Yes, this was me.

[Toyo Boyo]

We've all learned from our mistakes - deep mud was mine!

Read Mark's adventures - amazing stuff.

I was leading a group one weekend, told the guy behind me to drop quitely into the river, as the bend had worn a deep groove at the bank. He didn't listen, dropped in fast, went too deep, locked his engine.............

And this is me, having reversed back in to tug him out, we made him attach the strap (would have been funny to watch him slide off his hood, the river was shallow where his truck died)...

Oh, and then I had to strip the top of his engine to get it dry - and it run great - good old 2LTE I say lol

 

[AJLFJ80]

Those are some good pictures. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Toyo Boyo]

Those are some good pictures. Thanks for sharing!

He got lucky with the pics - it was an offical fording point - with a nice foot bridge above.

So, the rest of the group that he held up? Well, they just got out onto the bridge during the recovery, laughed at him, pics and vid on youtube before he even made it out of the river

Ahh, such fun eh !

 

[lt1fire]

He got lucky with the pics - it was an offical fording point - with a nice foot bridge above.

So, the rest of the group that he held up? Well, they just got out onto the bridge during the recovery, laughed at him, pics and vid on youtube before he even made it out of the river

Ahh, such fun eh !

Link to youtube vid?

 

[96beast]

 

[Mark W]

A couple of routine river crossings.

The minitruck sits on 35s and was my youngest daughter's ride until she got her own rig. She did literally hundreds (high hundreds) of water crossings comparable to this one in this truck as she tagged along with us. As it happens the next rig through found a soft spot (he had refused to air down his tires which really were not really suitable for the trail anyway) and I had to wade in to the glacial runoff and hook a strap up for him. I have had to do that for a couple of people with marginal rigs at this spot actually... surprising because it is not a tough crossing.

The BJ74 belongs to Lowenbrau here on mud. It sits on 37s with an SOA conversion. This is another simple crossing with moderate current.

These two are not posted because they were tough spots or even notable. just every day average drive through and keep going spots. Just happen to be pics that I had handy.

Look at the albums that the folks who came up for the Alaska Cruiser Trek in 2010 have posted and you will see a few of the hundred plus river crossings that they performed. There are a couple of youtube vids posts from the treks with water flowing over the hoods of '80s and '60s.

A search for Alaska Cruiser Trek on google will probably pull up some of the stuff from earlier years too.

Without doing some searching I don't have a lot of pics of the crossings and recoveries since I am usually busy doing, not photographing.


Mark...

 

[Toyo Boyo]

Link to youtube vid?

On the case, wil post up when I track it down

 

[stonemasoncruiser]

I just want to thank you having the guts to post up your mistakes for all to see.
We've all had blunders which turn into valuable lessons. Now you've given us all the
opportunity to learn as well thanks to responses of mud member's with experience.

 

[AJLFJ80]

He got lucky with the pics - it was an offical fording point - with a nice foot bridge above.

So, the rest of the group that he held up? Well, they just got out onto the bridge during the recovery, laughed at him, pics and vid on youtube before he even made it out of the river

Ahh, such fun eh !

Yes, the CDFers on the scene were all snapping pics of my predicament. I think I hid my face sufficiently.

 

[80seriesnut]

There is a road like that where i live and it looks like that all the time. It is an old dirt road that leads to an old river bridge. I want to go across it so bad but have not yet. I am waiting to get a snorkle.

 

[charkilah]

You seem to take full responsibility, and definately come across as having a good sense of humility about the whole incident. I can empathize with having a situation blown out of proportion by a well intentioned mom. Hilarious.

Mark W, I'm sure you're an experienced offroad driver, but your attitude as it comes across on here, makes you look like a true a$$hole. Cut the guy a break, he seems to have already taken enough heat. Seriously, I don't care how many streams you've crossed, you're sounding pretty arrogant.

 

[AJLFJ80]

I can empathize with having a situation blown out of proportion by a well intentioned mom. Hilarious.

