kuwait off road

[scruiser]

Some of the vehicles for me and my friends in different places in the areas of Kuwait

YouTube - kuwait off road

 

[Volcano cruiser]

This looks like fun. Got two questions for you: (1) it looks like you all are running A/T tires in the sand there, how do you rate their performance? (2) Aside from the winch mounted in the bumper of the Rover pickup i didn't see any other recovery equipment, e.g., winches, sand anchors, sand ladders, etc. What if anything are you guys carrying for recovery equipment when off roading in the kuwati desert?

 

[swamprunner]

unless you hit some kind of quick sand there is really no excuse to ever get stuck in the sand. A shovel it the only tool you really need.

 

[scruiser]

l be a shame if these vehicles stuck ... looooooooooooooool

 

[Volcano cruiser]

unless you hit some kind of quick sand there is really no excuse to ever get stuck in the sand. A shovel it the only tool you really need.

Swamprunner,
We get a chance to play in the sand here maybe two or three times a year. Yes we carry shovels too and no we haven't needed them either. The point of the question was to ask someone who actually lives in the desert and runs in the desert all the time what do THEY use, if anything. Just curious and took a chance to hear directly from a full time desert rat.

l be a shame if these vehicles stuck ... looooooooooooooool

Soo I take it that the answer is that because you guys have never gotten stuck before you carry nothing, not even a shovel? Am I getting that right? Thanks.

 

[Clint79]

For any sand the only tool you need is a front locker

 

[swamprunner]

I've just lived at the beach all my life...I drive in the sand daily...some days up to 100 miles. Alot of the true locals have two wheel drive trucks and old station wagons...its all about technique. I rarely every use 4wd in the sand. Knock on wood I've never been stuck in the sand unless something major broke.

 

[Dacrom]

For any sand the only tool you need is a front locker

and, i think, non aggressive tyres.

 

[swamprunner]

the slicker the tire the better...alot of people run bald tires here on there beach rigs...however if you let most of the air out of a mud tire you can still go anywhere.

 

[siglo]

@Volcano cruiser

I have found that A/T tires and better overall than sand/passenger tires. They last longer and aired down they perform just as well. The A/T tires are much better on road than sand tires and in the mud also. In the dunes, they are just as adequate aired down. Keep in mind I drive a heavy 100 series with close to a Ton added to the stock weight when fully loaded. For vehicles carrying no extra load what so ever like in the video, any tires would do.

One can even drive a light passenger car will little trouble on the sand. I had a friend follow me in his ford crown victoria for half and hour across the sand with no problem. You'd just need to keep the momentum, avoid sudden braking, sharp turns and you'll be alright.

I personally carry several forms of self recovery. I sometimes go alone to the desert so I don't want to risk it. A shovel is usually all you need. if there is another vehicle, a snatch strap would save you the trouble of digging with the shovel most of the time. For single vehicle recovery I personally use max trax, high-lift jack or exhaust jack depending on the situation. The winch is almost worthless in the desert as means of self recovery. There are no trees and using an anchor like the portable rescue tree is really troublesome. It failed to anchor on two occasions for me one in the sand dunes and another in the mud. It is very useful however to get another vehicle out. I've used it many times to get stuck vehicles out of sand and mud.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

@Volcano cruiser

I have found that A/T tires and better overall than sand/passenger tires. They last longer and aired down they perform just as well. The A/T tires are much better on road than sand tires and in the mud also. In the dunes, they are just as adequate aired down. Keep in mind I drive a heavy 100 series with close to a Ton added to the stock weight when fully loaded. For vehicles carrying no extra load what so ever like in the video, any tires would do.

One can even drive a light passenger car will little trouble on the sand. I had a friend follow me in his ford crown victoria for half and hour across the sand with no problem. You'd just need to keep the momentum, avoid sudden braking, sharp turns and you'll be alright.

I personally carry several forms of self recovery. I sometimes go alone to the desert so I don't want to risk it. A shovel is usually all you need. if there is another vehicle, a snatch strap would save you the trouble of digging with the shovel most of the time. For single vehicle recovery I personally use max trax, high-lift jack or exhaust jack depending on the situation. The winch is almost worthless in the desert as means of self recovery. There are no trees and using an anchor like the portable rescue tree is really troublesome. It failed to anchor on two occasions for me one in the sand dunes and another in the mud. It is very useful however to get another vehicle out. I've used it many times to get stuck vehicles out of sand and mud.

