Deep water crossings

[Riley]

In my 80 last year I needed to cross a deep stretch of water.

The water was about 2.5 feet deep and was still (no current). The stretch was about 20 yards to cross. Under the water was a mix of soil and gravel (rock) but mainly soil/mud.

The crossing ended up being pretty dicey. It almost seemed that the front of the truck started to float and thus lost traction on the front wheels..... is that possible? Perhaps it was just the mud but it sure seemed like once I slowed and let the wake clear and then pushed it, she pulled ahead stronger and I got through....

I'd like to go back there this spring but worried about getting stuck. There isn't usually anybody else around (except fishing buddy riding with me) so getting stuck would be a real drag... The front diff was locked and I think front was as well.

Comments? Does an 80 sink or swim in deepish water?

 

[Fly Rod]

Sink!

You may have felt a slight bit of hydroplanning in water that deep.

If you are going fast enough you can experience some "lift" but it will be very temporary. As you observed when you slowed down things settled down and traction improved. (to the point that you sink to your axles in the mud )

 

[IdahoDoug]

Deep crossing advice:

Bring a tarp, which you bungee cord over the grille to keep the fan/radiator from filling. It will push water effectively in front of the truck, and a bulge of water like that seen off the back of a planing boat will well up under the oil pan, leaving the underhood area relatively dry unless you stop.

Walk the crossing with a walking stick to poke and feel underfoot (toss in a pair of old tennis shoes to do this with and hang 'em from the roof rack to dry while you drive). The walking stick should be just a branch, because if you find a hazard the last thing you do before walking ashore is jam it in the bottom next to the hazard (stump, hole, etc). This step is often ignored, as who wants to get wet, eh? But drop a tire in a hole and watch the trip end with a huge tow and $3000 worth of water ingested engine work and you'll wish you'd done this.

Cross pointing upstream against a current. With no current, straight across. Tires at low pressure as you want maximal deflection of the rubber for grip. You want to move at a slow walk, which will create a nice bow wave but not faster which will create splashing and spraying. I'd have all accessories off and a recovery strap preinstalled on the bumper.

Once up the other side, the best thing to do is simply keep on driving. This will dry things out much better than idling, or worse shutting the engine off to hoot and holler about how cool it was (very bad idea).

You should hit the zirc fittings after a few miles, and at the end of the day when the diffs have completely cooled (hours) let some oil burp out of the drains of all diffs/tc to see if the heavier water will come out as it will be at the bottom. No water? Replace the drain.

 

[Truckee 80]

Good advice, especially the tarp and walking it. I hope there's no snow on the ground next time I have to do this.

 

[Sarmajor]

Float

At least for a while if they are set up well and have a snorkel. The rear end of an 80 is the light end and it will float a bit. This is when you should have the sunroof open for bailing out if it all goes bad. The front will be down and will get traction (not much) on the bottom. This is not recommended for petrol vehicles.
I know 3 people who have experienced this but have not bthered to try it myself. They id it i the Clarance river in the South Island of New Zealand on a Tuff Truck Safari. We took an alternative route and met up with them later in the day.

Cheers

 

[GXO]

I drove through 5' of water the other day with no issue, but my hood is over 5' off the ground and I have a snorkel, so I guess that helps.

Everything is different, Doug gives good advice here.

 

[topend yobbo]

I'd love to watch any of you blokes walk some of the river/creek crossings of the top end and see how far you get before you end up as a saltwater crocodiles lunch.L.O.L.
NO ONE walks in the water in this part of the world.

 

[jfz80]

ahem....thats not 5' sir. but i bet ya got 2' of muck in the bottom that never helps. like you said everything and every time is different. but seriously where were you at, and what made you go for such a deep hole? have you done some more waterproofing under the hood since the gulches trip?

 

[Riley]

Good advice guys thanks. We did walk this with a stick but didn't think about the tarp idea. Tires were aired down alot as well.

Perhaps best to find an alternate path to avoid this water crossing. There is another route with no water, I just need to re-discover it.

 

[Fly Rod]

ahem....thats not 5' sir. but i bet ya got 2' of muck in the bottom that never helps. like you said everything and every time is different. but seriously where were you at, and what made you go for such a deep hole? have you done some more waterproofing under the hood since the gulches trip?

Are you trying to pull that FJ into the mud?

 

[SOCALFJ]

The best advice i can give is go slow and steady. Create a wave over your hood, kind of like a air bubble for your engine. At this river crossing in Afton canyon CA, the water went over my hood and splashed up on my windshield at the deepest point. The pic was taken before i hit what i would call a sink hole.

The worst mistake i made on the last river crossing was to go too fast and i stalled in the center. The water shot up underneath the rig and got into to cap/rotor. Then water got up the tailpipe while the engine was shut down. It wasn't a fun time.

This picture is right after the sink hole where i was coming back up and out. I was lucky, or else i would have opened the door into fresh river water.

Thank god, after about the 30 minutes of keeping the rig idle it cleared itself out and ran like normal.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

I have had water over my hood--got up to mid seat level inside briefly. I have a few water crossings--Idaho Doug makes good points as always. You should also use RTV silicone on your distributor, and maybe on your spark plug wire gromments? Also extend your front/rear diff breathers, Xfer, trans breathers to your firewall. Bring a grease gun with a flexible hose to hit all the zircs on the drive shafts. I have been repacking my birfs on a yearly basis...... Some electrical cleaner and wd40 would also be good to bring along.

