Monday I headed to Saudi for the first time in my new Hilux. I wasn’t sure if I had all the correct paperwork to make it past border control since I’m an expat driving a pickup truck that isn’t mine and I so heard I needed a lot of different papers and permissions. But, I made it!
As I previously mentioned, as an expat I can’t own a pickup truck so I had to get the car under a friend’s name. The only paperwork I needed to travel with the car was a power of attorney stating that I was allowed to drive and travel with the car. Getting a POA is a super easy process which I posted about. So that was great.
What wasn’t so great is on my way back yesterday there was a major dust storm. Once I got to Kuwait I realized the dust had sandblasted my windshield and the car’s forward-facing camera. I had PPF on the front of the car but not on the camera and not on the windshield. So now I got to figure out how to get this shit sorted out and how to stop it from happening again (if you have any ideas let me know, especially about the windshield!). I now need to see if both the camera and windshield can be polished or if I need to get them replaced. Not something I wanted to do on a brand new car…
44 replies on “Hilux to Saudi and Back”
Dude wtf? Sand doesn’t do this kind of damage in a day. Looks like you have been driving it through dust storms for a couple of years.
well i called it a dust storm but it was more of a sand storm. happened to me before when i was coming back from the junkyards in Al Salmi. There was a dust storm that ended up sandblasting my windshield as well. This time I drove at 90-100km through it thinking that would be slow enough not to get sandblasted but it didn’t work. There must be some technique I’m missing.
Wrong. Yes it does & it happened to me in 2 hours in a dust storm. Had to drive to Saudi border & back thru a storm & it destroyed my hood & head lights.
^ This. Same thing happened to me on my way back from BIC in Bahrain. Drove through a sandstorm for about 2-3 hours in Saudi. Idk what it is about Saudi sand but holy shit does blast the fuck outta the car. My front bumper, hood, windshield, headlights and grille were severely damaged.
Why some ppl are calling it Saudi?? Saudi is an adjective means a person from Suadia or maybe Saudiya. We say a Saudi man (A man from KSA). Thanks.
Because I’m talking about “Saudi” Arabia…
I had the same thought while reading the post, however, I was thinking in terms of city names! xD
Hey Mark! Did you not need a permit to drive the pick up within Kuwait? I intended to buy a pick up on a Kuwaiti friends name who work for the traffic department and he informed me of the need for a permit to drive which is quiet a hassle to get! Have the rules changed regarding this or have you got a permit?
I’ve heard two different things, I’ve heard you need a permit if it’s a company car but not a personal car, and I’ve also heard you need a permit either way. If it turns out I do need a permit I’ll go get one, or maybe I’ll just get one so I can post the process of getting it.
Get whole car cernic coated (check ADAM’s kuwait) or other wise get everything PPF these are only options that can save you. Happy driving💐
Can’t drive your own pick up truck because expats can’t own one! What a JOKE!!
Sorry for your camera and windshield. Dust storms indeed fuck up shit.
Whoa first time I see this kind of damage done by the sand and god knows I’ve been through many sandstorms in my Raptor. Good luck finding a solution!
😖
Ouch!
How is the picture of the camera after the damage?
These sand storms have bigger particles than your typical ones. So this damage is expected especially if you’re driving at highway speeds.
you can’t see shit out of it, like a white haze basically
Hi Mark,
What paper work is needed if you want to drive to Dammam? Were you not stopped at the border?
just a power of attorney
So I must ask: This whole “I’ll pay for the truck but register it under a Kuwaiti friend’s name so I can realize my life long dream of driving a pick-up truck”. Like…what’s to stop this “friend” from just selling the vehicle he legally owns and simply giving you a fat middle finger? This whole thing DOES NOT COMPUTE at all in my head. Are there any guarantees here or it’s just blind trust based on the “bro code” or whatever the fuck ??!!
Half my cars are in my friends names, obviously I trust them. What kind of friends do you have? 😳
Normal friends. The kind that won’t splurge on property and then register it under some else’s name. This is just bizarre no matter how you look at it. I’d love to own a pick-up one day but not in a million years would I do what seems here to be the norm here. But hey, this is Kuwait amirite xD
What do you mean splurge? YOU are still paying for the car.
I’m sorry to inform you, but if you can’t trust car registration to your friend, you don’t have real friends.
What kind of scammers are you dealing with? Don’t you have long time friend that you can actually trust? I have trusted with $100k+ property to my friend and he will do the same without questions asked. Not all my friends are trustworthy with this kind of decisions, but I have 3 friends I can trust with my life. Maybe I’m lucky, but most people I know have few friends who they trust with everything.
Sorry for your loss. Happened to me before in the Patrol while driving to the scrab yard for fun to check it out but instead came back and changed the windsheild and camera from babtain.
So I tried polishing it and scraping a layer off on the camera with different people back then (3yrs ago) nothing worked and I ended up buying a new front camera and windsheild.
Now I have ppf on the camera but still cover it with tape when I go to Saudi cause the camera is small and sometimes it could crack on heavy sandstorms (happened to my friend)
Ps. Try this headlight repair guy if you want to give polishing the camera a try on your own risk (66765480)
I’m just gonna take it to Motorworks see if they can polish it. if they can’t I’ll get a new cam, I can’t imagine it costing much the quality of the footage is like VGA lol. But the idea of taping it up before a trip is simple and smart so I’m definitely gonna do that as well.
Lol I know the feeling and trust me its a expensive fix. But if motorworks does it please post about it.
How much did the camera cost you btw?
190kd after discount and before discount it was something around 280kd. Labour was free out of goodwill
190???? Thats more expensive than a gopro!
Lol I know it is a lot but I had to do it. Hopefully you don’t have to!
Just incase call toyota and check how much they are cause I think it’ll be similar maybe
where did you get the PPF on the cameras?
I tried Suntek PPF they said they can’t do it cameras…
Haven’t done it yet, new camera arrives next month then going to get it done
Where are you intending to do it? monte carolo? do they do PPF on cameras?
Yeah protech, I’m assuming they do will see once camera arrives. Worst case gonna keep tape in my car so I can cover it during sand storm
thanks man… God luck.
https://youtu.be/kYWjIVhCZJs
Recommend using one of these 👆
i wonder if that works on windshields?
Can you tell us the visa procedures?
https://248am.com/mark/information/kuwait-to-saudi-and-bahrain-by-car-everything-you-need-to-know/
Could you cut out one of those Panzer glass protectors that are used for protecting screens on iPads / iPhones etc.?
Those are supposed to be pretty hard and reasonably scratch proof.
Also easy to install / uninstall.
yeah it should, but also just taping it up before a trip is probably gonna be easier
Best thing I’d cancel the trip , the damage is huge . One hour trip to Wafra was enough to sandblast a brand new Chevy and had to do a full paint job plus front glass change plus lights and all front trims . These Silica particles are really sharp and damaging in a heavy storm
I am planning to take my friends car to Saudi. Who has to approach MOJ for POA? Can i go to MOJ to get the POA or my friend has to go?
He needs to go with your civil id copy
Thanks for the prompt response. What is the validity of the POA?. I am plan to go mid of April for 1 week. Can we take POA now like 20 days before the trip.
Thanks in advance