Post by htawalbeh on Oct 16, 2009 13:35:08 GMT 2
Welcome to Jordan 4x4 Family
Disclaimer: Due to people’s amazing ability to constantly prove Darwin right, I must claim that I am not responsible for your actions. This article is a guide, a tool, a documentation of the lessons I have learnt the hard way. I do not intend in any way to instill in you any unfounded confidence. At all time use prudent judgment before acting, otherwise you maybe endangering yourself or more importantly, the people around you.
Firstly, I must stress this for all newcomers to consider: Do not take a car to the desert unless you are financially, emotionally and physically able to leave it there. This is very important: you are going to the desert to have fun, and you cannot have fun if you cannot handle having your car damaged. The desert is a beautiful place, and to enjoy this beauty, all first time travellers must leave something behind. These non-tax deductible donations are in the form of front bumpers, rear bumpers, fender walls and anything plastic that is attached to your vehicle. All cars get damaged, the desert doesn’t care that you haven’t finished your instalments, she doesn’t care that your wife or husband needs the car to take the kids to school.
Please note: I did not make these rules, I just learnt them.
Rule 1: ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT! -I don’t care for any excuse whatsoever. If you aren’t wearing a seatbelt, you better be walking. I have had friends perish; I have seen people thrown 30 meters from the point of impact. Your body is not meant to travel faster than 10 kph, or meant to fly.
Rule 2: ALWAYS KEEP YOUR DISTANCE! -Last I checked, this is an off-roading guide, you cannot turn on a dime on the sand. Your capability of manoeuvring on sand is severely reduced. I recommend 25-30 meters AT LEAST.
Rule 3: CHECK YOUR CAR BEFORE EMBARKING. The rate of wear and tear on your car increases exponentially with every meter you drive on sand. Before and after every trip: check your oil, check your air filter (and clean it!), check your tires, check your CV boots for damage and check your undercarriage for damage. If a part of your car is loosely attached, it WILL fall off during your drive. Regular maintenance and prudent judgement of likely failures is key here.
Rule 4: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER OFF-ROAD ALONE! You don’t want to die alone, do you? You are only as good as your partner car. Imagine being 15 km from the nearest road alone with a torn head gasket. In all seriousness, this is your life we are talking about here. Always go with another car, never alone. Never.
Rule 5: DO NOT DRIVE WHILST INTOXICATED. Not only is there a 0% BAC tolerance in the Arabian Gulf, driving whilst intoxicated –as you know- severely reduces your reaction time. The use of narcotics -illegal or not- whilst driving will severely impair your ability to handle a car off-road. And no, the sand isn’t a soft cushiony pillow.
Rule 6: BE PREPARED: THE FOLLOWING LIST IS A MUST HAVE!
-- Take 10 litres of water per day for every person travelling
-- Bring a first aid kit along with any medication anybody in your party might need. (Remember allergies and diabetics)
-- Take a shovel with you; this is more important than a recovery rope. A shovel will get you out of any sticky situation, even annoying ones
-- Take a REAL recovery rope. DO NOT ACCEPT 10,000 lb tow straps from gas stations or your local discount store. I have torn through so many that the 35 dirham’s each cost would have easily paid for a real one. What I am talking about is a 50,000 lb recovery strap that it at least 3.5 inches wide with a reinforced loop at the end, and bring at least 2 shackles to attach them. This strap must be at least 5 meters long.Avoid KER (kinetic energy ropes) as they have a high incident rate and are extremely risky to use without proper instruction
-- Bring basic tools with you, at least to be able to take off a tire and jack up the car. At least get the basics such as a spanner set, wrenches, screwdriver assortment and if you want, a millimetre. At least buy a Leatherman or a Gerber multi-tool, they are amazing. Zip Ties, Duct Tape and Bailing wire are very useful for loose parts.
Follow the above rules for your own safety, I needn’t say more.
If you are reading this, you are most likely going to be a novice or possibly an intermediate driver. In either way, you should be following a team leader. Your team leader might not know your capability on the sand; your leader is ultimately not responsible for your actions. Sometimes the team leader may take a path that you might not have the ride or the skill to handle. There are many paths in the sand, if EVER IN DOUBT, choose the flatter and easier one, or use the usual ‘stop and think’ solution (usually works wonders if used).
-WHAT CAR?-
The traditional saying is “it’s the driver, not the car”, which by all means is accurate. However, since you are reading this, it is likely that the driver factor is not quite up at that level necessary to take an S Class Mercedes across the Empty Quarter into Saudi. As far as you are concerned, try to eliminate the drawbacks of certain cars as much as possible. I don’t want to start by causing a war here, but this is what I find just by seeing what cars get stuck and what don’t:
Short wheel base have a higher relative lift than long wheel bases -they are also relatively lighter. Short wheel bases are a good option if you want to use a car for the dunes, leave the long wheel base for Alpha tours. However, Shorter cars have a higher tendency to flip over. You have been warned, drive responsibly.
Your goal is a high power to weight ratio, good low end torque and a decent 4x4 transmission which if you can offers both high and low gears and if possible a locking differential. Traction control will interfere with your driving so please find a model where you can turn it off.
Korea has not yet achieved the standard for off-road automobiles. Kia and Hyundai are not suitable since they are made of plastic and are underpowered. You can make do at the beach but if you want to take desert driving seriously, steer clear.
The American car brands stop at Jeeps. Wranglers are awesome toys and are very safe due to their built in roll-cages. They are powerful enough and have enough aftermarket products to make them into a space ship, in which case you have invested enough money into your car that you won’t need skill. However, I find them uncomfortable and not very suitable for the road after their ‘mandatory’ 4 inch lift. Lastly, they flip on their backs easier than a…… um you get the point. On the other hand they have an amazing ability to maintain their value and they come in a variety of flavours and ages. Hummers are way too heavy and underpowered, and only Swarchenegger looks good in them.
