I remember back all those years ago when I began four wheel driving and often laugh about how inexperienced I was, almost clueless, and how many dangerous situations I got myself into. I managed to survive though; I've never turned a vehicle over, never lost one to the water during beach driving or water crossing and only caused minor damage to my vehicles which is a hazard of any off-road driving regardless of how careful or experienced one is.
I've had many four wheel drives, mostly brand new ones, which I've taken to some amazing places. If you think you're getting to the best places, and you don't have a four wheel drive to get there, you're not getting to the best places. Trust me on that. Sure, Australia is full of amazing spots, but the very best are accessible only by off-road vehicle...or helicopter I guess, but I don't have one of those yet.
Vehicle manufacturers only provide a basic vehicle that is designed to meet a price point so those seeking to reach those far away spots, to travel to remote and rugged places, in their vehicles, need to accessorise them with the equipment to get them there and back safely, and to protect the vehicle. There's a lot of things a vehicle requires and much is situation and location dependent meaning different things are required for different situations and I want to talk about one such situation today.
I don't want to get technical in this post so I'll keep it quite basic.
Essentially a water crossing is any situation in which a vehicle enters water. It can be a nervous time because, as we all know, vehicles can't breathe underwater and it effects delicate electrical systems also. Entering a water crossing and breaking down usually means one can say goodbye to their vehicle or worse, their life, so a little preparation is required as well as some specialised equipment.
The basics for any vehicle that may enter water is a snorkel and front and rear differential breathers are recommended also. These need to be fitted prior to the trip.
This is a device that moves the engine's air intake point from inside the engine bay or front guard area, to higher up on the vehicle, usually around roof height. You can see a Safari Snorkel fitted to one of my older vehicles below.
The snorkel is fitted by cutting a hole in the panel through to the interior of the engine bay. The factory air inlet piping is replaced with the aftermarket one which reroutes the inlet back through the hole in the panel to the outside and upwards along the A-pillar to the top of the vehicle. On the top goes the inlet. It is all sealed so that air goes in the top and no water can ingress into the vehicle's air filter through any gaps in the pipework; if that was to happen the vehicle would drown, or be severely damaged - Even the smallest amount of water inside the engine will kill it.
The snorkel isn't foolproof and having it doesn't mean one can turn the vehicle into a quasi-submarine, however it will mitigate much of the risk of typical water crossings and allow the vehicle and its occupants to continue their journey. But that's not the only thing a vehicle should have to be prepared to tackle a water crossing.
All differentials and gearboxes have some sort of breather on them. Generally it's a small nipple extended by a very short tube that allows the differential to equalise pressure when it heats up through use. In a vehicle that is not going to be submerged in water it's completely adequate for these breathers to sit right on the differential but when entering water, submerging the differentials, that becomes a problem.
When the differentials are running they heat up through friction, it's science you know, and when those hot components hit cold water more science happens and the breathers can suck in the cold water through the breather. It's a pretty good way to destroy a differential or transfer case which can cost many thousands of dollars. The easy fix is to extend the breathers up to a higher point on the vehicle and it's not a difficult task at all.
One gets some lengths of fuel hose, clamps them onto the breather nipples, or pre-existing extension tubes, and runs them along underneath the vehicle and up into the engine bay, usually near the firewall area, where they get fastened using a bracket. From there it's a simple matter of clamping on a fuel filter, or other such filter that will prevent the ingress of water and dust, to each and you're done. (This is a simplified version of what actually happens.
What I explain above is a do it yourself method which works perfectly fine although there are kits one can purchase like the one in the video here from ARB which was what I have on my vehicles. The video shows the fitment of the front and rear differential breather extensions. From here, the vehicle is almost ready to enter the water crossing, but not quite.
This is a simple thing but, depending on the depth of the crossing, a requirement. It is simply a tarpaulin, or some such purpose made thing, strapped to the front of the vehicle covering the entire front of it, up the hood and to the sides and slightly underneath which helps push the water along to form a bow wave situation as the vehicle moves through the water.
The bow wave is critical as it lessens the depth of the water around the engine bay and the risk of water ingress. It's important to move fast enough to create the bow wave, but not that fast that one outpaces it.
With these three items a vehicle is ready to cross although there's many other aspects to it as well.
Factors that come into play are things like water depth, type of terrain (rocky creek bed, sand, mud and so on), hidden obstacles, waterflow speed, entry and departure angles and points, tyre pressures, presence of crocodiles which will make recovery problematic, having recovery gear out and ready in the case of problems, allowing the vehicle to cool down a little prior to entering, preventing viscous coupling fans from operating when in the water as they can become damaged, gear choice (Low range 1st or 2nd usually), driving technique and skill and so much more.
This little post isn't designed to teach someone how to perform water crossings in a vehicle, just touch on a few of the elements. It's not something the uninitiated should try and, going back to my early days of four wheel driving, I remember being very reluctant to attempt it. Over time, and as my knowledge and skill increased, I began to tackle more complex things and water crossing was one of them. These days, well yeah it's still a little hectic as losing a one hundred and twenty thousand dollar vehicle isn't my idea of fun, but I do it safely when required and there's been no tragedies yet.
Water crossings can be enjoyable, exciting and downright frightening however, with the right equipment, knowledge and skill they can be overcome and one can be on the way to that amazing destination.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
All of the images in this post are my own and none of them are for your use. The main image are two Lego 4x4 builds I did some time ago.
