Desert Adventure

[Dano]

I would like to share my experience in the Qatari desert the other weekend

I moved out here a few months ago following redundancy in the UK, I am keen to keep up with outdoor activities even though it's pushing 50DegC at the moment! Anyway my friends and I decided to go fishing at a place called the Inland Sea grid 24.653102, 51.298943
There were two cars, my friends in a Jeep and myself and a friend in my 4wd Dodge. My friends are experienced in off-road driving and have visited the desert many times and I have driven off road for many years in the UK and Europe but have limited desert experience, that said I know the techniques in theory and have a couple of trips in the sand under my belt so we were well prepared with recovery equipment and plenty of water
We drove into the desert from a place called the SeaLine, basically the end of the road south and about 15 minutes into the trip my Dodge started to overheat, upon inspection I found the radiator had a couple of holes in it, later I found out this was caused by the rad hitting the fan on one of the harder bumps, it had dumped all of the coolant out.
Not panicking we took time to consider the options and because you should not tow an automatic 4wd vehicle if it doesn’t have a neutral gear (it will damage the transmission) we decided to try and get a recovery truck to come out to us. My friends in the jeep drove back to SeaLine to arrange this and my other friend and I sat down in the burning desert and drank water
although we were right in the desert (I have some photos but no idea how to post them) at that time of year, in that place, there are plenty of people so some stopped to see if we were ok or needed assistance, some gave us drinks (although we had taken enough water we did not want to offend anyone by refusing the gifts)
After an hour the recovery guy turned up in the jeep and said that he would try and reach up because it was fairly flat with little sand on the route but an hour passed an my friend reported that he had got the truck stuck, once recovered he managed to get stuck again and this time it was bad.
We had been cooking for about 4 hrs so I decided that we should fill the radiator with our drinking water being careful to leave enough for us should we really need it and we drove out in stages stopping and refilling the rad as it started to overheat, this I would not recommend generally but there seemed little choice at the time and we could have been picked up by our friends had we got stuck again. Eventually we made it to the stranded truck which we recovered and then drove out of the desert and into the car park where the truck had managed to get stuck again!!!
We loaded onto the flatbed just as the sun was setting
We were never really in any danger apart from possible heat stroke and we were well prepared so it's not a great survival epic but had the circumstances been different things could have been a whole lot worse

