Going in your 4x4 to a Sahara safari is an easy and very safe experience if one follows rules set for risks that many before you have learnt the hard way. Although some risks are extremely rare, but better safe than sorry. The rules set here are tested and are all based on experience and will help you stay enjoying and safe (much safer than on the roads).

The first and most important rule in our recreational 4x4ing is that solo 4x4ing is forbidden! Only a Caravan of 4x4s is allowed of two or more 4x4s with one highly experienced Leader.

Other related articles are:

• Sand Dunes
• Safari Checklist

This article --as is the case with all www.SaharaSafaris.org articles-- is editable and is open for the Community’s continuous additions and updates. Therefore, it will remain always an unfinished project subject to Community’s new findings. If you’re not willing to contribute, you still can point out parts you think needs to be added (be positive and mention a structure and hints on how to write it!)

Important Note: Leaders instructions, if different from any part here, will prevail. It is recommended to join 4x4ing Leaders who are following some or all of the rules here.

4x4s Convoy (or sometimes Caravan - Arabic: قُول / قافلة/كارافان) Order and Rules

Formation is very important for the safety and enjoyment of all the safari’s 4x4ers. The Caravan is made up of 3 main parts:

1. 4x4ing Leader (Arabic: قائد): responsible for opening the way and judging if the obstacle just crossed good for the skills of all following 4x4ers. Judgment is usually final. Her/his leadership as well as macro and micro navigation skills is required to manage the group in all parts of the trip including camping arrangement, roles for persons, resources and logistics arrangements, and even accounting of costs.
2. 4x4ing Collector (Arabic: القشاش): trailing at the end with high experience. Never leaving a 4x4 behind with abilities to help others cross obstacles and back to order. The Collector has to have strong experience in helping others come out of situations as fast as possible. She/he has to be in good communication with the Leader at all times. Several Collectors could be assigned in a single Caravan and if so, the additional Collectors (sometimes called Jokers) have the freedom to move anywhere in the Caravan. The Collectors have to be trusted by the Leader in experience and in good communication with her/him. Sometimes a Collector is called Camion Balai (French for sweeper truck).
3. Caravan 4x4ers
4. (OPTIONALLY) 4x4ing Caravan Hinge: if the Caravan is too long for communication, there has to be some experienced 4x4er at the middle to manage communication. She/he needs to have combined skills of Leader and Collector.

All 4x4ers (including Leader and Collector) have to honor the following in order of importance:

• Remember the 4x4 ahead and behind of you and mark your 4x4 with the number for the entire trip (you may find Leader using that number in the Radio for instructions referring to you)
• Follow Leader’s instructions on distances between yours and the 4x4 ahead of you which will be different on on-road and off-road. On-road with 100 km/hr should be in 50m approx and off-road 100m approx. In crossing tall obstacles (eg, dunes), most 4x4s have to wait while one after another is cleared to cross by Leader.
• You’ll normally leave a distance suitable for the terrain you're driving through. On roads it should be at least 50 meters. In slower offroading on rocks, it could be 20 meters. In open flat easy terrain (where one can see far), it could be 100meters. On obstacles, it's one by one waiting for each to cross until successful. Generally, you keep as much distance as possible to avoid flying dust and stones from the cars ahead and avoid their sudden stops, and as small distance as possible to not to lose sight of them.
• You stop completely if the 4x4 behind you has stopped or another 4x4 appeared in its place:
  o if the 4x4 behind has slowed down, don’t consider that as sign to stop for it and keep following the one ahead of you with no widening gap,
  o if the 4x4 behind has changed, you will wait for a minute or so to monitor closely situation, if the correct one doesn’t show up in order then you have to stop
• You have to catch up with the 4x4 ahead of you and do that before the gap widens: if you slow down too much because of obstacles don’t fret!! Take your time to cross the obstacles, and the group will wait (see rule above). But if you’re slowing down to take a photo, you may like to notify the Leader so that everybody has a chance to do so without waiting for your every stop!
• During night, headlights’ flipping shouldn’t be taken as sign (4x4s bumpy trail gives this impression all the time). If a 4x4 driver wishes to give a sign that she/he stopped, they should turn off the lights completely, then turn on and off in clear periodic succession.

Sand-specific 4x4ing Techniques

Safe Parking

[Photo of a Safe Parking over sand with other cars still moving or Safe Parking too]

Used mainly when a Caravan is needed to halt for a reason or another on a difficult terrain (usually soft sands).

