topgear

I went on holiday in the States in 2014 and drove an Xterra from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. 

It was a maroon Xterra, not sure of the specs. But it was a nice drive...solid, stable on the highway and absorb all the humps and bumps near the Grand Canyon without any fuss. I do share your appreciation of the Xterra.

Congratulations @Looper 

Thank you Dr @M.Seidam for the great planning and strategy for this epic drive that exposed us to a great sample of terrain, sand, dunes formation and challenges. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Also many thanks to @Rizwanm2 @Pacific for playing the CF and sweeper role. @Ashok chaturvedithanks for being a very informative SL with lots of caution and information to the rest of the convoy. 
Great fun driving with you guys : @Waqas Parvez@Vaibhav @Davie Chase @Mohamad Anwer@Naveen Raj @Gregory @Tareck 

Congratulations @Davie Chase 
enjoy the sand and dunes 

Thank you @M.Seidam for the fantastic drive (as always) and accommodating my passenger’s request for a short break due to motion sickness. Thanks @munkybizness for the motion sickness pill. He felt okay after that and fell asleep 😁. He was not sure if it was the pills or jet lagged as he arrived yesterday. I thought it was better for us to leave at Solar Park and let him have a relaxing afternoon. 

Back to the drive, I personally enjoy these sort of drives where we cross over to different deserts and we could see the different terrain, sands color and such. Today, I also learnt to drive gently and smoothly (for my passenger’s well-being ) so that I minimize sudden acceleration or braking which was what I tend to do. It gave me a different perspective to driving. I am quite pleased with  my efforts. 
 

@M.Seidam i managed to capture these

😱 19 on the waitlist!!!!  Is this a new record? 😁

@Lorenzo Candelpergher I had the opportunity to drive once with you and it was great. I hope there will be more opportunities in the future. All the best!

@Jeepie I have driven with you a few times and had learnt a lot from you. Whilst I am sorry to see you leave the club, I respect your decision for doing so.  Nevertheless, I hope you will be able to recalibrate and come back in the future on the terms that are acceptable to you.

I have been to Tawi Nazwa several times. I like the soft sand and the dunes allow for a very nice flow. 
I must say that today is very different which was still a great experience. The weather was fantastic too. Good learning experience for all when dealing with the pop outs. 
thanks @Jeepiefor leading and to the rest me the convoy members, hope to see you all next time. 

Sorry @Lorenzo Candelpergher 

I just saw your message and therefore missed it. Hope you guys have a great drive. 

13 hours ago, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

With more dropouts, we now have @Pacific and @topgear admitted as well. Please confirm both your attendance. 

11 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Hi @topgear. Thanks a lot for your kind request. I would love to extend the convoy, but with the current holiday season many Marshals are not available, and none can join me to take her/his share of an extended convoy. I will have to keep this drive as it is, in spite of the long waiting list. Sorry to have to disappoint you. Looking forward to seeing you soon again.

Dear @Ishaq Muhammad. Thanks for your kind request. I am directing your query to the members of our Crew (@Gaurav, @Srikumar or @Frederic) who will be able to update you.

Ok, understood. If there’s any cancellation, I’m happy to jump in 😁

@Ale VallecchiDue to strong demand, is there any possibility of another convoy being added to accommodate those on the waitlist?

I have signed out from this drive due to other commitments. Hopefully, there will be another time @M.Seidam 

Have a great drive!

Congrats @Karthik Raptor

@Looper I was there too when you mentioned it 😁 I am sure it was due to fatigue and not lack of skills 

Today’s event was a great initiative @Wrangeldand it was my honor to support and contribute my small part in the whole affair. Also special thanks to the support crew @Dodi Syahdar@Alex Raptor  who showed up with ample space in their trunk to ferry those rubbish from the desert to where they belong, the disposal bin. Thanks to @Ale Vallecchi and @Looper for their searches and discoveries for the team to collect. Great efforts !

Thanks Dr @Chaitanya D and the support team @Anish S and @Looper

Also special thanks to the rest of the convoy for the great company and drive & camp.  

The drive was great, weather was perfect, the camping and camaraderie was second to none. My family enjoyed it very much. Special thanks to @Anish S@Veedooshee for food. 
 

