RiadJL

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for the drive this morning. Fast paced, technical, bumpy and loooong  Lots of fun!

Great driving by the whole convoy. Only a few stucks and refusals meant we were able to keep the pace relatively fast but still ended up going slightly longer than planned. 

This was my first drive that ended up moving past noon and I got to see the visibility issues at that time of day - I guess the light colored sand didn't help. Amazing how Ale navigated that last technical stretch - was hard for us following to see the track and he didn't even have a track to follow 😅

Proud to have completed the 100km challenge. Well done all! 

33 minutes ago, TheGuardianJLU said:

Just for my clarification, when you mentioned a shovel... did you mean a ground anchor to aid in recovery or a regular shovel? Both will provide their own benefits. More my curiosity here...

Thanks!

Normal shovel. This is basically our most useful tool in desert driving. In 95% of recovery situations in the desert, a sturdy shovel will get you out.

I know in the US winches are used along with tree straps etc to self-recover. Winches aren't very prevalent here as a self-recovery tool since we very rarely have something to strap on to in the desert. Land anchors for sand tend to be large, heavy and impractical and I've only ever seen a handful of people with one

There are quite a few people who have winches on their rigs here but they are mostly used to help recover someone else

7 minutes ago, Zed said:

hi @RiadJL each scenario is different, tag me if you're joining next Iftar Bowl drive and will be happy to check your various configuration. But please go through these first before jumping to diff lock:

1. Lower your psi. I had trouble climbing some parts of Lady Dune, but was able to climb after deflating all tires to 10 psi. Of course if you don't have thick sidewalls, safest is to stick to 12 psi (now you have a reason to get taller tires that have "70" or "75" in the middle like 265/70/17)

2. Try in 4Lo but higher gears (e.g.  4Lo + 3rd gear or 4Lo + 4th gear). This will give you lots of torque but also some speed.

3. If you're tires are jumping in the air and the terrain is bumpy, you need firmer shocks (which is perfect for offroad and bumps but too stiff for daily driving).

4. If 1+2+3 above are done but still "no power", you can try Center Diff Lock only

5. If 1+2+3+4 above are done and still "no power", allow me to drive your car.

6. If 1-5 are done and still "no power", let's discuss buying another car  

 

 

Yeah, I get the feeling it's the shocks. Looking to upgrade soon.. Will try out 1+2 next time I'm down there

Don't think the car's the problem - probably the driver 🤪

26 minutes ago, Zed said:

@Luke K P @Julien Recan  please read my prev article on this if you haven't >> https://carnity.com/forums/topic/16736-diff-lock-simplified-center-rear-front-explained/

The Standard Order is Central Diff Lock > Rear Diff Lock >> and last Front Diff Lock.

Am sure there's a very technical reason for this, one involving blowing out diffs, but for shortcut let's just say this is how it's done in Mercedes G-Wagon and Toyota Land Cruiser 80, so let's follow Mercedes & Toyota engineers regarding this order of pressing the buttons  

Here's my take on your new orange Ford:

1. First check if your Center + Rear Diff Locks are automatically engaged when you switch to 4Lo. My Nissan Y62 Patrol did this, everytime I turned 4Lo, it automatically enganges Rear Diff Lock (thus also Center Diff Lock). My Jeep Grand Cherokee doesn't do this, so if I go 4Lo, it doesn't engage any diff locks.

How to test? You can't test on sand. In your parking space, turn on 4Lo then move forward 3 steps so it fully engages 4Lo. Then turn your steering wheel full-left (or full-right) and accelerate. If your tires are slipping or you hear screeching sound, means your rear diff is locked. Remember the purpose of Differential is so that left tyre and right tyre can spin at different speeds (which is needed for turning full-left/full-right mechanism)

 

2. If #1 doesn't make any sound means you are in 4Lo but in open diffs mode (no center and no rear diffs locked). Great, you can drive in 4Lo at high-speed to get more torque. 

 

3. Why would you ever want to drive with diff locks engaged at high speed ??? Read Point #1 above, the purpose of having differential is to allow left-tyre to spin faster/slower than right-tyre, which is needed for full-turn.

Yes in low-traction platform like soft sand and water, the tires still slip but they will not screech and make sound like in your concrete car parking or highway asphalt. But still, do you want to risk it? Example: you're riding on a ridge with soft sand with Center + Rear Diffs locked, then suddenly you have to make 90-degrees left-turn to exit the ridge riding. If the sand is hard (due to rain), now you're turning on a non low-traction platform. The tires will slip to make the turn, but because you're no longer in soft sand, you will be turning like a Rally Driver, with that drifting effect, which is fine on horizontal levelled plain areas (sabkhas), but on a ridge? Only the braves will risk it....

I've asked some "crazy" drivers why they turn-on Center Diff Lock when driving, and these are their reasons:

3.1.They want to drive in a STRAIGHT LINE very fast. Rally drivers do this. You can also try when you're climbing up in a straight line, but not when you're going up then decided to make a loop.

3.2 They want to drift when they're side-sloping, only doable with beadlocks. I've seen this in front of my eyes: so the car looks like fighting gravity, but in fact they are SLIDING horizontally with the nose facing 45-degrees up. Very cool for videos, but even I don't want to try that 😂

PS: we can do a 30-mins "testing session" after an official drive to test the various modes of your mighty Raptor 😁

 

 

Interesting..

I haven't been able to climb up Iftar bowl's center face so far. My impression was the wheels spend too much time in the air because of all the tire tracks in the sand there and so I'm not able to put down enough power. Do you think diff locks would help in this case? or sway bar disconnect?  

Congrats on the promotion @Sviatoslav! See you on a Fewbie drive soon  

Congrats on the promotion @Frederic118! Enjoy!