She CLAIMS she was advised by the towing company to call 911. Knowing how she overreacts to everything, I'm a little bit skeptical. Although she was probably thinking of the time she crossed in her 1991 explorer and had water come up over her hood (she made it, I'm deducing it's because the 80 outweighs a 1st gen explorer by around 1500 lbs and therefore won't sink as much in soft sand), and maybe she had visions of me floating downstream on the branch of an oak tree. Who knows, what's done is done.

 

[TexasJack]

I'm very aware of the power of water. Again... we cross deeper, faster and wider than that routinely.

I guess it must have been moving a lot faster than the effect of your rig sitting there seems to show.

Did it shift the rig downstream? Did it eat the bottom out from under it and casue it to settle deeper while you were there?


(You were not wearing waders I assume, so that really isn't a factor is it?)

The fact that the CHP chose not to take any risk at all when they were called out for a river emergency also has little to do with the actual difficulty of wading/swimming back to shore.

BTW... 48 degrees... that is far from cold in the places we travel. Not sure if I have seen water that warm in any river we cross.

Glad that they got you out okay. Are they going to bill you for the expenses are is the state picking up the tab?


Mark...

If the water is deep enough and moving fast enough to move your truck, you'd be a damned fool to try and wade across. They'd find you dead with your arm wedged behind your head like the guy in the movie deliverance. I have done too many crazy things in my life, I am a good swimmer and I don't think I'd get in water like that. Keep in mind that flood water moves at different speeds at different places based on the width and depth of bed it is flowing in. All it has to do is get you off your feet and you could find your self in very fast water very quickly.

 

[TexasJack]

A couple of routine river crossings.

The minitruck sits on 35s and was my youngest daughter's ride until she got her own rig. She did literally hundreds (high hundreds) of water crossings comparable to this one in this truck as she tagged along with us. As it happens the next rig through found a soft spot (he had refused to air down his tires which really were not really suitable for the trail anyway) and I had to wade in to the glacial runoff and hook a strap up for him. I have had to do that for a couple of people with marginal rigs at this spot actually... surprising because it is not a tough crossing.

The BJ74 belongs to Lowenbrau here on mud. It sits on 37s with an SOA conversion. This is another simple crossing with moderate current.

These two are not posted because they were tough spots or even notable. just every day average drive through and keep going spots. Just happen to be pics that I had handy.

Look at the albums that the folks who came up for the Alaska Cruiser Trek in 2010 have posted and you will see a few of the hundred plus river crossings that they performed. There are a couple of youtube vids posts from the treks with water flowing over the hoods of '80s and '60s.

A search for Alaska Cruiser Trek on google will probably pull up some of the stuff from earlier years too.

Without doing some searching I don't have a lot of pics of the crossings and recoveries since I am usually busy doing, not photographing.


Mark...

I also cross alot of creeks where I hunt and wanted to ask how you guys keep the water out of your distributor caps. An Aussie guy on MUD suggested using silicon caulk to create a seal, says it works great for him. I haven't tried it yet. Any experience with this? In addition, any problems with water anywhere else under the hood? As I stated on this thread, I have fouled plugs in deep, fast moving water. I have since replaced my distributor and wires but not sure that solved the problem? I have a snorkel and winch already, do you know any other techniques to keep the engine running in deep water?

 

[93Chewbacca]

I have a new avatar for you

 

[AJLFJ80]

I have a new avatar for you

Never
............

 

[93Chewbacca]

Oh well LOL

 

[Solid Taco]

Mark could come out arrogant but I now have a few things to keep in mind if I ever encounter a water crossing. S***t happens but I guess lessons learned.

 

[Mark W]

I also cross alot of creeks where I hunt and wanted to ask how you guys keep the water out of your distributor caps. An Aussie guy on MUD suggested using silicon caulk to create a seal, says it works great for him. I haven't tried it yet. Any experience with this? In addition, any problems with water anywhere else under the hood? As I stated on this thread, I have fouled plugs in deep, fast moving water. I have since replaced my distributor and wires but not sure that solved the problem? I have a snorkel and winch already, do you know any other techniques to keep the engine running in deep water?

