Frederic

@munkybizness you will find our Lens Lovers Club on below page: Lens Lovers Club - Carnity.com On the right side of the screen, there will be a button called "JOIN CLUB"

Excellent idea. Made me think of how i got the offroad driving bug. I moved to Saudi Arabia in 2012 and wanted to explore the deserts a bit, but had absolutely no clue on how/where to start. I fell in love with a big blue 2007 FJ Cruiser which i found secondhand in Dammam, and was imported from the US. It looked immaculate, and i was even able to trace back the original US owner. On a lonely weekend, i deflated my tyres a bit and went offroad. Soon i found myself stuck and was approached by a friendly Saudi national who came camping with this family. His two young kids who were perhaps only 6-7 years old started to deflate my tyres further to try to help the self recovery, but nothing worked. He called up a friend that arrived 20 mins later with a heavy modified Chevy Blazer. He pulled me out of the sand and as we were talking the guy kept asking "Did you engage the 4x4 ?" To which i replied "i assumed the FJ is an all time 4x4" ? and a few moments later we realized this was actually a 4x2 model from US. (two wheel driven only). I felt super embarassed but we had a good laugh about it. I decided not to give up, and to practice a bit more before selling the FJ. At 10psi i was actually able to reach some nice camping spots and enjoy my weekend outings. But by then i realized if this is so much fun in 2WD how much fun 4WD would be Eventually i ended up selling the FJ, and ended up meeting the wonderful Carnity family which taught me everything about offroading and so much more.

Brilliant idea guys, and thanks @munkybizness for bringing this forward. I have the following idea, consisting out of two parts 1) We organize a Carnity Offroad Drive in Mahafiz-Fossil Rock area (Newbie Level) for Thursday night, where any Carnity member can join. This would be from 08 till 11:30, and we would be exiting near Maliha Archeological Center. 2) At the exit, once inflated, we head out with the Lens Lover Club members who have signed up towards Wadi Shawka Dam, which is not far away from Maliha (20-25 kms). Other Lens Lovers Club members can also join us directly at the Wadi Shawka meeting point. I will post the Stargazing/Meteor shower Session separately. Wadi Shawka is one of the darkest spots, and would be ideal as our meeting point. @Zed @Gaurav @munkybizness @Niki What you say ?

Wonderful article @Zed !

Straight line is no problem. The problem starts if you make full left or right turns as it makes the differential wind up

3. At low speed, when turning the wheels to park or do low speed manoeuvres te car felt like stopping (like in the sand almost) Never do this while 4H is engaged, the effect you’re describing is called differential lockup and can seriously damage the vehicle. 4H and 4L should only be tested on soft sand, never on tarmac. (Unless 4H has an open center differential like the Pajero).

Join us to explore Al Qudra Desert to find what's beyond Qudra lakes And learn the art of offroading in a versatile playground for your first off-road adventure. You will learn to self-drive your vehicle from experts having decades of off-roading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridges to practice your off-road skills slowly but surely. Drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicles having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and (MANDATORY) Front and rear tow hooks (MANDATORY) What you'll learn: Introduction to off-roading. Desert driving basics and etiquette. Desert driving tips, techniques, myth and best practices. Off-road and safety gear familiarization and recovery procedures. Vehicle orientation, risk analysis, deflation and outdoor safety advice. First time with Carnity Off-road Club: Please share your vehicle details - Make, Model, Year. Do you have any prior off-road experience? Confirm your vehicle has front and rear tow hooks / eyelets. Why should I join? We will teach you how to self-drive off-road safely and learn the best offroad driving and recovery techniques. If you have already driven in sand before then you can learn more from experts having decades of offroading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridge to test your off-road control. Can my vehicle do this ? This drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicle having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and front and rear tow hooks. If in doubt please first announce your questions on the drive thread so we can advise you further. Any stock 4x4/4WD are most welcome, you don't need any vehicle modifications. Can I bring passengers ? Yes of course, but if you are absolute new to offroading it is better to drive alone first to avoid any distractions. Learn More About: Carnity Off-road Club STRICTLY: For ABSOLUTE NEWBIE who are driving for the first time with Carnity. MUST READ AND CLICK TOTALLY AGREE ON THE BELOW COVID19 PRECAUTIONS TOPIC MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: Only for "ABSOLUTE NEWBIES" or first timer with Carnity Off-Road Club When: 30 July 2021, Friday. Meeting time: 05:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/mDoAFDb4r3eGm6yV6 Type of Car: Any 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Tire deflator, pressure gauge and compressor, Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 09:00 AM End Point: Qudra Last Exit Parking LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 new members only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 5PM. 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 or members who are not on the RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please cancel you RSVP if you cannot make it, so your spot can be taken by others. PLEASE RSVP ON BELOW EVENT IN THE EVENT CALENDAR

Welcome to the club @ShereenMK! I would not underestimate the Montero Sport at all, in my opinion this car is capable of amazing things in the right hands. We have quite a few members who drive them, and i've never seen them struggling. Have fun with the learning process and enjoy every drive ! See you soon in the sand !

