Frederic

Congrats @sertac ! Well deserved promotion !

Hi @PN1207 Please do verify as some Jeep Grand Cherokee does not come standard with rear recovery point. Without a proper rear recovery point we can not allow you on the drive.

@Chaitanya D your request is not naive at all, and we have been thinking about setting up a kind of workshop to do this. Ideally there are two parts to cover: - Using the GaiaGPS website (can be maybe done over ZOOM/Skype). - Using the GaiaGPS Mobile App (should be done on the terrain). To start off, i would recommend that you register and try the free Gaia app for a while to see if the functionality and buttons are intuitive as per your liking. You can already record your coming weekend's drive and experiment a bit. Once you become comfortable you can go for the paid membership account which will open a lot more doors (and maps). We can keep using this thread to discuss.

Hi @PN1207 Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club ! Kindly introduce yourself and provide the following: 1) Which 4x4 are you driving ? 2) Any prior offroading experience ? 3) Is your vehicle equipped with front and rear towpoints ? Are they in perfect condition ? Please take your time to go through the Newbie Briefing video so you will enjoy your drive tomorrow by being prepared.

@Ale Vallecchi and @Srikumar are using Mytrails. I think it's a very good alternative if you are on Android platform. I think it has no IOS app. Have not used it before, but as with most things every program will come with its own strengths and flaws. I chose for GaiaGPS because of the massive userbase for hiking and overlanding in US, which makes the software coming with regular updates and improvements and hope it will stay around long enough. Also the website functionality where i can sit at home and use the website to manage and create routes. Much easier than fiddling on a tiny mobile screen. MotionX is also really good for IOS, but is now fading our their functionalities and looks a bit dated.

Go for 60inch. You know what they say.... go big or go home For preparing your tracks/routes which you can do from the comfort of your couch or office, layering the topo and satellite is a really good idea. I normally create a "test" route just from looking at the terrain and the total distance i'd like to cover. For Absolute Newbies and Newbies we generally cover around 20-25 kms. Fewbie level and up this easily goes to 40 up to 70 and more, depending on the number of sabkhas where you can drive in 5th gear. @Ale Vallecchi is probably record holder in this.

Hi @Sreejith Sreenivasan The Absolute Newbie drive is solely for first-time joiners in the club, and unfortunately not for regular members.

@Mohamed Seidam Congrats !

Congrats @AviG !

So the Super premium version maybe will ride the dunes for us ? 😅

Difference between Topo map and Sattelite Image:

Topo maps needs some practice to read, and i have been fooled a few times by them (Won't get foooooled again !!). I have the following overlays enabled. Every once in a while i enable "public tracks" to see if anyone has posted or made tracks in the area i am scouting. In the Premium version you can also overlay 2 maps on top of each other @Wrangeld has used this functionality before. I did not try that yet.

Brillant ! I mostly use waypoints to identify play areas, and use the "create area" functionality to draw a rectangular around the soft patches and tricky areas.

Hi @Haarun Baig i will be closing the RSVP list later today around 7PM and will add my Mobile number for emergency cases. See you tomorrow !

Thanks @Abu Muhammad you have probably selected the Premium membership. Anyways it's a fantastic investment for any offroader and the sooner you start to use it (you can record your weekly drives and save them), the sooner you will learn to read the terrain. Good luck !

