Rahimdad

Didn't get it washed in 20 years, he's my type of the guy.

New addition to the Dubai miracle Garden. limited time only, grass will wither by the start of summer.

Before joining off-roading I did 6 months of reading and research after which the car that would suit my purpose for off-road as well as on-road was a Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Jeep Commander but the top of the range 5.7 Hemi V8 engine. After a lot of search i found one which I found to be a great price since the brand new one from the showroom costed AED 170K, I got one used 40K Kms over a 2 year period for AED 85k and it was used by the French Ambassador in Dubai. Once I went to Trading Enterprise to transfer the warranty to my name they informed me that it was a rare vehicle as only 4 were made for Dodge/Chrysler Middle East. It was an amazing vehicle with lots of positives and I enjoyed it a lot. In off-roading though it seemed to be a bit low and the under body protection was not in the front portion with the hoses exposed. These hoses carried hydraulic oil as being a special edition the steering and cooling were hydraulic. It was all too powerful and had a great fuel economy due to MDS system which closed 4 cylinders when on stand still or driving under 2000 revs. However the power used to cut off when doing side slopping where you have to keep the power up. Couple of times when the hose was hit by sand and yet leaked having to pay through my nose for the works as it was not a warranty issue. Finally i had the car lifted and put a bash plate in front which helped me enjoy the ride for 2 years. On one of the intermediate drives we were doing some criss crossing and the side airbags popped out. Being a special edition it took 8 months to get it repaired. Now exhausted with the number of challenges faced I decided to sell the car and but 2 cars, one for daily use and the other computerless car for off-roading. By this time Jeep had decided to discontinued the Jeep Commander and the last few pieces were selling for AED 130k. With a few months warranty left I could not get a decent offer, managed to sell it for AED 40K and that was one of the best decision I have ever made. With a loss of AED 45k in 2 years, this is the most I have lost on any vehicle owned. I still feel it was a best and the worst decision ever made by me and my biggest regret. If you think this is the end of the story you're in for a surprise, as I bought a Jeep Commander again, 5.7 Hemi because I got it for AED 36K, but in 1 year it reminded me why I sold it in the first place. My luck that the Oman government placed a restriction on Omanis buying old cars from Dubai and I ended up with AED 14k, that is a loss of AED 22K in one year. So this is how my story ends with regret over making the same mistake twice. I would like to see who can top my stupidity.

With the current worldwide situation and pandemic declared by WHO with regards to the Corona (COVID-19) virus, as Carnity Offroad Club we want to take the necessary precautions in order to avoid the risk of spreading the virus. Therefore, from today onwards, we will implement the following basic steps until further notice: Please refrain from joining any offroad drive if you have any symptoms of upper respiratory infection, cough, or fever. Avoid shaking hands and touching faces without washing or using sanitizer. Please refrain from sharing food, snacks, or opened water bottles. No crowding up in groups next to each other at ANY TIME: Not while deflating. Not while stuck/recoveries. Not while inflating or during any breaks. All recoveries will be solely handled by Intermediate and above members, who is managing those drives. We hope we can count on your co-operation and will follow up on the situation closely. To maintain safe distance of 1-2 meters from each other while attending the brief, please follow the below pattern.

OMG, my favourite ride for the desert was from the Qatar Champion Saeed Al Hijri. He used to drive a Porshe 911 Turbo Cabriolet with Rothman stickers back in the 80s. This looks like a version of that on steroids. I have truly fallen in love, as long as it can carry all the stuff in the back of my Pathy.

Happy birthday @Wrangeld. May God Almighty keep you and your family blessed.

@Xaf and @Javier M thank you for your suggestions. @Wrangeld I totally agree with your point of view. I am sorry @Javier M if any of us ever gave you a feeling that you are not being heard. We pride ourselves on the fact that we keep the forum open to all for suggestions on how to improve. As for the checking to see if everyone has the equipment as per the level they are being promoted to, we keep our eyes open, because it is not only carrying the equipment but bringing it to good use. On trips all the seniors keep their attention towards the budding members to make sure they have their equipment and are actively involved to putting those to good use, only than the promotion is announced after taking a survey among the seniors. Promotions are not made on the whim of one person, but collectively and based on the guidelines we have already posted. You will find these points in writing only in @Carnity, I have driven with many clubs and can guarantee you that you will not find any other club in UAE which can give you in writing what you need to do to grow to the next level. @Carnity is also the only club that will provide you with a certificate once you cross your level from Intermediate onward. @Carnity is fairly young, only 3 years old and we are constantly striving and bringing about subtle changes to continue in harmony. We do recognise that the delays are not well taken by all in normal conditions, we respect everybody time and are experimenting with ways to establish on time departures. You will soon see the changes being made to establish a better on time departure, rather than having to wait for a few people getting late. @Javier M your suggestions are valuable and we will review it and definitely try to implement it in the best way possible.