 

[Mark W]

2.5 feet isn't deep enough to need to give any thought.

An 80 series will not float unless it is much deeper.

A tarp over the front is not needed for fan/radiator concerns. The fan clutch will slip and not transmit enough power to cause the fan to deform.

Do not as a matter of course, aim your rig upstream against current. It increases the power needed to move the rig, increases the effective depth at the front of the rig and can complicate climbing out of a steep bank (the tail tends to wash downstream anyway as you climb out, being angled upstream exacerbates this... turn you completely sideways as the front end starts to come out...).Straight across is best if the circumstances permit. Angling downstream is usually a better choice than upstream as it lessens the power needed to push water out of the way and lowers the effective depth at the grill. It also makes for easier exits at the bank. Entrances too. Sometimes the available entry and exit points, sand/gravel bars, holes and other terrain obstructions dictate how the crossing will go more than any concern with current. Other times, current is the primary concern...

Greasing the zerks immediately after a crossing may work if you have only one crossing. Kinda silly if you have multiple crossings though. Not needed either. Check your lube as part of regular periodic maintenance.

Wading first may work in still water. But, with any current you will easily be able to ford the rig across rivers that you will not be able to safely wade. By a LARGE factor. Understanding the terrain and hydraulics of whatever you are crossing is the most important factor.

Airing down has minimal effect in a water crossing unless it is a very soft crossing that is basically mud with water on top of it. The lack of traction/friction created by the water renders most arguements about contact patch size and "flotation" irrelevant. You do want to avoid tire spin as much as possible. When the tires and the surface they are interacting with are under water you will dig down FAST. The forward progress will not at all compare to spinning the tires in the same surface that is above water.

As mentioned, in the pictures of the '80 above, that is much to high a speed unless you are just wanting to splash and play. In still non-moving water you should not have water blasting out from the rig. Unless your are just playing in a spot that you know, and the splash is the point.

Here are some shots I grabbed from the Alaska Cruiser Trek 2006 showing some of the folks at a couple of the crossing. That is a good example of correct water crossing technique. (Note that the minitruck and the BJ are angled upstream a little. Because of terrain considerations)

Here's some links to the larger images:

http://xplorn.com/ACT2006/gina/060711__mg_0290.htm

http://xplorn.com/ACT2006/gina/060711__mg_0294.htm

http://xplorn.com/ACT2006/gina/060711__mg_0253.htm



Mark...

 

[Tapage]

 

[GXO]

ahem....thats not 5' sir. but i bet ya got 2' of muck in the bottom that never helps. like you said everything and every time is different. but seriously where were you at, and what made you go for such a deep hole? have you done some more waterproofing under the hood since the gulches trip?

That wasn't what I was talking about...the 5' adventure was at a lake near my house.

THAT picture sucked. It was the mudpits at the gulches ORV in SC. I was taunted into the hole by the FJ Cruisers....it was a nasty little hole. The water was about 12 inches deep with 24" more of fine silty mud. It was like driving into a giant pool of jello...I was going no where....then my distro got splashed by the water on the belts and I was TKO.

I haven't done anything more to waterproof, but I have sworn off any mud pits. That mud dried to concrete and took weeks to clean out...I still have some caked on. Oh yeah...that water sure did leak in and fill my PS floorboard up a few inches....woohoo!

Sucks!

 

[Riley]

2.5 feet isn't deep enough to need to give any thought.

An 80 series will not float unless it is much deeper.

... snip...

Mark...

Hard to say how deep it really was but my guess was 2.5' and thus I was really surprised it presented much of a challange..... I never stopped but slowed a lot and kinda freaked me out since there was nothing to strap to around there.

It was more of the case that the front-end was loosing traction (like not enough weight) and started heading into deeper water..... scary thought as it was a lake I was drifting towards.... perhaps I should have left the front unlocked.... don't know.

 

[ScottsHZJ80]

A tarp over the front is not needed for fan/radiator concerns. The fan clutch will slip and not transmit enough power to cause the fan to deform.

Mark...

Ummm.... Yes it is and no it won't.

I used to think that as well, but I have had the fan chew into the back row of the radiator. Once was enough to convince me otherwise.

Certainly not an issue in 2.5', but in anything as deep as the bonnet I would use a blind.

 

[Mark W]

Hmmm... What model Cruiser and engine? I assume the '80 in your avatar?

We never use tarps. A crew of 5-15 on most runs. More crossings than I would want to count on most runs. Running like this for years now. A few non-clutch fans have taken out radiators. But never a clutch fan and never even a non-clutch fan unless the engine speed and vehicle speed has been too high.

But none of us are running diesels either, so the clearances and fan clutches may be different.


Mark...


Mark...

 

[pismojim]

I figured a few folks may have missed this cover on the Toyota Trails (January 2002) . Mark took this photo as I eased into the beaver ponds on the way to Knik Glacier. It washed the hood in a few places but the Cruiser did fine. It is a good idea to turn on the lockers because the 80 definitely floats enough to feel light on its feet.

The same spot from my perspective, you'll notice there is no "other side", as I passed him he says "just go through the gap in the trees and keep going". What gap? :

If you want to see something a little more extreme, click through this sequence:

http://www.funrace4x4.com/foto.asp?foto=6961&posf=5&inicio=0

Happy swimming!

 

[KSV]

Extreme indeed. This one in particular
http://www.funrace4x4.com/foto.asp?foto=6965&posf=9&inicio=0