Never Fight Gravity !

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Defragmantor
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Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 5:12 pm

I decided to put this thread as a reminder for all members so that they can avoid what mistakes i committed which resulted in my vehicle rolling over and written off
Earlier when i started offroading i always used to wonder why Capri used to yell at everyone about fighting gravity and he would get furious if he saw someone do it. On one trip [MENTION=2]ALKHATIB[/MENTION] and @abuJimmy both warned me that the way i was crossing dunes in a very risky manner and it would someday lead to a roll over if i kept on it . The worst happened when we were out in al wagan (al ain) were i was taking my vehicle to the limit . lack of speed+fighting gravity=roll over. I couldn't believe my eyes when i realized that i had lost control of the vehicle and was rolling over and the only question on my mind was who did that happen .
Once the car stopped rolling which it did about 3 or 4 times (don't really remember ) I was shocked and couldn't believe what just happened . The car was tipped over on the passengers side (luckily i didn't have any passengers along with me this time ) People from other cars had to break the roof off the car so i could get out.Its been 4 months now and i am still horrified thinking bout that day . I can't thank the members of this club ,its founder and its marshals enough for what they did for me that day when i was in need of them.
The jeep had to be left in the desert at the night as it wouldn't start and recovering it wasn't successful . The next morning AL Shamshi, Alkhatib ,Zico and Abu Jimmy went along with me in the desert to recover the jeep . It took about 8 hours to recover the vehicle and all of their vehicle were damaged during the recovery. I had totally given up hope of ever getting the jeep out of this desert (keep I'm mind this happened 45 km away from civilization) Somehow the jeep was recovered and was Sent back on recovery once on tarmac . The Insurance company wrote the Vehicle off .
I Made this thread for everyone new to the offloading world. We all think we are good , we all think we know what is right and what is wrong but what we don't know is that experience is not brought it is only built upon which our marshal's and founders have done over the years sacrificing their time and money.

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Suhail
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Thanks [MENTION=5597]Defragmantor[/MENTION] for sharing your story..

Gravity as we all know is an easily understood, but very powerful force.
It is this force that holds in our Oceans, the Atmosphere and everything else on this planet.


An Off-roader needs to understand the "Power of Gravity" when attempting any kind of driving style in the Desert.
No 4×4 can overcome this power. There will always be dunes in Desert that are too big to drive up on any 4×4. It is Man vs Nature.
So instead of fighting gravity using a 4×4, you need to respect it and enjoy it as a gift.


Understanding the capability of your 4×4 taking into consideration your driving skills will avoid many potential problems in the Desert.
Climbing up a dune-face is possible by any 4×4. How much you can climb depends on a range of factors, such as driver skills, tyres, engine power, suspension, etc.


Knowing your 4×4’s off-road capability is a matter of practice.
No amount of written car specifications can provide an accurate idea of how well your 4×4 will perform off-road.
Once you’re comfortable with most common situations in the Desert, your driving skills will subconsciously improve.
Very soon you come to terms with the exact capacity of your 4×4.
Suhail
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Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2011 9:53 pm

Thanks [MENTION=5597]Defragmantor[/MENTION] for sharing your story..

Gravity as we all know is an easily understood, but very powerful force.
It is this force that holds in our Oceans, the Atmosphere and everything else on this planet.


An Off-roader needs to understand the "Power of Gravity" when attempting any kind of driving style in the Desert.
No 4×4 can overcome this power. There will always be dunes in Desert that are too big to drive up on any 4×4. It is Man vs Nature.
So instead of fighting gravity using a 4×4, you need to respect it and enjoy it as a gift.


Understanding the capability of your 4×4 taking into consideration your driving skills will avoid many potential problems in the Desert.
Climbing up a dune-face is possible by any 4×4. How much you can climb depends on a range of factors, such as driver skills, tyres, engine power, suspension, etc.