Sligo, thanks good information, well stated. While I´m very lucky to be off roading in a region with really varied terrain, the nature of things is that while I have run in the sand several times it isn´t the primary terrain. I agree with your point on the AT tires. While I have been fortunate and never gotten stuck in the sand I felt that my Toyo Open Country ATs, slightly aired down did better in the dry heavy sand here than did my Maxxis Creepy Crawler MTs slightly aired down. As a guy who neither lives at the beach or in the desert I get your point about the added benefit of the AT tire is that it is good on the road getting to the sand that you plan on running in.

Regarding recovery gear it sounds like you carry the regular stuff, same as I carry all the time, shovel snatch strap, hi lift. I have a winch for the trails that we run on and it was always obvious to me that for self recovery in the desert it wouldn´t be a big help unless you had something to anchor it to. It is interesting to hear then that you think that sand anchors are really troublesome. I´d be curious if you could expand on why you find them troublesome? Thanks.

 

[Estancio]

I do not drive in the Egyptian deserts, but I regularly go on desert trips with professionals who make a living at leading expeditions. When you are 3 days drive from a paved road or water source, you're exceedingly careful, but at least one of the Land Cruisers get stuck in the sand every trip I'm on. They dig out by hand or shovel and always have sand ladders and use them as a last resort. The surface sand can be very deceiving as to what's underneath. 9 time out of 10, the drivers are able to speed thru soft sand, but do occasionally get stuck when hitting unexpected soft sand. They prefer tall and skinnies, 7.50 by 16 tires. My observation is that Land Cruisers with wider tires get stuck way more often.

 

[siglo]

@Volcano cruiser

I personally have the portable rescue tree (PRT). I only really needed to use it twice and in both occasions it did not anchor to the ground. The first time was in really soft sand in the Dunes in Saudi Arabia. The pump I was carrying is really small and I did not want to air down to get myself unstuck. I got the PRT out and had the screw on it set for soft sand. Held it like I've seen in the manual and had my friend operate the winch. it kept digging in the ground and pulling me with it towards the vehicle until I was knee deep in the sand without it ever anchoring. I am a big guy and everything I tried to get it to anchor failed. So I gave up, aired down, got myself out and spent the next hour airing up with the small pump.

The second time I was in the mud and wasn't really planning on going through any mud in my early morning outing. Did not have the trax nor the exhaust jack either. Got the PRT out, dug a reasonably sized hole to get things started. It did the same thing and kept pulling towards the vehicle without anchoring. It actually disappeared completely underground yet failed to anchor. I had a recovery strap on the PRT so I pulled it out later. I was really stuck that my friend whom I called to get me out came and got stuck with me. The other friend we called couldn't get either one of us out and it took two tow trucks just to get me out.

Maybe the PRT is designed for lighter vehicles and couldn't handle the weight of my 100. Maybe I was too stuck for it to be useful. I haven't tried the pull pal as we don't have it locally and shipping would be extremely expensive. I did try with someone in his nissan patrol which is lighter than my 100 three different types of boat anchors for winch self recovery in the mud. Only one showed good potential but needed some modifications to make the blades slightly bigger. I don't know where he got with his idea as I lost contact with him.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

@Volcano cruiser

I personally have the portable rescue tree (PRT). I only really needed to use it twice and in both occasions it did not anchor to the ground. The first time was in really soft sand in the Dunes in Saudi Arabia. The pump I was carrying is really small and I did not want to air down to get myself unstuck. I got the PRT out and had the screw on it set for soft sand. Held it like I've seen in the manual and had my friend operate the winch. it kept digging in the ground and pulling me with it towards the vehicle until I was knee deep in the sand without it ever anchoring. I am a big guy and everything I tried to get it to anchor failed. So I gave up, aired down, got myself out and spent the next hour airing up with the small pump.

The second time I was in the mud and wasn't really planning on going through any mud in my early morning outing. Did not have the trax nor the exhaust jack either. Got the PRT out, dug a reasonably sized hole to get things started. It did the same thing and kept pulling towards the vehicle without anchoring. It actually disappeared completely underground yet failed to anchor. I had a recovery strap on the PRT so I pulled it out later. I was really stuck that my friend whom I called to get me out came and got stuck with me. The other friend we called couldn't get either one of us out and it took two tow trucks just to get me out.

Maybe the PRT is designed for lighter vehicles and couldn't handle the weight of my 100. Maybe I was too stuck for it to be useful. I haven't tried the pull pal as we don't have it locally and shipping would be extremely expensive. I did try with someone in his nissan patrol which is lighter than my 100 three different types of boat anchors for winch self recovery in the mud. Only one showed good potential but needed some modifications to make the blades slightly bigger. I don't know where he got with his idea as I lost contact with him.

