Lisa Pemberton

I have withdrawn from this drive. Please pass to anyone on the wait list.

My first drive back after a year. Had a great day out, really lovely bunch of ppl on this drive. Looking forward to meeting you all again. Thanks @Brette for giving me the confidence of being in safe hands after my first drive back nerves!

@Gaurav can't believe I forgot to tag you in this - thank you for the information. It's overwhelming the options and quotes I'm getting it's making coming to a decision very difficult. The three shops that are narrowed down are using 8mm plates but the note you mentioned about the holes was something I hadn't considered. The pic above is the only shop I've seen offering this kind of bumper guard with the bash plate but then one of the other shops I visited was redoing work,  from the shop this plate was from, stating the lack of a reinforced frame and the bolts as being the reason it hadn't fulfilled it's purpose. This had me leaning towards the frame being an integral part of the installation. 

Perhaps an actual bumper guard is the better choice rather than the design feature along with a bash plate here - but I see your point about added weight to the vehicle. 

@Srikumar @Frederic @Wrangeld @Shiju Manuel do you have an opinion on the bashplate design below? Shopping around with other club members we have noticed most designs finish under the front bumper line whereas this one comes up over the front of the grill? Would this potentially negatively impact the nose in the likely (in my case) event of nosediving off a dune onto it? 

@Jeepie please remove me from the drive 😭😭😭😭 and add @Miguel Ibarbia. I won't have the work done on my Pajero before Friday and after last weekend can't risk leaving parts of my Pajero in the desert!

Doubly disappointed being the first week I have missed a drive and my first drive with @Jeepie leading! 😔

Have a fun, safe drive, everyone. 

@Dagdag Sofiane I just got the following quote. +971544977052 if you want more details. 

Pajero plates

Front bashplate            997.5
Fixing rear skidplate   157.5
Bumper trim                  100

Total                           1,255
+vat
                                  1,317.75

2 minutes ago, Dagdag Sofiane said:

Hello @Lisa Pemberton,

i’ll try, I let you know by the end of the day

Me too. Going to go round a few places after work, myself. 

Let me know if you are successful! @Dagdag Sofiane I wonder if we bring them double the business they will give us a discount 🤔 

@Dagdag Sofiane I just got a quote of 1700AED (all incl) for 8mm bash plate with frame reinforcement, rear skid plate and flag fixing. Most places are asking 200AED to trim the bumper but I figure if I do it myself and bring it in for the other mods they'll fix anything I've taped from the bumper trim.

2 minutes ago, Yousef Alimadadi said:

@Lisa Pemberton, I think based on carnity regulation, I am not allowed to mention the name of Workshop but this is my mob. Number and I can share full information by WhatsApp.

0523918064

However, rear plate cost AED 450 and front frame+ plate cost AED 1,200

No worries @Yousef Alimadadi just trying to get the cheapest quote before I take the car in somewhere for a day. I've been quoted the same by a shop already so I'll keep shopping around 🙃 

Thanks @Yousef Alimadadi! Where did you get this work done and how much did it cost you?

@Srikumar and @Frederic that's really clear, thanks for the advice. I think I'll trim it myself as when I hard lock the steering to reverse into my parking spot I can feel it rubbing on my tire. 

Will try to get the bash plates upgraded before the next drive sees me leaving parts of the engine in the desert behind me!

Thanks for the detailed response @Srikumar, I'll take your advice and hold off on the lift.

I appreciate the clarification on the bumper being a separate issue to the bash plate! Makes sense to get them both done at the same time if I'm making the trip to a workshop!

The last couple of drives have had me nosediving hard off a couple of short dunes and the underside of my bumper is getting close to kissing the front right tire.

I saw both @Yousef Alimadadi and @Mels Wolf post about getting mods done for their Pajeros. Seems to be 1000AED or thereabouts is the ballpark range. Looking for shop recommendations to do the work. 

Also how do we feel about the benefits of getting a suspension lift and what kind of prices, shop recommendations do you have?

4 minutes ago, luwaimn said:

Yes, but the quality is very good. Most of my equipment is sourced from Ace

I agree with you that for certain items the quality is the highest priority but when it comes to plastic bins for storage, I'm happy to go for the cheaper options available, considering the use and function. Also when you shop around you will find the exact same items stocked in ACE are stocked elsewhere for a fraction of the price. I'm a woman - love shopping around for a good deal  Added to that - living in RAK, having something delivered is a helluva lot more convenient than an hour's drive to physically pick up the same item.