Ze Germans have a bunch of cars that are awesome, but none really for off-road. Please for the love of Bavaria and the autobahn never take an X5, Q7, Toureg or Cayenne (same thing really) to the sand, they are beautiful cars and cost way too much money to take off-road. They can go to the beach all you want, just stay away from the dunes. * I know the G500/G55 AMG is a beast of an engine strapped to a rugged chassis. From the looks, they do extremely well in the sand; they sure cost a pretty penny though. If you can afford one, can I get a ride? As I said, if you have the kind of money to thrash around a G series Mercedes in the sand, you probably will be able to hire AAA’s unimog to follow you around all day.
The U.K. - Land Rovers are awesome off-road, the older ones anyway. Those new supercharged ones have a really low profile even with their elevated status. The LR3 is extremely heavy, and even with their awesome 4x4 system, they need bigger sidewalls and a higher ride height. The trim is expensive and you will likely lose it quickly without a lift kit. Defenders are awesome the second you upgrade the stock rims/tires and let that engine breathe.
Japan….. I shouldn’t need to say anything here. But I will. Land Cruisers, FJ, P(B)atrols, Pathfinders and Pajeros speak for themselves. If you have a short wheel base of any of these models, you are essentially set for the sand. If you want to take the desert seriously, a lift kit with harder springs/shocks and a sweet steel set of bumpers will make your car a serious desert machine. Patrols come standard with desert experience and a shisha kit. Box style land cruisers come standard with Yemeni Bedouin music tapes in the glove box.
Ground Clearance -I have found 30 cm as a good height with decent roll stability, 20 cm is cutting it close.
-TRANSMISSION & GEAR SELECTION-
If you are on sand, choose 4x4. If you are reading this and learning from it, you are not experienced enough to go with RWD only. 4x4 or bust.
If you have a choice, go manual. On the sand you require ‘on demand’ power with no interference from the stupid computer shifting gears on you at the wrong time. Modern cars have rev limiters for a reason . Besides, manuals are more fun. If you have a 4x4 with real sequential gears, that’s awesome and you must take me for a ride.
It is all about torque and range. What you are looking for is the capability of getting those tires turning and to be able to accelerate to at least 40-50 kph without shifts. Whether it is high or low gear, it doesn’t matter. You will find variations with what people choose, but every car is different, and so is every driver. Find a beach and figure it out. Personally, I find 4-High, using first and second gear. On that note, on 4-high, first and second gears are your friends. There is a reason why 1-2 synchs go out the window on most off-road cars. Most of your off road driving will be on those two gears, if you are on third you are going too fast. Since all cars have different gear ratios, the rest of this is up to you.
On the other hand, some drivers prefer 4-Low. This powerful set of gears will get you enough torque to move planets; however the range of each gear is quite short. Since your 4-Low transmission is likely attached to a throaty V8 or a whiny V6, or in the best case a stable inline 6, you will have the torque to move the car from 2nd gear, or even 3rd gear as the Patrol and Jeep boys and girls like to boast. 2nd gear in a 4-low setup transmission will give you all that you need and you will find yourself enjoying this gear the most. HOWEVER, the compromise comes with transmission life. Low gear settings require high rotational velocity gears which result in increased transmission temperatures. You need to pay special attention to the transmission oil temperature and level if you are 4-low happy. I highly recommend installing a secondary transmission oil cooler somewhere safe (there is usually already one fitted inside your radiator)
If you are unlucky enough to have a small four banger (inline four engine) with non-existent low end torque, your car will likely not even have a low range, in that case its AWD high range for you. You will see most of your driving between 3k-6k rpm. Deal with it, or buy a real car ; )
-TIRES-
I assume you have nice tires in good conditions: this means no bulges and no leaks. For sand you do not need knobby and chunky tires, any road tires will do. However, the fatter the tire, the better it will be for you. If you don’t have a tire gage, go get one. Now.
At this point, 12-15 PSI is the right pressure for you. What you are looking for is the sidewall to budge out and the tire to ease in resistance to the stiff jab of your thumbs. What this does is increase the contact surface area with the sand, decreases the impulse forces between the tires and the sand and increases flotation (sand flotation!). Please deflate your tires before you enter soft sand! The danger here is if you deflate too much (less than 12 psi on most cars), the tire might come off the rim and deflate completely - at this point you have a total flat and if you continue driving you will shred the tire. Around 12-15 psi is usually enough for any car, on the sands you will start driving on anyway. When you get to the swehan or liwa powders, I’m sure you will figure out that single digits is the only solution.. Then again, if you are driving there, you wont be reading this anyway.
- Make sure your spare is in good condition please, older tires in the gulf heat will tend to age harden and will be more prone to failure.
Also, please note that tires at 12 psi or lower are more prone to damage from rocks, nails, body parts (don’t freak, car parts). Furthermore, they generate higher friction forces which mean both more traction and more heat. Please do not drive faster than 60 kph on tarmac otherwise you risk denaturing the rubber compound (and thus permanently decreasing the effectiveness of your tires). Lastly, flat tires don’t turn that well on the road, drive slow on tarmac, take wide turns. FILL UP AIR AS SOON AS YOU CAN! On that note, if you have enjoyed your day driving in the sand, go buy a good air compressor (more on that later)
Once you start taking more challenging paths, your climbing ability decreases. On more advanced drives, some drivers choose to compensate for the lack of ‘floatation/grip’ with less air pressure. It is common to see some drivers going down to 10 psi or so, in some cases even less with light cars and bead locks.
-However, IF you have cash to burn, go bigfoot baby
-POPPED TIRES-
Inevitably, you will pop your tire off the rim. So long as you notice this HUGE disintegration of control and stability, you should of course stop in a nice flat area so as to proceed and reseat your tire.
Step 1: Check the tire/rim for damage. If any, replace.
Step 2: Find a nice flat area and park your car. (hand/foot/emergency/parking brake of course)
Step 3: Pull out the shovel, jack, wooden plank, air compressor and a bottle of water.
Step 4: Put the jack on the wooden board and jack up the car. Not too high
Step 5: Using the shovel, dig under the tire until it is free from the sand (take into consideration the additional height you would need if the tire is indented or folded.
