Water Crossings

[WANO]

I am about to under take some water and mud training via my club, thru a 4WD association training manual, my question is , although most will say it is inevitable that you will get water in side you 4by, is anthing you can do to "waterproof" via door seals etc.

Regards

WANO

[YNOT]

Slide under your car and make sure all the rubber bungs are fitted to the firewall, floor and sills.
Don't stop in deep water if you can avoid it. I've driven a 6 inch lifted Patrol through water that came half way up the doors (it didn't look that deep before I went in!), inside the car stayed dry. Unfortunately the plastic engine driven radiator fan 'propellerd' in the water and damaged the radiator!
You could also try fitting a big suspension lift and tyres to keep the body up out of the water!!!

Tony

[DX grunt]

I am about to under take some water and mud training via my club, thru a 4WD association training manual, my question is , although most will say it is inevitable that you will get water in side you 4by, is anthing you can do to "waterproof" via door seals etc.

Regards

WANO

Great to see you're undertaking training, like Plasnart has said.

Your instructor/s should teach you about 'bow waves' and momentum. Enjoy your training and most of all... have fun.

The more training you do, the more confident you'll get knowing your vehicle and its capabilities - and yours!

Take care out there.

Ross
DX grunt

[Danny]

'bow waves' and momentum???

What's that Rossco, is it the way the water pushes infront of the car and general momentum of water force, etc?

[DX grunt]

'bow waves' and momentum???

What's that Rossco, is it the way the water pushes infront of the car and general momentum of water force, etc?

Without going into driver training coz I'm not a qualified instructor, basically, yes. From my experience, if you stop half way, you could get into big trouble, so I keep the movement (momentum) going.

[Minx]

As what Rossco mentioned above I am also not a qualified instructor but I did find some information that may be "interesting to read" for anyone interested.

WATER CROSSINGS

5.26 Driving a vehicle through water is a hazardous exercise at the best of times,
and care must be taken to ensure a safe crossing. Although your 4WD has
features that enable it to cross water more easily than other vehicles—such
as its greater ground clearance—too much water will stop any 4WD vehicle.

This may happen as a result of:

a. water entering the electrical system or air intake;
b. loss of traction due to the nature of the bottom; or
c. loss of traction resulting from vehicle floating off or being washed off the
bottom. Where this occurs it may be necessary to open a downstream
door to ‘sink' the vehicle.

5.27 OBSTACLE ASSESSMENT
Stop and assess the obstacle before committing yourself to it. Be sure that
you have to negotiate the water crossing. You may be better off spending
extra time on a longer route.

5.28 Never drive into water of unknown depth or unknown bottom surface
condition. Walk the crossing first, if necessary and safe to do so. Always
determine for yourself the:

a. current strength;
b. water depth, (do not enter deep and/or fast water);
c. bottom conditions; and
d. location of obstacles.

5.29 PLANNING AND PREPARATION
Mark all obstacles on the bottom (rocks, logs etc). Decide on the entry and
exit points and stick to them. If possible identify a suitable anchor for a winch
rope in case this is needed for recovery and consider access to recovery
equipment if required. Always try to have the exit point slightly up stream
from the entry, to maximise bow wave effects. (See Figure 5:1).

5.30 BOW WAVE TECHNIQUE
If water reaches to the bumper bar or higher, upon entering the water
accelerate until a bow wave forms in front of the vehicle (see Figure~`5:1).
Maintain this bow wave at all costs, to keep water out of the engine. Try to
keep a steady pace using constant engine revs. The bow wave will keep
water from entering the engine compartment; this technique will only be
successful if the river bed is relatively smooth.

Figure 5:1 Water Crossing—Bow Wave (attached)

DEEP WATER PREPARATION

If water depth is greater than about 750 mm, prepare the vehicle as follows:

a. Place a canvas sheet/tarp or hessian bag across the grille to preventwater entering the engine bay.
b. If available, fit a snorkel extension to the engine air inlet and exhaust systems.
c. Spray the ignition system with de-watering fluid.

5.32 WATER CROSSING PROCEDURE

To negotiate an expanse of water use the following procedure:
a. Select L4 first gear (L4 second gear if the bottom is sandy).
b. Position the vehicle with the front wheels on the embankment and just in the water.
c. Enter and cross the water without stopping. A slight increase in engine revolutions may be needed to maintain the bow wave. Where the bottom is rough or rocky it may be advantageous to set the hand throttle.
d. Do not touch the clutch while the vehicle is in the water as this may allow water to enter the clutch and slippage to occur.
e. If wheel spin occurs, select neutral without using the clutch and carry out recovery as necessary. Do not ‘switch off' the engine while in the water.

5.33 CROSSING EXIT
Allow only one vehicle in the water at a time and clear the exit point for each vehicle. ‘If possible ease off throttle as vehicle exits crossing; this will reduce bow wave erosion effects on exit ramp from water. This has a significant effect on well-used crossings, and improves the chances of rear vehicles in a convoy completing a successful crossing in marginal exit ramp situations.'

5.34 Dry out the brakes as soon as the crossing is completed by driving with light foot brake application.

5.35 If a lot of water crossings are made, as soon as possible afterwards, have the condition of the oil in both differentials and gear boxes checked. If the oil is found to be a milky white colour, it means that water has contaminated the oil.

NOTE: After deep water crossings, the vehicle must be serviced as soon as possible.

[Pitbull]

We did our water crossing training and assessing at the Spear Creek training grounds in the Southern Flinders in the purpose man made water crossing , where at full capacity in its deepest section is just under head light deep on a 92 model Hilux .
The vehicles that attended were 2 GUPatrols , 2 Hiluxes (one was mine) , 1x60 and 1x80series Cruisers a 96 Pathfinder a 96 Jeep Cherokee a 96 Disco and a 84 Rangie we all used a blind and all created a bow wave and all got water inside the vehicles .
For assesment purposes on competancy we had to do it 3 times with 2 different assessors using 3 different entry and exit points