The real point of this thread is to say its great to get out and explore deserts so here are some lessons learnt, although you may already be aware of these things there is hopefully some useful information to keep you safe, these are all my own words, if you disagree with anything or have any questions please post a reply, I hold no liability for your safety in the desert
Conducting any type of recovery has a potential for injury or even death, the techniques I have seen used in Qatar do not generally consider health and safety so beware
• Do not drive in the desert on your own, ever!!!
• Always wear a seatbelt
• Keep your thumbs out of the steering wheel, if you catch a rut or rock the wheel can spin and break them
• Take enough water per person per day and then double it! How much do you need? It varies but you body is trying to maintain 37DegC so in temperatures under 32C you may need less than a gallon (4.2l) in higher temperatures and exerting yourself in the full sun consumption can double, over 39C you could use a gallon in a couple of hours
• All loads should be secure in the vehicle, a gallon of water hitting you on the head when you hit a bump, is going to hurt
• Tell someone where you are going in when you will be back; if you don’t contact them within a specified time call the cavalry
• A GPS is a good to have item but map and compass are a must
• take GOOD recovery equipment i.e. ropes, a shovel, rated shackles, tyre compressor unfortunately I have not yet found anywhere here selling what I would consider to be of acceptable quality, I would normally use a long "dead" nylon rope rated at 12 Ton with spliced eyes at either end, on the front of a vehicle this should be attached to a large rated "D" shackle to a bridle (this is a heavy duty strap attached to 2 recovery points at the front of the vehicle, either recovery rings or Jate rings on the chassis) this will provide a central pull
• I know some drivers use KERR (kinetic recovery) ropes but these are for experts only and can have deadly consequences, do not use a dead rope for snatch recovery!
• Recovery points should be secure and fit for purpose, a loose tow hitch can kill, ensure that they are attached with the proper high tensile bolts and are tightened to the correct torque rating
• To reduce the risk of a winch cable or rope causing injury if it fails, wrap a blanket, tarpaulin or coat around the cable, this should act as a parachute if it breaks under tension, I have heard many stories of cable / ropes and the shackles or tow hitches they are attached to breaking free and smashing through the windshield killing the driver during a recovery, the same breaking effect can also be achieved with a couple of long lengths of string attached to the cable / rope at either end and to both vehicles (not at the same recovery point as the main rope), make them so they hang loose between the recovery rope and vehicle but short enough to halt the broken rope before it can cause injury
• Never step over a rope or winch, if you have to get to the other side of the vehicle and the rope is slack then stand on it otherwise walk around
• During a recovery move everyone not involved to a safe distance away or put something between you and the recovery i.e. another car or a bank, this includes passengers
• Never stand behind or in front of a vehicle being recovered, anything placed under a tyre can shoot out
• Deflate your tyres to 15psi to increase the footprint by 250% you can further inflate to 10psi but run the risk of running the tyre off the rim which you may be able to re-bead with the compressor
• Have a block of wood in the car to set a jack on otherwise its useless, air jacks or high lift jacks are better but can be dangerous for the inexperienced
• ascend steep inclines at 90deg is straight up, "crabbing" along a dune is just a stunt and could result in a rollover, if you find yourself in this situation by accident keep moving, stopping may also result in a rollover, always turn down the hill of you feel it tipping, if you fail in an accent of a hill place the vehicle in reverse and take your feet of the pedals use engine braking to slow the car do not turn the wheel if the front swings around the car could roll. Descents are the same, go down in a straight line, low range 1st gear feet off the pedals and use the engine braking to slow you, you should not use the brakes, if the back end starts to come around then slight acceleration should correct it but be mindful of the exit angle i.e. don’t plough into the flat desert floor
• Avoid the use of brakes when stopping, try to roll to a stop otherwise you may dig in behind a ramp of sand which will prevent you moving off again
• Try to pull away in 2nd gear avoiding wheel spin
• Desert driving takes a huge amount of concentration and sometimes you do not see obstacles until it is too late, if in doubt of the terrain drive as slow as possible and as fast as necessary, momentum is key but the lee side of a dune may have a sheer drop
• Off road driving will damage your vehicle, if you do not want to damage it don't do it
• You cannot tow most automatic 4WD vehicles, you may be able to tow a vehicle with the driveshaft's removed, plan for this and take the necessary tools
• Driving in sand puts extra strain on your vehicle, a wedge of sand forms in front of your tyres so you are constantly driving uphill, if you start to overheat turn off the Air Conditioning and anything else draining power, if it continues to run hot putting on the heater full blast may reduce the temperature, as soon as possible check your vehicle over for possible faults, do not run your engine on an overheated engine as this may result in a major failure

 

[BOD]

Lots of good advice there Dano.


Have you tried the egg in the radiator thing?

I did once and it really works

 

[Dano]

Lots of good advice there Dano.


Have you tried the egg in the radiator thing?

I did once and it really works

I would have done if I had any with me, also thought about chewing gum, so there we were munching a whole pack but could not reach the holes to plug them so no idea if it would have worked

I was recently back in the UK so got a couple of bottles of Radweld and fetched them back with me along with all of my decent recovery kit

 

[Tengu]

and hi temp epoxy putty...

A friend of mine who spent a lot of time in the desert made a `dead man` this was a pipe with two eye bolts welded on at the same distance apart as the towing eyes on his defender.

this was strapped under the winch, and if he got stuck, was buried in the sand to pull against.

He also had it set up as an emergency water carrier. (added weight too)

 

[Dano]

yes you can also get a sand anchor, same principal, its like a plough that digs in as you winch off it, only good if you have a winch though which I dont...yet...

 

[dwardo]

and hi temp epoxy putty...

A friend of mine who spent a lot of time in the desert made a `dead man` this was a pipe with two eye bolts welded on at the same distance apart as the towing eyes on his defender.

this was strapped under the winch, and if he got stuck, was buried in the sand to pull against.

He also had it set up as an emergency water carrier. (added weight too)

That epoxy putty is brilliant stuff. Mix the two components and it sets as hard as metal, it can even be tapped.

 

[Broch]

Dano,

I can recommend getting a Tirfor style winch (other makes available) that you carry in the vehicle (safely strapped down). My experience is that electric winches have a habit of overheating in the 50 degrees plus that you get in deserts. We ended up using very valuable drinking water to cool the winches! The other advantage of a hand winch is that you can use it front or rear - nearly every time I've got stuck I've wanted to go back not forward. It weighs a lot less than a bumper mounted winch which is a big advantage when trekking.

The only other point I would add to your excellent summary is to wear gloves when handling any ropes or wire.

Cheers,

Broch

 

[jimford]

That epoxy putty is brilliant stuff. Mix the two components and it sets as hard as metal, it can even be tapped.

Excellent advice. I repaired a Hilman Imp that had broken down on the motorway some years ago. The fuel inlet pipe to the carb. had come out of the body. I just cleaned and dried the components and epoxied the pipe back in again. Back on the road in 1/2 hour.

