Marina and her husband Neil have overlanded extensively throughout the UAE and Oman; they accompanied Mike Nott on his 2013 Oman Odyssey (OutdoorUAE #35, November 2013) which gave us Routes 17 thru 20 in the second edition of the Advanced Off-Road Routes UAE and Oman. Their travels have taken them to some pretty remote spots, so since this edition’s theme is equipment, OutdoorUAE asked Marina about her car and what she takes with her for such a trip.
Car Modifications
“I have never seen the need to add performance modifications to a car – a good driver will take a standard car much further than a bad one will take one with extra horsepower or a larger engine transplant” said Marina, she goes on “Having said that, it pays to protect the car’s body, particularly the underside”.
1.Bash Plate
Protecting the underside of your engine is an absolute must for all cars when offroading. The minimal cost will be more than covered when you decide to sell your car.
2. KONI Sports Shocks
Further protect your car by fitting strong sports shocks, with bump stops too where appropriate
3. King Springs – Linear
Marina and Neil have tried a couple of brands of springs and their favourites so far are the King linear springs. A bit more “bouncy” than progressive springs, these are expected to give a longer life.
Getting stuck is inevitable when off-roading, and a winch concealed behind the front bumper of Marina’s Patrol makes recoveries quick and easy.
4. Warn XP360 Winch with Synthetic Cable
Reliable, fast and if the synthetic cable breaks it will fall to the ground, minimising the chance of damage or injuries.
When asked if she kept a first aid kit, Marina replied “Yes of course – I have a bag of absolute essentials packed and ready to go at any time – it is always with me on off-road drives or long on-road drives.”
5. Satphone and Charger
She tells us that they drove for four years without one but after an accident with a camel occurred out of GSM range they took the plunge and bought one. Such incidents usually require assistance from places like https://www.rmfwlaw.com/personal-injury-lawyer-queens/, but this was nothing that couldn’t be handled on our own. It does not cost much to maintain the card and is very handy if a wheel falls off your car 300km from the nearest town in the Empty Quarter of Oman. Seek professional legal assistance from Atlanta car accident lawyer for filing personal injury claim in road accidents.
6. First Aid Kit
A no-brainer — and since burns are the most “popular” off-roading injury, it is ideal to carry specialist burns plasters as well as eyewash and eyedrops for the second most common injury – sand in the eyes.
7. Silicone Tape
First aid for cars – this does not stick to anything except itself, making it ideal as a temporary fix for burst pipes or hoses.
8. Ghutra
Traditional Arabic headwear can double up as a sling or a tourniquet, or you can also use it as intended – to keep the sun from your head and neck
9. Phone Charger
When you head out to the desert there is no way of knowing how long you will be out there, so it pays to keep one or two chargers in case your phone battery goes flat.
“We keep all the small stuff in storage boxes, tied down securely. There is so much weight in the stuff we carry. If it were loose, it could do serious injury should the car come to a halt suddenly.”
10. Valve Stem Remover
The quickest and easiest way to deflate tyres. You have to concentrate when doing this – if you let the tyre go down too much, you will need to dig out your compressor. Carry half a dozen valve stems just in case one should fly out when it is being removed.
11. Two Tyre Gauges – Manual and Digital
It is a good idea to carry both and if the reading is at odds with the way the tyre looks then you have something to cross-check it with!
12. Hi-Lift Jack, Baseplate and Lifters.
Popped out tyre? Lift the wheel clear of the sand using the hi-lift, clean the rim, remove the valve and use your compressor to “pop” the tyre back on. Very quick – it is possible to reseat a pop-out in as little as seven minutes.
13. Basha
One of the smallest and most versatile pieces of kit we carry. Shelter, temporary desert garage, windbreak, stretcher or something to keep the dew off you if sleeping outdoors, this British army invention from the 1950s can be bought from United Kingdom military surplus stores or off eBay.
14. Ratchet Strap
Sometimes you cannot avoid carrying extra fuel inside the car; this should always be in metal cans, and securely tied down using a ratchet strap.
15. Cable Ties, Duct Tape and WD40
This is a cheap and essential emergency repair kit – never leave home without them!
16. Bungee Cords
Used to tie down everything in the car (except fuel cans) or attach the basha to the vehicles for shelter
17. Gloves
You never know when you will have to touch a hot car so garden/work gloves are important (see first aid kit: Specialist Burns Plaster)
18. Tyre Wrench
Always take a second one – you never notice the original is not where it should be until you need it!