Drive Report The Suwaydan area is often overlooked by other clubs, mainly due to the fact that there aren't a lot of play areas or "clean dunes" in which you can side slope. I personally always love exploring all types of terrain and believe a good all-round offroader should learn to manage all types of terrain. The small technical dunes, plentiful vegetation, and wonderful scenic views make this area one of my personal favorites and i love coming back here every single time. We met up on time, and after deflation and briefing we started our drive towards the sun. We saw Faya mountain up ahead and knew this was our first destination, but first the plan was to explore Suwaydan and practice the "dips" as Jeetu describes them so well, This terrain teaches everyone a lot about perfect throttle control and precise steering and i was amazed that we were able to cover it with hardly any refusals or recoveries. Once we crossed this first section, we crossed the road and approached Faya from the back side. The fantastic bowls surrounding Faya are always fun, but we had still a big route ahead of us, so after climbing Faya via the cheat route, we made our way back down and headed towards Mahafiz. We exited around 8:30 after 3 hours driving and having covered around 45kms without hassles. I was extremely impressed with all of you, especially the members that came with a big 4x4 which makes navigating small technical dunes extra challenging. Well done !! Of course, the wonderful support from @Hisham Masaad and @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ and superb second lead of @Ranjan Das made the most difference. As i've mentioned before we emphasize on team work, and it was an amazing morning with all of you ! @sheri i hope this kids are feeling better, i have also learned that sitting as passengers in the back is a totally different experience from driving. See you soon again ! @Arman you were weighing down @Aisha Sa tiny bit, but still she drove up Faya like it was nothing 😁 It will be great to see her on Fewbie level drives very soon ! Thanks for joining as a passenger ! See you all soon in the sand again !

Well done @Danish Mohammad ! Keep the Pajero spirit alive !

Well deserved @Ranjan Das !!

DRIVE RSVP IS NOW CLOSED The plan is to explore Suwaydan, which is located on adjacent to Pink Rock, and make our way to Faya. From Faya, if time permits we will drive to Mahafiz. Below you can find your convoy positions for tomorrow: 1) Frederic - Pajero SWB - Crew @Frederic 2) Ranjan Das - Jeep Wrangler SWB - Intermediate @Ranjan Das 3) Munkybizness - Nissan Patrol Super Safari - Newbie - @munkybizness 4) Savio Fernandes - Nissan Patrol - Newbie @Savio Fernandes 5) Shu Yang - Nissan Patrol - Newbie @shu yang 6) Hisham Masaad - FJ Cruiser - Advisor - @Hisham Masaad 7) Sheri - Pajero LWB - Fewbie - @sheri 8- Jeetu Sharma - Pajero LWB - Newbie @jeetu sharma 9) Joseph Sebastian - Jeep Wrangler - Newbie @Joseph Sebastian 10) Zixuan Hunanh (Charlie) - Nissan Pathfinder - Fewbie @Zixuan Huang - Charlie 11) Hafizah Okunnu - Jeep Wrangler SWB - Newbie @Hafizah Okunnu 12) Aisha S - Jeep Wrangler SWB - Newbie @Aisha S 13) Alan Canivet - Jeep Wrangler LWB - Fewbie+ @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil 14) James Thorn - Lexus LX570 - Newbie @James Thorn 15) Muhammad Kashif Razzaq - Jeep Wrangler SWB - Support Team - @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ We will be using Channel 2 - 446.03125 Mhz Please don't forget to bring your Offroad gears as per your level. For Newbie and above this means a flag, shovel, pressure gauge, and programmed radio. See you all tomorrow !

@Ishraqueit looks like you have signed into the manage tab. Was this accidental or are you trying to sign up ? For now the drive RSVP is full, and the manage tab is only reserved for Advisor and above level members. @Ranjan Das @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil i have added you both to the drive.