Funny that you mention boat anchors as a recovery tool. The boat anchor thing is something that they do here in Latin America. If you ever want to see guys using it take a look at any of the videos from the "Fun Race" a 4x4 race that circumnavigates Venezuela. Here in Central America none of these guys has money and so they are super resourceful. While I was watch a 4x4 competition with some club members near the beach we all began to talk through the use of a small boat anchor. You would want something small that wouldn't take up too much space as an infrequently used item. The issue was if the "fins" would be long enough on a small anchor to dig in deep enough to hold against the weight of different rigs, 40s, 60s, 80s and Patrols.

 

[baigaqeel]

Boat Anchors

I used the Boat Anchor when my KZJ71 stuck at beach.
The TLC was sitting on its belly.
Dig sand out but no use.
Borrowed the Anchor from local fisherman, had to dig & bury it in sand at 3 feet depth with my electric winch hook attached.
Operated the winch & It did miracle.
Very handy tool but be sure to carry along some thick wood plank also to place it in b/w the acnchor for extra restriction

 

[siglo]

Just to illustrate some of the things I mentioned here. Today, I backed up into what looked like the tracks of an earth mover in the desert. The rear of the cruiser was sitting on the axle and rear tank. The front wasn't as bad though. The cruiser was full with gear in the back. The middle row was full with gear photography gear as well. Got the shovel and did some digging, jacked up with the air jack, got the trax out and aired down to 20 psi. I know it's an overkill and that I could have got out with just one method, but I wanted to make sure I get out from the first try. Locked the front, central and rear lockers and got out smoothly from the first time

Between the two of us, we had like 7 cameras in the back seat. But when I told my friend to take a photo he decided to use his phone! So sorry for the bad picture

 

[baigaqeel]

Just to illustrate some of the things I mentioned here. Today, I backed up into what looked like the tracks of an earth mover in the desert. The rear of the cruiser was sitting on the axle and rear tank. The front wasn't as bad though. The cruiser was full with gear in the back. The middle row was full with gear photography gear as well. Got the shovel and did some digging, jacked up with the air jack, got the trax out and aired down to 20 psi. I know it's an overkill and that I could have got out with just one method, but I wanted to make sure I get out from the first try. Locked the front, central and rear lockers and got out smoothly from the first time

Between the two of us, we had like 7 cameras in the back seat. But when I told my friend to take a photo he decided to use his phone! So sorry for the bad picture

I laughed a lot & still doing so while writing these words
7 Cameras in the TLC & Cell Phone for the photo.
Where has this CELL PHONE EUPHORIA has taken us.

 

[thestallionq8]

Hey! It's been a while since I've seen you around! How are things? I just have a question regarding your 100's weight! Have you passed the 3ton scale?

Just to illustrate some of the things I mentioned here. Today, I backed up into what looked like the tracks of an earth mover in the desert. The rear of the cruiser was sitting on the axle and rear tank. The front wasn't as bad though. The cruiser was full with gear in the back. The middle row was full with gear photography gear as well. Got the shovel and did some digging, jacked up with the air jack, got the trax out and aired down to 20 psi. I know it's an overkill and that I could have got out with just one method, but I wanted to make sure I get out from the first try. Locked the front, central and rear lockers and got out smoothly from the first time

Between the two of us, we had like 7 cameras in the back seat. But when I told my friend to take a photo he decided to use his phone! So sorry for the bad picture

 

[siglo]

Hey! It's been a while since I've seen you around! How are things? I just have a question regarding your 100's weight! Have you passed the 3ton scale?

Hey my friend, we should get together some time. Let me know when you are free and maybe we can get Saleh to come too.

I haven't checked on a scale the weight of my 100, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've passed the 3 ton mark. Especially considering that the stock net weight of the UZJ100 is about 2.4 metric tons AFAIR.

 

[thestallionq8]

I went to the junk yard and found a place there that weighed my rig. I cam up to about 2900 kgs. and the car was empty. I didn't have my drawers and gear in!

As for a meet up, that would be a great idea. I should be in town now till January 14th when I fly to Saudi for work.

Hey my friend, we should get together some time. Let me know when you are free and maybe we can get Saleh to come too.

I haven't checked on a scale the weight of my 100, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've passed the 3 ton mark. Especially considering that the stock net weight of the UZJ100 is about 2.4 metric tons AFAIR.