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@Mark D since you have an F-150 and looking for the strongest one, your best option is base plate bolted to your dash + RAM ball + arm with either RAM X-grip or strong magnetic, see below photos: Base Plate from https://www.builtrightind.com/products/builtright-industries-dash-mount-2015-2020-ford-f-150-raptor-2017-f-250-f-350

hi @Harshad Ashraf, you need to buy this kind of battery from Speedex Sh. Zayed or Dragon Mart: Don't forget to buy the charger too, as leaving these uncharged for 3 months will make the batteries dead 😁

hi @Mario Cornejo , we camped in Al Quaa last weekend. And it was perfect because we checked the Moon Calendar and it was New Moon, so the place was so dark we could see the Bright Stars since 8pm. The next dark night seems to be 31st Dec, but you can try this weekend 9-Dec: Moon Phases Calendar for the month of December 2021 (moongiant.com) The spot we picked was this GPS Coord 23.53486406458191, 54.744255383291794 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/68fmFqbDdRqLQZEB8) ; near a service road servicing a camel farm so our non 4x4 friends can park their car and walk a bit inside... in reality the sedans cancelled and we have a Honda CRV and GMC Acadia AWDs, all they needed to do was deflate to 17psi and they were able to join our 4x4s into the desert. Drone footage of the camping area >> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zdPgHM8cNLtFb3cA8vsH8zNtH5glGpJv/view?usp=sharing Pic below, the only time I use 4LO besides stuck: pulling the kids's sandboard slowly 😂 The next morning, plenty of technical sand for some offroad excursion, we went towards "The Green Pond" https://goo.gl/maps/JDnSNnbpH6AioMTq7 (second pic below)

No I think you're right, it will largely depend on the car... when my Jeep friends with their 8-speed transmission drives in 4L 3rd or 4th and asked me to do the same, I'd say "I found my sweet spot and you found yours, doesn't matter as long as we get over the dunes just fine" 😁 I wouldn't dare drive in 4L just because another car with a different configuration does so, the same with transfer cases blowing up, probably best to check Transfer Case Temperature via ScanGauge/OBD PID during every break.... and fluids maintenance include transmission fluid & transfer case oil & diff gear oil.

Hi @Frederic fellow tech fan 🙂, In the case of FJ Cruiser that uses VF2A Transfer Case, it's Chain-Driven and uses Planetary Gear, which is better explained through a diagram and a video below: 1. Planetary Gear: there's only 1 Gear involved in Gear Reduction from 4H to 4LO, highlighted in Yellow in this Service Manual Diagram of FJ Cruiser Transfer Case: 2. Chain-Driven: When FJ Driver switches from 2WD to 4WD, it already engages the Chain Belt, so even in 4H the Chain is rotating and passing power to the front & rear diffs... Changing it to 4LO doesn't change the belt reaction, it simply moves the fork down so that 1 Gear from point #1 above is in-place and changes the ratio, thus spinning the belt slower (providing slower output to front & rear diffs). This is best explained in the video below starting at minute 13:55 👇 The beauty of Chain-Driven mechanism is that it will still work with no oil or little oil... this is why in our bicycle you rarely need to lubricate the chain between the "pedal gear" and the "wheel gear"... Gear-Driven Transfer Case like my LandCruiser is such a maintenance hassle requiring full lubrication to work, and a hard lesson learned for me who got a broken Transfer Case + broken front diff due to no gear oil inside the transfer case 😂😂😂 Source: http://www.differencebox.com/engineering/difference-between-chain-drive-and-gear-drive/