Step 6: Pour water over the rim, where the tire meets the rim and wash away the sand
Step 7: Setup your air compressor and start inflating whilst a friend and you pull the tire towards the rim.
Step8: Inflate the tire all the way up to 30 psi to seat the tire properly
Step 9: Deflate to desired pressure (probably above the previous pressure if bad driving didn’t cause this problem in the first place)
-BRAKES-
DO NOT SALM THE BRAKES UNLESS ON HARD FLAT GROUND. In all cases please engine brake, the sand will help you plenty, trust me on this. If you have a fancy ABS system, most of the time the car will believe it is losing traction and start interfering with your braking, so your ABS brakes are as useless on sand as they are on ice. With that said, there is one area that you shall NEVER use your brakes which follows here for effect :
NEVER EVER USE BRAKES WHEN ON THE CONCAVE SIDE OF A SAND DUNE…..
NO EXCUSES -you shouldn’t have to slam the brakes, remember to maintain distance!
-AC OR NO AC?!-
Your AC system WILL drain power, and a good percentage of it. However, opening your windows in the desert WILL result in a sandy car, and sandy hair. If you aren’t a top down, no doors wrangler junky, you will probably not have washable seats, goggles and a face mask. So, my recommendation is to turn the AC compressor OFF by switching off the cool function and running the fans only. The fans are electric and do not really drain more power than that subwoofer playing ‘black betty’. Common, toughen up.
-SAND & MOMENTUM-
*Rippled sand is harder sand.
*The road less travelled is also harder.
*Momentum is the key to sand driving.
*Graded sand on the side of roads is softer.
Harder is better, since you are following someone in front of you, watch how the sand flows around the tires. Watch how deep the tires sink into the sand, this should clue you in as to the resistance you are about to face. If you see soft sand, you should already be shifting into a gear with power. Since your car is about to slow down, you need to get on that throttle and MAINTAIN MOMENTUM.
RIDGES -The line between the concave and convex area of any dune or contact between dunes. This is where most novice drivers get stuck. The key here is to keep speed in first gear and approach the ridge as parallel as you can, then cross at speed and MAINTAIN HEAVY THROTTLE until you have completely crossed. You are skating that ridge on your chassis for a split second (hopefully) and you need to maintain speed so you don’t become a hundred thousand dirham seesaw. NEVER approach a ridge perpendicular to it, unless you are at heavy speed and prepared to become airborne, at that point I highly recommend getting camera footage and possibly a healthy bank account.
-Pretty much the most awesome thing to do in the desert, and the most DANGEROUS. I cannot stress this section of the article enough: CONCAVE SURFING IS A MAJOR FLIP PRONE AREA. This area of the dune is the steepest and the softest. You are looking at an angle of 40 degrees with some of the softest sand your area has to offer. This is where you must remember basic physics. On earth, it takes millions of pounds of hydrogen and oxygen to mess with gravity, so unless your car is a space ship, please pay attention to the following words: If your car stops sideways in the middle of the concave side of the dune, you are more than likely going to flip over your ride. The only solution I could come up with is to simply not stop. Maintaining momentum is so d**n important here that I promise you the first thing you will say after you flip your car is “i slowed downâ€
. *** NEVER APPROACH A CONCAVE DUNE IF THERE IS ANOTHER CAR ALREADY THERE***
When approaching a concave dune, you must be travelling at speed, at least mid range in second gear. You are approaching at an angle parallel to the ridge of the dune, going up and down in a beautiful curve. You will notice your car experiencing heavy resistance on this area, and by god that engine better be close to the rev limiter (mind you some cars when hitting the rev limiter completely cut off fuel from the engine for more than a second, please make sure this doesn’t happen to you.) ******** If your car decreases in velocity due to this resistance and your engine can no longer maintain momentum, start turning towards the bottom of the dune quickly and get into that lower gear as fast as you can and give it hell. THE KEY IS TO NOT LOSE MOMENTUM, that gear shift needs to be quick, I am talking about powershifts here, I am talking about formula one shift, I am talking about breaking your 1-2 synchro cherry shift here. The goal here is to rotate your car so that the front of the car is pointing at the bottom, at this point you may remove your foot from the gas and ENGINE BRAKE till the bottom. And I will end dramatically with the most important comment of all here: NO MATTER WHAT, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR BRAKES AT ANY POINT DURING THIS MANUVER. -The front will dig in, you will stop in your tracks and you will flip till you reach the bottom of that dune. At this point, you will remember Rule 1, and you will -for a split second- think about investing in a 5 point harness. Ofcourse you can’t use “there was a car in front of me” as an excuse because we already decided that the slope should be clear first.
SHARP DIPS OR RISES -These will usually only be a maximum of 50 cm high but will be riddled across the sand and sooner or later you will encounter one. If you are approaching a dip, slow down (read engine brake) until you reach the edge, let the car roll over and engine brake as you approach the bottom, then when your tires are at the bottom you can slowly accelerate out, SLOWING FOR THE REAR TO DROP. If you are approaching a riser, slow down until your tires are a few cm away from the rise, accelerate -lifting the front over the rise. After this, accelerate again to lift the rear, then continue.
-DUNE DECENT-
Ok, so Sir Newton said something about up and down etc. Coming down a dune should be done so that you are pointing straight down. Use the engine to decelerate NOT your brakes. Highly advised to use low gear unless your high 1st has a lot of torque. Come down slowly. Avoid using the hand brake as it causes the rear to deviate in soft sands. If you start to rotate, give it some throttle and you should straighten out, just not too much since you might end up kissing the bottom and making a donation. Just before the bottom, completely remove your foot from the throttle and let the car slow down by itself and level out, as soon as your nose is up, punch it because it’s awesome.
Definitions:
Dune crested : You have reached the top of the dune and your car has become an expensive see saw pivoting on the crest of the dune. Sand is holding the car up from the chassis and one or more wheels are off the ground.
Up to the Chassis : Your tires have dug all the sand from under/around them, the car now is held up by the chassis and one or more tires is hanging freely.
Bowled: the back of the car is on the decline and the front of your car is on an incline.
Apart from that, the tips and tricks......
