Javier M

29 minutes ago, Frederic said:

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.

I've used them in the past while off-roading in rocks. They are useful as long as you have the right surface and your car has the correct Jack points. But they are super dangerous we had to make sure nobody came close the car since they could easily be tipped on the side and the use of Jack stands is a must.

41 minutes ago, Frederic said:

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.

I agree with you. There's times where I had to dig because the floor jack won't even fit when recovering vehicles with a pop out, I can only imagine having a bottle Jack would make things even worse. Specially for low clearance vehicles like xterras, pajeros, Pathfinders etc. Pretty much anything that is not a Jeep.

I can remember one year ago a Pathfinder had a popout in a very difficult angle in the middle of a ditch, I took us more than an hour to fix the pop out and recover the vehicle out of the ditch I'm sure @Emmanuel remembers this. 

22 minutes ago, desertdude said:

Errrr.....  This is NOT a TJ 

I guess the one who posted the add didn't know either. 

That's a JK!

Advance level

7 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

@Javier M which brand of LED light bar you are using now?

I was about to write about it. 😁

I bought mine in carid.com - they have different brands and sizes. The brand I bought is called Lumen.

A 30 inch bar goes for 900 aed, Including shipping. They are a bit pricey but they are very bright. 

You should pick the JK for a number of reasons. 

Jks will not suffer as much heating as TJs. 

Automatic transmission in TJs will give up at one point if it's not a certain transmission number (I can't remember the transmission number)

Hopefully it is the 3.6 JK not the 3.8. 

1 minute ago, Gaurav said:

I think @Javier M bought his Jeep from offroad zone. So Javier do you recommend there warranty, does it means something to overprice by 40%? 

I didn't buy my Jeep there I just do the maintenance. They only use Mopar original parts hence maintenance price can be higher than other shops but I have peace of mind it won't break down on me in the desert. I've never had an issue with maintenance. They guys there know in and out jeeps.

I've found another one.

Please review and let us know what you think it went wrong.

I grew up in shops among cars and engines being rebuilt, restored and repaired. My dad made off-road cars for the Baja 1000 and Baja 500 races and also modified Jeeps and other cars.

I have back home different cars and pickups so obviously I've always loved cars, I've been offroading all my life on sand, rocks and mud so when I arrived to the UAE I bought a jeep and joined carnity to learn how to do it in this terrain since deserts are way different back home. 

On 3/9/2020 at 7:00 PM, adil said:

What is happening and why all markets are shooting down todaythan 2 week back when COIVID was at prime. Too much good buy when I dont have cash, wht is the next forecast for week to 1 month horizin?

I could explain it but this podcast will do a better job than I do.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-recession.html

2 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Micky Thompson @ 140 - whole highway will move away

They are actually very comfortable at the highway. 

29 minutes ago, sertac said:

Are you even seeing them when I was driving my lifted cherokee I wasn't even seeing them. They were coming too close and tailgating but when I look back I wasn't seeing anything because they were so close and my Jeep was too lifted simply they were out of my vision

If I'm driving my Jeep I can't be bothered by anyone, I love how they all move to the side when they see me doing 140 km/h. But I have a Kia Rio as daily so they piss me off every time I'm driving it.

I hope it doesn't get released here, there are enough people in white corollas tailgating already, I don't want to see now the yaris now on my rear-view mirror.

8 minutes ago, Rahimdad said:

@Xaf and @Javier M thank you for your suggestions.

@Wrangeld I totally agree with your point of view.

I am sorry @Javier M if any of us ever gave you a feeling that you are not being heard. We pride ourselves on the fact that we keep the forum open to all for suggestions on how to improve. As for the checking to see if everyone has the equipment as per the level they are being promoted to, we keep our eyes open, because it is not only carrying the equipment but bringing it to good use. On trips all the seniors keep their attention towards the budding members to make sure they have their equipment and are actively involved to putting those to good use, only than the promotion is announced after taking a survey among the seniors. Promotions are not made on the whim of one person, but collectively and based on the guidelines we have already posted. You will find these points in writing only in @Carnity, I have driven with many clubs and can guarantee you that you will not find any other club in UAE which can give you in writing what you need to do to grow to the next level. @Carnity is also the only club that will provide you with a certificate once you cross your level from Intermediate onward.