@Shamil, thank you for your kind words, but you are truly turning out to be an amazing off-roader with the right spirits and direction. We guide a lot of people as you must have noticed over the past few years, but only a few of them develop into true spirited off-roaders. You my friend are one of the very few and I am very proud to be in your company. The one thing we can never teach you and comes from within is the patience and determination, you have showcased these qualities from your very first drive. You have come a long way and just that little extra to go which will take you to the ranks of expert and eventually Marshal, I am very happy to see you on the right track. As for learning goes, we are all still learning from each other and that is what drives a community. I will thank @Asif Hussain on your behalf who surprised us all how an Xterra which is having troubles can still drive out on its own power.

Welcome @Cara Jordan. Looking forward to riding in your lead some day.

I won't lie. If I was told 6 months back that @Shamil would be among the Advanced level, I would have highly doubted it. I will thank @Gaurav bhai for pointing me in the right direction by looking at everything from an outsider point of view and making certain suggestions. But above all I would like to thank you @Shamil for keeping an open mind, open heart and discussing the underlying issues, I would also like to thank @Srikumar for giving his input during the chat. After our chat I have seen you make massive improvements and besides being a good contributor as a driver and all other aspects, you have shown enthusiasm in helping out during recoveries. I was very proud when @Wrangeld labelled you as a pop-out expert during a drive when I was not around. Heard so many people saying all good things about you and feel very satisfied to see that you have made such a vast improvement in such a short time. You have always been at the forefront and tried to contribute in a positive way, however now I am proud to see you as a complete all round off-roader. Well deserved promotion and looking forward to developing you further to an Expert and eventually a Marshal. Really well done @Shamil.

Congratulations @IMAMP. Welcome to a new level, keep applying what you have learned at the Newbie level and strengthen your basics.

@Salarios, regarding the video, best practice would be to upload it on youtube and post the link here, you can aslso use the Gallery to post all your drive videos. As for the PM, it is only available for the expert or legend membership, the active members have no PM feature.

Congratulations @Salarios Well done buddy, a whole new level to explore and get more confidence, keep applying what you have learnt in the Newbie drives and strengthen your basics.

Congratulations @Jorge Stepniak Felippe Well done buddy, a whole new level to explore and get more confidence, keep applying what you have learnt in the Newbie drives and strengthen your basics.

Congratulations @Jihad Hachem Well done buddy, a whole new level to explore and get more confidence, keep applying what you have learnt in the Newbie drives and strengthen your basics.

Dear @Jun Zamora. I still can't forget your first comment, that you were looking for such a family for years and you have finally found your home away from home. It seems you have come a long way since. Not being held back by the limited capability of the Murano to take over the initial challenges and now with a ride that can conquer every terrain possible. Congratulations on making it to the Fewbie level, a well deserved promotion. Looking forward to watch you put what you have learnt on the Newbie level and applying it at the Fewbie level with new tricks to learn and new confidence to be gained.

Congratulations @Mels Wolf Well done buddy, a whole new level to explore and get more confidence, keep applying what you have learnt in the Newbie drives and strengthen your basics.

Congratulations @Rinelle Sanaani Well done buddy, a whole new level to explore and get more confidence, keep applying what you have learnt in the Newbie drives and strengthen your basics.

Congratulations @Martin. Well done buddy, a whole new level to explore and get more confidence, keep applying what you have learnt in the Newbie drives and strengthen your basics.

Congratulations @Vanessa8580. You smile is infectious, and your enthusiasm can be felt to increase the energy levels during the drive. Happy you made it to the Fewbie level, catch you soon.

That is because you have not been out much, you won't see much from the comfort of the couch at home.

@Jamy B. and @Asif Hussain recently acquired their Nissan Xterras so I will leave the stage to them as to how each one came to know about all these vehicles for sale. This process also took them an year to complete in which they either came across lemons or were too late to close the deal on time. So keep your eyes and mind open and do ask a lot of questions, we are all here to help one another. But do keep your trust in God, if it's good and meant for you, nothing can keep you apart.

Vey nicely put @Frederic, @Chaitanya D and @Gaurav bhai. Every day should be a women day, but let us spend this one day in the year reflecting what a great part women have played in our lives. As a mother, sister, wife, daughter or a friend, they make it possible for us to do numerous things, which would not be possible for any of us without them. Happy women's day to all.

I agree and that's the point @Frederic was trying to make. Low gear for stucks and difficult situations, generally you would use high range.

@Vanessa8580 heard great things about your driving skills from @Srikumar. Looking forward to driving along side you.