- Shovel : Dig out your car. Easier said than done, have fun. Get the sand out from under the chassis, remove all sand from the sides of the tire, dig a channel to drive through, hit car repetadly in anger. Use the shovel, not your hands - reason being the oil pan/transfer case/cats/exhaust are all very hot, grab a handful of sand that was touching that and you will remember to get a shovel/use it next time. Most important idea to remember is that the goal is to get the car riding on the tires, not the sand. Get the tires so that there is minimum drag from the sand.
WARNING - ON EXTREEM ANGLES BE AWARE OF THE CHANCE FOR ROLL OVER. (life insurance optional)
-Deflate to super ultra low pressure (initial D anyone?) 6-9 psi
more floation, more contact area. Reinflate to desired pressure (if above those pressures soon after the unstucking process has completed)
-Engage LOW gear - Get some torque, move that burried tire (dont pop a drive shaft tho or burn your clutch. If it aint moving, digg it out)
- Engage diff lock (if one of the tires is off the ground, if no difflock refer to HAND BRAKE TECHNIQUE). This will force the diff locked diff (lol) into forcing both tires to move. If one tire is off the ground, open diff locks will send all power to that tire (useless). Engaging the difflock will force both tires to turn at the same speed.
-Put boards/carpets/annoying kids under the tires to get some traction.
-If safe to do so, jack up the car and replace/remove sand until a nice surface is available.
-Rocking. If you have power going to the wheels on the ground, try rocking the car forwards by carefully engaging the clutch and disengaging (or slowly bliping the throttle on autos). The rocking smooths out the riser infront of the tire and allows you some momentum to try and climb out.
-Left/right/L/R/L/R..... turn the stearing wheel left to right whilst slowly accelerating. This can prove to be VERY useful if you are on an incline. The car will slowly start sliding downwards and by careful timing could be made to orient the car in the right direction.
-Low gear in first whilst jumping on the car - DANGER- this is a stupid thing to do and could get you killed or best case scenerio your car driving off by itself IF PERFORMED ALONE. You will see sometimes that some drivers choose to engage low gear on first, get out of the car (as the tires are spinning) and jump on the side steps/hood/hitch whatever to get the car rocking and some sand under the tires. Always do this with a friend in the car to stop it afterwards. This is mostly doable with automatics, manuals usually stall out. This process helps level out the car on the sand.
- Call for help ? Getting stuck happens all the times, as your experience grows, it happens less often. Most Off-roaders dont consider being 'stuck' as long as unstucking can be achieved without the use of tow ropes or any digging. Most of the time, you will find yourself capable of removing yourself from your situation by changing gear ratios (low/high), engaging diff locks, rocking and or right/left stearing out of your situation.
-SCOPING-
This is also of immense importance. When you are approaching an area where there is either a ridge, a long maneuver or a concave dune, please pause (either on a flat surface or at a slightly downwards angle) with sufficient distance from the area to evaluate the path you wish to take. Make sure you have enough space to accelerate to a speed required for the maneuver. As your off-road experience grows, your imaginary path will more closely match your applied path. 'Sufficient distance’ will vary greatly based on the obstacle. Of course since you are following somebody, you will notice their pause or you will notice their engine revving wildly and you will pay attention.
-HAND BRAKE TECHNIQUE-
Taught to me by an old guru in the desert one day. If you do not have a diff lock on the front or rear (central diff locks dont count), you will find that if one of the tires is off the ground at any point (such as being crested/bowled), the car will send all the power from the engine to that useless flaling tire. By applying the hand brake (fully), you can simulate traction on the free tire and send power to the tires on the ground. This works on most cars without electronic trac/stability control. Mind the wear on the brakes, and remember to disengage the handbrake after you recover yourself...
-FLAG POLES-
I told my dad the other day I would like to install a CB radio/ flag pole on my car and he looked at me like he always looks at me when I ask for money. So I told him this : Imagine you are in a sand bowl driving round and round trying to escape the hungry sand monster when a roaring two door patrol hops over the crest for a little fun. The issue here is visibility; since we already established the handling problem on the sand, pre-emptive measures to insure safety is seriously considered in the off-road world. A flag pole will indicate to other drivers your presence which could possibly help save your ride. He still didn't give me any money.
Sexy silhouette optional. Pirate flags mandatory for all jeep drivers.
-RADIOS-
Since you are a newbie, you are not expected to have a CB radio in your car. If you have a generic multichannel walky talky, ask the team leader what channel he is using (they usually have one anyway). Ofcourse since you are not going to be the backstop of the group as a novice driver, you shouldn’t be all that worried about being left behind.
Mind you, multichannel radios are only allowed in the UAE provided you have the Radio Hobby license from the govt. So get your papers sorted so you don’t have to explain yourself when a cop asks you what that you’re playing with.
-GPS-
If you are still dipping your feet into the sand, you are likely not expected to have a GPS unit. I won’t tell you what unit to buy if you do want one, I will just assume you have one because they are awesome. Way-point your starting location wherever you deflated your tires, this is a must if you own a GPS unit. If the worst case scenario occurs (ie the dimwits left you behind) you can always find your way back there through either a bearing or the awesome backtrack function on your GPS. Don’t just stare at that two thousand dirham display; waypoint points of interest, awesome dunes, where your exhaust fell off, gas stations, the cool pool you took a dip in, all of it.
I recommend the Garmin GPSMAP 276c with the middle east maps
-AIR COMPRESSORS-
Spend the cash and buy a good one. Don’t buy crappy brands or something from a supermarket. Compressors are the essentially the most important secondary tool you need in the desert. Get a high flow, big compressor. Actually get the biggest compressor you can afford that will run of 12V and that you can store easily in your car, nothing more annoying than that 30 minute wait after a whole sandy day in the hot sun.
I hope that by reading this you can be more prepared for the amazing adventure you are about to embark on. I also hope I did not scare you away from experiencing one of the amazing beauties the Arabian Gulf has to offer. Please remember that Off-Roading is an expensive hobby and if you can’t afford it, try something else.
