To Snorkel Or Not To Snorkel?

[scanavera]

Hey Everyone - I am early on in my build and doing things one step at a time. I see a lot of folks on here with snorkels and was curious about your use case for getting one or not getting one. I have read a lot of articles that say even if you don't do run water crossings you can still get performance benefit from having one. I have also read the exact opposite.

For those who do have one, have you noticed in any net improvement to your ride, engine performance, or repair/replacement schedule (i.e. filters)?

In the grand scheme of mods, it's pretty inexpensive (apart from cutting a big hole in your quarter panel, gulp), but if I have no intention of running water above my tires (more than likely, half way up my tires), is this something worth pursuing?

Thanks for the insight.

Thanks!

 

[Fisher23]

They are good for deep water or if running behind someone kicking up dust in the desert or dusty trails.

If I was getting one for none water areas. I would get the one that UN put's on their Land Cruiser that tucks up tight against the windshield. I few folks have those on here.

If you're not going to use it I would not get it. Better off upgrading something else.

My first mod was skid plates.

 

[grinchy]

Quite a few installs a couple years ago (mine included) resulted when a forum member happened to put their tire in a hole on a pretty innocuous river crossing. Led to a full engine replacement that was much much more than the cost of even the most gold plated of snorkels (not to mention downtime during prime driving season).

If it never meets that purpose, at least I worry less when driving in dusty areas, fwiw.

<edit - I was going to do it anyway, this just pushed it up the list a bit).>

 

[TLC2013]

No noticeable difference in power with the snorkel. Slightly louder but really not much at all even at full throttle.
I followed @grinchy ’s logic and installed the Arb after getting bumpers. Its became quite evident that aftermarket front bumpers expose the intake to more of the elements and make the possibility of ingesting water that much greater.

I am sure the snorkel helps some in dusty climates and trails but after just a few miles of eating dust the snorkel doesn’t make much a difference. The filters a mess.

I believe the pre cleaner snorkel toppers solve this problem but I have heard mixed reviews on them slowing down and restricting air flow.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Snorkles are primarily used to get cleaner air when driving in the desert, not for submarine excursions.

If you are not 200% sure about needing one, then you 100% don't need one.

 

[prharper]

Getting a snorkel was on my top 10 list of upgrades upon purchase. Shortly later, $$$$$ went to tires, suspension, armor, skids, electrical, interior (huge list)..

The snorkel dropped to the bottom of the list. Rare odds of sucking up water but it happens and has been posted on here by Cole.

Yet, I recently installed one to protect the investment in all the ^^^^^

 

[Zsolt]

Definitely yes if You are driving in very dusty conditions, installed Moonlight airbox and Fabulous Fabrictions snorkel, 2 weeks driving in Sahara and almost no dust in the airbox and the filter relatively clean as well

 

[NMC_EXP]

Hey Everyone - I am early on in my build and doing things one step at a time. I see a lot of folks on here with snorkels and was curious about your use case for getting one or not getting one. I have read a lot of articles that say even if you don't do run water crossings you can still get performance benefit from having one. I have also read the exact opposite.

For those who do have one, have you noticed in any net improvement to your ride, engine performance, or repair/replacement schedule (i.e. filters)?

In the grand scheme of mods, it's pretty inexpensive (apart from cutting a big hole in your quarter panel, gulp), but if I have no intention of running water above my tires (more than likely, half way up my tires), is this something worth pursuing?

Thanks for the insight.

Thanks!

A snorkel can prevent killing your engine on a water crossing.

If you add a snorkel do not go the big suck intake option. Instead put on a cyclonic dust separator. If you run dusty trails it will keep your air filter cleaner.

Last time I went to the Solid Axle Summit I had a half inch of dust, leaves and bugs in the cyclonic separator on my snorkel.

Photo showing the cyclonic separator.

 

[linuxgod]

A $300 snorkel is an insurance policy against errant water ingestion and a $15k engine swap, or at least that was my thinking when I bought mine several years ago. I don't plan to go hood-deep in water, but if I find myself there maybe it'll save my bacon. Thus far I don't think I've done any crossings which would've come close enough to the factory intake to cause an issue, but all it takes is one bit of bad luck like @indycole had - after hearing about his incident I was glad I'd done it early on.

It won't help with MPG. Your filter will still get dirty and will pick up bugs/bees occasionally. It will add a little bit of wind noise. People will regularly ask "is that your exhaust pipe?" It's difficult to reverse since most if not all designs end up modifying the A pillar (the front fender is easier to replace, though still not cheap to reverse). If you live somewhere with a lot of sleet and sticky snow you may also find you need to clear it occasionally or turn the snorkel head around temporarily as it can ice up as well. So there are tradeoffs.

 

[AnyMal]

Snorkles are primarily used to get cleaner air when driving in the desert, not for submarine excursions.

If you are not 200% sure about needing one, then you 100% don't need one.

By the time you need a snorkel for the high water level youre crossing, youve already trashed the truck.

Ive yet to see anyone actually waterproof anything more than a couple of breather hoses.

Looks cool though.

 

[CharlieS]

I probably just got lucky, but I've driven in water coming over the hood conditions twice now with no snorkel and didn't do any damage. I didn't plan on driving through these crossings and had no idea how deep they were going to be. Having momentum and a bow wake matters. I keep in hearing the real purpose is to get clean air in dusty conditions.

