Krishna R

Congrats @Marketa Dobesova You will enjoy the new level for sure

Great stuff @Benjamin Congrats on the new and challenging role. You will kill it for sure

sorry @Ale Vallecchi couldn't confirm as I was outside coverage area for a couple of days. hope you guys had fun!

@Frederic Great post on an untouched issue. As offroaders, we need wheel alignment more frequently than those who don't. My experience with wheel alignment mirrors yours. I have been to countless shops, even the ones that "specialize" in offroad cars. They just cant get it right. I have had some tell me that i have to change the upper arms and suspension to make it straight. Finally, i got a garage which isn't "specialized" in offroad cars that got it right. Just the skill of the mechanic I would say. he had a "Hunter" laser alignment machine. I dont know if that makes a difference and he was a bit more expensive than the others but cry once, right?

@Pacific Hey totally forgot buddy. Congrats on the century. A great achievement indeed. Shows your true love for the desert. Looking forward to the double century!

Hahaha. my bad. 8 am. Today is crazy starting from the drive

What a drive! Thank you @Hisham Masaad for organizing this Fewbie/Intermediate quick and crazy drive on a Friday morning and executing it to perfection. I say perfection because the convoy showed up sharp at 5 am, the briefing was quick, we experienced everything the desert could offer AND hit the tarmac at EXACT 8 am. This is not easy. Refreshing lines by the King Emperor of Badayer. We enjoyed even the technical portions. My first experience of a Yalla Push drive from the man that coined the term and I am still craving for more. The highlight was the surprise play area which was nestled among hidden dunes. I am sure not many people know about this place even though Badayer is a popular offroading spot. Somehow, Hisham found it and took us through the secret passage to play in the virgin sand bowls. When I heard Hisham on the radio - " guys just bear with the tech portions for 5 mins, we are going to a nice play area", I knew something special was coming up My admiration to the fewbies today - @Marketa Dobesova @Pavel Pashkovskiy @Abdelghani. You guys were the real heroes of today. You were pushed beyond your limits and you emerged without spilling blood and I know you guys enjoyed it as well. @Pavel Pashkovskiy Great stuff today. Heard a lot about your special coffee and I got to experience your hospitality today. I had to drag myself out of bed with 3 alarms and you had the time to make fresh coffee for us. Love the sandrunner BTW. It sounds sweet. @Mohamad Anwer Don't hate the Nissan, old friend. The jeeps played your mind today. Great stuff as usual in the SL position. You brought your usual dose of humour to the drive today @Marketa Dobesova It was a pleasure meeting you and 🌻. I don't believe you're in fewbie level. After all, you were one of the very few that made the climb in the first attempt. @DP1011 Driving with you after a long time. Amazing CF stuff as usual. Laid back driving and eating up the dunes as nobody's business. @Felix Obst Driving like its a newbie drive. Just floating on the sand without a sound. no re-attempts whatsoever and asking for more 😜 @Pacific Amazing support as usual and thank you for watching my back. I know you were thinking to sell the jeep and buy an Xterra. Mine is not for sale 😝 @Benjamin The designated sweep. I've lost count of drives that you were the sweep man. Don't do it so well and you will only have churned sand on all your drives. Jokes aside, impeccable driving and clear communication to the Marshall on convoy status. Well done! @Ignacio Quindós Followed us everywhere even with the churned sand from all the wranglers up front. It was truly an intermediate drive for you and Benjamin. @Abdelghani We all know you are not a fewbie. Don't hide behind that badge However, you did magic with the stock FJ. You should drive the black one next time. I want to see you fly! Overall, today's drive satisfied the offroader in me, thanks to @Hisham Masaad Looking forward to driving with you guys again. Until then, Keep calm and don't watch offroading videos on YouTube, the PTSD is real! P.S. If anyone has a video of me flying in iftar bowl, Please whatsapp it on +971 526334562. It would be much appreciated.

@Hisham MasaadAny chance of including me?

