Rahimdad

@shadow79 Unfortunately Saleem Bhai no matter how many mods you make to a cycle, it will not become a rocket.

I truly appreciate your enthusiasm and love your presence, you bring smiles on everybody and you are very resourceful.

@Gaurav bhai is advising you not to bring your ride for several reasons as per his experience, the area is full of tall to huge dunes with a lot of soft patches and he does not want you to harm your vehicle anymore. Maybe nobody says it, but the fact is, it is not very pleasant to be stopping and moving every time and if the plan is for a 2 - 3 hours drive, being stuck in one spot for over 6 - 8 hours due to some issue. We do not believe in leaving anybody behind due to our past experiences, but for that reason we cannot stretch the patience of so many people.

I am planning on having a much easier drive next week in an area which will be much easier for all the rides, specially a Rav4 and its an area that you have already been to. I would appreciate if you could tag along with one of us this week and I will definitely have you in next week as part of my convoy.

Thank you for your understanding.

@Gaurav your efforts are much appreciated and will be missed if you are away. Besides being the trip leader or in the sweep which are hard duties in itself, you also manage to click some nice pics and the amazing videos from your GoPro. Then there is the painstaking efforts to sit during the weekdays and put these awesome videos together with a very catchy piece of music. Well done bro and kudos to you.

I used the 0W20 from Elf for my Renault, It is available in the AWR spare parts and I think 4 liters cost me AED 80/-, I used to give one of the oil change shops AED 25 for the change. If it is recommended oil by Honda than Trading Enterprise spare parts shop should also have it or any shop in Sharjah should also stock the same.

Happy for you @Barry bhai. Congratulations for the new venture in your life and hope it brings you a lot of joy and even more Red Horse than before.

This area is challenging and I hope everybody is ready to level up.

So it was time for the Grand Iftar. It is such a treat to see so many off-road enthusiasts gathering in 1 spot to celebrate the opening of the fast. For me it's never been about the destination, but all about the journey, it's not about where I can reach, but about where we go as a team. Thanks to @Gaurav Bhai for a wonderful lead and congratulations to all who were able to follow.

Upon arrival the love cooking station was soon setup and I would like to thanks my wife and her sister for keeping ready so much food and specially the tea. Thanks to everybody else for their contributions as we discovered we had to have a second serving. As we broke fast together and refreshed ourselves with the tea we were off to the top. Gaurav Bhai was the first one up, as I was on the climb I heard the Rav4 had made it to the top. I was glad to reach the top to be greeted by the aight of the Rav4 on top.

This joy was short lived as the next thing we saw was Saleem walking towards us and we had the Rav4 with the radiator taking a hit in 2 places. Everything till then was as planned. Thanks to the extra food from all to be able to fill in again while the M-Seal did it's trick.

Around mid night we headed out and inflated at the closest Adnoc pump. The prize was well deserved by both Ahmed and Basel, but Basel took the honors. Thank you all for every contribution which made this drive so memorable.

The idea is still a great one, just a matter of working out the other details around it, most vehicles nowadays have security which is on 24/7 and that does not drain out the car battery, so I am sure there would be some kind of mechanism to save power when car is switched off. BTW it is just introduced by 1 garage, once competition starts popping their ugly head the prices will come down eventually.

From the looks of things, I am going to bet that your are in @shadow79

Shukar Alhamdolillah, I get to see it this time. Awesome video. Looks even more amazing after missing the previous one.

OMG!!! Bluff Master.

Great initiative @Gaurav bhai, I am also in. Last year we stood tall on Iftaar Bowl to around 200-250 cars which swamped the area and joined everybody down for Iftaar as time came close to open fast. Hope to repeat the same feet this time around.

Good to see @skumar83 is the first to sign up.

Here are my pics to qualify me for the video glimpse this time.

Now my side of the night which turned out to be an amazing time out with beautiful people. My family decided to join me after some time and I would like to apologize for the delay at the meeting point. After a round of warm hugs and warmer smiles we continued to the deflation point. We also had a briefing from @Gaurav Bhai we had a good idea on what we are up for.

As we entered we found the big red and we played behind it to reach a high point and head down and ventured right. I have seen this area from far but for one reason or the other never ventured there. The were some nice smooth dunes to climb, and some bushy area to drive through and Than there were some sharp drops. The area was just amazing and needs more exploring.

Unfortunately we had a radiator damage which shortened our drive. But fortunately it gave us time to sit together and share some stories, some jokes and more importantly bond and know each other better. It made me realize that the drive is important, but more important is the time spent together.

As Saleem fixed the leaking radiator he spoke very few words, but it cracked a laugh from all. In all this tense atmosphere to not only keep a calm head over the shoulders but to crack a few jokes to relax all is so important in such a situation. Well done Saleem Bhai. As we were sitting around it became dark and the stars dissapeared, it was becoming foggy and the spiders kept us dancing and on our feet.