Knowing your 4×4’s off-road capability is a matter of practice.
No amount of written car specifications can provide an accurate idea of how well your 4×4 will perform off-road.
Once you’re comfortable with most common situations in the Desert, your driving skills will subconsciously improve.
Very soon you come to terms with the exact capacity of your 4×4.
Yoghybear
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Joined: Sat May 21, 2011 2:19 pm

Thanks for sharing your experience, I was there that day, you were the last car of the convoy and I was the sweeper with Zorro, just behind you. I still remember every single second ...... I saw you roll over from the first moment up to the end, and I was the one who breaks your roof (Hulk style) since a nasty smoke was coming out from your car....and while Zorro was keeping the "fire" matter under control with the fire estinguisher, my first and only concern was just to take you out from the car as fast as possible.
I guess you were out of the car in less than one minute from the moment the car stopped.....btw, you rolled over 4 times....
Not fighting the gravity is one of the most important things, but I would like also to point out the importance to fasten the seat belt and to have the fire estinguisher in a way you can get it in a few seconds.
Sometimes sh** happens, if you are ready to deal with emergency situation in the right way you can limit the damages, otherwise it can turn in a tragedy.
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Defragmantor
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[quote=Yoghybear;36928]Thanks for sharing your experience, I was there that day, you were the last car of the convoy and I was the sweeper with Zorro, just behind you. I still remember every single second ...... I saw you roll over from the first moment up to the end, and I was the one who breaks your roof (Hulk style) since a nasty smoke was coming out from your car....and while Zorro was keeping the "fire" matter under control with the fire estinguisher, my first and only concern was just to take you out from the car as fast as possible.
I guess you were out of the car in less than one minute from the moment the car stopped.....btw, you rolled over 4 times....
Not fighting the gravity is one of the most important things, but I would like also to point out the importance to fasten the seat belt and to have the fire estinguisher in a way you can get it in a few seconds.
Sometimes sh** happens, if you are ready to deal with emergency situation in the right way you can limit the damages, otherwise it can turn in a tragedy.[/quote]
Well luckily i had my seatbelt fastened . My major concern was the jerry can of fuel i had. Thanx a lot for breaking the roof HULK! style ! as i wouldn't be able to get out if you wouldn't have done that .thanx zorro for keeping the smoke/fire situation under control.
Dave
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Good of you to share the story Defragmantor. It's a shame the Jeep was written off. Being a relatively new Jeep and from looking at the photo most of the damage seems cosmetic. You seem to have done a good job at making sure every panel took a hit but I would imagine underneath all the bodywork mechanically the Jeep could live on. I am told nowadays if the repair bill comes within about 30% to 35% of the cars value then more than likely it will be scrapped.

A valid lesson here too is the danger of driving alone. I must admit I do it a lot thinking no matter how bad I could get stuck after good use of a large shovel I will always recover. But a roll over and resulting chance of a fire when all alone is a something I should be more concerned with. Also good to remember our marshals and sweepers can do a lot more than just snatch us out when we are stuck on a dune. Great job Yoghy and Zorro.
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yasir
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Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:09 pm

Dear @Defragmantor

Sorry to hear about your car but glad that you escaped unhurt.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Muhittin
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Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2014 9:09 pm

[quote=Defragmantor;36917]
I Made this thread for everyone new to the offloading world. We all think we are good , we all think we know what is right and what is wrong but what we don't know is that experience is not brought it is only built upon which our marshal's and founders have done over the years sacrificing their time and money.

[/quote]

It is very good to hear that you are safe.

and a lot of thanks to all who helped you.
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Defragmantor
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Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 5:12 pm

[quote=Dave;36931]Good of you to share the story Defragmantor. It's a shame the Jeep was written off. Being a relatively new Jeep and from looking at the photo most of the damage seems cosmetic. You seem to have done a good job at making sure every panel took a hit but I would imagine underneath all the bodywork mechanically the Jeep could live on. I am told nowadays if the repair bill comes within about 30% to 35% of the cars value then more than likely it will be scrapped.

A valid lesson here too is the danger of driving alone. I must admit I do it a lot thinking no matter how bad I could get stuck after good use of a large shovel I will always recover. But a roll over and resulting chance of a fire when all alone is a something I should be more concerned with. Also good to remember our marshals and sweepers can do a lot more than just snatch us out when we are stuck on a dune. Great job Yoghy and Zorro.[/quote]
Yea the whole hardtop cracked open . Most of the panels around the car were either bent or dented the damages were estimated around 150k as good as a new car ....
anitosh9
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Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 11:27 am

Hey Dileep,
Very Good to hear you escaped unhurt and really sorry for your jeep. I remember i first saw it last year in the CJD service centre after the mods & ready to go back to the showroom. i'd parked my Nitro next to it.
Yours is a lesson learnt for me n all of us. And yes our marshalls are our mentors, saviours, teachers everything to learn more & more from their experience.
Almost 4x4 is our family.

Take care Buddy and rock in your new Jeep :thumbsup:

Anitosh
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