For many offroaders, navigation looks like a scary thing, and finding your way in the desert used to be a daunting task with old obsolete maps, navigation with sun or stars, and many other old tricks of crossing the deserts. Until 5-6 years ago, companies like TomTom and Garmin were ruling the world navigation software and hardware, until our phones became smarter and smarter, and nowadays there are tons of free or paid navigation software programs available which are tailored for hiking, off-roading, cycling, or other outdoor activities where you would like to record your tracks. In this post i will give some basic essential advice on how to get started with navigating by using GaiaGPS, which is an amazing app that allows you to: 1) Create routes at home via your desktop/tablet through the GaiaGPS website. 2) Use different types of maps like topographic maps, sattelite maps, to find your perfect route you'd like to explore. 3) Save and manage all your tracks, waypoints, areas. 4) Automatically sync all this data with the GaiaGPS Mobile App that is being used to record your track or follow the route you have created beforehand. 1) Registering for GaiaGPS account https://www.gaiagps.com/membership/ You can choose for a FREE account, which works fine for basic topographic and satellite maps, but will not allow to use them offline. The PREMIUM membership is recommended for around 60USD per year. The Outside+ subscription is useless as this is mostly for US based customers. Their Trailforks Pro App is very similar to Wikiloc. Once you have become a member, you can head over to Gaiagps.com, login with your account name, and have a look at the basic functionalities. I've posted a short video below that gives a small demo on how to use the GaiaGPS website functionalities. As you can see in the screen, there are many tracks i've recorded with my phone that remain saved in the website. You can remove these or hide them. The red zones i have marked are called "areas" where you can identify tricky areas that you would like to avoid. They will appear on your phone app as well so you can easily avoid them. Waypoints Waypoint, or pins, could be points of interest, landmarks, entry and exit points, or any place where you want to mark the location and save for later reference. They will appear as a "pin" on your map. You can assign a color to them as you like. This might be useful as you can categorize them. Next to the classic PIN icon, you can choose different other ones, like fences, skulls, forest, or anything that will help you in identifying the waypoint. Satellite Images Having crisp detail in the satellite images you are looking, is essential so you can create a route which focuses on the nice bigger dunes instead of the small technical or bushy areas. Gaia comes standard with the Mapbox "Sattelite with Labels" Imagery which is not bad, but the best one i have found so far is the ESRI Sattelite Imagery Map. Below you will find some information on how to add custom maps. The map called "WORLD IMAGERY" in the Premium version is the same as the ESRI Sattelite Imagery Map. Which phone ? Gaia GPS will work on any smartphone that has a decent GPS antenna built-in. In my case i purchased a separate dedicated Android phone which is mounted in my car that i solely use for navigation. This allows me to keep using my own phone as backup device. That dedicated phone has the offline maps downloaded on it, so i don't need cellphone coverage (no sim card). App functionality On an Iphone, this is how the app looks like. The buttons like "RECORD" and "PICTURE" are customizable, and by keeping your finger on it you can select something else you would like to see on the home page. The Magnifying Glass allows you to enter coordinates. You can copy them from within Google Maps. this button toggles between full screen or normal screen. The crosshair button is very important. Click on it once and it will appear green and bring you to your live location and follow you while keeping NORTH up. Click on it again and another logo appears, looking like two reversed triangles. This is the mode that keeps your live location but constantly rotates the map based on your direction. You can experiment with both modes to see what suits you best. I like to stick to the first mode because it allows me to see in which compass direction i am heading. The + Button contains all your other useful functionalities, like adding a waypoint, creating a route, download an offline map, or create an area. Once you hit the record button, the app will start recording your track. Once you finish, click again on it and select "Finish Track" It will then be saved. (and also appear on your GaiaGPS website once you have synced). On the bottom, you can see your trip details, open the list of saved tracks, or go to your settings. Note: In the settings you can put your units/distances in miles or kilometers (whatever you prefer). You can also enable or disable the autosync function, but better to keep it on. So as soon as you have Wifi/Internet on your phone it will automatically sync your tracks between the app and your GaiaGPS account (website). These things will take a bit of practice, and i can recommend you use your Gaia mobile app for a while on your daily commute and experiment a bit with the settings until you have tailored it to your own needs. Exporting Maps Most navigation software use .gpx or .kml files which you can import in Google Earth / Maps or any other navigation program. On the GaiaGPS website, and also on the app you can choose to "export" your track. It will create a .GPX file that you can share with fellow offroaders or import in the Relive app Adding Custom Maps Adding a TMS Map Source – Gaia GPS for the GaiaGps app users, the Google Maps like Satellite, Terrain, or Hybrid, are not standard built in, but can easily be added by using the GaiaGps website. This is the procedure to add for example Google Terrain. 1) While logged into Gaiagps.com, add a custom map source via TMS here: https://www.gaiagps.com/mapsource/add/ 2) Fill in this TMS URL to get Google Terrain: https://mt0.google.com/vt/lyrs=p&hl=en&x={x}&y={y}&z={z}&s=Ga 3) Give it the name "Google Terrain" 4) Set the Min and Max Zoom level on 4 and 19. 5) Click on "Add this Map Source" The next time you will login it will appear in your mobile app. Some other map links. To add them, follow the same steps as above: Google Maps: https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=r&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Satellite:https://www.google.cn/maps/vt?lyrs=s@189&gl=cn&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Satellite Hybrid:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=y&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Terrain:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=t&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Roads:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=h&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} ESRI Sattelite Imagery:https://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x} Open Topo Maps: https://a.tile.opentopomap.org/{Z}/{X}/{Y}.png Others can be found here: Folder: / (arcgisonline.com) 15 Free Satellite Imagery Data Sources - GIS Geography

