Newbie Tools / Recovery Equipment
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 10:43 am
Morning All,
I would like to give a more detailed information about the tools that you will require to gain your first star and become a Newbie. We have no allegiance to any shop etc, so feel free to buy from anywhere etc! (This list is not required if all you want to do is turn up and drive at the Club Member drive, you can just turn up and have fun, but if you want to get the upgrade to Newbie then you need to pass the tools inspection, before you can join Newbie drives).
I have seen many people turn up to the Club Member drives with the tools and recovery equipment as per the list, however, there are many different types / makes etc, and some work better than others!..
Here is a list of recommendations based upon actual experience:
Minimum Recovery Equipment:
- Spanner Set/Socket Set
- Spark Plug tool
Minimum Safety Equipment :
See you in the sand,
Jock
I would like to give a more detailed information about the tools that you will require to gain your first star and become a Newbie. We have no allegiance to any shop etc, so feel free to buy from anywhere etc! (This list is not required if all you want to do is turn up and drive at the Club Member drive, you can just turn up and have fun, but if you want to get the upgrade to Newbie then you need to pass the tools inspection, before you can join Newbie drives).
I have seen many people turn up to the Club Member drives with the tools and recovery equipment as per the list, however, there are many different types / makes etc, and some work better than others!..
Here is a list of recommendations based upon actual experience:
Minimum Recovery Equipment:
- Rated (approved) snatch strap - Buy a "Kinetic" recovery rope, not a strap and look for the amount of "stretch" in the rope. The more stretch you can find, the better as it will make recovery much easier on your car! The Club has a rope which is named the "Viking rope", and having personally used other kinetic ropes, i find this one the best by far. The Viking can be bought individually for 400dhs, or as part of a kit (Bag, rope, shackles, hook and gloves) for 500dhs from @alshamsi_m (send him a PM through the forum).
- TWO Rated Shackles - Straight forward, I believe these are generally 4.25T or 4.75T D-ring type and can be bought from most offroad shops, or hardware stores. There are also things called "soft shakles" on the market, which are also very good.
- Rated Hook - As per the shackle
- Car jack - The Jack that comes with your car is not suitable, a Hi-Lift Jack is not suitable as these are not stable enough on the sand due to their base being too small etc. Please buy a Trolley Jack. For a standard sized 4wd vehicle (Wrangler/FJ/Prado/Fortuner/Pajero etc) then a 2T trolley Jack is sufficient. For a lwb truck, then you should possibly look to buy a 3T trolley Jack. These can be bought in Ace in Festival City, or Dragonmart.
- Tyre deflator - The is a very important piece of kit, do not over-complicate it by buying electronic ones, auto deflators etc. The one recommended by the majority of the Club is the E-Z Deflator. it has been tried and tested over years, it is accurate and reliable. I would also recommend a 'Push On" gauge, which can be used along side a Pin remover for fast deflation, and also to double check the pressure during the drive, and make minor adjustments as tyres heat up during the drive which changes the pressure.
- Shovel - Do not buy a tri-fold, or foldable shovel, they are too small, often too easy to break, and you will be digging for a long time. I recommend a telescopic shovel as per the photograph attached below...
- Spare tyre in good shape - Self explanatory and common sense.
- Front & rear towing points - Again, common sense. These towing points need to be suitable placed, attached to the chassis, and sufficient to attach a shackle to when you are stuck. Stucks can happen at any angle with any corner of the car buried in sand. So, ideally have one towing point on each side, front and back. As a minimum have one on the front and one on the back. For the majority of 4wd vehicles, these can be found in offroad shops.
- Air compressor - This is important - We not only need the compressor to inflate tyres at the end of the drive, but we need them to fix what is called a Pop-out. Pop outs are when the tyre comes off the rim and it is fixed by using compressed air to pop it back onto the rim. Obviously the bigger and stronger the better. We recommend anything 150l/min or above. These can range from ARB onboard at 2000dhs, to a Camel make that can be bought in Dragonmart for 150-200dhs.
- Base plate for jacking vehicle - A solid piece of wood, that is big enough to fit the whole of the jack on, and thick enough to take the weight of the car and jack. Chopping boards are not suitable! Something solid wood that is 24" long, 18" wide and around 2" thick should do the job.
- Mechanical tools - Recommend as a minimum to have the following:
- Spanner Set/Socket Set
- Spark Plug tool
Minimum Safety Equipment :
- Fire extinguisher (Dry Powder) - Can be bought in most petrol stations - Needs to be mounted or stored so that it is immediately available in the case of an emergency, it will do no good if it is stored badly and you cannot reach it in time to put a fire out - Fires in cars spread very quickly!!
- Flag pole including flag - For the Club Member drive, a suction cup and small flag found in the ATV shops in dragonmart will suffice. For people who progress it is recommended to fix a proper flag. Mounts for most makes/models of car can be found in offroad shops, along with proper flags.
- Communication device (Walkie-talkie) - Please do not buy a pre-programmed Radio, this is not suitable, we do not use those channels so will be a total waste of money. We require you to have a radio that you can manually type in and set the frequency. Check that you can type in frequencies in the range of 440.000 to 450.000. Walkie Talkies can only be bought in Dragonmart in this area.
See you in the sand,
Jock