Wrangeld

Post Drive Report Having experienced the Sweihan dunes a few weeks ago, I was excited at seeing what another Abu Dhabi off roading terrain had to offer. Al Khatim is not an area where I had driven before and I thought that as this was a newbie (potentially Absolute Newbie) drive, the fact that I would need to use the drive as a partial recce/exploration drive was acceptable. As it turned out there were no absolute newbies on the drive and as a result we were able to take the level up a notch. After I got to grips with the softeness of the sand we were lucky enough to enjoy virgin sands, swooping dunes and exciting climbs and descents to the content of our adrenilan glands. The start of the drive was puncutated by an area we needed to cross that was filled with multiple puncture risks. Old fence posts, barbed wire, discarded pipes and more rubbish than my heart could bear to see littered the vista, making navigation quite challenging - especially as we had started our drive in the dark and were crossing this dune complex through the morning dawn. As the sun came up we made our way across the tracks in the general direction of Sweihan and a veritable treasure of navigable dunes. other leads that have been in this area had told me that one of the greatest challenges of the drive is choosing between so many atttractive and interesting looking dunes. Dune structure is not something that leads talk about in their reposts because mostly, the shape and style of dunes is quite predicatable in the areas we drive. Al Khatim was full of little surprises (some less pleasant than others) with unexpected soft patches, hidden pockets, complex rises and descents and height. Ridge riding was kept to a minimum today because after all this was a Newbie drive,but there too were new challenges: sharp ridges which make driving on them a challenge because there is a metre of soft slick slip face where wheels really have no purchase. If you get the sense from this that the drive was challenging but fun, then I have done my job and hopefully enticed one or two of you to venture out to Abu Dhabi (most lilely after restrictions are lifted) to experience a different scale of dune to what we experience most of the time in Dubai and Sharjah. We managed the drive almost without recoveries @Hasan Wahlan @Farouq Owdeh @Josh T. all had the chance to relax with the pace of the drive well within capabilities leaving @Jeepie with very little to do, excellent in support as ever. @Aravind Sidhardhan as the only true newbie on the drive, you handled everything very well. Sorry about the bumper - hope your garage can help you sort it out easily. Thanks to all of you, espeically @Farouq Owdeh for bringing us into some areas I would not have found without your excellent local knowledge. Please let us know when you and your friends are visiting Maleha again - I'd like to book a seat and bring my own popcorn!

Thanks Erik - It's always better to check. You'll be finishing just as I leave home to get to AD in time! Shame we will not see you. If anything changes, please let us know. As the drive is not full we can accommodate you even at short notice. (050 425 4574) Sure. I just hope that we are finished in time 🤣

Good morning Josh T. @Josh T. Hasan Wahlan @Hasan Wahlan Farouq Owdeh @Farouq Owdeh OmairRao @OmairRao Aravind Sidhardhan @Aravind Sidhardhan Myself and @Jeepie are looking forward to seeing you bright and early tomorrow morning. If you have a radio, please bring it with you - otherwise, we do have spares. We will use Carnity channel #1. The convoy numbering we will sort when we start tomorrow. It would be great if we can leave as close ot 5am as possible as it gets mighty warm later in the day. Any questions, please let me know. @Erik Ean - just to confirm you will not be coming? You removed your RSVP, so if that was a mistake, let me know or we will not wait for you.

Dear Hisham, As a visit to your worshop is a pleasure at any time I will take you up on the offer. I am more than happy to strip it down with the team (or have coffee with you while we wait to see the outcome ). And for the business idea - agreed. If there is anyone with a broken jack, the Hishard Jack Repair Company is open for business. We guarantee you to repair or give your jack back in the condition in which we were unable to repair it.

More than happy to have someone experiment on my jack. There's a business in this somewhere because I am 100% sure that it's not just in Carnity that this is a problem, but across the UAE 4x4 community. Alternative is that if someone has a workshop and is curious we can take a look together and see how to fix this poblem.

