Frederic

Your definition of mild offroading "camping trips in desert or going into wadis/mountains for hiking/camping (I imagine mild unpaved roads but not chassis bending rock crawling)" should not be an issue for an XC90, and given the great deal of that vehicle you might be getting it makes total sense to go for that one. The Disco is not a do-it-all car. As soon as you go offroad you'll find that the bumpers are very sensitive. If you are commuting from RAK to AD, it will seriously rack up lots of miles in a short period of time. For a 2L twin turbo engine on the Volvo i am not sure if this is ideal. With an AWD you will be able to drive onto sand tracks if you deflate to around 15-18psi without problem. Going into the dunes is a totally other thing of course.

Hi @Janarthan sorry for the calendar delay, I’ve added you to the drive. Hi @syed salman raza The RSVP is already full. Keep an eye on all drives the coming days. If someone drops out you can take that spot.

Congrats @Desert Dweller ! Well deserved !!

Congrats @RohanH !

Congrats @Nizam Deen !

@Javier M your technical and off-road skills, desire and passion for performance, and your amazing iceman-coolness in which you scale the highest dunes without breaking a sweat has always amazed me. You’re the kind of guy that will always find a way out of any extreme scenario and that is a blessing to have for our club. If anyone ever wonders who that cool guy with Bono glasses and a Black Wrangler is, we can now proudly say that he’s a Carnity expert ! 😜 Congrats buddy, I’m really looking forward at following your fantastic leads soon.

You strike a good point about turning off the engine when you are standing still. I always think/assume when the car is running a bit hot (not alarmingly hot, or no dashboard alarm lights) it is actually better to let the engine run because at least your waterpump continues to run and the engine fan also keeps running and pulling air into it. That way, and in combination with switching off the A/C and upping the idle a bit my temps go down slowly and become normal again after 5 mins. I've seen several times when switching off my engine, and restarting my engine after it has been sitting for a few minutes, that the measured temperature is a lot higher because it stopped circulation and kept creeping up due to remaining heat of the engine that was looking for a way out. PS Your AUX fan should be controlled by a switch that you can flick on any time you like.