Soon we laid out table for Suhoor, with a realization, we need a bigger one. There was so much of it and so much variety, we were spoilt for choice. Thanks to everyone for their generosity. Shree's sister was on her feet serving everyone and that was very sweet gesture that is so much appreciated. As we wrapped up and started packing we discovered that the fixed radiator could still not hold all the water we would have liked it to. But enough to give us 20 minute window.

Gaurav Bhai did the best thing posible, scout the area with the most capable @baselsm83 to get the effected car out with all of us without any trouble. This gave us more time to talk, thanks to @Asif Hussain for being my chat partner. On return of Gaurav and Basel Bhai important information was shared and plans made to tackle the situation.

We all at a point had to split as was decided to get the effected car out of harms way, Asif, Shree and myself joined with them in about 10 minutes. We were all out and safe thanks to some very clever and careful planning from Gaurav Bhai and help, patience and understanding from all.

Like Gaurav Bhai put it a night to remember. Thanks, love and hugs to each and every one. Love you all.

Thanks for sharing @shahryar2002 and great advise from Gaurav, Desertdude, Barry and Derik.

I no like this. Now I need to get my Camera out and keep it out at all times during the drive.

6 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Here is the video guys:

 

Hey I can't see the video. I posted the pic of the gift I got from Basel after the drive. Technically it's part of the drive and I posted a pic. How come I cannot see the video.

Darn,

I guess I will not be able to succeed in my plan for accumulating the points over the next 3 years to get myself the latest mobile phone in 2020. Hahahaha.

Great initiative Carnity and glad it came with a lot of success.

Rocking idea @Gaurav bhai. I will be there on time with full support. Absolutely loved it last week and want to have even more fun and play time this time around. Love your area of choice also, just brilliant.

So how did the first Ramadan drive go. Well cool breeze, warmth of like minded friends, easy on the drivers and their vehicles, everything turned out very close to plan. It was just funtastic. Yes you got that right, Fun tastic.

We started a bit late due to unavoidable circumstaces, but who was in a hurry. We moved to the deflation point and after a short driver briefing we were off to the top of Fossil Rocks on some slippery, sliding technical dunes with rocks in between. There were some moderate climbs with some sudden dips. Than we were greeted with some rocky terrain which everybody managed so very well. From the top we all knew the only way was down. Once down we had some very fun fast and smooth dunes to the back side of Faya. A little tough bit to get around and we were on the front face of Faya.

Quickly we laid the spread for our Suhoor and Shukar Alhamdolillah we did not fall short. The Barakat of Ramadan. We all had different types of food from different countries and cultures. It was very lovely to have our Suhoor together. We had our last cigarettes and soon the table was packed and we were off to trying to climb Faya on the front face.

First up was Basel with his reliable monster the Nissan Patrol. Gaurav Bhai was not far behind with his trusted beast as he unleashed his Mitsubishi Pajero. Only 2 cars didn't quite make it up, the Rav4 and my Pathy. So I cleared my passenger seat for Saleem and took my usual cheat route to the top. As we reached the top the sun started to make its way up to our side, an indication that the heat was about to be turned on.

We sat there and enjoyed the last few minutes of the cool and the beauty of the dawn. Gaurav Bhai was still edging for that little extra as my story of rescuing a Nissan Patrol came to a conclusion. This prompted him to get into the bowl where we once rescued the Nissan Patrol. He played in the bowl for a good 5 minutes before the shine of satisfaction sparkled in his eyes. Just than the sun started to peak through the mountains and we were off down, inflating and in for a surprise just before heading home.

As we inflated Basel presented Gaurav Bhai and me with the most awesome Zippo lighters with our names engraved on them as Marshals. Thanks @baselsm83 for the wonderful gift. It made this trip the most memorable one ever. Thanks @Shadow79 for keeping up with the Rav4 against all odds. Until next time, this is Superman signing off. Take care.

3 hours ago, Jackdaniel said:

Thanks Rahimdad and Barry. I am bit concerned about the warranty as it is valid till 2019 and I hope will be eligible for this warranty  if I do the maintenance with Al Futtaim. Please advise.

That is my worry also, once you service outside within warranty most car companies here end up cancelling your warranty. Best to check with the service center in Ramadan and getting a service contract with them. Once the warranty is over you can service it anywhere you like.

@slick72 glad I am not the only one to see the difference. I can just imagine your son having a laugh.

@Jackdaniel welcome to your forum. I am sure you will find a wealth of information here.

@shadow79 you are more than welcome anytime, just make sure you have a spare tire just in case and let us know if you are getting delayed to reach the meeting point, don't want to leave you behind.

@Barry Hahahaha, The Rambo's Lambo.

@Jaan Rambo It works, i tried it out yesterday and I am not sure if it completely eradicates the blind spots, but it helps to a huge extent.