19. Seasickness Bands
Not everyone travels well and motion sickness can ruin a great day in the sand. These are available from Boots the Chemist and cost only 25 AED.
20. Rug/Blanket
When you need to check under your car have a rug or blanket handy – will protect you from scalding hot or (less likely) wet sand.
21. Window breaker/seatbelt cutter
Accidents do happen from time to time when off-road and a seatbelt cutter is safer than a Stanley knife to cut a jammed seatbelt.
22. Tubeless Repair Kit
It is easy to repair punctures when offroad with this kit, remember to check the tyre pressure a short time after the repair to ensure it is holding.
We asked Marina if she ever got stuck. “It has been known to happen” she says with a wink. “Everyone gets stuck, even the best of drivers so always travel with a second car and some kit to get you out. Even though we have a winch on one car, we still take a selection of ropes and shackles, just in case the winch should fail, or the rope is not long enough.”
23. Shovel – Large
The small folding shovels move so little sand compared to effort expended so we buy lightweight gardening shovels from a home and garden store. Mark these in some way so they won’t get mixed up with other people’s.
24. Compressor – ARB Twin Portable Complete with Extra-Long Hose and Inflator
Marina and Neil have tried many compressors over the years and this high-capacity one can air up both their cars in about 10 minutes.
25. Two Synthetic Shackles
These can be quite expensive but they are so much more versatile than their metal counterparts. Use them to join snatch straps together when a very long pull is required. If they break then there will not be a flying metal missile. Add a ribbon to them so you can identify your own.
26. Two Rated Shackles – Metal
Sometimes recovery points have sharp edges so you need to carry metal shackles in additional to the synthetic ones. Always use rated shackles (safe weight load will be stamped on them) – you can paint them in your favourite colour to save them getting mixed up.
27. Snatch Strap
You should never use a tow rope when extracting a vehicle from sand, instead use a snatch strap. These stretch when under pressure and your vehicle is “snatched” from the stuck using kinetic force – much gentler and safer than a towrope.
28. Viking Rope
These look like ships ropes and they are generally short with a lot of elasticity. It is rumoured the name came from the person who made the first one – a Swedish man who worked in shipping in Dubai.
29. Old Winch Rope
Winch ropes do not last forever but do keep your old synthetic ones. They are great to extend the reach of your winch rope, and can also be used to tie off and slowly release a car stuck at a dangerous angle; and, as they are “old”, they are expendable.
“Surely your Patrol must be full by now” we joke, but Marina still has a few essentials to add.
30. GPS – Garmin Montana (276C for back-up)
We load satellite imagery before we head out to the desert, as well as previous tracks, routes and waypoints for the area we are going to. The Montana saves up to 200 tracks and unlimited waypoints.
31. GoPro Hero 3
Always a must when you are overlanding, you are driving so far and for so long you don’t want to stop every five minutes for pictures.
32. Garden spray (pump type)
Did you know wet skin cools down 26 times faster than dry skin? If you have to get out of your car for prolonged periods when it is hot spray yourself with water and you will be so much more comfortable.
33. Coolbox
The “Cool Ice” keeps food cold for a couple of days, even in desert temperatures. A fridge is also a good thing to have but they are up to 10 times the cost of a coolbox.
34. Jump leads
Batteries in the UAE tend to fail with little or no warning so it is worth carrying jump leads when camping to ensure both our cars will start in the morning.
35. Spare fluids for car
Make sure they are bagged and secured in an upright position!
36. Toolkit
A variety of pliers, hammer, screwdrivers, adjustable spanners. Could come in handy (the Omani army used Marina and Neil’s tools to repair and replace her lost wheel – see Satphone and charger).
37. Oven bags
There is nothing like hot food in the winter, but we never have time to stop and cook. The answer comes by way of good planning and oven bags (the long ones you use for fish). Stick up to three pies or some plum cake into the bag, seal well with the provided tie and wedge into a small space in your engine. Cook at 4800cc for two hours and they should be done to perfection! Also works well with pre-cooked pizza and onion bajees. The person who introduced Marina to cooking by engine always uses foil but she thinks oven bags keep out more sand!
PLUS
– Tents, camping chairs, table, foam mattresses, blankets, pillows, groundsheets, windbreakers BBQ, camp kitchen, trivet and kettle
– Battery light and torches
We can literally fill two cars with all our kit when we are on one of our “grand” expeditions!
Words + Photos By: Marina Bruce