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to respect and follow these guidelines strictly in order to not jeopardize someone's health and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives. MUST READ: Not following these rules and precautions = Not allowed to drive. No Gathering | No Briefing | No BBQ | No Eating Together | No Touching | No Hugging We are only allowed to drive through the desert, as we are driving on the road now. So we will only do the desert driving just by sitting inside our cars at all the times and leave the drive without socializing or coming close to each other. Just like before we like to continue our desert drives through out the year, but this time we need your immense support to understand the strict control and to help everyone follow them all the time. How to maintain "STRICT" Social Distancing Meeting point will be set slightly (100m - 200m) inside the desert track. You individually deflate your tires on the tarmac before reaching the meeting point. While deflating tires, stop cars 10 meters away from any other car. Drive signup on calendar will be closed on Thursday morning by 9 AM. Convoy numbering and briefing will be posted here on this drive post before 6 PM on Thursday. All participants need to read & acknowledge the briefing by clicking "Totally Agree" reaction Switch on your radio when you reach the meeting point on the set frequency advised by the trip lead in the critical briefing here. Once everyone reaches to the meeting point, everyone stay inside the car at all the times. Trip lead will do the roll call, convoy numbering recap, critical briefing over the radio. Any suggestions or issues will be discussed over the radio too. You can also speak to other members through the radio only. So please make sure that your radio battery is fully charged. Once all set, trip lead will start the drive as before. Refusal and Recoveries with Social Distancing Every drive will have 1 lead Marshal and 1 or 2 supporting senior members/crew. Whenever there is a stuck or refusal, only a Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is allowed to handle the situation. Everyone else including the stuck car driver, stay inside the car - AT ALL TIMES. Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is only allowed to step out to access the situation and do the recoveries: They will wear mask and gloves at all times when they are outside their car. They will try to help self recover through the radio guidance. If not they will use required recovery gear and do the needful (shovel, tug or winch, as required). If at any time Marshal require help, then only you are allowed to step out by wearing face mask and gloves at all times. Drive completion and inflation There will not be any gathering or sitting down together for food-break like before. Once drive is finished, after reaching the tarmac, everyone is requested to move away 50-100 meters before starting their inflation. For drivers having no compressor, can head to the near by fuel station. If drive is ending at a place where there is no fuel station near by, then trip lead will inform in advance so that drivers having their own compressor can join only. Strictly no sharing of compressors, radio, shovel or any recovery gear, at any times. Mandatory things you require to attend the drive Face mask - at least TWO face mask is needed in case one get damage or fly away. Disposable rubber gloves - at least two sets are needed. Wear face mask and gloves at all the times, when you are out of your car. Carry plenty of hand sanitizer and object sanitizer (spray). Use your sanitizers generously, whenever you step out to help or recover. Sanitize your hands before getting back into your car. Sanitize your recovery gears, if you have used them. Fully charged and programmed radio - without any excuse - No radio = No drive. Shovel - Must for every car, to do little self recovery Safety flag - Must for every car, like before Compressor - If joining the drives that is ending far from the fuel station. Mandatory precaution that you need to take at all times Do not step out of your car UNLESS/OTHERWISE advised by Marshal / Senior Member / Crew. No shaking hands, hugs or touching each other. No sharing of food, drinks or recovery tools. If you are not feeling well, please stay at home and take a lot of rest. If you have travel in last 14 days, then please do not attend this drive. If you feel unwell during the drive, please let trip lead know so he can plan an early exit. Not more than 3 pax in a car and if all 3 aren't living together, then they should wear the mask inside the car too. Two Way Radio Guidelines Every Offroader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic. We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving. Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops... No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it. MUST WATCH: OUR NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING: Drive Details Level: All Levels When: June 12 2020, Friday. Meeting time: 7:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Action Plan: Morning drive till about 10:30 AM Meeting Point: Qudra Desert Track Entry - https://goo.gl/maps/9ZPffHWmnhioYKff9 Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 10:30 AM End Point: Al Qudra Last Exit Parking - https://goo.gl/maps/L4UYFcLBtpYzFnxr7 LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday -5PM. 1 Lead Marshal + 2 or 1 Senior Members + 9 or 10 Members. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

Very good topic @Ale Vallecchi I have a digital readout engine temp gauge which allows me to constantly monitor my engine temperature. During driving, my temperatures remain acceptable, but during idling, especially with the AC on, the gauge slowly creeps up to about 105°C. From that moment onwards i generally reduce or switch off the AC for a while, and increase my idling speed a bit by pressing the pedal. This makes the fan run a bit faster, and i keep doing this until i am back at around 92°C. Driving in the desert at this heat requires slightly different approach, you need to use the momentum that the dune gives you to make it over the next one, drive higher on the top of the dunes so your car can breathe better, and never take the car beyond its limits. Deflating further down to 11-12 psi definitely helps too, and verifiying after 1.5-2 hours of driving because the pressure will have built up again due to the heat.

Kindly go through the video step by step: Send frequency is being entered on parameter 02, receive frequency is being set on parameter 04. video from 1:10 onwards.

