Francois Germishuys

Hi @Vanessa8580 possible to add me to this drive ? 

Let me know thanks 

@Ale Vallecchi thank for the awesome drive, lets do an intermediate one next! ✌🏼

@Ale Vallecchi promise to sweep it clean, no one will know we were there ... ✌🏼

10 minutes ago, Chaitanya D said:

Waitlist - First drive

1. Nabil

2. Mukundan

3. Francois ( But I think you got a confirmed drive with Ale)

Wait List - 2nd drive

1. Ahab Shamaa

2. Muhammad Kashaf Razaq

3. Tero 

 

Yes I’ll be doing the Friday drive only, you can remove me here thanks. 

1 minute ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear @Francois Germishuys. If you are still without your first drive this WE I can add you to this one, following Arda's dropping out. Please confirm and I'll add you. Thanks. 

Hi @Ale Vallecchi yip looks like im not wanted over there 😜. Yes pls add me here for my first drive. 

14 minutes ago, Thomas Varghese said:

I have 1 doubt. As this is almost an 8 hour drive from 8 in the morning to 4 in the evening which is double the duration of a normal drive of 4 hours will the drive be credited as done 2 drives in counting the drives for the next promotion? @Rahimdad, @Gaurav, @Ale Vallecchi, @Foxtrot Oscar please clarify this doubt. 

It counts as 1 drive, the duration doesn’t matter. 

Please add me to this drive waiting list, this will be my second drive for the weekend. (Still no confirmed drive for the weekend though, I'm also on the waiting list for 16th Intermediate ....)

Please add me to the waiting list, my first drive. 

@Wrangeld great drive today, different terrain than what im used to, very tight, had the nose and tail in the sand a lot but we made it. The beats is pulling well with the new air intake 🤤. The wind started making it difficult to follow the track later on which was quite interesting.  @Kalahari hope you enjoyed the soup behind me ✌🏼
 

@Ahab ShamaaCongrats bro, see you in the sand! 

@Srikumar Hi, I've left the drive as i'll be joining the intermediate drive tomorrow. One space open for the next in line! See you next time. 

@Wrangeld Thanks a lot Sir, i'll remove myself From the other drive now, c you tomorrow. 

@Wrangeld hi Richard, if possible add me to this group when a spot open as this will be my first intermediate drive, if you add me here then I’ll drop out of the Fewby plus drive on the other side. Let me know thanks.

45 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Congratulations @Francois Germishuys for reaching the Intermediate Level with Carnity Offroad Club. 

Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment.

Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details.

P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear.

 

INTERMEDIATE

Drives Attended (Indicative)	Minimum 10 drives are required within last 6 months for Intermediate promotion. (Drives can be a mix of Newbie, Fewbie (50%) and Fewbie plus, depending on your adaptability, learning progress and Marshal’s feedback)
What you'll learn	Basic GPS and navigational skills Basic tow rope and winch recoveries Extreme side sloping and long hill climb Tall dunes ridge riding and criss crossing Precise control over technical dunes Fast pace desert driving
Skills required	Adventurous and thrill seeker but in a safe manner Level headed under stressful situations Responsible, dependable and accountable
Car Worthiness	Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires
Off-road gear required	Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS.
Drive teamwork	Manage center forward position with Trip Lead’s permission Learn/assist recoveries under Trip Lead’s supervision Re-route convoy and coordination, when needed Learn to lead small portion of Intermediate drive under Marshal supervision
Drive Joining	Join Newbie, Fewbie, Intermediate and Exploration drives only
Forum participation	Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Thank you very much Carnity team, its a pleasure to drive with you all! See you in the sand this weekend!! ✌🏼🎉🙏🏻

18 hours ago, Shehab Alawadhi said:

Yea it was my fault for not following the track, I can admit to that @Frederic. I wanted to try something with my car and test the limit, of my front bumper. I got lucky it was just that plastic part that broke and Alhamdu lilah I didn’t get hurt and nothing major happened to my car.
@Gaurav alright will do, and you’re right my car is heavy especially in the front. Thinking about it now it makes sense. Carbon fiber would work but that’s very pricey.

@Francois Germishuys Alright I’ll look into lift kits then. Which of the brands would you recommend, and which stage? 

@Thomas Varghese it felt like a wave of sand crashed into bonnet it looked really cool from the inside. At the time I didn’t hear anything break but the point of impact was not where I thought it was. After closer inspection it was somewhere else on the bumper that hit and the plastic part broke because of the pressure.

@Frederic again I’m sorry for not following the path. I totally can admit that I messed up. I did learn something though, my car really does have a lot of torque and power, she just kept going and going up I was really fascinated. 

You will need to decide what it is you want from your truck first, make a plan, just putting any lift kit might turn out not working for you at all, adding on weight later on will affect which type of suspension upgrades you will need, you dont want to have to change everything again if you decide to put different bumpers and other items on the back at a later stage that all add extra weight and then you did not plan for that when you upgraded the suspension. 
 