 

[linuxgod]

I probably just got lucky, but I've driven in water coming over the hood conditions twice now with no snorkel and didn't do any damage. I didn't plan on driving through these crossings and had no idea how deep they were going to be. Having momentum and a bow wake matters. I keep in hearing the real purpose is to get clean air in dusty conditions.

View attachment 3002540

^ This is why I did it. Sometimes you misjudge. Sometimes you judge correctly but still get surprised (i.e. by a hole).

A bow wake will help keep the water low in the engine bay, particularly since our vehicles rely heavily on electronics which don't like getting wet. The diesel cruisers are better for this but even still water will quickly short out circuits. Also, don't spend a lot of time hanging around in the water as once water is hood deep there are a lot of places for it to start seeping into the cabin.

 

[sleepintheback]

I'm anti snorkel for these reasons:
Moving water that deep poses a big risk of washing the truck downstream,
The intake location is probably not the limiting factor of the fording depth set by Mr. T. If the water is deeper than 700 mm, I'm turning around.
Air filters are cheap. If it gets dirty, just buy a new one.
Wind noise
The decrease in fuel economy (probably immeasurable, but I'll know it's happening)
Aesthetics

 

[Docwyte]

My truck came with a Safari snorkel. Honestly I think it's a #1 Poser mod. Out here in Colorado/Southwest there just aren't that many deep water crossings. The ~$1500 the previous owner spent to buy/pay to install this thing could've been better spent on a set of sliders, or better wheels/tires or suspension or any number of things.

I'm not a fan of it but considering there's a huge hole in my fender it's not like I can just remove it...

 

[RyanR]

For me I like the aesthetic of it and (if you install yourself) it’s relatively cheap insurance. I do not seek out water crossings, much the opposite but I have been in a situation where we crossed a river, it was up to the headlights or so on my FJ. Even rigs without snorkels were fine but it was a very wide crossing with a couple sketchy holes. We were camping for the weekend, got some rain on us but didn’t think much of it. Had someone slip and break their leg and needed to get to the hospital. We found that the river had come up nearly 2ft over the past 48 hours, I had to stand inside the truck to peer over the water line, it was 3/4 of the way over my windshield in spots. (Barely moving water or I wouldn’t have attempted even with our medical emergency) I was the only one with a snorkel everyone else stayed in camp. We made it across and to the hospital without issue. Had that truck another 6 years and it’s still trucking along with nearly a quarter million miles now. From that experience I’ll probably always put snorkels on my family wheeling rigs. Not because it makes them invincible amphibious machines, but in an emergency I might make it where I am going in that moment even if it ultimately kills the truck.

 

[linuxgod]

My truck came with a Safari snorkel. Honestly I think it's a #1 Poser mod. Out here in Colorado/Southwest there just aren't that many deep water crossings. The ~$1500 the previous owner spent to buy/pay to install this thing could've been better spent on a set of sliders, or better wheels/tires or suspension or any number of things.

I'm not a fan of it but considering there's a huge hole in my fender it's not like I can just remove it...

When I did it the Dobinson's version was IIRC $250. Took me about 3 hours to do the install (including staring at the fender and re-measuring a half dozen times, and also the effort to get the air box hose to stretch and fit correctly). TBH I probably would not have spent $1500 on it (including installation) either...

 

[Docwyte]

When I did it the Dobinson's version was IIRC $250. Took me about 3 hours to do the install (including staring at the fender and re-measuring a half dozen times, and also the effort to get the air box hose to stretch and fit correctly). TBH I probably would not have spent $1500 on it (including installation) either...

Before I bought the truck I checked into the price of the mods done to it. Safari snorkel was $750 and I know he paid a shop to install it. Figure the shop charged 3-4 hours at $125-150/hour. Lots of money for a esthetic mod that IMO could've been used in a much better way

 

[linuxgod]

Before I bought the truck I checked into the price of the mods done to it. Safari snorkel was $750 and I know he paid a shop to install it. Figure the shop charged 3-4 hours at $125-150/hour. Lots of money for a esthetic mod that IMO could've been used in a much better way

Maybe the PO liked the look or attention and that was worth $1500 to him?

Yep the ARB snorkels are double the cost. And shop labor, for sure. Going rate for the Dobinson's which is a knock-off of the ARB design is $330.

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I'm not saying everyone should do it. Just that having done it myself as that type of insurance policy, and then reading about someone seizing an engine reinforced my prior decision. For sure every mod should be some sort of cost-benefit analysis (even if the benefit is your smile every time you look at the truck)

 

[tampacruiser95]

They are good for deep water or if running behind someone kicking up dust in the desert or dusty trails.

If I was getting one for none water areas. I would get the one that UN put's on their Land Cruiser that tucks up tight against the windshield. I few folks have those on here.

If you're not going to use it I would not get it. Better off upgrading something else.

My first mod was skid plates.

If you are going to do it, get the TJM - it's the one that tucks tight against the windshield. I had the safari on my 80 and it was constantly catching on things when I was off-road.

 

[ikarus]

I’m in the “mod it once you realize you need it” camp - I finally gave in on my 100 once I’d chopped up the fender liners to fit 35s and realized I was sucking dust in through the stock intake. The snorkel helped on dusty trails. I’ve been through a lot of river crossings with and without and it’s been fine.

I’ll probably never put one on my 200. Lot of guys just want a cheap mod that looks “camel trophy safari UN armored cruiser” and go for it with whatever rationale they can come up with. I’ve even seen people install them and not even bother to hook up the air box hahaha