Your FJ Cruiser has VF2A model Transfer Case, which is Chain-Driven, similar to the Jeep's one that my marshal friend (another club) drives for 4 years in 4LOW 3rd Gear all the time... I'd say if it's going to stretch the chain / decrease lifespan of transfer case, by now he would have gone through a transfer case rebuild, but he hasn't, so yeah no issue with driving 4LO 3rd Gear for a long time every weekend 😁 If you mean the Gear Box as in Transmission, then again nothing to worry much. I have rebuilt the torque converter & transmission for my Toyota and also replaced the Transfer Case gears (my LC is gear-driven not chain-driven) and the front-differential, so I get to see how these parts work as shown by the mechanics in the garage. Simplified in text it goes like this: Engine (rpm) >> Torque Converter >> Transmission (Gear Box) >> Transfer Case >> split into 2 in 4WD: rear propeller shaft to Rear Pumpkin/Diff + front propeller shaft to Front Pumpkin/Diff >> Finally, WHEELS! Though your FJ Cruiser's A750F transmission remains 5-speed with 5-gear ratios, the VF2A with gear reduction (4LO) makes your FJ to have "12 gears", here are the ratio table again if you missed it in my prev post: FJ Cruiser A750F “12-Gears” Transmission: 4High 1:1 ratio 1st Gear 2nd Gear 3rd Gear 4th Gear 5th Gear Reverse 3.520 2.042 1.400 1 0.716 3.224 4LOW 2.566:1 ratio (basically multiply above numbers x 2.566) 1st Gear 2nd Gear 3rd Gear 4th Gear 5th Gear Reverse 3.520 x 2.566 = 9.03 2.042 x 2.566 = 5.24 1.400 x 2.566 = 3.592 1 x 2.566 = 2.566 0.716 x 2.566 = 1.837 3.224 x 2.566 = 8.273 From these table you can see that driving 4H 1st Gear = 4LO 3rd Gear and driving 4LO 4th Gear feels like between 1st and 2nd gear (this is what people feel "more torquey").... and because the Transmission / Gear Box is before your Transfer Case that does the reduction, if any should fail it should be the Transfer Case first... Keep on experimenting @Ashok chaturvedi, only you can tell how to drive your car best, we here are just giving you more encouragement to do trial-and-error (hopefully with a bit of sound reasonings behind it to make you more confident in approaching whatever you choose best) 😉

Hi @Ashok chaturvedi, this is not an FJ-specific thingy, I have a marshal friend who drives his Jeep in 4L 3rd gear consistently and some Nissan buddies also drive in 4L 3rd gear. I will get into the general stuff first, and at the end dive specific to A750F transmission which is used by FJ Cruiser to answer your question mathematically 😁 1. Generally for older 4-speed & 5-speed automatic, people drive in 4H 2nd gear and downshift to 4H 1st gear when climbing or need more torque. In contrast for modern 6-speed & 7-speed automatic, some I've noticed drive in 4L 3rd or 4th gear. They're pretty similar, and I'll prove it mathematically at the end of this post... 2. My Nissan buddies drive in 4L 3rd gear because driving in 4L allows them to turn off VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control - computer will try to brake to fix understeer & oversteer), TCS (Traction Control System - brakes spinning wheel + cut-off fuel to engine and/or close throttle valve to reduce torque) and ABLS (Active Brake Limited Slip - Nissan's version of Toyota A-TRAC), as can be seen from this manual section: 3. If you're already in 4L, during stucks you don't need to shift from 4H > Neutral > 4L > 1st gear 'cos you're already in 4L, which sounds like an excuse a lazy driver would make 😂 FJ Cruiser A750F transmission: 4H or 4L? These are the Gear Ratios for FJ Cruiser / any car with Toyota A750F transmission: Now I'll probably do a deeper dive with diagram what these different gear ratios mean, but for now I will use a cheat calculator to produce the numbers: Problem Question: I want to drive 50 km/h (31 mph) in sand, what do I use? *The 50km/h is intentional as some manuals recommend this speed when driving in 4L, and also on average we usually drive below this speed for Newbie to FewbiePlus Putting the A750 Gear Ratio numbers above, you can easily reach 50km/h in 4H 1st Gear after around 4000 rpm, which is what you'll probably do when climbing a steep dune... then shift to 2nd gear to keep RPM below 3000 for noise & fuel-efficiency. 3.727 : Differential Ratio / Final Axle Gear Ratio 31.6" : Tire Diameter, FJ stock is 265/70R17 31 mph : Desired Speed (50km/h) 3.520 : 1st Gear Ratio 4L and Gear Reduction Transfer Case in 4H is 1:1 (mentioned in A750F spec as High 1.000 above), but when you switch to 4L, it becomes 2.566:1 , this is why 4L in 1st Gear is slower and useful for crawling (but still with torque). But for the sake of fun, how much engine RPM do we need to make 31 MPH in 4LO 1st Gear ? Transmission Ratio now becomes = 2.566 (4LO) x 3.520 (1st Gear) = 9.032 Your Tachometer is usually maximum 7000 rpm, so this 4LO 1st gear will not do, let's skip to 4LO 3rd gear: Transmission Ratio now becomes = 2.566 (4LO) x 1.400 (3rd Gear) = 3.592 And there you have it, using 4LO in 3rd Gear, you will reach 50 km/h (31 mph) after about 4000 rpm engine speed... very similar to 4H in 1st Gear... To recap: If you trust the factory's book recommendation and will not go above 50 km/h in sand, then 4LO sounds safe as it disables all those pesky electronics (VDC, TCS, ABLS, ABS) without pulling any fuse. Otherwise if you're driving long-range dunes and flats and will go beyond 50 km/h in sand, you may want to use 4HI + kill-switch to ensure ABS, TCS, VSC are off.