A good point to start to get height added to your truck will be the tyres and rims to get your read axle higher of the ground then decide which suspension upgrade will go along with it (2-2.5inch lift is more than enough) to lift your chassis (break over angle, approach and departure angle) higher of the ground for better clearance. There are many options for suspension also, so you’ll need to do your research a bit to see what will suit your needs and most importantly your pocket as suspension is not cheap starting from around 6.5k to almost 15k....

shop around for tyres and rims first and check their weight as you dont want to add to much extra weight to your truck. i know  385hp is plenty and i know you will barely feel the difference but less weight is better, also look into a cold air intake when you do all these modifications to help your truck breathe easier (it adds 10+hp also)  

Good luck ✌🏼

4 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

If you bumped that plastic part after 5-6 drives then ask yourself if this was a one-off accident of you bumping or missing some brake in time. This can and will happen to all of us and you shouldn't be thinking of changing the whole bumper because of this case (only).

Get that plastic bit sorted and add 6mm - 8mm bash plate underneath as you already have a metal bumper and good clearance.

The more customized stuff you get in this scenario will simply increase the weight on the nose of the car and will restrict your long hill climb in future fewbie and intermediate drives, my two cents. Customized or full metal bumper like Warn and TJM brand will add at least 40-50 kg weight in front.

Maybe you can check with other Ford F150 users if they have done something for the bumper. @Francois Germishuys @Jack Thomas @Malachy McGrogan @Melenany

Good day, that plastic thing cost about Dhs100 directly from Ford, ive replaced mine once already, bumped the wall at home and then hit a dune which then took it off... but generally i dont get my nose that deep into dunes to damage it and ive had about 12 desert drives now and no issues, i dont think its worth changing the bumper for that, besides it being dead cheap to replace a 2 inch lift (king/ icon/ fox) will make more sense (probably cost the same) than to change the bumper as you actually  dont need it. 
 

@Wrangeld thanks for an awesome drive today, I enjoy it and with the bigger dunes so yeah it was fun. It was a nice and clean run for almost everyone......
@DANIEL NOGUEIRA hope you get that truck sorted for the next drive, hopefully nothing to serious ✌🏼

@Jeepie pics uploaded ✌🏼 And thanks for a really good drive, this drive was the first time that there was a lady who was not one of the leads or sweepers @Veedooshee i was well impressed as she was better than most men driving the same car, i found some of the sections quite challenging so well done to her for managing it without any issues! 

Ive driven with most of the guys on this drive before and Ive noticed that all have improved well, which is a good thing... I also have to note a few issues which keeps happening on most drives which the drivers need to start working on to improve moving forward from my point of view (definitely issues that Fewbie and above should have already learned to avoid at this stage) 

1- waiting to long to follow the driver in front of you then getting lost and not following the correct route (very dangerous as “we” me and @Jeepie have seen on this drive) 

2- stopping on the crest of the dune, and then 9 out if 10 times getting stuck. This becomes an issue for the rest of the convoy especially when you are following the car in front of you and they already cleared without any warning to the rest following, if the cars in front of you cleared then the chance for you to get into any dangerous situation is very small so no reason to stop because you will get stuck! If you have to stop “on” the crest then let the nose of your car tip over and face down before you stop. I have never experienced any situation where i had to stop on the crest for any reason even if the car in front of me stopped on the other side of the dune, if the cars flag in front of you is not visible anymore (and no stop warning was given)  then it should be safe to get over (very important to have a flag) you will have more than enough time then to assess whether to stop or to continue. If you absolutely have to stop just over the crest in this position your car and your flag would still be visible to the following car which will allow the driver to stop if he sees your car stopped.

3- stopped on the other side of the dune waiting for the cars in front of you to move on and not informing the drivers behind u, in this position you create a danger for the following cars that CANNOT see your car or flag anymore (always an issue with the middle size dunes, with big dunes there is a lot of space and with the small dunes you can still see the car in front of you or at least you can still see its flag) you only become visible to the next car as he gets on/ over the crest of the dune, in this situation the next driver most of the time just stops on the crest and then gets stuck or they need to swerve in another direction to pass you. When you have no choice but to do this then PLEASE notify the team over the radio that you stopped, thats why we all have radios to communicate with each other, the radio is not just there to let everyone know you need a bio break ..... (again safe following distance between the drivers is a must). 

4- listen and follow instructions giving to you, if you dont fully understand or didn’t clearly hear the instructions then DO NOT proceed to drive, stop and ask again until you are crystal clear on what to do, in this drive I again as with few previous drives see people doing the opposite what is told over the radio, and then getting stuck or getting them in a dangerous situation....