Hi @jose Shanu welcome to your new extended offroad family ! The Prado will be your perfect companion for your offroad adventures. Please have a look at the briefing video in the drive topic as this will give you a massive headstart to learn offroading in the safest way. See you tomorrow !

RSVP IS NOW CLOSED Another strong looking convoy, and with @Anish S in my second lead, and @Desert Dweller as my center forward, i am sure we will be able to make some good terrain. @Biju Abdul can take the sweeping duties and keep the convoy nicely together and moving. Starting from Murquab, there is a nice mix of technical dunes and long range dunes, but the tricky thing in this area is that the higher dunes are quite complex and at some point difficult to cross, as they run zig-zag without any pattern. That means this will be a drive where some focus is needed and an emphasis of giving each other enough space to build momentum and take you through. Anyways we are all here to learn and won't leave anyone behind, and i will try to find some nice play areas where we can do sidey's and some basic criss-crossing and ridge riding. See you guys tomorrow ! PS We will be using Carnity Channel 4 (446.08125 Mhz) tomorrow.

Hi @Biju Abdul i have added you to the RSVP. Kindly confirm if you can make it.

With my biggest fear being the yearly RTA inspection crew suddenly saying: "Where is your Catalytic Converter Sir, we cannot pass you if you don't have it" i would like to keep it in place. The few percents power savings are not worth it in my opinion.

Hi @SyedObaid nice to hear that, we have a 2008 3.8 also in the family. Please have a look at the briefing video which will give you tons of information as preparation for your first offroad drive. See you tomorrow ! Hi @Malachy McGrogan The F150 is a very nice truck, we have a few others in the club doing perfectly fine with it. My offroad adventure also started with going camping and getting stuck in the sand. Rest assured you will learn the basics with us very soon ! Please have a look at the briefing video, and let us know if you have any questions. See you tomorrow !

Hi @Jun Zamora i have added you to the RSVP. Kindly confirm if you can make it. Thanks !

Well done @Tbone you are an absolute team player who is always ready to help, and a real good asset to our club. Keep up the good work !

Dear @Malachy McGrogan @Abdallah Rachidi Alaoui First of all, i wish you a warm welcome to our Offroad Club. I am always delighted to be able to meet new members and hope we can learn from each other. Please send us a small introduction on who you are, which 4x4 you're bringing, and if the front and rear towpoints are available and in perfect condition. Please let us know if you have any prior offroading experience or not. With regards to gear and equipment, on an Absolute Newbie drive you should bring your own tyre deflator and pressure gauge. We can help you with deflating if you have not done this before. If you have a flag, radio, shovel, and compressor, please do bring it also. It will be a requirement from the second drive onwards. We've made a nice tutorial with lots of information on essential offroad gear (for every drive level): Please also take your time to go through the Absolute Newbie Briefing video we made:

You need to put a sticker of a Phoenix on that TJ my friend. I am sure it will rise from the ashes very soon !