We have had very good luck with the Post '77 OEM 2/3F series distributors on the Cruisers with the O- ring, screw down cap and venting system. On the minis and the '93 and newer '80s you have to seal the vent holes in the distributor body and run vent lines instead of the short rubber vent/cap that is used from the factory. Personally for Chevy HEI distributors I drill and insert fittings to vent the distributor like the later 2 and 3f engines do and then seal the cap to the body of the distrbutor with silicon sealant

If you use silicon sealant, make sure that you use some weak stuff so that you can get the cap off again. Or... what I do is smear a little oil on the cap before setting it into the bead of sealant so that it does not stick.

The OEM plug wires on the FJ60s and later Cruisers fit very snug at both ends and are hard to beat. A liberal application of di-electric grease will do a lot to keep these connections sealed.

Any time you short out a plug in deep water, or get it in the distributor, it is simply a matter of drying off/out and it will work fine. The plug is not really fouled, the spark is just finding an easier route to ground.

It is a good idea to keep your ignitor dry too. On the EFI rigs with electronic control modules, you need to seal these also in case you swamp the rig or simply have a long deep crossing and wind up with water inside the rig. Silicon sealant around all the seams and liberal application of di-electric grease in/on all the plug connections has worked great for me and mine.

Make sure your snorkel is sealed well.

Keep your speed down so as to reduce/eliminate splashing that throws water hard against connections and components. Driving has a lot to do with it too. it is easy to jump in splashing and charging only to kill your engine from water blasting everything under the hood. Turing upstream is usually not a good idea. Failing to pick a good line for the crossing is the biggest reason for failure.

They shorter rigs that run with us often have distributors and spark plugs underwater.

Obviously a taller rig has an easier time in deep water than a shorter one.




Mark...

 

[Mark W]

If the water is deep enough and moving fast enough to move your truck, you'd be a damned fool to try and wade across. They'd find you dead with your arm wedged behind your head like the guy in the movie deliverance. I have done too many crazy things in my life, I am a good swimmer and I don't think I'd get in water like that. Keep in mind that flood water moves at different speeds at different places based on the width and depth of bed it is flowing in. All it has to do is get you off your feet and you could find your self in very fast water very quickly.

The point of my asking about the truck being pushed downstream or the bottom being washed out from under it was to point out that the current... as also evidenced by the pictures... does not seem to be significant (no stacking on the upstream side and no "wake" around the front or back of the rig, no difference in the depth of the water on either side).

If the rig was parked on pavement, with 33 inch tires that would be about 30 inches of water showing at the front of the rig. If it is mired down in soft sand and stuck, then what that picture shows is more likely about 24 inches of water... 2 feet of water flowing with moderate current, and a bottom of sand, not slippery rocks.

Might have been a lot worse than it appears.


I have waded out of a rig that was swamped when I picked a bad line. The mini truck in the picture above as it happens. The current did push it downstream a bit until it lodged against the rising bottom of a shallower spot. It does not take much current to push a truck that is sitting stopped in a river. I waded out to meet a buddy who was wading in with a strap. No big deal.

I have waded out to many rigs in deeper water and *apparently* more current. to hook up a strap or winch cable.

If you are in raging rapids or a river that is truly rushing at flood stage and fast current, that of course if a different matter.

I have done a bit of commercial white water rafting years ago, and as part of our training before we took customers out we spent a couple of days in the rapids figuring out just what we could and could not do. I have shot a class 5 rapids in the water in a life vest. I have also attended funerals and assisted in body retrieval for a couple of people who drowned in fast water.

I really will not fault anyone for being daunted by fast water. I guess that my thoughts underlying my comments about this case were that this situation does not *seem* that daunting to me (readily admitting that I was not there and all I have to base it on are the pictures that the OP provided) and that if it was... if wading out unassisted after getting stuck was not an option... then the crossing should not have been attempted in the first place.


Mark...