BE SAFE - ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT
Cheers
Hussein Tawalbeh
h.t1980@hotmail.com
079-9290097
Disclaimer: Due to people’s amazing ability to constantly prove Darwin right, I must claim that I am not responsible for your actions. This article is a guide, a tool, a documentation of the lessons I have learnt the hard way. I do not intend in any way to instill in you any unfounded confidence. At all time use prudent judgment before acting, otherwise you maybe endangering yourself or more importantly, the people around you.
Firstly, I must stress this for all newcomers to consider: Do not take a car to the desert unless you are financially, emotionally and physically able to leave it there. This is very important: you are going to the desert to have fun, and you cannot have fun if you cannot handle having your car damaged. The desert is a beautiful place, and to enjoy this beauty, all first time travellers must leave something behind. These non-tax deductible donations are in the form of front bumpers, rear bumpers, fender walls and anything plastic that is attached to your vehicle. All cars get damaged, the desert doesn’t care that you haven’t finished your instalments, she doesn’t care that your wife or husband needs the car to take the kids to school.
Please note: I did not make these rules, I just learnt them.
Rule 1: ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT! -I don’t care for any excuse whatsoever. If you aren’t wearing a seatbelt, you better be walking. I have had friends perish; I have seen people thrown 30 meters from the point of impact. Your body is not meant to travel faster than 10 kph, or meant to fly.
Rule 2: ALWAYS KEEP YOUR DISTANCE! -Last I checked, this is an off-roading guide, you cannot turn on a dime on the sand. Your capability of manoeuvring on sand is severely reduced. I recommend 25-30 meters AT LEAST.
Rule 3: CHECK YOUR CAR BEFORE EMBARKING. The rate of wear and tear on your car increases exponentially with every meter you drive on sand. Before and after every trip: check your oil, check your air filter (and clean it!), check your tires, check your CV boots for damage and check your undercarriage for damage. If a part of your car is loosely attached, it WILL fall off during your drive. Regular maintenance and prudent judgement of likely failures is key here.
Rule 4: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER OFF-ROAD ALONE! You don’t want to die alone, do you? You are only as good as your partner car. Imagine being 15 km from the nearest road alone with a torn head gasket. In all seriousness, this is your life we are talking about here. Always go with another car, never alone. Never.
Rule 5: DO NOT DRIVE WHILST INTOXICATED. Not only is there a 0% BAC tolerance in the Arabian Gulf, driving whilst intoxicated –as you know- severely reduces your reaction time. The use of narcotics -illegal or not- whilst driving will severely impair your ability to handle a car off-road. And no, the sand isn’t a soft cushiony pillow.
Rule 6: BE PREPARED: THE FOLLOWING LIST IS A MUST HAVE!
-- Take 10 litres of water per day for every person travelling
-- Bring a first aid kit along with any medication anybody in your party might need. (Remember allergies and diabetics)
-- Take a shovel with you; this is more important than a recovery rope. A shovel will get you out of any sticky situation, even annoying ones
-- Take a REAL recovery rope. DO NOT ACCEPT 10,000 lb tow straps from gas stations or your local discount store. I have torn through so many that the 35 dirham’s each cost would have easily paid for a real one. What I am talking about is a 50,000 lb recovery strap that it at least 3.5 inches wide with a reinforced loop at the end, and bring at least 2 shackles to attach them. This strap must be at least 5 meters long.Avoid KER (kinetic energy ropes) as they have a high incident rate and are extremely risky to use without proper instruction
-- Bring basic tools with you, at least to be able to take off a tire and jack up the car. At least get the basics such as a spanner set, wrenches, screwdriver assortment and if you want, a millimetre. At least buy a Leatherman or a Gerber multi-tool, they are amazing. Zip Ties, Duct Tape and Bailing wire are very useful for loose parts.
Follow the above rules for your own safety, I needn’t say more.
If you are reading this, you are most likely going to be a novice or possibly an intermediate driver. In either way, you should be following a team leader. Your team leader might not know your capability on the sand; your leader is ultimately not responsible for your actions. Sometimes the team leader may take a path that you might not have the ride or the skill to handle. There are many paths in the sand, if EVER IN DOUBT, choose the flatter and easier one, or use the usual ‘stop and think’ solution (usually works wonders if used).
-WHAT CAR?-
The traditional saying is “it’s the driver, not the car”, which by all means is accurate. However, since you are reading this, it is likely that the driver factor is not quite up at that level necessary to take an S Class Mercedes across the Empty Quarter into Saudi. As far as you are concerned, try to eliminate the drawbacks of certain cars as much as possible. I don’t want to start by causing a war here, but this is what I find just by seeing what cars get stuck and what don’t:
Short wheel base have a higher relative lift than long wheel bases -they are also relatively lighter. Short wheel bases are a good option if you want to use a car for the dunes, leave the long wheel base for Alpha tours. However, Shorter cars have a higher tendency to flip over. You have been warned, drive responsibly.
Your goal is a high power to weight ratio, good low end torque and a decent 4x4 transmission which if you can offers both high and low gears and if possible a locking differential. Traction control will interfere with your driving so please find a model where you can turn it off.
Korea has not yet achieved the standard for off-road automobiles. Kia and Hyundai are not suitable since they are made of plastic and are underpowered. You can make do at the beach but if you want to take desert driving seriously, steer clear.
The American car brands stop at Jeeps. Wranglers are awesome toys and are very safe due to their built in roll-cages. They are powerful enough and have enough aftermarket products to make them into a space ship, in which case you have invested enough money into your car that you won’t need skill. However, I find them uncomfortable and not very suitable for the road after their ‘mandatory’ 4 inch lift. Lastly, they flip on their backs easier than a…… um you get the point. On the other hand they have an amazing ability to maintain their value and they come in a variety of flavours and ages. Hummers are way too heavy and underpowered, and only Swarchenegger looks good in them.