I have a JZX hydraulic jack - quite a common model in the club. http://www.gulf-jzxtools.com/products-detail.asp?ID=2236 It's a great model: swivel head, not too heavy, decent carry case so I would like to continue using it, but it's lost it's mojo. It's become more desert plain than Burj Khalifa. I have gone through the obvious fixes of re-priming and filling more oil, but it's clear there is a leak in one of the seals on the jack on the piston (the oil left inside the carry case is a bit of a giveaway). It is not the most expensive item in the world, but I do not want to throw it away if someone in the club has the address of someone that can repair the jack. JZX did not even reply to my mails to their service department, so they probably regard the jack as dispoable, but adding another 25kg of metal to the landfil in Sharjah just does not feel right. Any suggestions?

Clearly, Trading Ents were not there - but all of us on the drive on Saturday saw the problem, and the white plumes of smoke out of the car when you restarted. With the greatest of respect to our esteemed engineerings colleagues, there was clearly something wrong with the car and you needed to bring it into the shop. What are the potential issues? Engine cuts off when it overheats to protect the engine/gearbox/transfer case? Unlikely as Jeeps are know to overheat. An over expended compenent that puts the engine out of kilter? Unlikely ae the engine runs at high temperatures and under stress more often than not. Crank shaft position (not the sensor) - would have led to vibrations. Fuel pump would not cause the vibrations we saw. Also unlikely to result in the smoke that was white - looked like cylinder head gasket had gone at the time. Did they put it on the computer and run diagnotics - the chip should be telling them what went wrong.

Join us to explore Al Khatim Desert in Abu Dhabi 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 test your off-road control. 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 This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST 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: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: Newbie and Above (All Levels) When: 16 July 2021, Friday. Meeting time: 5:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: - https://goo.gl/maps/5eX8y6C8yoD9LEGF8 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: 9:00 AM End Point: ADNOC AL HAFFAR LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. 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 BELOW CALENDAR EVENT

Post Drive Report I did not share with the drivers on this drive that today was the anniversary of my 'famous' technical drive into Lisaili. What took the convoy on that day (wholly due to my lead, by the way) two hours to cross was covered in around 10 minutes and without incident. That meant that we were able to continue on our way through almost 4 hours of uninterrupted driving through what has to be some of the most beautiful and varied dunes in the region. We had great speed as the convoy was so focused on the drive, great banter (or perhaps that should be a bantu) and excellent teamwork and help for each other [none more than me as my car decided it had a liking for bottoming out on soft sand]. In the end we had comparatively few stops and those we had were really not too challenging which is how we managed to cover a lot of ground - a fact that is even more impressive because we did venture into more than one technical patch. With the wind whipping up at the end, we could not take all the ridges or crosses on offer. Did that take anything away from the drive: I don't think so. We would have made it Last Exit had there not been the unfortunate failure of @Gok Krish jeep. We all hope that it's not too serious. What's great is that we were able to get you out of the desert, and I really like the team approach of everyone that meant we all arrived together at Last Exit. A few individual comments: @varunmehndiratta - nice 2nd lead. No pop out this time (for either of us) and a very accomplished drive. Thanks for all the digging. @Ashok chaturvedi - pretty much first out of his car on any refusal and ready to help. That was noticed and appreciated. It's the sort of teamwork that sets a great example. @Thomas Varghese - some good self recoveries and otherwise a well controlled and managed drive from your side. Tariq's loss was yours and the convoy's gain. @Gok Krish - Until the engine started playing up, it was all going very well. @Watteau - lives by the maxim of 'Always pass on what you have learned'. Leading from where ever you are in the pack. @Dodi Syahdar - the lack of comment from your side said it all: but maybe it was also the fact that maybe the strange radio was not working well enough? @Goutam - really nice drive today. Not the easist position in which to be in the convoy, and handled really well. @Kalahari - so good to see you back on a drive and benefit from your input and helping out. We really don't see you sufficiently regularly. @Niki - excellent sweep, excellent support, excellent communication. This is the Way. I really enjoyed the drive. So thank you all for making it so much fun. See you soon in the sand.