Jim

 

[Dano]

Dano,

I can recommend getting a Tirfor style winch (other makes available) that you carry in the vehicle (safely strapped down). My experience is that electric winches have a habit of overheating in the 50 degrees plus that you get in deserts. We ended up using very valuable drinking water to cool the winches! The other advantage of a hand winch is that you can use it front or rear - nearly every time I've got stuck I've wanted to go back not forward. It weighs a lot less than a bumper mounted winch which is a big advantage when trekking.

The only other point I would add to your excellent summary is to wear gloves when handling any ropes or wire.

Cheers,

Broch

yes I have seen those Tirfor winches, you can also use a highlift jack on its side with a chain, you only get a 4 foot pull off the biggest jack but it may be enough, I didnt go into to much detail with winches as I feel they are for advanced users and you have to be trained to use them and yes I forgot to mention gloves, always a must have as are goggles both for working under a vehicle and moving about in a sandstorm

 

[Tengu]

Why are you using automatic 4x4s if they cannot be towed? (more things to go wrong too...several members of my family have had wallet gouging experiences with automatics...we tend to avoid them now)

No mention of sand channels??

 

[Dano]

OK, thins was not meant to be a comprehensive instruction on overland preparation, just a few tips that may benefit you but as you bring up "sand channels" I would say that yes they are very good to have but have some disadvantages too, you have to store them, without a roof rack this is not convenient, they can also be dangerous as they can shoot out in the opposite direction of travel or kick up as you roll onto them damaging the vehicle or bystander, that said I have used them may times in fact I used to sell the GRP (Waffle boards / bridging ladders) back in the UK, there are two other factors for me, 1 you cant get them here but I have found a supplier of GRP in the UAE I just have to work out the delivery and 2 you don’t really need them, if you deflate your tyres and have a second vehicle to tow you shouldn’t really get stuck

On the subject of automatic transmission the problem here is choice, most 4x4's are auto and the most common vehicle is the land cruiser now I don’t want to enter into the land rover / Toyota argument but my choice would be the landy as they don’t seem to do them here you go with what you can (they do sell LR2 (freelander) LR3 (discovery) and they are very expensive, I have only seen a few defenders and just a few more series III vehicles

 

[Retired Member southey]

I really enjoyed Reading you post, it's very good, but I would like to comment about the winching/tow rope point, I wouldn't advise stepping onto a rope/wire once both ends are connected, I have witnessed to fatal incidents where stepping on the rope was deemed to be the cause, one quite obviously as the the wire rope cut the chap pretty much in half, he had stepped on the rope to cross but the hand brake on one of the four toner Bedford's had failed, it had been parked to close to the other truck so as to cause a coil of rope which gave it enough distance to put a good twang in the rope, and the other as a result of a stone being pushed into the fibre rope and cutting it, but the second could have been avoided if the marshaller was standing in the right place well away from the dead zone between the too landys. as was said if you need to get to the other side go around, or if no other option is available dissconect the rope and reconnect once through.

 

[Dano]

fair comment, what I meant and didn’t detail enough was if the cable was on the ground then step on it rather than over it, you are right under no circumstances should you step over a taut cable or rope, you shouldn’t even be in the danger zone unless you are operating / directing the winch recovery

 

[Tengu]

If manual trucks are uncommon how do the locals manage in event of a breakdown?

 

[Dano]

no idea, I guess they either tow it and damage it or remove the driveshafts to tow, I doubt the break that much as they are mainly Toyota's and if they do then the probably dont worry about the expense (locals have mega money here)

the problem they normally have is crashing on the dunes while playing silly buggers, check out youtube for desert crashes and you will get the idea

 

[Tengu]

I I was in a desert Id want a decent vehicle, and a lot of newer 4x4s are style over substance. (not all though)

 

[Dano]

I think it depends on availability and intended use, if you are doing the whole of Africa overland then you need a fully prepared vehicle, for driving through the Doha traffic you need an auto with good AC

 

[Retired Member southey]

could you not use the neutral of the transfer gear box?
that should disengage the drive from the wheels.

by the way insanely jelouse of where you are living,

 

[Dano]

as I said some 4x4 Autos cant be towed mine for example doesnt have neutral on the TX I have a switch that selects from 4wd to Difflock to Low Range, the Landcruisers may be different, I have not been in one

 

[EdS]

no premanent 4x4 should be towed any great distance - recovery is Ok but much further leads to massive problems

If you want to tow a Defender et al you'll need to remove the rear drive shaft at least and both boxes in neutral.