Almost4x4

Good morning Almosters

it seems that we have some new already highly addicted members, keep that spirit guys

To satisfy the sand cravings for our newbies, @alshamsi_m came up with a Saturday trip, which I believe was highly appreciated by all of us, so a big thanks here to all our marshals for the commitment and effort to keep the members safe and happy

This trip was a sightseeing trip as we crossed a few famous desert landmarks. From the Badayer roundabout we head off towards pink rock where we had a short break and a fantastic view. We crossed at Second December Cafeteria and drove through scenic "coffee dunes" and walking trees towards Al Fayer. At the Camel Rock we had another short break before we climbed Fossil Rock in the grand finale and ended the drive at Maleiha petrol station.
As we are not a bunch of tourists but dedicated offroaders, purpose of this drive was to teach us about the right distance between the cars and to follow the right track in a highly frequented area.
The convoy also got introduced to the techniques of driving arches and side slopes safely.
One of the basic rules we learn from our first drives with the club is never to fight gravity. This maybe was just a theory for our new Newbies - until this drive. With the no fighting rule comes another rule hand in hand: A moving car is a safe car.
You heard this sentence quite often already and you will hear it thousand times more because its so essential: If you cannot make an arch (later a side crest) dont force it, dont fight and dont brake - just turn your car down. I can tell you from my own experience that this rule is absolutley important but you will learn quickly if you keep on driving. After a while you dont have to actively think about this techniques all the time it just becomes natural.
All of you did very well and I only had to help with one recovery.

I am really happy to see so many new enthusiastic drivers in the club, keep that spirit up guys, we need people like you.
I am especially happy to see @Laarni becoming a sand addict You go girl and earn that new bumper and also @Viktoriia as second lead proofed that she is a badass woman, proud of you!
Thanks again to @alshamsi_m, @haider alnuaimi and @Booy for making another great day happen.


Have a lovely week ahead and see you all in the sand

Badayer to Fossil Rock for my 1st drive as support. Always a beautiful scenic drive, the one most of us use when having friends/family visiting from overseas and just a few hours to take them to the desert ...

The drive did not start too well, the convoy took some time to gain fluidity and be able to move constantly at a reasonable pace, I believe this is normally the case until drivers get used to the type of dunes, driving style, pace, cars around them, ... towards the end, when reaching our final destination, the convoy was already moving much better, well done guys, quick learning.

In my opinion this drive was about keeping distance, keeping the line/tracks and keeping the pace of the car ahead of you, just concentrate and pay attention to these "keeps" and you will find yourselves driving with more ease.

Ropes had to come out only twice, both times Mitsubishi Monteros, also one pop-out on the way down from Fossil Rock to our exit point in a not ideal terrain. Not a lot of drama for a drive with such an intimidating name ... I guess the Marshalls needed a quiet day in the office after the last newbie drive!!!

A couple of recommendations based on what I saw:

1. Sometimes the Marshalls will ask you to keep additional distance until the car ahead of you clears a dune, climb or descent. If after it has been cleared there is a flat safe area try to catch up with the car in front of you, it will reduce the chances of you getting lost and you will get back the reference point that the car ahead of you is.

2. If you get stuck, 1st of all do not panic, if you were in a dangerous position the Marshalls would already be there in no time, you are just stuck, in most cases safely. Marshalls are going to give you just 3 instructions normally, steering right/left, forward/reverse and soft/hard on the accelerator ... make sure you get them right, if any doubt ask for clarification. Follow their instructions correctly on the 1st attempt and most likely it will be a self recovery, get any of those 3 wrong on the 1st attempt and your chances of having to get the rope out will increase.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the sand again!!!

ALMOST4X4 DIY DRIVE 26TH DEC 2020

I requested a drive, and my Christmas wish was granted. Thank you Al Shamsi for the DIY (Dig Yourself Out) Safari Drive.

Things kicked off at the meeting point with a role call, very confusing as it seems we had 3 x Calos or was it 4 ?. A briefing from Al Shamsi and off we went ………………………

Before I continue a big thank you to the Marshals – Booy, and Joanna, Scorpio, and the Intermediates without who some almosters would still be sitting in the desert scratching their heads to try and unstuck themselves.

