Desert Adventure

I would like to share my experience in the desert this weekend and extend my thanks to some people.
A few of us decided to go fishing on Friday, there were two cars, my friends (they know who they are) in a Jeep and myself and a friend in my 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 the SeaLine 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 where something had kicked up between it and the engine, it had dumped all of the coolant out.
Not panicking we took time to consider the options and because you should not tow a 4wd vehicle (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
At this point I would like to thank all of the people who stop to see if we were ok or needed assistance, especially those who gave us drinks (although we had taken enough water we did not want to offend anyone by refusing the gifts) what did surprise me was the people who blasted past at 60mph within 15 feet of us without stopping, its not like we were flagging them down and they didn’t stop but more that where we were parked there was a track a mile wide and all these folks did by buzzing us was kick sand up and into our eyes
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. Eventually we made it to the stranded truck which is where it got interesting
The truck attracted locals like bees to honey, each with a different opinion on how to free it, one even suggested digging out the front of the vehicle to lift the back wheels, I couldn’t see how that was going to work. The driver of the truck made an arrangement with a local who had a winch, who wanted 500QAR to tow him all the way back once he was unstuck, we tried to keep out of these discussions but when the truck was out and heading back to SeaLine on its own the guy demanded that I give him 500QAR for the recovery, I tried to talk my way out of this but he insisted on having my ID and phone number, all I can say is I thank him for his assistance and hope one day if he is stuck I can return the favour (and charge him accordingly)
Eventually we 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

Again big thanks to my mates who stuck with us and coordinated the fated recovery

its great to get out and explore the desert so here are some lessons learnt and 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 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 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
• 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
• 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. 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

one last point, the desert is a beautiful place but what I find an utter disgrace is the amount of litter left all over the place, you will never change the people who do this so I ask that you think about taking one more rubbish bag than you normally would and when you are about to leave your picnic or fishing area take a quick look around and pick up after these thoughtless idiots, if you picked up just a couple of items every time you went it would make a difference eventually