Ze Germans have a bunch of cars that are awesome, but none really for off-road. Please for the love of Bavaria and the autobahn never take an X5, Q7, Toureg or Cayenne (same thing really) to the sand, they are beautiful cars and cost way too much money to take off-road. They can go to the beach all you want, just stay away from the dunes. * I know the G500/G55 AMG is a beast of an engine strapped to a rugged chassis. From the looks, they do extremely well in the sand; they sure cost a pretty penny though. If you can afford one, can I get a ride? As I said, if you have the kind of money to thrash around a G series Mercedes in the sand, you probably will be able to hire AAA’s unimog to follow you around all day.
The U.K. - Land Rovers are awesome off-road, the older ones anyway. Those new supercharged ones have a really low profile even with their elevated status. The LR3 is extremely heavy, and even with their awesome 4x4 system, they need bigger sidewalls and a higher ride height. The trim is expensive and you will likely lose it quickly without a lift kit. Defenders are awesome the second you upgrade the stock rims/tires and let that engine breathe.
Japan….. I shouldn’t need to say anything here. But I will. Land Cruisers, FJ, P(B)atrols, Pathfinders and Pajeros speak for themselves. If you have a short wheel base of any of these models, you are essentially set for the sand. If you want to take the desert seriously, a lift kit with harder springs/shocks and a sweet steel set of bumpers will make your car a serious desert machine. Patrols come standard with desert experience and a shisha kit. Box style land cruisers come standard with Yemeni Bedouin music tapes in the glove box.
Ground Clearance -I have found 30 cm as a good height with decent roll stability, 20 cm is cutting it close.
-TRANSMISSION & GEAR SELECTION-
If you are on sand, choose 4x4. If you are reading this and learning from it, you are not experienced enough to go with RWD only. 4x4 or bust.
If you have a choice, go manual. On the sand you require ‘on demand’ power with no interference from the stupid computer shifting gears on you at the wrong time. Modern cars have rev limiters for a reason . Besides, manuals are more fun. If you have a 4x4 with real sequential gears, that’s awesome and you must take me for a ride.
It is all about torque and range. What you are looking for is the capability of getting those tires turning and to be able to accelerate to at least 40-50 kph without shifts. Whether it is high or low gear, it doesn’t matter. You will find variations with what people choose, but every car is different, and so is every driver. Find a beach and figure it out. Personally, I find 4-High, using first and second gear. On that note, on 4-high, first and second gears are your friends. There is a reason why 1-2 synchs go out the window on most off-road cars. Most of your off road driving will be on those two gears, if you are on third you are going too fast. Since all cars have different gear ratios, the rest of this is up to you.
On the other hand, some drivers prefer 4-Low. This powerful set of gears will get you enough torque to move planets; however the range of each gear is quite short. Since your 4-Low transmission is likely attached to a throaty V8 or a whiny V6, or in the best case a stable inline 6, you will have the torque to move the car from 2nd gear, or even 3rd gear as the Patrol and Jeep boys and girls like to boast. 2nd gear in a 4-low setup transmission will give you all that you need and you will find yourself enjoying this gear the most. HOWEVER, the compromise comes with transmission life. Low gear settings require high rotational velocity gears which result in increased transmission temperatures. You need to pay special attention to the transmission oil temperature and level if you are 4-low happy. I highly recommend installing a secondary transmission oil cooler somewhere safe (there is usually already one fitted inside your radiator)
If you are unlucky enough to have a small four banger (inline four engine) with non-existent low end torque, your car will likely not even have a low range, in that case its AWD high range for you. You will see most of your driving between 3k-6k rpm. Deal with it, or buy a real car ; )
-TIRES-
I assume you have nice tires in good conditions: this means no bulges and no leaks. For sand you do not need knobby and chunky tires, any road tires will do. However, the fatter the tire, the better it will be for you. If you don’t have a tire gage, go get one. Now.
At this point, 12-15 PSI is the right pressure for you. What you are looking for is the sidewall to budge out and the tire to ease in resistance to the stiff jab of your thumbs. What this does is increase the contact surface area with the sand, decreases the impulse forces between the tires and the sand and increases flotation (sand flotation!). Please deflate your tires before you enter soft sand! The danger here is if you deflate too much (less than 12 psi on most cars), the tire might come off the rim and deflate completely - at this point you have a total flat and if you continue driving you will shred the tire. Around 12-15 psi is usually enough for any car, on the sands you will start driving on anyway. When you get to the swehan or liwa powders, I’m sure you will figure out that single digits is the only solution.. Then again, if you are driving there, you wont be reading this anyway.
- Make sure your spare is in good condition please, older tires in the gulf heat will tend to age harden and will be more prone to failure.
Also, please note that tires at 12 psi or lower are more prone to damage from rocks, nails, body parts (don’t freak, car parts). Furthermore, they generate higher friction forces which mean both more traction and more heat. Please do not drive faster than 60 kph on tarmac otherwise you risk denaturing the rubber compound (and thus permanently decreasing the effectiveness of your tires). Lastly, flat tires don’t turn that well on the road, drive slow on tarmac, take wide turns. FILL UP AIR AS SOON AS YOU CAN! On that note, if you have enjoyed your day driving in the sand, go buy a good air compressor (more on that later)
Once you start taking more challenging paths, your climbing ability decreases. On more advanced drives, some drivers choose to compensate for the lack of ‘floatation/grip’ with less air pressure. It is common to see some drivers going down to 10 psi or so, in some cases even less with light cars and bead locks.
-However, IF you have cash to burn, go bigfoot baby
-POPPED TIRES-
Inevitably, you will pop your tire off the rim. So long as you notice this HUGE disintegration of control and stability, you should of course stop in a nice flat area so as to proceed and reseat your tire.
Step 1: Check the tire/rim for damage. If any, replace.
Step 2: Find a nice flat area and park your car. (hand/foot/emergency/parking brake of course)
Step 3: Pull out the shovel, jack, wooden plank, air compressor and a bottle of water.
Step 4: Put the jack on the wooden board and jack up the car. Not too high
Step 5: Using the shovel, dig under the tire until it is free from the sand (take into consideration the additional height you would need if the tire is indented or folded.
Step 6: Pour water over the rim, where the tire meets the rim and wash away the sand
Step 7: Setup your air compressor and start inflating whilst a friend and you pull the tire towards the rim.