The technique is manage to stop the car on a slope in a nose-downposition. This helps the driver starts the motion of the 4x4 again andgaining momentum on this difficult terrain.

If the sands are very flat in the immediate neighborhood of theplace of stopping you may travel a bit further on the terrain (but stayseen by others) to find a Safe Parking spot.

Safe Parking could be maintained on any solid rock surface of anyslope which 4x4s find traction easily to start motion again. Still youmay like to watch on marble terrains from stopping over a sharplydented edge.

On crossing slopes never stop on the middle of the slope (unlessforced of course). You may do that to recover of other 4x4s only andunder supervision of the Leader. If you do, always stop with yourlonger axis aligned with the up-down direction of the slope (looking straight down).

On a slope of any kind, never trust handbrakes to hold the car still! They do disengage suddenly sometimes. A secure parking must be aided by shifting to first (when engine is off) in manual transmission or place the automatic shift at P. In all cases and if keeping it overnight at this position, you should secure it below all 4 wheels by supporting large rocks. In all cases never allow anything important to stay underneath it (camp, people resting, etc.) or it might hurt them on its way down if it gotten loose. Take this Warning seriously in all kinds of vehicles. 

Traction and steady push on the accelarator pedal

[photo: wheels throwing sands behind them]

Traction is the grip of a tire over the ground or the lack of slippagebetween a body and the surface on which it moves. Understanding how tomaintain traction or maximize it requires plenty of skills and varies with types of engines, 4x4s and tires features.

Following Leader

[photo: tracks on the ground with close matching of followers]

When driving on the typically difficult terrain and maintaining your distance from 4x4 ahead of you, it’s usually the case that Leader crossing points won’t be seen except through her/his trails.

Leader should indicate at the orientation (or at every stage of the 4x4ing) how far to side-deviate from the tracks (Arabic: جُرَّة). In most situations sticking to the track is obligatory (usually allowing slight deviation so that to avoid spoilt sand by previous wheel tracks).

In situations with driving along sides of slopes, 4x4ers should not go ‘higher’ than the tracks of the Leading 4x4s so that not to expose themselves to extreme side sloping situations that the Leader has decided to avoid and which appear nearer to the top.

Driving along sides of Dunes

Driving on the longitudinal dune’s sides is possible when it’s not a very steep and soft slipface. Driving should be taken with care and on the sign of too much inclination, 4x4er should steer the car down the slope with no sudden jerks. It’s usually the case that by steering towards the bottom that the 4x4 regains balance and 4x4er can stop descending and starts climbing gradually up to where the other 4x4s are on the dunes side.

The Leader takes risk of opening way if 4x4 finds the Leader stuck they need to immediately find a Safe Parking spot. If the bottom of the dune is desert-pavement (gravelly) or rocky, it may be safer to descend off the slope.

Some top-loading cars with elevated CG may not be able to drive onsome degrees of inclination and Leader should take notice of 4x4ers whodescended off the slope.

No Brakes on Sand

Using brakes on sand during speed is advised not to be a strong onebecause of the fact that tires then may act like a plow and raising afront of sand infront of the tire. This could make restarting themotion of the car a very difficult thing.

Deflating tires

4x4s tires on sand can benefit from additional traction by deflating the tires from the typical on-roads 30 PSI. Sometimes and in some situations, down to 8 PSI is useful. But in average, 20 seems to be good for most situations. Please note that on sharp-edged rocks, it's better to have it inflated to above 30 PSI (40 PSI is not unusual) which protects the tires from puncturing. For on-road safety, tires have to be inflated back to 30 PSI before getting on road on the way back home. If a 4x4 had to stay deflated on-road, speed should be kept very low or suffer possible problems with car-handling.

Typical Challenges

Understanding Landforms

Driving in the desert requires a good understanding of landformsforms and names. For communication it’s important to know the landmarksnames (such as Seif, Sand-sea, Qara, etc.) for navigation and gooddealing with obstacles. By recognizing a landform the 4x4er is able torealize the rest of the landfrom that she/he cannot see from theirapproach view.

Science of landforms is known as geo-morphology (geo=earth, and morphology=shape).

Ascending/Descending Slopes

Slopes must be approached perpendicular to the axis of the slope.The risk being tipping over, by climbing this way on a steep slope, a4x4 is placed so that its long axis is towards the direction ofturnover and therefore safe. By approaching the slope in other angles,the smaller axis of the car (width) is exposed and may cause the car tooverturn on its side.