We had the usual eclectic bunch of vehicles – Toyota Hilux leading out the Nissans, Mitsubishis, Jeeps was there a Landcruiser ? and of course it wouldn’t be complete without the ever-present FJ’s

It was certainly a safari drive with lots of different terrain to try and master. On one occasion I did a 2nd try after having to reverse back, I threw the little yellow Jeep in to Drive and took off ! a true Newbie mistake. I soon realised I was losing momentum and revs as the Jeep was happily shifting up through the gears. As soon as I realised my rookie mistake, I was able to move it over to manual drop it down to 2nd and off I went. At one point I was hitting the throttle a bit too hard (not sure if my wheels left the sand but the shocks bottomed out on the landing ! a reminder radio message from Booy along the lines "slow down buddy"

Al Shamsi really took us on the Newbie Scenic Safari, Pink Rock, Camel Rock, Fossil Rock. I was almost thinking the drive might finish up at Hard Rock Café but alas no.
Closest we got to that was 2nd of December Café (and it was closed) which brings me to a question my wife asked, “why couldn’t someone install some port-a-loo along the route?” all those bumps and corrugations are not easy on a full bladder !!

Seriously those FJ’s are just everywhere popping up and keeping an ever-present eye on us Newbies – and giving welcome advice, coaching and assistance

Back to the beginning to recap on some of the tests us Newbies set up to ensure the rescue crew drivers and Marshals could hone their skills and not get bored. Not more than 4min into that sand and our first “Stuck” with the radio chatter running thick and fast ! why did you stop on the crest ??

There were a few more learning experiences along the way with a number of “Stucks” mostly self- recovery but one or too that required being “pulled” and a team effort dig out – Booy risking life and limb on the downhill side scooping out sand. The next one looked pretty scary with a Jeep well stuck and a LARGE hole to the right! But a great self-recovery he managed to reverse down and out

At least one required a bit more Brute force to dislodge from the soft stuff – Bring in the FJ’s to the rescue, is there nothing these beasts can’t do ?

Then towards the end we had a popped tyre – Intermediates were called on to show the newbies how its done !
First jack too small – intermediate had a bigger one. Vehicle facing downhill on hard rocky terrain, rocks used to check the front wheels, lifted then compressor was able to “Pop” the tyre back on the rim. Under the watchful eye of Al Shamsi. With all the Newbies standing around watching like a bunch of spare wheels. The call went up from Al Shamsi “Newbies get your shovels NOW ! I want to check you have your tools” I had parked 400m back up the hill ! all Shovels were presented but by that time the job was done, and we were able to resume the drive.

We also had a lost flag which Booy and Scorpio happily went back to retrieve while the rest of the convoy waited – I think they just wanted to get out on their own and have a bit of fun without having to constantly be looking out for and saving the Newbies with their experience and expertise.

As I mentioned there was a lot of radio traffic happening throughout the drive. Then as we crossed the highway and entered the 2nd half of the drive, we were running way behind schedule due to the incidents mentioned above. A Radio call from Al Shamsi that if anyone had other commitments this would be a good opportunity for them to peel off from the convoy and be on their own, radio response “ Orange Jeep, Thanks guys I will head off” Al Shamsi (and I think everyone else’s) response “Orange Jeep ? we don’t have an orange jeep in the convoy”
Response “ Oh sorry its sort of rusty copper colour ! I think it was Carlos or Carlos or Calos or maybe it was Carlos (did I mention we had 3 or 4 Carlos in the convoy).
Then towards the end even some Financial advice from Al Shamsi after he took a call apparently from The Central Bank ?.

What a fantastic day once again thank you to ALMOST4X4 for making us Newbies feel welcome and the professionalism of the Marshals and Crew for keeping us safe leading us through the dunes.
in the Word Document of this report I embedded photos but unfortunately they didn't appear in the copy and past to here.

I can’t wait to get out there again - 30th Jan might be a good day for a later afternoon drive ? hands up those that would be interested.
(P.S. I am not qualified to arrange actual drives (yet) just putting the idea out there.)

Brett – The Little Yellow Jeep

Hello Almosters!

I was thinking on this drive for the whole week, got my stuff packed the night before, checked the required time for reaching the MP, put my alarm on at 7am etc…and all of a sudden while driving peacefully on E311 I pass through something and my rear left tire went deflated in less than 5 seconds at 100km/h

I barely managed to control the car and stopover in the roadside . For a second I thought: “What the h*** am I doing here when I was not even supposed to drive today!!!” but I encouraged myself to sort that out and stepped out of the car with my high visibility vest and triangle and started to change the wheel.

It took my around 20 min, not too bad considering the situation, and headed the nearest petrol station for refilling my tank. I took also advantage of that for letting Shami knows about the delay (thanks @jcarlosgarme for that). For sure I arrived late, 22min to be precise, thus 8 min left for deflating and attending the briefing but managed to make it.

