Frederic

Wishing her all the best @Gary F see you in the sand soon again

hahaha nope its the exact opposite!

https://goo.gl/maps/Z3H13rE63w863LYC9

Small teaser on what to expect tomorrow

Good news to all waitlisted members ! @george charbel@Pacific@Andrei S@Misha Puskar@Rk ram@Stan@Chris Wing@Mark B@Hugo@Sebb CONVOY VARUN @Varun Mehndiratta has stepped up to lead a second convoy, leaving from the same starting point but 1 hour earlier so we dont have 20+ vehicles in the same area. So kindly confirm your attendance the coming hours, and acknowledge that 7AM starting time is fine. Do remember that this is a scenic drive and not a dunebashing drive, the aim is to enjoy the scenic views and terrain. I am sure you will all love it. You can use Channel 3 - 446.056 Mhz Have fun ! PS please deflate to around 15PSI and not lower to make sure you have no tyre damage from the road crossing and wadi part. Have fun !

You should totally bring the wife @Joseph Sebastian ! I did the most of the track last week and there are some sections where Newbies would have definitely struggled. For that reason I’ve put the level on FB.

Good Morning All ! Please find the convoy list for tomorrow here below: CONVOY FREDERIC @Richard Franks@DanielN@Juan [email protected]@Gary F@Rajat Verma@premindra rajaram@Mike M.@Joseph Sebastian@imranaasghar81 We will be using Channel 2 - 446.031 Mhz As this is a scenic drive, we will be using a lot of farm tracks, combined with wadis and a tiny bit of tarmac. I hope you understand this won't be a dune-bashing drive, but more of an exploration drive where we just enjoy the scenic terrains and mountain views. For that main reason, i would like you to all deflate to 15PSI and not lower, so we don't have a risk on tyre damage. We will put up our flags in the morning, but once we have crossed the main road and make our way to the wadis, you can remove your flag. We will be exiting in Asimah, a bit north of Masafi. After finishing the drive i highly recommend you explore Masafi a bit as it has nice shops, restaurants, and a 25dhs carwash if you need one See you soon !

good point @Richard Franks I will mention it in my pre-drive post today.

@Mario Cornejo i've looked into your OBD scanner model a little while back and was wondering if you are able to obtain access to the BCM (Body Control Module) of the Y61 ? If so, then it would be a breeze to pull the TPMS actual pressures from the wheels and display them in the Torque app

DanielN @DanielN Mike M. @Mike M. Gary F @Gary F Ron.P @Ron.P Joseph Sebastian @Joseph Sebastian premindra rajaram @premindra rajaram Rajat Verma @Rajat Verma Richard Franks @Richard Franks Juan R @Juan R imranaasghar81 @imranaasghar81 Thanks for signing up for this drive ! As we have a pretty long waitlist, kindly acknowledge you can make it to the drive.

"Any guidance what is normal life of these bushes in Lc200 which has never been driven off-road? Secondly, could this wobble be because of wheel bearing (no noise though) or lower arms (no clunking or sound even); that I should prioritize to change?" Bushes will wear out over time. Driving offroad will accelerate this, but a 10y old 4x4 will definitely have wear and tear on the bushes (rubber wears out due to heat and mechanical stress). I would advise to start with replacing the bushes that show wear and tear. Wheel bearing i think is less likely as these have a long life span (300,000+kms).

Congrats @Ahmad Nerat!

Congrats @Ishak !!

Some very good observations from the video: 1. Factory tow points in this example by Toyota are plenty strong. Unfortunately, this is not the case for every 4x4. For example, the Nissan Xterra has very weak original tow points, and some more modern 4x4 models only have tie-down points. 2. For the ones that have weak original towpoints or only tie-down points, these rated recovery hooks are the best alternative IF mounted properly (not with two bolts, but with all three and properly torqued with good quality bolts as well). Getting some fabricated with 3 mounting points is also fine (many of our offroaders do this). Pulling a vehicle HARD from a 45°C angle to the point it would result in damage is quite rare in our deserts, and would only be to re-direct said vehicle to a different angle. In those cases using a bridle rope to connect both front tow points and distribute the load is useful. Even on a tow-hitch there would be a risk for damage as it has been made for straight load and not at an angle. Final point: i have seen hundreds of videos over the years from Australia or USA. I have learnt a lot but i also learnt that this does not always apply to our kind of offroading in the UAE desert sand. An example: I recently saw a video of a GU patrol being recovered from the beach, but that GU patrol must have been weighing 3000kg plus as it was an overlander with so much stuff on board, and they were bogged down to the chassis but did not bother to take out a shovel and clear the path but were yanking with a rope like maniacs. No offense to them, but by following proper protocol of clearing the sand as much as possible, and starting off with a gentle tug would have helped a lot

Good topic @Patrick ! From what we have seen, the factory tow points on front and the rear of the FJ are more than strong enough to execute "normal" recoveries. The hitch receiver is a good alternative for doing recoveries and will offer a better force distribution on your chassis HOWEVER if you do some research on tow hitch and hitch receivers they will mention that this for TOWING ONLY, and not for hard pulls. However i have never seen one breaking and we often use them to recover vehicles. Another good alternative which would be "as per the book" is to install rated recovery points, which will be mounted on your chassis with at least 3 bolts and are really made for any type of recoveries: I think this is the best option and will allow you to upgrade the stock recovery points on the front and rear with these units.

Well done @Varun Mehndiratta ! Keep the exploration alive, this is what the real fun of offroading is all about !