In practice many 4x4s cannot ascend on the first try and may have toslightly increase the speed and have another try. If you have to retreat, descending must be done withoutturning: 4x4er shift rear.

Purpose of the Safari

In announcement, the Leader/Organizer must make sure thatall other 4x4ers are aware of the purpose and the schedule of theSafari. For example, Photography takes time and may need a flexibleschedule. Other purposes are camping, cross-country, exploratory(drawing maps of terrain new to 4x4ers), recovery (reaching withhelp/tools to a remote point with a need, etc.

4x4 Mechanics

There are many types of failures that may happen in cross-countrytrips. Each car model has known problems and known techniques to solveit. In emergency the rules above should help you leave the failing carbehind with or without few of you to guard it (your choice) and markthe spot EXACTLY on your map/GPS and then back with mechanics or towingservice capable of entering into the terrain (recovery in desert israre service and quite expensive but available.)

Such emergencies are rare and sometimes enough to call your mechanicon the phone (nearest road coverage or satellite phone) to know what tofix with your few tools. In other cases prepare for an additional dayor two to solve it (while sending back others who have to reach city inschedule).

Anatomy of a 4x4

This is just a quick reference on 4x4s. For more thorough review, please refer to the Community for recognized courses, experts, or references.

Any 4x4 (usually referred to as SUV or Sports Utility Vehicle), has typically the following features over and above what you find in other normal cars:

Ground clearance (Arabic: الارتفاع عن الأرض)

It’s the distance under the lowest parts of the 4x4 facing the ground and which allow the wheels to cross bumps and most natural obstacles without brushing against the car’s low parts. Most 4x4s have shields covering its most sensitive parts to protect even if brushing against the ground has occurred.

Lockable Differentials (Arabic: كرونا)

It is the large bulb in the middle of both wheel axles. In fact, differentials exist in any types of cars (on the one driven axle that is) and distribute the power differently to each wheel according to speed. Their main drawback in desert situations is their design gives power mainly to the least resistant wheel. On 4x4s they could be locked to eliminate power-loss in situations when there’s one wheel spinning freely in the air.

Approach Angle (Arabic: زاوية الاقتراب)

It is the largest angle for a slope the 4x4 is approaching and which will find both car and bumper (Arabic: اكصدام) touching at the same time when it should be only tires that hit the slopes to keep your car going. Obviously, the larger this angle the better.

It’s worth noting that a car with a speed approaching a slope may have to consider the compression of wheel's suspension which will make the approach angle even smaller at this speed. Therefore, CAUTION should be taken so that the approach angle is bigger enough than this of the slope so that not to get the bumper hit the slope at a speed causing air-bags to go off with other unsafe consequences.

Departure Angle (Arabic: زاوية الديل)

It’s the same as approach angle but from behind and is affecting how the 4x4 descends from a slope. If the car’s angle is smaller than slope, then the rear bumper of the 4x4 may hit the slope before the wheel reaches the flat part. Departure angle if bad (small) may not cause major damage of the car if the car's tail hits the ground when climbing a slope.

Breakover Angle (Arabic: زاوية البطن)

With same ground clearance of two 4x4s, the one with the shorter length (shorter between the two wheel axles) will have a larger (better) breakover angle. The larger the angle the more car can cross situations which it is prone to brush its bottom parts against the ground

Transfer Case (Arabic: فتيس غرز)

Usually made up at least of the following:

• 2H: only the rear axle of wheels is engaged and responsible for the motion of the car. Also the gears ratio is normal allowing the car to have its own transmission ratios (time to shift) in normal speeds
• 4H: same speeds ratios but with 4 wheels engaged and responsible for motion of the car. When differentials are unlocked this is called “All-Wheel Drive” or “Full-time 4WD”. To lock the differentials (serious mode of operations for the desert situations but which should never be used on roads) use “Part-time 4WD” sign on the stick.
• 4L: changing the gears ratio so that wheels receive slower speed with very high torque (Arabic: العجل يتقل). This is a very useful tool sometimes in soft sand situations when near stuck. NOTE: In some cross-over 4x4s this function doesn’t exist (such as BMW X3?)