Just now, luwaimn said:

Better try ace in Dubai. They have more good ones and you will be better able to judge when you see them.

Honestly I hate giving my money to ACE cos they are so over-priced for everything!

@luwaimn and @Mohamed Seidam what capacity/size boxes are you using and what can you fit inside? I'm looking at them on amazon right now for pricing. I like the idea of the grab and go boxes rather than keeping everything in the trunk all the time. Also, any recommendations for the nets or ratchet straps or are they pretty much similar in terms of sizing and quality?

I'm so keen to hear how this drive went seeing as you were so close to my hood! I'm sorry I didn't read it earlier I would have met up for the lunch part of the drive  Hope you had fun exploring!

Getting a place on a drive is an adrenaline rush in of itself! My Sunday evening from 6:55pm onwards is spent, heart racing, staring at my WhatsApp screen 😅. Hope to see you @Sreejith Sreenivasan on a drive soon!

@Shiju Manuel I absolutely will, it was just some bad luck with the pull bringing the rope under and across the fixings. Now Raju knows who I am, I have no doubt he will be of great assistance to me 🙂

My second fewbie drive and second with @Wrangeld, this was a masterclass in tips and techniques and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I quietly cursed myself getting crested on that first dune, I think I was still in zoned out highway driving mode after that early morning start from RAK. This tug dislodged the plate I had fitted to the rear bumper (with the help of @Shiju Manuel) the night before so it looks like a return visit to the garage is in order! Pictured below are my Before-After and After-After pics.

After a couple of stucks and once past those technical dune I settled into a good pace again and enjoyed practicing the criss-crossing. I also learned how to deal with a pop-out which is another new skill. Watching this also made me question how useful my hydraulic bottle jack would actually be in the desert... I suspect it would just pile drive towards the center of the earth. This was also a great opportunity to mix with the other drivers... any time I do so, I pick up so much helpful information and tips. So thank you to all of you who freely share information and help me to develop further and protect my Pajero. I think bash plates are going to be the next purchase for me, so I'll be crowd sourcing recommendations soon.

Thanks to @Jeepie for the early warnings near the end of the drive for short dunes. I find following SWB vehicles I can misjudge the "throttle vs drop the other side" ratio and launched myself off a couple of dunes at a speed intended for a longer dune or much shorter vehicle. The underside of my front bumper is getting uncomfortably friendly with my front right tire, so taking @Wrangeld advice I'll be removing this asap. 

All through the drive @Rahimdad was playing scavenger hunt with us and showed up with tow ropes at the end. Many thanks brother 🙏.  Seeing him and @Frederic show up on their way to rescue some random stranded person in the middle of the desert, it was fitting that @Rahimdad chose to wear his Superman T-shirt that day 😉.

I literally just got back from Al Reem garage in Ajman! Huge thanks to @Shiju Manuel who was a real club brother to me today, and called ahead to let them know I'd be arriving and what I needed done. I know they waited for me and despite my best efforts (Sharjah Thursday night traffic) didn't arrive until 6:55pm so I left a tip as gratitude. Can't thank you enough for the support and looking forward to seeing it in action tomorrow 😀 

@Rahimdad I have 345AED left in cash would you believe 😆. I'll swing by an ATM at Adnoc on the way tomorrow morning!

I will do  My number is 0544977052 so you know it's me calling.

You're a saint @Shiju Manuel I'll drive there tomorrow evening after work and take you up that offer, brother. I have a feeling whatever I get from the shop here in RAK tomorrow isn't going to be what I need. I'll message you in advance to let you know if I'm heading there. 

@Shiju Manuel I actually called Raju at the place in Ajman you recommended but he doesn't speak English or his number has changed. I also WhatsApped Al Reem Garage your thread and pics but no dice :(.

I have unsuccessfully been around a number of workshops and garages here in RAK after reading that forum topic but no luck so far. One shop is making me something(?) but there was a severe language barrier so I have no real clue what I'm going get... it may just end up being a 150AED of scrap! I called Titan in Dubai out of desperation and was told they would get back to me as 2 of their fabricators are on leave. I haven't heard back from them.

@Srikumar thanks for reassuring me it isn't a difficult job to remove the bumper. I watched a YouTube on how to do it... just need to buy the socket wrench set tomorrow.