Thanks @Simon D @Sunil Mathew & @Cha for a great drive.

Lots of technical terrain and some side sloping practice while avoiding the abnormal vegetation caused by the recent rain

The whole convoy did very well with only a few minor refusals. Great to meet you all 

Great S/L again @Emanuel  

See you all again soon

1 minute ago, Batuhan Kulac said:

Come join fred's drive, We can chill + sweihan is a more exciting area  

Was thinking about it as i havent been to Sweihan yet but it's an 80-90 minute drive from my place and Ale's afternoon drive will let me sleep in for once 

14 minutes ago, Looper said:

Congratulations @RiadJL on your promotion ! 

Thanks @Looper! Looking forward to joining one of your drives soon 😃

20 minutes ago, Batuhan Kulac said:

Well done mate! Cant wait to see you and the 392 bash some bigger dunes. 💪

Thanks mate. Congrats on your promotion as well

See you soon  

8 minutes ago, Wilfredo Perez said:

Congrats @RiadJL Well done!!!

See you on the sand

Thanks @Wilfredo Perez. Looking forward to driving with you again soon 

Thanks @Gaurav & @Davie Chase! Looking forward to continuing to learn and enjoy off roading with the Carnity team 😃 

Thanks @Islam Soliman, @M.Seidam & @Mahmoud Taha for the drive this morning.

Challenging, technical terrain with a lot of work for @M.Seidam 😆

We got to experience a good mix of the basics - climbs, descents, some slide sloping and minor crossings. 

Great to meet everyone and hope to see you all again soon  

Thanks @Frederic for a fun and interesting drive. Unfortunate we had to cut it short but health comes first. @Amal Sunil hope everyone is feeling better now

Looking forward to another similar drive soon    

Thanks @Gaurav & @Srikumar for the drive. The whole convoy in general did great with only a few refusals and one minor stuck along the way 

Looking forward to the next one  

Thanks for a great night drive @Davie Chase. Lots of fun and a good learning experience. 

Thanks @frederic demolder, @Mark B, @Gary F for the support and keeping the convoy moving along smoothly. Top job!

And the rest of the newbies - great job! Didn't feel like a newbie drive - everyone drove really well and only had a couple of stoppages

See you all again soon 🫡

Still in 

Congrats @EbrahimZAF 😁

A great evening out 😃

Nice Iftar in the dunes with amazing views and great company. The drive out was well paced and challenging in spots making a great experience for drivers and passengers alike

Thanks @JeromeFJ for leading and @Ishak & @Gaurav for watching our backs. Good to drive with you again @EbrahimZAF & @Wilfredo Perez. Nice meeting you @Nicolò & @Ahmed Farouk 

See you all again on the sand! 

Thanks @JeromeFJ, @Rob S, @Nathan and @Abhilash Kottakkal for a fun and informative drive! Learned a lot and looking forward to many more  

Thanks Gautam

Still on the fence about whether or not I will be doing any mods. Will see after a few more drives and hopefully you'll be there for one so I can see what kind of difference they make   

13 minutes ago, Gautam Banka said:

I brought the jeep 392 from TE - 2023 model 0 kms at a special price but with only 3 years warranty and no service package.

i purchased additional warranty of 2 years and service package for 100,000 kms from TE service Centre seperately which was quite affordable. 

I'll probably end up doing the same. The warranty I got finishes at the end of 2025 I believe.. Will get that extended and get the service package.

I saw your post putting your OEM suspension and tires for sale. I'm guessing the after market suspension you had installed won't be covered by dealer repairs.. What happens in case of an accident? You'll have to pay full price to replace any damaged suspension components? Just something I'd like to keep in mind before deciding how much to spend on mods

Thanks 

4 hours ago, Gaurav said:

For keeping your warranty, you have to get service from dealer, I'm 99% sure, but you can double check with Trading Enterprise. 

For insurance everything is scam now, usually car is insured for stock condition only, all mods aren't insured unless you add them in the modification list which will shoot up premium. Whatever you do, get the same in writing as car insurance is no longer the same in the UAE. 

Thanks Gaurav

Suspected as much.. Will have a word with TE when I go in for service and see what they say

Hi all

I picked up a pre-owned 392 from Trading Enterprises and it came with warranty only - no service package. I was wondering if I need to get the Jeep serviced from agency in order for them to honor the warranty or if I'm OK to go with a cheaper option elsewhere. I'm thinking for peace of mind Trading Enterprises is the way to go but open to recommendations 

Additional question regarding insurance - I've got comprehensive insurance with offroad cover and agency repairs. How does this work with after market parts if I choose to install any? For example if I mount some aftermarket off road lights on the bumper and have an accident, how would this work with agency repair? 

Also, my insurance policy has a line in it 'Modifications: No'. Does this mean any mods I make won't be covered by insurance?

Any advise will be highly appreciated.  

7 minutes ago, Islam Soliman said:

Unfortunately 2 challenges there.. forecast of the storm is to last until Sunday afternoon and …… I am flying on Saturday evening 😂

Enjoy your trip! Will hopefully get a chance next weekend then. Does Carnity do drives in Ramadan?

3 hours ago, Premjit Vappala said:

Heard in 96.7 radio that there is 6K fine and 23 black points for offroading during bad weather.  Good decision to call off the drive. Looking forward to next drive. 

Pretty sure that would only apply to wadis and flood prone areas..

Forecast around Lisaili at the scheduled drive time shows heavy rain. Doubt there would be fines but it definitely would be dangerous and no fun..

Sunday forecast looks clear though @Islam Soliman any thoughts of rescheduling for Sunday? 😀