Goutam @Goutam Watteau @Watteau varunmehndiratta @varunmehndiratta Dodi Syahdar @Dodi Syahdar Ashok chaturvedi @Ashok chaturvedi Gok Krish @Gok Krish Thomas Varghese @Thomas Varghese Niki @Niki Kalahari @Kalahari Ahab Shamaa @Ahab Shamaa Sometimes, to get where we want to be you must unlearn what you have learned. This is why we are starting our Lisaili drive at the Camel track and not the Fort (which has been a start point of choice for a little while). See you all there tomrrow morning. I leave on time. Convoy numbering below.

Who’s the more foolish: the fool or the fool who follows him? That's what will be on the lips of all that are coming to the drive on Friday and we now have a full drive. Goutam @Goutam Watteau @Watteau varunmehndiratta @varunmehndiratta Dodi Syahdar @Dodi Syahdar Ashok chaturvedi @Ashok chaturvedi Gok Krish @Gok Krish Tariq Carrimjee @Tariq Carrimjee Niki @Niki Kalahari @Kalahari Ahab Shamaa @Ahab Shamaa You are all confirmed. If anyone drops out, @Thomas Varghese gets a drive. IM drive so please all be ready and prepared to go. I will post the final start point tomorrow as I am still undecided about where the best entry point might be. See you soon in the sand.

Goutam @Goutam Watteau @Watteau varunmehndiratta @varunmehndiratta Dodi Syahdar @Dodi Syahdar Ashok chaturvedi @Ashok chaturvedi Gok Krish @Gok Krish Tariq Carrimjee @Tariq Carrimjee Niki @Niki Kalahari @Kalahari The question on everyone's lips: the decision to join this drive, brave or stupid? Middle of summer, middle of the most technical dune complex in Dubai, long way to Last Exit or Faqa, incredible high dunes and ridges waiting to be conquered, or ... What can I tell you about the plan. We need to take into account that the convoy has a mixed car makeup, from the largest to the smallest and that this is an IM drive and not Extreme. So ... I am looking for a routing that's going to be challenging at a technical level, has enough thrills and adrenalin to keep everyone happy and leaves us still able to get out of the sand in time for Spicy Village opening up for breakfast. Will we succeed? Difficult to tell. Everyone on the drive is has excellent control of their car and experience in IM. It's a great area in which to play and challenge ourselves. There's no-one with reliability issues on their car. So expect criss crossing, riding ridges and small technical areas where a slip will lead to a world of pain ... I give you: Lisaili.

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST Two Way Radio Guidelines Every Off-roader 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. Drive Details Level: Intermediate drives and above When: 09 July 2021, Friday Meeting time: 04:30 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions). Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/1Ecuj5yqpTsiZjeM9 Action Plan: We will be driving from Lisaili. We will deal with what ever comes our way, technical dunes, wide vistas, crests, cross cross and if we are lucky some nice bowls. This area offers some challenging technical dunes, intersting ridge riding and endless opportunities for criss cross. 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: 08:30 AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE UNLESS YOU HAVE A COMPRESSOR. ANYONE ARRIVING AT THE DRIVE WITHOUT A COMPRESSOR, FLAG, PROPER SHOVEL AND DEFLATION KIT WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. ALL TOW POINTS WILL BE CHECKED BEFORE DEPARTURE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 3 PM. 1 Lead + 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 below Calendar