Step8: Inflate the tire all the way up to 30 psi to seat the tire properly
Step 9: Deflate to desired pressure (probably above the previous pressure if bad driving didn’t cause this problem in the first place)
-BRAKES-
DO NOT SALM THE BRAKES UNLESS ON HARD FLAT GROUND. In all cases please engine brake, the sand will help you plenty, trust me on this. If you have a fancy ABS system, most of the time the car will believe it is losing traction and start interfering with your braking, so your ABS brakes are as useless on sand as they are on ice. With that said, there is one area that you shall NEVER use your brakes which follows here for effect :
NEVER EVER USE BRAKES WHEN ON THE CONCAVE SIDE OF A SAND DUNE…..
NO EXCUSES -you shouldn’t have to slam the brakes, remember to maintain distance!
-AC OR NO AC?!-
Your AC system WILL drain power, and a good percentage of it. However, opening your windows in the desert WILL result in a sandy car, and sandy hair. If you aren’t a top down, no doors wrangler junky, you will probably not have washable seats, goggles and a face mask. So, my recommendation is to turn the AC compressor OFF by switching off the cool function and running the fans only. The fans are electric and do not really drain more power than that subwoofer playing ‘black betty’. Common, toughen up.
-SAND & MOMENTUM-
*Rippled sand is harder sand.
*The road less travelled is also harder.
*Momentum is the key to sand driving.
*Graded sand on the side of roads is softer.
Harder is better, since you are following someone in front of you, watch how the sand flows around the tires. Watch how deep the tires sink into the sand, this should clue you in as to the resistance you are about to face. If you see soft sand, you should already be shifting into a gear with power. Since your car is about to slow down, you need to get on that throttle and MAINTAIN MOMENTUM.
RIDGES -The line between the concave and convex area of any dune or contact between dunes. This is where most novice drivers get stuck. The key here is to keep speed in first gear and approach the ridge as parallel as you can, then cross at speed and MAINTAIN HEAVY THROTTLE until you have completely crossed. You are skating that ridge on your chassis for a split second (hopefully) and you need to maintain speed so you don’t become a hundred thousand dirham seesaw. NEVER approach a ridge perpendicular to it, unless you are at heavy speed and prepared to become airborne, at that point I highly recommend getting camera footage and possibly a healthy bank account.
-Pretty much the most awesome thing to do in the desert, and the most DANGEROUS. I cannot stress this section of the article enough: CONCAVE SURFING IS A MAJOR FLIP PRONE AREA. This area of the dune is the steepest and the softest. You are looking at an angle of 40 degrees with some of the softest sand your area has to offer. This is where you must remember basic physics. On earth, it takes millions of pounds of hydrogen and oxygen to mess with gravity, so unless your car is a space ship, please pay attention to the following words: If your car stops sideways in the middle of the concave side of the dune, you are more than likely going to flip over your ride. The only solution I could come up with is to simply not stop. Maintaining momentum is so d**n important here that I promise you the first thing you will say after you flip your car is “i slowed downâ€
. *** NEVER APPROACH A CONCAVE DUNE IF THERE IS ANOTHER CAR ALREADY THERE***
When approaching a concave dune, you must be travelling at speed, at least mid range in second gear. You are approaching at an angle parallel to the ridge of the dune, going up and down in a beautiful curve. You will notice your car experiencing heavy resistance on this area, and by god that engine better be close to the rev limiter (mind you some cars when hitting the rev limiter completely cut off fuel from the engine for more than a second, please make sure this doesn’t happen to you.) ******** If your car decreases in velocity due to this resistance and your engine can no longer maintain momentum, start turning towards the bottom of the dune quickly and get into that lower gear as fast as you can and give it hell. THE KEY IS TO NOT LOSE MOMENTUM, that gear shift needs to be quick, I am talking about powershifts here, I am talking about formula one shift, I am talking about breaking your 1-2 synchro cherry shift here. The goal here is to rotate your car so that the front of the car is pointing at the bottom, at this point you may remove your foot from the gas and ENGINE BRAKE till the bottom. And I will end dramatically with the most important comment of all here: NO MATTER WHAT, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR BRAKES AT ANY POINT DURING THIS MANUVER. -The front will dig in, you will stop in your tracks and you will flip till you reach the bottom of that dune. At this point, you will remember Rule 1, and you will -for a split second- think about investing in a 5 point harness. Ofcourse you can’t use “there was a car in front of me” as an excuse because we already decided that the slope should be clear first.
SHARP DIPS OR RISES -These will usually only be a maximum of 50 cm high but will be riddled across the sand and sooner or later you will encounter one. If you are approaching a dip, slow down (read engine brake) until you reach the edge, let the car roll over and engine brake as you approach the bottom, then when your tires are at the bottom you can slowly accelerate out, SLOWING FOR THE REAR TO DROP. If you are approaching a riser, slow down until your tires are a few cm away from the rise, accelerate -lifting the front over the rise. After this, accelerate again to lift the rear, then continue.
-DUNE DECENT-
Ok, so Sir Newton said something about up and down etc. Coming down a dune should be done so that you are pointing straight down. Use the engine to decelerate NOT your brakes. Highly advised to use low gear unless your high 1st has a lot of torque. Come down slowly. Avoid using the hand brake as it causes the rear to deviate in soft sands. If you start to rotate, give it some throttle and you should straighten out, just not too much since you might end up kissing the bottom and making a donation. Just before the bottom, completely remove your foot from the throttle and let the car slow down by itself and level out, as soon as your nose is up, punch it because it’s awesome.
Definitions:
Dune crested : You have reached the top of the dune and your car has become an expensive see saw pivoting on the crest of the dune. Sand is holding the car up from the chassis and one or more wheels are off the ground.
Up to the Chassis : Your tires have dug all the sand from under/around them, the car now is held up by the chassis and one or more tires is hanging freely.
Bowled: the back of the car is on the decline and the front of your car is on an incline.
Apart from that, the tips and tricks......