5- leave enough space in from of you to be able to get to a save parking spot in case you have to stop due to the convoy stopping due to refusals or whatever reason, this for me was an issue few time on this drive where i have to anticipate the drivers moves in front of me and then also trying to give space for the driver behind me because im in a difficult situation because i suddenly have to stop with my big truck due to the drivers actions in front of me, the dunes certainly made it difficult for me to just suddenly stop and in few instances i just could not stop and wait for the cars in front of me to re-attempt to follow the lead and i just had to pass them and follow through and then stop in a safe place behind the lead. 
 

6- Getting stuck.... as with many other drives I keep seeing drivers getting them self stuck and then just keep driving like nothing is wrong and then just dig themselves in more and more when they clearly are not going anywhere. When your vehicle is not moving forward anymore and you are stuck or unable to move forward anymore just stop, 9 out of 10 times recovery will be much easier to manage. Then when you are stuck, unless told by someone to remain in your car for safety reasons please get out and be the first to start digging unless told otherwise by someone/ the lead. I see guys sitting in their cars waiting for the rest of the convoy to start helping with the recovery before attempting to get out and help, at the end of the day its you that got stuck so you will need to help with the dirty work, like this you learn how to do the recovery and most probably understand why you got stuck in the first place and how to avoid it as you see the results of your action. 
 

Lastly during this drive I on several occasions radio’d in stucks and refusals in front of me and even behind me, its not always possible for the driver that has a refusal or who got stuck to notify everyone of this so please, if the driver in front of you have any issues get on the radio and inform the rest of us, like this the leader knows thats going on and can stop the convoy, few times I radio’d in refusals/ stucks when @Jeepie clearly was in a difficult spot to just stop,  so early warning makes it easy for all of us. 
 

Thats the end of my observations, I hope it’s constructive and whoever reads it will remember it for the next drive.....

Also to deactivate your airbag unplug the yellow plug underneath the driver or passenger seat and then you’ll see the airbag deactivated light on the bash board, remember to plug it back in afterwards. It’ll reset on the next key cycle ( turn of take key out and open door then close door and start car). 

17 minutes ago, Francois Germishuys said:

Hi mate, yes the ESC doesn’t fully switch off even when the TC is turned off, this for me is only a problem when doing short sharp turn when the front end push out to much (under steer) because of my heave foot, it takes a bit of time to get used to how to make short / drifting turns with it though but its not a problem for me when driving “normally”, its only an issue when starting “playing” around and the back end doesn’t step out / break traction. 

I've never had issues at speed or while side slopping, fast drifts and most doughnuts 

My truck is a single cab though so I'm sure getting the longer double cab truck through the dunes might be more of a challenge as you have much more weight and length to deal with especially when turning... 

Also I've no idea how to deactivate the ESC so maybe something you’ll need to ask Ford technician about...

Do let me know when you find out how to turn it fully off, I’ll also try and find out and post it here when I do✌🏼

Hi, i just had a bit of digging on YouTube and to turn the ESC off you have to push the TC button to turn of TC then what you do is you push the TC button for few seconds then you will see the ESC also turns off.... ive just done it and it works ✌🏼

On 12/12/2020 at 3:33 PM, Gaurav said:

@Francois Germishuys @Malachy McGrogan @Melenany how are you dealing with traction issue on your F150?

Hi mate, yes the ESC doesn’t fully switch off even when the TC is turned off, this for me is only a problem when doing short sharp turn when the front end push out to much (under steer) because of my heave foot, it takes a bit of time to get used to how to make short / drifting turns with it though but its not a problem for me when driving “normally”, its only an issue when starting “playing” around and the back end doesn’t step out / break traction. 

I've never had issues at speed or while side slopping, fast drifts and most doughnuts 

My truck is a single cab though so I'm sure getting the longer double cab truck through the dunes might be more of a challenge as you have much more weight and length to deal with especially when turning... 

Also I've no idea how to deactivate the ESC so maybe something you’ll need to ask Ford technician about...

Do let me know when you find out how to turn it fully off, I’ll also try and find out and post it here when I do✌🏼

Liwa was definitely an experience, dunes like Ive never seen before, really amazing. @Asif Hussain good lead and effort trying to get us all over those dunes, Just wish we could have gotten more out of it, im sure you would agree......to many stucks and recoveries.

Yes thanks @Rahimdad after the dive I had sand in all sorts of places 😜

Thanks  @Gaurav for letting me try out that last dune from the bottom, was fun. 

Till next time ✌🏼

In which group will i be tomorrow? 

2 hours ago, Frederic said:

Great we will add you to the convoy. Get ready for the adventure !

Just did my DPI test at Ghantout , no appointment required so I’m good to go, see you guys in Lewa.

Hi @Frederic thanks for your reply, with all the camping restrictions in the UAE over this holiday my plans changed..... my vehicle and evening is good to go, my DPI/ PCR test I’ll sort out tonight or tomorrow, thats all that’s required/ pending.