The drive itself went very well, with a mix of technical areas and “resting” ones with flat surface driving. Spectacular sightseeing. Not too many tourists which it was appreciated specially on this area.

My drive’s lessons learn:

- Do not fight gravity. It is easy to know and remember but hard to avoid. I will do my best next time.
- Always keep appropriate distance if you do not want to lose the track. It did not happen to me but the car behind me as it was from time to time a bit far away from me.

My gratitude and special thanks to @alshamsi_m , @Booy , @David , @Johanna and the rest of the crew for making this drive possible on Saturday.

See you in the sand soon

Carlos

hello..helloooo!!! to everyone...hope you all have a great day.....

well my report will actually start during the during the registration day..2 mins after 6pm that night i got a call from my husband to better hurry up for registration, i have no idea that there is a drive..after that call without thinking twice, i open the app and register myself..and gladly made it in, and after that i call my husband back and happily tell him im in the drive, he told me congrats but i'll be doing it without him since the drive is on saturday and he has to work...

(fast-forward) the drive day came and i managed to be there at the meeting point alone and still on time feel kinda odd that i'll be driving alone but i still felt enthusiastic about driving...so the drive started and as for me.. manage to be at the back of the convoy, i have heard that being in the front of the convoy you learn skills..but being at the back you learn how to survive .. so yeah..i managed to have a couple of 2nd try being in there..about 2-3x ...
i feel so frustrated and agitated at that time coz i know im doing something wrong..so finally when the convoy stops i shouted @Sorin behind me and ask what im doing wrong...he came and gave some advices to me but also he saw that im driving in the 2nd gear ..when the convoy started moving again i feel that i can really do it this time...with the lifting words and right gear.. and finally the fun part begin as i noticed and started learning bit by bit in how to turn my steering wheel...and even manage to be shifted at the middle of the convoy which made it more convincing for myself that im really driving ..

i really want to thank everyone for this drive, i enjoy it, and most of all not only skills i learned that day..i also learned that almost 4x4 is a real family being there for everyone specially me driving alone for the first time... thank you @alshamsi@Viktoriia @Booy @Johanna @Sorin and@Scorpio /@SINGH sorry cant tell the difference. yet..they all look alike
and the intermediates for the support and everyone with us during the drive

thanking you all and hopppppiiinnggg for more drivess

Hello Everyone!

First of all, I must to submit that DIY was really very important for me in addition to the fact that the area near the Pink rocks, the Coffee dunes and Fossil rock are one of the most beautiful, so I want to thank everyone, who made this drive possible for me.

Well let's get started !!!

I left in advance to the meeting point and having arrived in 20 minutes, I was far from being the first. It's when the desert is in your blood and you can't wait for the next time.

Placing the flag and starting to deflate, I saw @alshamsi_m who stopped 200 meters from everyone else. I immediately realized that something was wrong here. I drove up to @alshamsi_m , and immediately was pointed out to my mistake. "You don't follow navigation, you follow your eyes." No matter how many drives you have, I am always learning something new. Organization and professionalism in absolutely every little detail, this is exactly what makes Almost4×4 different from other clubs and that is exactly, what I bring into my daily life.

After a brief overview of the upcoming drive, I was entrusted with the responsibility of the second lead, I hope I justified it. It is always nice to follow @alshamsi_m what means to be absolutely prepared for all possible ditches, holes, bushes and even trees in your path. Track was very intense, including all the climbs, drops, safari style, and also some stucks, second attempts(me), lost flags(again me) and even popout.

It was incredible day and beautiful drive .

@Laarni girl, you did a great job

Thank you guys@Johanna , @Booy,@Scorpio,@David ,@Sorin, @haider alnuaimi for rescue and support.

Thanks everyone for such a positive vibes and looking forward to see you in 2021

Happy New Year!!!

Viktoriia

DIY ~~~ Another trip with a suspicious title!! ~~~
Organizer : @alshamsi_m

Hello Everyone!!!!!

Just after turning off the road (i guess Badayer round about) into the sand, i realized i was first to arrive at the said location . Day started with warm wishes from everyone present there. Marshal @alshamsi_m picked up the kick of meeting @9:25am which gave us brief idea about the trip & ofcourse about PAJERO & CARLOSS!!. Advance info about the trip i.e. approx. 45km drive into the desert via famous off-roaders land marks such as 'Pink Rock' (which we could barely see from the meeting point), '2nd Dec Cafeteria', 'Walking trees', 'Camel Rock' & 'Fossil Rock' flared our imagination.