Post drive report Great drive today for an Absolute Newbie. @Cornelius Wessels @Mohammed Azar @Himanshu @Theo Busschau @Chris Maycroft @Alexander Holodny thanks for the care and attention today during a fantastic drive from Bab Al Shams to Last Exit. All of you drove very well, gained great learning and I hope a feeling of how amazing being off road can be in your vehicle. Yes, we had stops - but nothing serious or too time consuming. The drive was at the right level for Absolute Newbies as by the end everyone was confident and capable and as far as I could see smiling and happy to have joined the drive. @Cornelius Wessels - nice shakedown for the new ride. Was great to see you. @Himanshu - considering the weight in your car (!) and the disturbances that you must have had you did really well today. Next time ...maybe less guests and more focus? @Mohammed Azar - you're already a marshals' favorite because of your ride and you did well. It will take time to learn better how to modulate the clutch and power. @Theo Busschau - nice first drive. Well handled (great choice of vehicle) in every respect. Really well controlled throughout. @Chris Maycroft - it takes time to learn a vehicle and it was clear once you had momentum on your side things got easier. See you in 6 weeks I hope. @Alexander Holodny - you did well in the Montero. It will take a bit of time for you to get to grips with the characteristics of the car as well. @Islam Soliman - an outstanding support as ever. A true pleasure to drive with you. See you soon in the sand.

Hi Cornelius I'm happy adding you and the new beast. Hoping tomorrow will be less eventful than our first drive together.

Hi @Himanshu Great to see you signed up for the Carnity Absolute Newbie drive on Friday 2nd. We are looking forward to meeting you. We ask everyone that signs up here to answer a few quick questions so we can plan better for the drive and make sure that no-one is disappointed by arriving and not being allowed to drive: Do you bring any 4x4 experience with you to the drive? If so what did you already do? Does your car have any modifications? Do any of these impact the off-road requirements of 8 - 10 inch clearance, tow hooks front & rear, 4 wheel drive What do you want to achieve in joining the club? Thanks in advance and looking forward to meeting you Friday.

I think that the experience will be quite different with the Montero - if only because the ground clearance will in the end allow you to get to places that were challenging for the RR because of the ride height and the low profile tires. In any case looking forward to your arrival on Friday.

Hi Alexander, Thanks. The Motero sport is a perfectly good vehicle for our drives ... but of course, you've piquedeverybody's attention saying you had something significantly more powerful before this ...

Welcome to Carnity @Theo Busschau As the driver of a Pajero 3.8 SWB (with added skid plates front and rear) I am delighted to know you will be joining the drive on Friday. We will do our best to put your previous knowledge to the test and help you achieve your objectives of more confidence in the desert and being able to explore. Look forward to seeing you on Friday.

Hi @Alexander Holodny Great to see you signed up for the Carnity Absolute Newbie drive on Friday 2nd. We are looking forward to meeting you. We ask everyone that signs up here to answer a few quick questions so we can plan better for the drive and make sure that no-one is disappointed by arriving and not being allowed to drive: Do you bring any 4x4 experience with you to the drive? If so what did you already do? Does your car have any modifications? Do any of these impact the off-road requirements of 8 - 10 inch clearance, tow hooks front & rear, 4 wheel drive What do you want to achieve in joining the club? Thanks in advance and looking forward to meeting you Friday.

Hi Vikas, The absolute Newbie drive is for people that have never driven before with Carnity. Can I ask you please to sign out of this drive and join one of the other newbie drives that will be taking place on Friday This one still has space on it. Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Tawi Nizwa - Sharjah - 2 July 2021 - Events Calendar - Carnity.com From the feedback I got, there is no reason for you to repeat the absolute newbie drive.

Hi @Chris Maycroft Great to see you signed up for the Carnity Absolute Newbie drive on Friday 2nd. We are looking forward to meeting you. We ask everyone that signs up here to answer a few quick questions so we can plan better for the drive and make sure that no-one is disappointed by arriving and not being allowed to drive: Do you bring any 4x4 experience with you to the drive? If so what did you already do? Does your car have any modifications? Do any of these impact the off-road requirements of 8 - 10 inch clearance, tow hooks front & rear, 4 wheel drive What do you want to achieve in joining the club? Thanks in advance and looking forward to meeting you Friday.