- Shovel : Dig out your car. Easier said than done, have fun. Get the sand out from under the chassis, remove all sand from the sides of the tire, dig a channel to drive through, hit car repetadly in anger. Use the shovel, not your hands - reason being the oil pan/transfer case/cats/exhaust are all very hot, grab a handful of sand that was touching that and you will remember to get a shovel/use it next time. Most important idea to remember is that the goal is to get the car riding on the tires, not the sand. Get the tires so that there is minimum drag from the sand.
WARNING - ON EXTREEM ANGLES BE AWARE OF THE CHANCE FOR ROLL OVER. (life insurance optional)
-Deflate to super ultra low pressure (initial D anyone?) 6-9 psi
more floation, more contact area. Reinflate to desired pressure (if above those pressures soon after the unstucking process has completed)
-Engage LOW gear - Get some torque, move that burried tire (dont pop a drive shaft tho or burn your clutch. If it aint moving, digg it out)
- Engage diff lock (if one of the tires is off the ground, if no difflock refer to HAND BRAKE TECHNIQUE). This will force the diff locked diff (lol) into forcing both tires to move. If one tire is off the ground, open diff locks will send all power to that tire (useless). Engaging the difflock will force both tires to turn at the same speed.
-Put boards/carpets/annoying kids under the tires to get some traction.
-If safe to do so, jack up the car and replace/remove sand until a nice surface is available.
-Rocking. If you have power going to the wheels on the ground, try rocking the car forwards by carefully engaging the clutch and disengaging (or slowly bliping the throttle on autos). The rocking smooths out the riser infront of the tire and allows you some momentum to try and climb out.
-Left/right/L/R/L/R..... turn the stearing wheel left to right whilst slowly accelerating. This can prove to be VERY useful if you are on an incline. The car will slowly start sliding downwards and by careful timing could be made to orient the car in the right direction.
-Low gear in first whilst jumping on the car - DANGER- this is a stupid thing to do and could get you killed or best case scenerio your car driving off by itself IF PERFORMED ALONE. You will see sometimes that some drivers choose to engage low gear on first, get out of the car (as the tires are spinning) and jump on the side steps/hood/hitch whatever to get the car rocking and some sand under the tires. Always do this with a friend in the car to stop it afterwards. This is mostly doable with automatics, manuals usually stall out. This process helps level out the car on the sand.
- Call for help ? Getting stuck happens all the times, as your experience grows, it happens less often. Most Off-roaders dont consider being 'stuck' as long as unstucking can be achieved without the use of tow ropes or any digging. Most of the time, you will find yourself capable of removing yourself from your situation by changing gear ratios (low/high), engaging diff locks, rocking and or right/left stearing out of your situation.
-SCOPING-
This is also of immense importance. When you are approaching an area where there is either a ridge, a long maneuver or a concave dune, please pause (either on a flat surface or at a slightly downwards angle) with sufficient distance from the area to evaluate the path you wish to take. Make sure you have enough space to accelerate to a speed required for the maneuver. As your off-road experience grows, your imaginary path will more closely match your applied path. 'Sufficient distance’ will vary greatly based on the obstacle. Of course since you are following somebody, you will notice their pause or you will notice their engine revving wildly and you will pay attention.
-HAND BRAKE TECHNIQUE-
Taught to me by an old guru in the desert one day. If you do not have a diff lock on the front or rear (central diff locks dont count), you will find that if one of the tires is off the ground at any point (such as being crested/bowled), the car will send all the power from the engine to that useless flaling tire. By applying the hand brake (fully), you can simulate traction on the free tire and send power to the tires on the ground. This works on most cars without electronic trac/stability control. Mind the wear on the brakes, and remember to disengage the handbrake after you recover yourself...
-FLAG POLES-
I told my dad the other day I would like to install a CB radio/ flag pole on my car and he looked at me like he always looks at me when I ask for money. So I told him this : Imagine you are in a sand bowl driving round and round trying to escape the hungry sand monster when a roaring two door patrol hops over the crest for a little fun. The issue here is visibility; since we already established the handling problem on the sand, pre-emptive measures to insure safety is seriously considered in the off-road world. A flag pole will indicate to other drivers your presence which could possibly help save your ride. He still didn't give me any money.
Sexy silhouette optional. Pirate flags mandatory for all jeep drivers.
-RADIOS-
Since you are a newbie, you are not expected to have a CB radio in your car. If you have a generic multichannel walky talky, ask the team leader what channel he is using (they usually have one anyway). Ofcourse since you are not going to be the backstop of the group as a novice driver, you shouldn’t be all that worried about being left behind.
Mind you, multichannel radios are only allowed in the UAE provided you have the Radio Hobby license from the govt. So get your papers sorted so you don’t have to explain yourself when a cop asks you what that you’re playing with.
-GPS-
If you are still dipping your feet into the sand, you are likely not expected to have a GPS unit. I won’t tell you what unit to buy if you do want one, I will just assume you have one because they are awesome. Way-point your starting location wherever you deflated your tires, this is a must if you own a GPS unit. If the worst case scenario occurs (ie the dimwits left you behind) you can always find your way back there through either a bearing or the awesome backtrack function on your GPS. Don’t just stare at that two thousand dirham display; waypoint points of interest, awesome dunes, where your exhaust fell off, gas stations, the cool pool you took a dip in, all of it.
I recommend the Garmin GPSMAP 276c with the middle east maps
-AIR COMPRESSORS-
Spend the cash and buy a good one. Don’t buy crappy brands or something from a supermarket. Compressors are the essentially the most important secondary tool you need in the desert. Get a high flow, big compressor. Actually get the biggest compressor you can afford that will run of 12V and that you can store easily in your car, nothing more annoying than that 30 minute wait after a whole sandy day in the hot sun.
I hope that by reading this you can be more prepared for the amazing adventure you are about to embark on. I also hope I did not scare you away from experiencing one of the amazing beauties the Arabian Gulf has to offer. Please remember that Off-Roading is an expensive hobby and if you can’t afford it, try something else.
BE SAFE - ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT
Cheers
Hussein Tawalbeh
h.t1980@hotmail.com
079-9290097