Driving to Mahafiz while spotting a friendly TJ on my wings is an assurance that the day will be good... 😀 Having arrived at the meeting point at 6:45, our trusty companion @Pickey Singh was already deflating his Discovery, and the white Carnity flag was proudly blowing in the wind. @Incognitoes arrived around the same time, and brought her lovely dog Chewbacca. Having everyone arriving on time and even deflated by 7 has the great advantage that we can head out early which is a blessing during these hot days. A big thanks to all for that ! Having appointed @Anish S as my second lead, i knew that he has the skills to slightly reroute where needed, and he did so good. After about the first 20 mins, in an attempt to get out of the basic track, i went over a tiny dune where i already felt that it was a bit of a "crester" and before i realized, my second lead experienced how crest-prone it was. A gentle pull of the rope was enough to bring him over and we circled back to meet our friends on the other side to reroute. We headed out to the play area where all could practice some side-sloping. As mentioned, it was a good opportunity to test the technicalities and differences of driving in D vs selecting tiptronic. @Nizam Deen got a bit carried away and kept trying to go higher and higher, and eventualy hit a nasty bump at the higher point of the dune. In these situations, things can quickly take a turn for the worse, so i keep stressing to all that's it OK to be enthusiastic, but never to try to go beyond the limits, or it will come back and bite very hard. Having said that, all did well and had good control over their vehicles. We moved out and navigated towards Fossil Rock and made it up easily. For a change i did not want to descend from the regular point, but drove around it. To my surprise the track that used to be there that would easily take us around was not to be found. Another reminder on how much dunes and formations keep changing. I slightly rerouted to descend further down and while going over a very small dune with a small bump, @Pickey Singh his bottom bumper decided to wedge itself nicely inbetween the dune and the bump. A few minutes of shoveling got him out. but unfortunately the lip itself looked a bit bent. We only encountered some small refusals in this drives, some in which @Incognitoes recovered herself nicely, it was indeed quite clear you have driven before. Just be careful not too take quick decisions when trying to get out of the situation. Think calmly, listen to the instructions of the senior behind you, and then follow them as accurate as possible. You have driven very well today ! I was brilliantly supported by @Jeepie, @Wrangeld, and @Brette, but also got the help of other fewbies like @Mels Wolf, @Foxtrot Oscar, and @Nacho who keep coming every week and growing fast. So nice to see this. Eagerly looking forward to the next drive !

RSVP is now Closed. Please find your convoy number below. Radio frequency will be: Carnity Channel 1: 446.00625 Mhz. Please make sure your radio is charged and set to this frequency when you arrive at the deflation point. Keep your distance when deflating and do not "gather" upon arrival. Deflate your vehicle and step back in the car so we can convey the briefing over the radio. Whenever you need help to deflate, announce on the radio and a senior or marshal will come to assist. Make sure you have a deflator, flag, and your radio. We will be ending nearby the gas station, so a compressor is optional. See you tomorrow ! @Anish S @Pickey Singh @Mels Wolf @Jose Martin @RohanH @Incognitoes @Jeepie @Nizam Deen @Foxtrot Oscar @Nacho @Brette

Welcome to Carnity ! Most of these things you will only find in Dragon Mart. See the advice below:

Hi @Nikola Bozovic, There is one extra spot availabe due to a signout, so i have added you. Please confirm if: - You have read the COVID precautions and saw the Newbie Briefing video. - You have a two-way radio programmed to our frequencies. - You have an offroad flag. Which 4x4 are you driving ? Are the front and rear towpoints in perfect condition?

Unfortunately it's a 2WD model.

That was our friend @G.huz that got stuck in a ditch. I was there too. We had fun that day

have a look at the above video. I am not an expert in hi-lift jacks but using them in the desert and not being able to lift from any point of the car renders it useless. On top of that this is a pretty dangerous tool.

This is well fabricated and a good idea. Just be aware of the fact that in the desert most likely you’ll need to be able to insert the jack from weird angles and have very limited space. That will create issues for a bottle jack I am afraid. Secondly, once you reach higher levels on the off-road ranking, you will be fixing pop-outs on other vehicles too, so your tailormade solution won’t work anymore.

My former neighbor drove a syangyong Rexton which was a good looking SUV equipped with all bells and whistles and Mercedes engine. And a lot cheaper than the competitors.

Same here: 359mm for the 2T JZX model with swivel neck. Which is enough In my opinion, as long as you have some thick wooden boards that you can stack on each other when you need to obtain a bit more height. It also depends if you’re lifting on the arm or the chassis. If you use jack up the arm then you don’t need to lift much, if you’re lifting on a chassis point you’ll be reaching the max lift height mostprobably.

@Incognitoes Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club. As this is your first drive with us, please confirm that you have read the Covid precautions, watched the Absolute Newbie Briefing video, and have a radio (already programmed) and offroad flag for the drive. See you on Friday !