My favorites: 1) Toyota FJ Cruiser 2) Mitsubishi Pajero SWB 3.8 3) Jeep Wrangler JK Rubicon 4) Nissan Xterra 5) Toyota Fortuner (older model) 4.0 TRD. 6) Toyota LC Prado 4.0 7) Montero Sport

Have a look below:

@Savio Fernandesyou have put yourself in the manage tab, which is reserved for Advisor and above level members only to support the drive. Furthermore this is a Fewbie+ level drive while you are still Newbie. So you are not eligible to join. @Savio Fernandes You can find the Carnity grading structure below:

Hi @Hilal Sharafudeen i was not aware of that. If you have a programmed radio, flag, deflator, and shovel, which are the mandatory items for Newbie level, then you can start joining Newbie drives. See you soon in the sand !

Welcome to the club @Hilal SharafudeenIf you are joining for the first drive, you will need to start with the Absolute Newbie drive coming weekend. After that you can start joining Newbie level drives. Below drive is the Absolute Newbie drive for this weekend:

Absolutely. In stock version you will be able to take on every level. One of the most important things however is to get good All Terrain Tyres. They will allow you to deflate down to 10-12psi which will improve flotation. Avoid the very heavy BF Goodrich tyres, a Yokohama Geolandar works better in my opinion. We have plenty of stock Wranglers in our club, with most of them only going for different tyres and some minor upgrades. Most of them will put a kill-switch that allows them to easily disable the ABS and Traction Controls. This is an easy fix that any offroad minded garage can do.

Great article ! For my offroad driving, i have a handy cooler bag in which i put some cooling elements from the freezer. It's big enough, yet not too big, because in my little Pajero there is little room left. For camping, we use the passive coolers and get some ice bags from the nearest petrol station. Works great. I have not tried any electric models yet, as my 12V power socket is already full with GPS phone, Bluetooth module, and other stuff

Let's start with having a look at the different Jeep Wrangler generations: Jeep Wrangler YJ The YJ (very difficult to find in UAE) was made from 1986 till 1995. I would not consider or recommend this model, mainly due to the lack of any comfort. A car from this era will also come with a guaranteed marriage between you and your mechanic Jeep Wranger TJ The TJ, made from 1996 till 2006 is an amazing offroad toy, mainly because it's so light yet so powerful (4.0 inline straight six engine). The ride to your offroad drive will be noisy, hot, bumpy, and uncomfortable, but you will forget all these things once you are in the desert. It is not so easy to find a clean one (not abused in the desert). Few members in the club like @Arman @Jeepie and some others can tell you all about the ins and outs. Jeep Wrangler JK The JK was made from 2006 until 2018. Two engine models were made, first the 3.8 engine which was relatively powerful but had a very poor reputation for being unreliable, and later the 3.6 Pentastar (2011 onwards I THINK). The 3.8 has around 200hp, while the 3.6 has 285hp. A big difference in performance. Most Jeeps are a bit prone to overheating, and you will see most owners adding some additional cooling fans or transmission coolers to keep this under control. Jeep Wrangler JL The JL still has the 3.6 Pentastar engine, and some improvements were made in comparison with the JK. You also need to consider the different trims: 1) Sport 2) Sahara 3) Rubicon The Sport trim is the most popular one, as it's the cheapest and keeps things basic on the inside. The Sahara is more suited to luxury, and costs quite a bit more, and then you have the Rubicon which is the ultimate off-road beast with front and rear diff lockers and other gizmos. Most people i have seen get the Sport model and then start upgrading / modifying from there as per their liking. You also have the Unlimited Series, these are the 5 door models. I personally prefer the 3door models but that is only a personal preference. If you start the search for a Jeep Wrangler, try to get a STOCK one that has not been modified or abused offroad. The reason is that you simply do not know what crazy stuff the previous owner has done, and it's simply not worth taking the risk if you can find a clean Wrangler that has spent most of its time driving to the mall. Finding a clean TJ is difficult, and some owners ask crazy prices. Due to the age you also have more risk to wear and tear (bushings, suspensions, etc..), but the engines are bulletproof and built to last. Many of us spend quite some time DIY'ing on our car or sitting on the couch of our mechanics, and the older the vehicle, the more time you will be spending looking for parts and fixing it. If you like that kind of stuff, then a TJ or YJ could be really fun. If you want to be hassle-free and have a powerful 4x4, i suggest you to have a look at the Wrangler JK models with the Pentastar Engine. Good luck !