Get set with your Radio frequency, and see you all after the safe drive!!

Marshal @alshamsi_m lead the convoy, second lead by @Victoria then the Pajeros > X'tera > Jeep > FJs > & so on!! with a intermediate driver every after three newbie cars. Other rescue and supporting Marshal @Booy @Scorpio @haider alnuaimi @Johanna @David @Sorin - Well done guys and thanks for being so calm and outlining all the obstacles.

Key points we were asked to remember during this drive, 1. follow the car in front of you with appropriate distance (not too much and too less). 2. Follow the right tracks to avoid losing the convoy.

I pulled my jeep into 4H > M2 and began with the exciting journey to Pink Rock along with the convoy. We got a immediate break soon after starting the drive, when we heard about the first stuck. well it was not that difficult for @Johanna -FJ to pull the Pajero out and move on with the drive.

Destination 1 Pink Rock : Nice to see Happy off roaders! when we stood at the 'Pink Rocks' peak point, we spotted few Perky tourist guides / off roader like a Bees in the garden having fun and exploring the dunes. After the technical break, we headed down from the 'Pink Rock' towards our next destination 'Fossil rock' by crossing 2nd Dec Cafeteria (unfortunately it was closed) and walking trees!!

I got stuck three times and luckily it was self recovery with @alshamsi_m @Booy @Scorpio 's instructions. I guess these breaks were necessary for other drivers to clear the excess water from their body ;)

Destination 2 Camel Rock : Nice place to click pictures, unfortunately we missed to take a group photo. Next time for sure!!

Destination 3 Fossil Rock : Exhausted?? Big No!!

Radio chatter ~~~ Pajero, you have a Pop-Out : Another opportunity for all newbies to learn fixing the Pop-Out which was explained in detailed & live demonstration by @alshamsi_m @haider alnuaimi @Scorpio @intermidiates. anyone else i missed?? sorry!!

Overall, it was a fantastic drive on 26-Dec-2020 morning with 15deg in the desert! had great fun and learned new things which is wide important for off-roading.

Looking forward to attend next drive!
Thanks Almosters
Nahor_JW (Grey Jeep)

see you in sands, sooner the better!!

Hello Everyone,

Being experienced from the CM and last newbie drive, after I got the news that we will be having a newbie drive and registration will be open at 6pm, i set my alarm to 5.55 and was waiting. I don't really know how @CARLOSS managed to enroll in the drive before me since I was literally waiting in ambush. Even only this event is a clear sign that I have lots to learn from everyone in this club!

During the briefing @alshamsi_m informed that today's aim is to be able to follow the track in a highly congested area(with earlier tracks) and be able to do some arches safely. He specifically requested 4 pajeros to line up just behind the second lead @Viktoriia which did an amazing job. The motto felt like "if Pajeros can do, everybody can".

As we already know from the earlier drives, 4-5 cars distance is a very important rule and keeps everybody safe and gives you time to think when you are in a tough position. This drive once again proved that is one of the most important rules to be followed. Few times the convoy splitted after @Carlos. I guess this is because he is more experienced than all the rest but also because of leaving a gap more than required.

I had several instances during this amazing drive;

Firstly I felt odd with my steering because at some point steering was too soft and I felt I needed to turn the steering a lot to keep on track. On one point, due to this weird behaviour of my beloved Pajero I couldn't follow the arch and decided to listen her. I guess due to this unexpected action CarlosB found himself in a bowl which resulted @Booy to slide down the stucked Pajero safely.

Just after a few minutes, the convoy splitted behind @CARLOSS and guardian angel @Booy explored a new route over a different dune. Unfortunately I had to be in the second lead position and I wasn't paying attention while Booy did the first try since I was not expecting to follow his track. (Important rule #2, watch the car in front of you to see how it tackles the obstacle. It is one of the few information resource you will have about the terrain). Most of the dunes we crossed was the ones with sharp crests and i was not aware about the one waiting for me. With the wrong expectation i just applied the break too early and found myself sitting on the crest accompanying with a voice from the radio "why did you stop on top of the dune!". Thanks to the rescuer intermediates (in this case I guess it was @David ) I had the honor of using my new tools(rope and soft shackle) for the first time. After Booy gave the instructions to start towing, i was a bit scared to accelerate since the towing vehicle seemed too close and i didnt want to hit him during a rescue but it was another mistake which i am warned for, " You can't expect the tiny jeep to do the whole job! You have to help!". Many lessons learnt in such a short period.