The night was amazing with all the colorful stories and generous sharing of life’s experiences. Till the next one folks….

Thanks for your feedback

For those who uses Quick Fist to secure the shovel on the roof, how did you secure the Quick Fist on the roof?

@M.Seidam I forgot to ask you after our drive last weekend, how did you secure the Quick Fist or equivalent to the roof rack?

@Ashok chaturvedi I checkout your setup before the Liwa drive but I could not locate the base that you recommended on Amazon. Appreciate if you could nudge me in the right direction. 

All other comments welcomed. Thanks

15 minutes ago, Karthik Raptor said:

I was there last night, went to 5 different shops not a single one budged on the price. Finally lifted a 4 cylinder one for 600 AED. I was told that for few items they all have a mutual agreement to sell at a certain price.

Do you mean a 4 cyl compressor? 

Thank you @M.Seidam for putting together the great drive. Very comfortable, considerate and safe. 
 

@JeromeFJThanks for your great support and tips how to use the gizmos that came with my FJ. Good for my knowledge bank. @Loopergreat support from you in this convoy. 

@Faisal Alhashimi I’m very impressed with your driving and reaction. 

overall I enjoyed the crisscrossing and ridge riding sessions and the desert in the great weather. Cross crossing is one of my many weaknesses and I’m glad I learnt some stuff from you guys. 

Dr @Chaitanya D did you install yours on flat surface like Dr @M.Seidam or on the windscreen?

Last year, I viewed a lot of awesome photos and read a lot of great reports about the Liwa drives. This year, I made it a point to visit the Yellow Truck and I am glad that I did. Liwa did deliver on its promise by leaps and bounds. 

My day started well. When I stopped at the 2nd last petrol station to refuel before the meeting point,  I bumped into these 2 legends @Gaurav @Srikumar , after a quick hello, I tailed them to the meeting point. 

The weather was perfect. It was still foggy when we arrived at the meeting point and slowly more people (and cars) arrived and the buzz, enthusiasm and activities went a notch higher. I had the pleasure of meeting @Niki whom I had communicated over WhatsApp on FJ matters on numerous occasions. and he was ever so informative and helpful. Also, thanks for the croissant and coffee! 

I have not been driving regularly this year and since I know Liwa is challenging, I am glad that I joined this drive under the great leadership of @Srikumarand @Anish S . I have driven quite a few times with these 2 gentlemen before and I enjoyed their clear communication, style of convoy and driving. I knew that I am in safe hands and I will get to enjoy the beautiful Liwa. After the clear and precise briefing from Sri, particularly, on how to descend from the tall dunes, we got started and it was indeed exciting.

Most of us had to check our tyre pressure and deflate a couple of times as the pressure gradually increased with the temperature.  

I enjoyed being in SL and get to see for myself the perfect lines and throttle applied by Sri on the soft Liwa sand dunes. We had a few enjoyable shoveling sessions, also an opportunity to rest, rehydrate and enjoy the scenery. The first long break came when Sri and Anish had to troubleshoot the overheating issues on the LR3. It was a good call to take a break to the Yellow Truck and come back later after the car has cooled down. Great help from @Asif Hussain to get the LR3's clutch fan to work again and @Derius Oliviermanaged to drive the second half session without any problems. 

@Ali Shah Thanks for the great conversations and you are doing really well as this is just your second drive. I hope there will be many more drives for you.

@Adnan Halepota@Karthik Raptor @Derius Olivier  Everyone drove really well! I really enjoyed this convoy and glad that we navigated Liwa safely and came out in one piece.
Thanks again for all the hard work and dedication from @Srikumar @Anish S and not forgetting the great help from @Asif Hussain Dr @Chaitanya D 

We got out shortly before sunset and made it back to Dubai in good time.

I hope to see you all again soon. 

41 minutes ago, Chaitanya D said:

envy you 🤣

Imagine my surprise when I filled up for the first time. 

My FJC come with 159 litres of fuel tank. Typically, I could drive 900km+ on mixed conditions of highway, traffic, idling and off-roading. 

Do I still need the Jerry can if come with a full tank from the last petrol station prior to the meeting point?