehicles there. Malav, Adnan and their friends along with Asif bhai inflated close to the road. On a serious note an incident that keeps repeating in my mind is Saleem with his Rav4 flying from the dune very close to some cars parked behind the dunes. This could have been very serious as it was very sudden. I had warned Saleem earlier to follow the route set by me and not to break the convoy discipline. But this time he had chosen a route in which people and their cars were in harms way. Although I was standing out and guiding everyone, and everyone was following the convoy and managed the same route, Saleem was headed the way shown by me but last minute changed his mind and drove straight on the dune and jumped with sharp braking to avoid any damage to the cars parked behind. I know that Saleem has mentioned that he will not be coming for the next few drives, but from my side he is banned on any of my trips as he fails to understand the concept of a convoy and why we keep insisting that a convoy discipline should be maintained. I would like to thank everyone for their participation and looking forward to catch you guys soon.

@BENNY THOMAS I agree with @ayman_khateeb. You don't need to worry with the Jeep for at least the warranty period. I used to own a Jeep Commander 5.7 Hemi for 3 years without any major issues and the small issues were quickly addressed by Trading Enterprise.

@Godwin Francis thanks for keeping us informed. See you next time.

@malav1210 very nice put by @Asif Hussain that it will be crucial to carry 2 way radios as I will be driving with 4 new members and my only support so far will be in the form of Sreekumar, Basel and Asif in case he makes up his mind to come. The area is not so challenging, but in the desert it is better to be well prepared.

Alf mabrook on your license @manums I agree you should have your own ride. I would go with Japanese any day. Check out rides available here on Carnity, dubizzle and similar websites. Shortlist a few within you budget and you can discuss them on the forum or call us for more urgent information or hot deal.

@malav1210 thank you for joining with your friends. Please ask your friends to register themselves on Carnity.

@Barry thanks for sharing some very important information and thanks to @waqaszohair for bringing up such an interesting topic. @Ren13 very nicely put, the change of air filter can give you some sound and is cheaper than modding your exhaust. There are 2 types of after market air filters. The more popular one is the cone filter which is a fail at RTA, just retain your original air filter to replace at the time of passing and then change back. The other option is the one that is modified but can fit in to your normal air filter box, but improves the breathing of the car, this one since RTA cannot see, they cannot fail.

@DJSTORMTROOPER A Prado is very capable as is and has all the under body protection it needs, only you night want to protect the bumpers with a skid plate which is about 8 mm thickness, the lesser is better. You may also install a 2 inch lift kit just to improve the approach and departure angles. The only other thing I can think off is a button to switch of the airbags and disable the ABS/TCS instead of having to remove the fuse and add it after every drive. Have you ever driven your Prado off-road or are you planning on mods even before you have taken it out for a ride and feel. Heavy metal bumpers would be a no from my side. They might only look good but are heavy and can really add serious weight to your car, with the power to weight ratio your car will offer you lesser power per kg on your ride. Besides passing metal bumpers on your 4x4 when passing at RTA is a huge problem and you would either have to keep your stock bumper stored somewhere on invest in a new one every time you want to pass the car. As opposed to skid plates which are bolt-on applications and can be removed at any time. Just my 0.02 cents.

As @ayman_khateeb pointed out this seems to be a programming which means change of PCM to a newer one should take care of that problem, however it might trigger some other issues. I wonder if there is a superchip that can reprogram the PCM like it does the ECU?

@BENNY THOMAS congrats. Don't forget to bug them for the Jeep Academy coupons as the tips and tricks they show in that session are something which no one can help you with. Capable off-road machine with proper care and technical know how.

@Ren13 Don't think that it will be expensive to get a lift kit and put it off. At an Iranian shop they will charge you approximately AED 700 - 800 for the stiffer springs. They also have a habit of telling you the bearings are gone, the bushes need replacing and scaring you till you end up spending around AED 2000. A proper suspension kit from a proper workshop will not cost you more than AED 2500 with the peace of mind. looking forward to the updates regarding your ride.

It is a cheapest way, but make sure you do not raise the car more than 2 inches as when you increase the ride height you are playing with the center of gravity. Proper way would be to get a proper lift kit with springs and suspensions which suit the off-road, the springs should be stiff to give you better travel. Besides lift kit it would also be advisable to increase the size of your tire, but make sure you will not have any rubbing issues, plus get proper off-road tires like the Yokohama Geolander ATS.

No idea about Sharjah Saleem bhai, isn't there a China Mall in Ajman?

@ayman_khateeb it will be my honor to meet you and it is a pleasure whenever I read any posts from you. In glued. You explain everything in such detail.

I had off-road cover for the desert which honored any accidents in the desert. Even on road accident means it is one drivers fault which means a fine from the Police and a report which the Insurance has to honor the claim on a compehensive insurance.

They are most welcome to join, let them sign up on Carnity and for the drive. I would recommend you to buy a 2 way radio Motorola MT777 for about AED 160. Most welcome @Godwin Francis hope you have a 2 way radio.