There are other concepts important for 4x4ing in the Sahara such as:

• C.G. (or Center of Gravity)
• 4L vs 4H
• Torque vs Speed
• Drivetrain
• Electronic Stability Control: called in most cars, ESP as well as DSC (BMW), VDC (Fiat, Nissan), etc.

Anatomy of a Dune

Please read the article of Sand Dunes found elsewhere on this website.

Driving on dunes (sometimes are called dunes bashing or "Taghreed" in Egypt) requires experienced 4x4ing Leader to open ways and make good control over a Caravan in addition to handle situations. One follows Leader's trail, instructions and agreed ground-rules for safety and best experience, but all participating 4x4ers should be able to understand communication (what's a Urf) with Leader and know how to cross obstacles

• Rippled faces and slipfaces
• Urf (Arabic: عُرف) and 7arek (Arabic: حارك)
• Naghza (Arabic: نغزة) and Cone
• Curved (Medawar (Arabic: مدور)) or Cassé (Ata (Arabic: قَطْع))
• Longitudinal whale-backs (mesattah (Arabic: مسطح)) Vs Longitudinal Seifs (Arabic: سيف)

Desert 4x4ing Cross-country Safari Definitions

There are plenty of types of 4x4ing. We describe here what seems to be 99% of the cases we meet:

• Only for recreational purposes and other related purposes such as recovery and evacuation trips.
• Sahara is the field in which the trips are arranged. Cairo is the de facto origin of the trips. If the origin is somewhere else it will be specifically mentioned.
• Guided by a Guide and a Leader who are usually same person but in other cases maybe two different persons in the same leading 4x4.
• 4x4s are of important Ground Clearance and ability to cross the obstacles met thereof
• There are on-road parts before and after the off-road part. While the on-road is most dangerous (most accidents happen on-road) but the off-road is the scenic and most challenging part
• Could be of any duration: from a single day to a whole week or even a month
• At least two cars. Each is occupied by at least 2 persons including driver.

Other types such as industrial, scientific, military, etc. may benefitfrom this article but will not be included here. Also, regions such asArctic, Jungles, Glacial or Mountainous (good for rock-crawling) arenot considered here.

4x4s are classified (on the high-level) as two types:

1. Serious 4x4s (SUV) such as Jeep Wrangler, GM Frontera, Toyota Land Cruiser, etc. , and
2. Crossover 4x4s (Crossovers) which have plenty of the features of serious 4x4s but not all and is designed mainly to fill a niche in which the owner wishes to have much of the SUV but on road or easy tracks. Examples are Nissan's X-Trail, etc.

The article here will consider things to be arranged from both Leaderas well as other 4x4ers point of view. Both should be aware of all thearrangements and all responsibilities are divided on all (includingknowledge of the terrain sometimes) but roles differ.

This article is confined to the 4x4 Safaris (Arabic: سفارى) done in theSahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى الأفريقية) so please use with care inother regions. Books such as those of R. A. Bagnold may indicate thattraditions of such activities maybe started almost a century ago(1920s) since Kamal elDin Hussien’s (Arabic: صاحب العظمة السلطانيةالأمير كمال الدين حسين) and Bagnold’s 20^th century trials which have had the first trials of any motor-vehicle to desert travelling on known trails or without. More correctly they follow more the undocumented millennia-old traditions of desert travelling. 

Long Range Vs Short Range 4x4ing

It’s worth mentioning that 4x4s and equipment of a safari’s duration of1 day (short range) maybe entirely different from those of lasting for3 days (medium range) or week and more (long range). In long rangedsafaris, the 4x4s may need to be designed/equipped to take theadditional loads of gas, camping water/food, etc. Other lighter 4x4smaybe superior in crossing obstacles and handling terrains but willbecome completely unable to carry on such level if they carrylong-range necessary loads.

Therefore, if you intend to Lead a medium-range 4x4ing for thefirst-time you may like to notify your 4x4ers so they would know whythe change in your checklist and to manage expectations.

