TT_Dubai

A very enjoyable drive today with a lot of back to basic refreshers. Some newbie side sloping combined with some technical dunes to keep us all alert.

Thanks again to @Ale Vallecchifor the structured itinerary and helping me when I popped my first pop out cherry 😀 and for the support from @Mehmet Volgaand @Shaaz Sha in getting me back into the action in less than 15 minutes! Thank you!

Lots of instruction over the radio. At one point I took a call while watching the others and waiting for my turn to climb a tricky soft dune. The walkie talkie was on in the background.  The caller asked whether I was outside a mosque with the Imam in full flow...nah it was just Ale giving his instructions to the convoy 😂

Nice to start the weekend with the drive and have a great weekend all!

4 hours ago, Ranjan Pattanaik said:

@ARAGON no worries, this is what we learn from our mistakes. I have Ford explorer which having AWD without low gear/difflock, i hope you can get more confident by looking at myside😁... see you on drive..

My very first car in the UAE was a Ford Explorer. Loved it. It was a 2007 but it did have 4LO and proper 4WD. Is that not the case with new Explorers now?

Thank you @Ale Vallecchifor the detailed pre-trip report! I am in and got my car back yesterday from the workshop with a clean bill of health 🙂 Looking forward to the itinerary and to meet everyone again.  

Definitely a lesson acknowledged for @Rahimdad's drive and for all future ones.  I accept the rules are there for the protection of all so we can enjoy this hobby. My apologies once again.  

Will certainly reinforce the message on future drives. Stay safe everyone. 

@Rahimdad so sorry to hear this. Is there any possibility to appeal? I support rules especially re C19 but blanket application with a ban without a warning is harsh and I think it’s disproportionate. 
 

A part of what makes a community special during a desert drive is the camaraderie and the willingness to offer help to others. 
 

The last picture is a recovery assist for a stuck and everyone involved is wearing masks and the penultimate pic is an aerial pic and the only two people standing together are married/from the same family. 
 

In any event the point is well taken. Please feel free to ride with me at any time as a guest of honour passenger 😊

22 minutes ago, Lakshmi Narasimhan said:

@TT_Dubaihope you got ur car fixed, nice to see you joining the drive!!!

Evening @Lakshmi Narasimhan. Thanks my dear. It is still in the garage and the clutch needs to be replaced. I should be ready on Wednesday, all going well. If not, then I get to borrow the wife's Land Cruiser again 😃 Have a good week ahead!

@Ranjan Pattanaik @Rizwan Waheed@Daniel Fernandez@Lakshmi Narasimhan@Roger K@Rawad Bahsas@Tbone@Chinthaka Ruwan@Pierre de Maigret@Yawa@Richard Franks @Rahimdad

Pictures are up on the Gallery - hope I got everyone 😃

Thank you @Rahimdad for a great morning drive! Really pleased to hear your Pathfinder made it back home and hope it is an easy fix on the power steering. It was nice to tick off Fossil Rock and Faya off the list once we got going again. It is one big playground!

The whole morning was smooth for me and while the clutch issue ultimately stopped play, I feel lucky it happened towards the end of extra time. 😀 I have been having issues with my clutch for a while.  The workshop previously checked it when it was in for a full service as I mentioned it was clicking thought out the travel range and said it had another 20k of life left so not recommended to change now. It looks like I have no choice now! Thank you so much to you for checking on the car and @Tbonethe tow out to the road. I was surprised that the road was so close to where we decended Faya.

Thank you also to @Roger K and @Yawafor coming back to check in while waiting for the recovery truck. Very pleased to report the flatbed truck arrived in a prompt 35 minutes (was dispatched from Sharjah Industrial area) and could locate me easily as adjacent to the quad bike rental shop. Very nice guy called Ali loaded it up in a few minutes and we had a very smooth journey to the Al Quoz workshop chatting all the way on his war stories during his previous decade in Dubai as a Dubai taxi driver! 

The workshop was closed for Friday so I was planning to come back on Saturday morning to hand over the keys. As we were unloading the Jeep, the workshop manager and his wife coincidentally was coming back from their own desert academy drive and quickly checked the car and took the keys in with the promise of a report today. 

So let's see!

I have some pictures which I will upload to the gallery once the Folder for yesterday's drive is created.

It was lovely to see everyone again and to meet new enthusiasts. 😊

Thanks very much @Wrangeld for the report. It was also fabulous to see many experienced and newbie ladies join the drive. What a super event!

@Lakshmi Narasimhan glad to see you sorted your tyre pressure issue. I think I have been with you on a few drives and great to follow immediately behind you and see zero stuck and refusals throughout the afternoon. Am sure you are putting all the tips to good use (or the off-road tyres and the lift kit is proving to be a good investment!). I can hear you put good use of the revs to keep it in the optimal torque band on the climbs. 😀👍 No doubt @Shehab Alawadhi will say it is because you followed in his tracks 😁😁😁 In any event, amazing progress buddy!

However, even though not strictly Carnity approved, the "unintentional" launch of @Pacific's Wrangler across the crest of a dune was most amusing to watch! Glad she emerged unscathed 😀

Until next time.