I'm in the next day's drive after this, but looking at the Convoy List and the excitement, awaiting full trip report & stories from the First Reconnaissance IM team 👍

electrolytes... does Pocari Sweat count? 😁 According to the Japanese website: "POCARI SWEAT is a health drink that contains a balance of ions (electrolytes) that resembles the natural fluid balance in the human body."

He finished the crossing, started at 6am and exited at 4:30pm, this is one of the reasons he won the DCT 😅🔥

That's my Praying Project Manager look, since there were already enough resource deployed for the shoveling project 😂 What I lack in shoveling, I made up with the V8 tug 😅

First a photo to summarize our experience, then trip report below: Obviously it's @Asif Hussainbhai who likes to climb these, but @Rizwanm2 also reached similar heights... these XTerra-ers are like cats when they see trees, itching to climb 😂 (btw WhatsApp me for the videos if you want since gallery doesn't accept videos anymore) Trip Report: We started off with a nice weather, you can even feel the sand under the feet are cold. Our dear Marshal Dr @Chaitanya D commanded that I should keep some distance, so I did... but then he ran off at 50km/h playing hide-and-seek: I could see his flag hidden behind the dunes and I keep seeking where in tracks did he go to 😅 That was a fun first-half, lots of high-paced criss-crossing and throttling-on-every-flats. Second-half was very technical, the sand is so soft that when you park, the cars would slowly sink... some refusals and stucks, but nothing that took more than 15mins to recover. At the end of the technical track, we were awarded with a nice play area as seen in the photo above. It's like seeing gold after shovelling dirt & sand (literally) 😁 I would like to thank our Lead Dr C who trusted me as 2nd Lead and dealt with my banters 😂 Our CF @Rizwanm2 who helped everyone who got refusals and stucks. Our Marshal Sweeper @Asif Hussain who ensured no one is left behind 👍🏻 Also fellow drivers whom I enjoyed chatting before interrupted by our strict time-keeper @Aisha S, Dubaians @munkybizness @Anoop Nair and Sweihan Boy @Josh T. , see you chaps in Liwa!

I've bookmarked the below... product is available to plough sand away from your driveway, but I guess it will work in the desert too to push slow cars forward, it gives me pleasure as Sweeper to really *sweep* people #whoops I meant cars 😁

I'm updating my profile now so it's clear (for a while) that I'm back to using LC100 V8 4.7L as my Primary Car 😁

I was gonna comment the same thing after the draw, but put it on hold after the real event... when your supersonic leader @Lorenzo Candelpergher followed by his devout 2nd lead @Mus_hus78 "cut in" and separated our convoy, i said "Let's yield and give them the way, they seem to be in a rush..." Then we wait... and wait... and wait... until the Black FJ Sweeper showed up, whose pace looks like it's exploring for a picnic area instead of a rally race 😂😂😂 Next year, no more Mr Nice Guy, we'll handle junction crossing like in Vietnam, move forward with eyes closed 🙈 i'm sure Jeepie & @GauravSoni were making coffee while waiting for our convoy to regroup 😅

Mr Bean leading! That's a hint that a Stock Car with High Ground Clearance will suffice for this route 😁

Nooooooo, that's just Mini-Me evilllll 😂😂😂

Guess who's back just in time for the 19th Nov event 😁 @Srikumar @Asif Hussain New Front Diff Assembly & New Transfer Case / Center Diff (didn't opt for the Sharjah scrapyard option) :

Congrats @Ruan van den Heever! Now you'll be the Intermediate Sweeper on the 19th 👍👍👍😁

Thanks Paolo, I didn’t do much support, just tugging a small Pajero effortlessly using momentum, you and the guys were the one who shovel as if there’s gold down there 😂 Always nice to have you in the convoy bro 👍🏻

@Islam Soliman thanks for trusting me with being CF 😊, btw I’ll be driving the Y62 tomorrow… I’ve taken the Y62 to some FB+ drives tho, but feel free to re-order if you think it changes the dynamics. On the other hand I’ll be in front of another Y62 from Danial 😁