One other instance was once Shamsi decided to cross a dune not straight but with an angle and let the Newbie’s try something different. At the moment Carlos was attempting the same, It reminded me of last week’s Intermediate drive while I was terrified on Booy’s passenger seat while experiencing crazy side crests! @Alf succeeded the same after @CARLOSS but I couldn’t throw myself to the other side of the dune and resulted in having an arch on a wierd location instead of crossing the dune. At the end I found myself at a steep slope downwards facing a ditch and many trees on my path. However, thanks to Booy’s instruction I managed to get down and joined the Convoy from another track under the guidance of the Marshal! After me I guess the other Pajero also struggled and Booy decided to changed to route becuase he thought it was dangerous.

Lastly; after climbing the corrugated path leading to the fossil rock and having a break on top, we were following a narrow descending path and just after a tight turn, I started to feel an oddness at my right back tire. I requested my passenger to check the right back and he said everything seems alright. Odd feeling was still there but I got the first positive feedback and thought if something really happened, the car behind me would realize and let us know. Few seconds later CarlosB informed us through the radio that I had a pop out. First words after him was from Shamsi “Intermediates show our newbies how to fix a pop out”. Just after that, starting with @Johanna I saw all intermediates around the car trying to lift the car while it is at a descending slope. Due to the ground conditions my own jack couldn’t provide enough lift, so Sorin brought his jack to help. Under the guidance of Shamsi and with a great coordination between all the intermediates along with the shoveling of most Newbies, we cleared the tire and fixed the pop out. Booy was asking me a fair question “How did you manage to have a pop-out on a straight line, can you please teach us that?”. My answer was, "I am really not sure about it". But most probably it happened during that sharp turn and we just realized a while later. Another lesson from this case is “if you feel something odd about your car, don’t hesitate to ask the others to have a look at your car, because cars never tell lies”

With all these instances teaching a lot to all of us, my sand passion is logarithmically increasing and being a part of this amazing family makes the experience much much better than usual. Today while I am writing this trip report, at the same time I am dreaming about the next time I will be on sand with the great company of Almost 4x4.

Special thanks to all our Marshals (@alshamsi_m ,@Booy, @Scorpio ) intermediates(@Sorin , @Johanna , @David)and sweeper @haider alnuaimi who helped a lot during the pop-out.

See you all in the sand, stay safe!

Hello everyone

The idea of this drive was to drive with 5 newbies and since I am only the available senior so let it us go out and let them dig if they got stuck " DIY ". Suddenly things got escalated and I found there are more available people to go play in the sand .

This type of drive we usually provide for our members who did three drives with club, since they got some technical sessions before so we reward them with site seeing drive.

I always try to give an added value for any drive I do, so mix the fun with knowledge  and this is exactly what the members mentioned in the above reports.

I think the main lesson that shocked the newbies that we work as a team and no one is going down while the entire family around him. So if someone is in need it is not the seniors job to take care of him, it is everyone's responsibility but you just need the guidance on what to do .

It was another great day out and before I close thanks @Booy for the support.

Till next time stay safe and get ready for next weekend "Saturday Drive ".

Cheers

Hi everyone,

DIY Drive was a welcomed Saturday drive that I enjoyed very much. It was the first time I was able to join a drive as Rescue & Support Training and because everyone did very well I didn't have much rescuing to do.

The plan was to break the curse I had with my previous car, where the only time I brought a passenger along it broke down Thankfully that went well and my passenger thoroughly enjoyed the drive and I'm getting more accustomed to the new car.

I was positioned at the back of the convoy and it's my favourite spot, I had @haider alnuaimi behind me as the sweeper and also @Scorpio and his guest with the Patrol.

Apart from a few second tries and a lost track here and there, my end of the convoy did pretty well.

Aftrer we arrived at the Fossil Rock end point, me and @David got to play a bit and we did the drop and came back round the rock via the shortest way and I was a bit fearfull my underpowered Jeep might not make the last steep climb on the soft sand and rocks on both my sides but it did in the end and no damage to show except a small bruise on the side of my rear-right tire.

Heading out from there, one of the Pajeros ... err... I mean Monteros had a pop-out and we all got to help and fix it back on the rim.

As I said, it was a relaxed Saturday drive that I really enjoyed and thanks are due to the Marshals for their time, effort & knowledge shared, @alshamsi_m , @Booy , @Scorpio , and the support team @haider alnuaimi , @David , @Johanna

See you all soon!