Congrats @Frans MEnjoy the new level!

Congrats @Gary F Enjoy the new level!

Ok. More clarity now. Your budget needs to be considered big time here. Based on that, you can decide new cars + mods/ used cars / abused cars etc. I know people buying a brand new FJ and dropping 100K immediately on mods and others that get one for 20K and spend 10K on mods and happy with it.

@Frederic You are giving me PTSD. Its just Tuesday still Fred has a very good point here (Occasional Vs Addicted) I started offroading with an infiniti QX (similar to patrol). I bought the car due to guests coming from India for vacation and then realized its a 4x4 and took it for a newbie drive. ADDICTED and pushed it till fewbie. Realized early that offroading that car in higher levels would make me a pauper, hence bought a dedicated offroading toy. I spend quite a bit on that as well which is a part of the hobby. So, getting a car higher up the offroading capability curve (Xterra, FJ, Prado, Y61, Pajero 3.8 SWB) would see you spending less on mods and maintenance. Would also give you peace of mind as it wont be your daily. Popular hybrid cars (on road and occasional offroad) are Y62, Land cruiser stock, Pajero LWB 3.8, Grand Cherokee, Fortuner 4.0, and any other car with 4X4 and 8-9 inches clearance. However, stay away from bringing Range rovers(except defender), cayennes, Q7s into the desert just because they are 4x4s. You will regret it.

No No. Never Y62 V6. You will hate the car and it cant do anything in the desert. Maybe newbie drives.

Hello @Nilakantan Erode Welcome to the club! All the cars mentioned above are good offroaders. However, You need to identify your requirement between offroad performance and on road comfort. Once you figure that out, you can decide easily. Eg: Jeep is great offroad but on road comfort is a bit less. Patrol Y62 is amazing onroad but a bit heavy for spirited offroading. For this reason, many club members have atleast 2 cars - a daily that comfortable, economical for the road and an older offroad beast.

Hey @SamMills1994 Welcome to beautiful UAE. Firstly, you dont need to have cash upfront even if you are buying from a private seller. you can still do bank loan. Secondly, the new xterra is more of an on road car than offroad. If you want to offroad on a regular basis, you might want to consider other cars. You can check dubizzle and fb marketplace for cars on sale.

Thanks a ton . Looking forward to the drive Doc!

Hello Doc @M.Seidam Any chance of including me in the roller coaster as well. Il just tag along from the back

@Stumpy Paj MHO - As we offroad regularly, getting a new steering rack doesn't make sense and I presume you wont get warranty even for new steering rack. The best option is to get them rebuilt at a professional lathe and repeat that every 40 drives. I get mine done in sharjah industrial area but you might find some good ones in Dubai as well. The sharjah guys charged around 600 aed. Dubai might be around 200 extra. You can rebuild the old one 4- 5 times with the cost of buying a new one, which might still rattle after 40 drives. I don't know the exact shop so you might have to ask around. You can check with @Gaurav SoniBhai's garage as they are experts in Pajeros. Also, you would not be able to replace it in the car park, and we need to do alignment as well. Better to get it done at a garage.

Hello @DTG, You can get flags with suction mount in the "BE" section of dragon mart for less than 100 aed.

Hello Doc @M.Seidam I am not sure if i can get enough rest after your drive as I have an early morning drive on Sweihan in sat morn as well. So I think its wise for me to remove myself from the waiting list and join you another day. Have a nice ride Doc.

Hello @GauravSoni Bhai. My car will be out only by Sunday. Feeling sad but it is what it is. I will remove my rsvp and @Zed please enjoy the ride for me as well Until next weekend guys!

Hello @GauravSoni My car is in the garage at the moment. They said it will be ready by tomorrow. In case it isn't, I will remove my rsvp and give a chance to waitlisted members but for now, I am STILL CONFIRMED to drive. Thank you!

Thank you @Bravoecho

Thank you bro. Waiting for you to join me!