Navigation and Leadership

In most 4x4ings, Leader don’t have to know the terrain she/he isleading the Caravan through if she has enough navigation skills on themacro and micro levels. She/he --however-- is highly encouraged to honetheir skills of:

• 4x4 driving skills in the terrain planning to cross
• Understanding of the levels of experience of the other following 4x4ers and basic understanding of the abilities of their 4x4s (including ability to help some of the first-timers)
• Personal abilities to manage group dynamics
• Safety-consciousness in as many aspects of the trip as possible including a first-aid training or at least awareness who has such training among participants
• Ability to organize a camp in terms of location and arrangement
• Point out all the important tools/items that must be present in the Checklist of 4x4ers before they travel

As Guide the Leader has to be able to manage:

• Macro-navigation: navigation following the planned route as planned on maps of as big scale as possible (eg, 1:50,000)
• Micro-navigation: choosing --in the field-- specific points to cross obstacles on the terrain to suit the skills of the 4x4ers, their cars, their time, or their joy. Detours or similar choices are part of the micro-navigational choices.
• Explaining (or help with methods to safe exploration) of all natural and cultural phenomena.

It’s worth noting that Leader’s word is final during a Safari. The riskof danger in a group splitting against each other is always higher thana group that follows the wrong opinion of an experienced Leader.

Safety and Known Risks to Watch For

There are few important MUST-DOs

• Buckle up everybody: watch movies on tube to see what sort of injuries seat-belts where designed for
• No mobile phones AT ALL times to be used by any 4x4er during driving. For safety of all, All Mobiles should be turned off (so that not to distract) and opened only on roads or emergencies.
• All loose things must be tied: or risk being hit by a flying object that seemed resting harmlessly on the seat next to you
• On-road alertness: most 4x4ers relax on roads. In fact on-road is where almost 99% of 4x4ing accidents happen!!
• At least two cars: safe solo-4x4ing is possible but not covered here
• Backup plan: what if a 4x4 is broken and you need 1 more day to reach home. are you ready with communication tools and ability to reschedule?
• Communication: when needed, do you know who to call for one or another of problems? the choice is depending on their ability to find you and help you
• Navigating back home by other 4x4ers if Leader is not leading (health crisis)
• Always carry a first aid kit and extra bottles of water.
• If the camp a set no one should move his/her car without the organizer's approval. Children can be playing around and people could be lying on the ground without the driver's notice.
• If a car does not comply to the leader's rules, the leader should reaffirm the orders on the walkie as a reminder for everyone's safety.

On a Sudden medical cases and Accidents

<to be added by SaharaSafaris community members>

What are the desert venomous critters

<to be added by SaharaSafaris community members>

Checklist for 4x4ing Safaris

Every 4x4er should have her/his own custom checklist. Checklists could be specialised such as for a specific model of a 4x4 that has known problems or drivers tendency to use one recovery technique over another.

Checklist of Recovery Tools

• Air Compressor: specially for dunes raids, a 4x4er needs to deflate her tires and inflate when back on the road
• Sand mats: the famous historical sand ladders turning plastic or metal. Techniques and needs differ but some use them only in extreme cases of soft sand
• Winch: a wire that is let loose from teh front of the car (sometimes back) to reach another and then use a remote control to pull it off a stuck-position. Some use pulleys when not sure about the strength of their wires. WARNING: wires sometimes break during a loading situation and cut any object that it pass through into two. Use with extreme care and send everybody near the wires away for as long as the wire.
• Hi-lift (aka, Hi-Jack): a manual lift (Arabic: كوريك عربية) that can lift the car very high (1 meter) with few strokes. WARNING: the long and heavey handle may break loose. Also, since it stands on a single point, the car may land by turning the lift to its side. Use with caution.
• Towing straps (Arabic: حبل قطر): nylon straps with permissble loads not less than 2 tons. They may come with D-rings that allow it to secure the straps' end-loops to cars firmly at both ends.
• Shovel (Arabic: جاروف or كوريك ): used to move large quantities of sand quickly enough from underneath the 4x4 body or from in front of a wheel.
• <please add>

Clothing for a 4x4ing Day

A 4x4ing is usually under a winter sun which is nice under the sun but cold in shade specially early mornings. Fleece is the solution which can help warm you in the morning and can take some heat and sweat without a problem.

• Clothes: t-shirts  and fleece with comfy pants for the ride
• Vests: maybe useful with plenty of pockets. Was useful in days of many tools but now is just a legacy wear from old times.
• Scarf: to cover your
• Sun-glasses is optional under a bright sun driving but may change the perception of colors. Sun glasses may come handy if you're facing sandstorm and you wish to keep the windows open, so you wear it like a Letham.
• Headgear: not much needed as long as 4x4er is in the car
• Footwear: comfy deck-shoes if you are on sands most of the time. For gravel country, you may like to use some rigid-soled shoes/sandals. For sand it's better to wear either very high-necked boots or sandals