Good morning and happy easter to those celebrating. If there is a space for this afternoon, I'd love to join as well 😃 I see there are some withdrawals and some "maybe" so no pressure if otherwise full, will keep an eye on this. Thanks! 

@Vanessa8580 and the leads thank you for your unfailing energy and for a super drive this morning!

@Warren Flay I hope my missus doesn’t see your post😂 but I can certain say it was a totally different experience in the LC today when compared to my manual Wrangler.
P.s. you forgot “ventilated” on the seats 😅

@Gautamaialni @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil and everyone else on the drive - very nice to see / meet you all... And I found the radio banter most amusing this morning 😜

Till next time - stay safe and have a fab weekend 👍

Hi Vanessa - my Jeep is at the workshop having the clutch checked as it is clicking. It was supposed to be ready today but it will now be ready only on Saturday.

I am still in for tomorrow (will take my wife's Land Cruiser)😃

Thank you all for the pics and to the leads for the drive! The sand was pretty choppy and this felt like an Newbie Plus drive at times! Spectacular to see Pink Rock but that was shadowed by the presence of Michel's classic FJ! Did not have the chance to take a closer look so hopefully next time 😃

Have a great week ahead...weather is certainly turning the corner and getting warmer...

Thank you! See you all bright and early 😃

Really nice to see everyone for the Lisali drive yesterday. Thanks to @Wrangeld and the leads for keeping us all together and explaining the steps for the self recoveries and assisted recoveries in good detail.
 

Until the next drive! 😀

Thanks for the convoy list @Wrangeld. I collected by Wrangler from servicing this afternoon so am excited to reconfirm that I am in 🙂

My Wrangler is a SWB (not sure it makes a difference to your convoy list). Thanks and see everyone tomorrow!

That sounds great! My Wrangler is in ORZ for a clicking clutch. Was supposed to be ready yesterday (Tuesday) but am promised it for tomorrow evening. Looking forward to getting back on the sand! 

Thank you Fred for leading and all the support crew for their help on the drive!

I felt that I needed to keep the revs high mainly in first to get into the sweet spot torque band to tackle a few of the higher dunes. And to trust the momentum of the car to take you across the ridge when you reach the top 

Clearly lots to learn and explore

Really nice to meet everyone and looking forward to future drives😀

Hi Fred - I have a lifted Wrangler. 
I did an Al Futtaim desert course many years ago (classroom and practical afternoon) but really want to start again now that I have the Jeep. 
Front and rear hooks are in order. 
 

I have a deflator and digital gauge. 
My compressor should also arrive tomorrow 😀

Cheers 

Thank you, makes sense.

Maybe just me, but when I look at a secondhand car, the first thing I check are the service records and invoices, documents and if all in order, the paintwork/exterior and then interior followed by a test drive.

Am waiting for the repaint and denting to be done, all going well should be later this week... then hopefully will be able to make a first drive this weekend...🙂

RTA can be a bit hit and miss. I have 35inch Goodyear MTR tyres and a 2 inch lift kit and the testing inspector said it was a big car so big tyres ok. 

Trading Enterprises are ok with Mopar upgrades to keep the warranty intact. As you say third party upgrades may have issues, so a lot of Jeeps get modified once they are out of the official warranty unless it is clear that the after market part is not related to the warranty claim. 

Hi everyone

I gave my 2014 Jeep Wrangler (manual) to a detailer in Al Quoz for exterior and interior detailing. I got chatting to one of the guys and was happy overall with what they said they would do and the quote. They also kept me updated with videos on whatsapp on the cleaning procedure.

On the day of collection I got a call informing me that there had been a small accident while the car was being prepared. One of the guys tried to turn on the ignition and not realising the car was in first gear (car is manual transmission). As such the car jerked forward and the door (which was open) hit a pillar and now has a deep dent and scrape running through the length of the door. The paint has also come off (down the primer). The plastic grab handle on the exterior has also smashed and is no longer usable.

I went to the workshop to inspect the damage. The workshop offered to make good the damage and to take it to another denting (PDR) and painting garage nearby to rectify the issue (the workshop itself only does detailing and tinting). Of course at no charge. 

I have checked the garage where repairs will be undertaken and it looks reasonable but they are trying to source the spare parts (door handle).

The only concern is that the car is 5 years old and am not sure the paint respray will be an exact match. Also the Jeep has never had any paint (completely original) and now it is likely that any inspection will identify a respray of the door. I have taken photos of the damage and can show any purchaser when I sell it.

My question is what would you do? The workshop has offered to make good the damage. It is likely to take 3 or more working days. During this time, I have to go to the office and will need to take a taxi. I know it is an accident so in my mind, making good the damage is expected but I am worried about the new paint affecting the resale of the Jeep. And the time costs of me taking alternative transport in the meantime. 

Is it a fair response to wait for the repair and pay the workshop for the original quote for the detailing (around AED1k)? I am in the service industry and recovery is very important especially when mistakes are made. My loss is:

-  no use of car for at least 3 working days

- potential adverse effect on resale

- potential mismatch in colour following respray.

Appreciate any thoughts on how you would proceed!

Thanks