@Carnity is fairly young, only 3 years old and we are constantly striving and bringing about subtle changes to continue in harmony. We do recognise that the delays are not well taken by all in normal conditions, we respect everybody time and are experimenting with ways to establish on time departures. You will soon see the changes being made to establish a better on time departure, rather than having to wait for a few people getting late.

@Javier M your suggestions are valuable and we will review it and definitely try to implement it in the best way possible.

@Rahimdad In no way whatsoever I am belittling the effort from you and the rest of the team, Carnity is my family, I was actually saying it as a compliment since in other clubs yes they are more strict but there is also a lot of BS that make it less fun. We can talk about it offline, all I am saying is that we can take the good things that others are implemented without the bad things. But that is also a challenge to find the right balance.

1 minute ago, Xaf said:

@Javier M You are right, that is even better. One main source on the forum, easily found to download the latest version of a manual. 

@Javier M Would it be smart to put the frequencies in such document with the threat it can spread around and might be used against the group in a court case?

The manual can have some liability clauses, and the stuff in the manual would not be different as the stuff in this forum so the same laws apply. 

11 hours ago, Wrangeld said:

Good initiative, but still requires people to actually read them. 

I feel that the challenge is not so much accessibility of the documents but the fact the people who probably most need to read them don't, and won't no matter how accessible.  

Will every fewbie arrive at the drive Friday with all the equipment needed to drive as a fewbie? I have my doubts - because they likely stopped reading at 'you have been promoted'. 

The question on my mind is how do we achieve a situation where everyone has that sense of responsibility that when driving 4x4 it's not just about what 'I' want and more about the fact there are other people involved who depend on you knowing what to do and having the right kit. 

In other groups your equipment is inspected and you do not get the promotion until you actually show you have the driving skill and equipment required to drive at the next level. If you are late you will be left and you won't be allowed to participate since you are wasting the time of the people that are there on time.

I don't think this would be the case for carnity since it is a more relaxed group in that sense. It is a difficult question on how to get the right balance of accountability vs creating a relaxed environment and luckily I do not get a saying on that.

To @Xaf's point, I think the best way would be to create a manual with the most important information, all of this info would be available in the forum for download, instead of having it spread on different pieces. This way you can either print it or have it on our phone for your review. This way if you needed to update/add one thing you would just update the manual and people can go and download the latest version.

7 hours ago, Salarios said:

Thank you @Javier M 

Where did you have yours mounted in the car? And may I ask which shop did it for you, how much you paid and if you were happy with the work they did. 
Thank you!  

I got mine done in Offroad Zone I recommend them of you have a jeep as they specialize in Jeeps, I do my maintenance there. If you have a different car you may want to check with Titan, Ramy or Icon. I can't remember what I paid. But the price you are showing there is not bad actually. I'm assuming that's from Ramy. There are plenty of shops you can pick.

I have the ARB twin compressor. It should not be mounted in the engine bay area or else it will not last long. It should be mounted inside the car. I've been using it for over a year now and it's working as expected, they are really fast and the guys here can testify I always finish inflating first than everyone else. 

The only thing quicker than the ARB is the CO2 tanks but you need to choose wisely because the valves like the smity built will eventually give up. The other issue is that you need to refill it every time and that comes with a cost. 

The other compressors are okay but is a gamble you don't know how long they will last and when will they overheat. 

Wow, I have no words. So many mistakes at the same time. 

OMG 

23 minutes ago, Wrangeld said:

I have heard that there is room for an additonal cooling fan and wondered if there's other people with experience that can suggest solutions that don't require us to spend money that would be much better employed in mods.

For TJs it is recommended to add an aluminium radiator and an extra cooling fan with a switch so you can turn it on when needed. 

20 hours ago, Xaf said:

@Javier M @Frederic

For the people that are interested;

”Where can we find the better material?”

I got a CB radio instead, I don't have to worry about my battery running out, there is plenty of options in Amazon US (dont bother on amazon.ae). 

3 hours ago, Frederic said:

Correct i was in DM earlier this week and saw a banner that showed them at 75AED per piece. The Kenwood TK-UV3 is indeed mostprobably a chinese knockoff. That's why i am more inclined to go for Baofeng due to the amount of information, tutorials, and accesories available.

Baofengs are cheap I'll give them that, but they also sound cheap. If you are on the other side of the radio you can know who is using a baofeng because you cant understand what they are saying.

Once I checked with Nissan to update the maps of the GPS and they were charging me almost 5k.

350 is not that bad, I wonder if this is on purpose to get some extra money from toyota owners.