Snorkel = Snake Oil ?

[Desertdude]

Just when I thought there was nothing left to discuss on the Snorkel issue... :exclaim:

 

[madizell]

Probably there isn't. Like the guy says, if you have to ask, you don't need one.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Am I the only one who wades out into a creek crossing if I'm unsure of the depth?

Ah Ha!

I'm going to do just that............

The next time I try to drive through the Coyote Creek in the Spring....without a Snorkel!.......:snorkel: ........ ..........:wavey:


Newly required Expedition Items to carry...........

Swim Trunks.....and Flip Flops!:bigbossHL:

The other night while trying to go to sleep.....I was trying to dream up a removable/temporary......Snorkel! I don't think I would want to have to look at one on the SWR 100% of the time!:elkgrin:

So.....could I come up with that idea....and sell it....and then retire to the "Outback"......... >?!!!!unk03:

...........

Wanderer and his wife took these pics...........

Here I am coming out of Coyote Creek in Anza~Borrego.

I was told by 1leg........that the water was as high as the chrome strip on my rear tire well. Which actually lines up with the Top of my Front Bumper! .....Yikes!

When I got home I looked around with my flashlight and found that my air intake is just behind my drivers side headlight. A very Close Call!

So you can now almost call me a "Snorkel Convert"..........! .....hehe:ylsmoke:

 

[mauricio_28]

Probably there isn't. Like the guy says, if you have to ask, you don't need one.

Do I need a snorkel? Well, let's see. I live in what is perhaps the world's quintessential tropical country, straddling the equator along an axis 1/8th the world's circumference, rainy seasons unlike any other I've experienced outside of Latin America, frequent natural disasters and flooding, including in the country's capital, and possesing huge expanses of forest lands. The next expedition on a D40 Nissan Navara, planned to start in July/August, will take me across the island of Celebes (Sulawesi). I probably need a snorkel, yet I still ask wanting to get the whole picture. I also ask because getting one here is not a simple and cheap process as it is in the "developed" world. When I get one, I probably have to import the kit from Australia, with all the expense involved.

 

[Tanto]

If you're in so deep that you've sucked in water, don't you think the electronics would have gotten wet also, or that that water would have gotten in through the back door, the exhaust system?

No,

It only takes a second to suck the water in, just like a straw. In my case I knew I was in trouble and had shut the engine off when I found a hole in a short water crossing (you can't foresee everything). The Jeep coasted out of the water. We cleared the cylinders and tried to fire it up again, she stared immediately. Only problem is that with three shattered rods it sounded like someone poured marbles in the engine and it ran like hell.

Like I stated before in another thread & what has been iterated here by others. Spend $4,000 for a new engine and a snorkel looks pretty darn good as an insurance policy.

 

[ntsqd]

snip.....

The other night while trying to go to sleep.....I was trying to dream up a removable/temporary......Snorkel! I don't think I would want to have to look at one on the SWR 100% of the time!:elkgrin:

SWR, It's been done on your vintage truck. Not removable so much as hidden. I think I first saw it documented on 4x4wire. Dim memory shows a rather crude install, but the idea is very workable.
General idea used ABS plumbing bits to move the point of air intake up near the cowl. The intake tube was connected to the stock air box and runs between the inner fender and the fender up above the left front tire. ABS is great to work with from a formability standpoint because a heat gun can warm it enough to make it better conform to where it needs to go. Heat it, and then while wearing new leather gloves (grease in the gloves is a bad thing) smoosh it into shape.

 

[lowenbrau]

I have run all kinds of water through the engines of my various trucks and It happens when you are not really expecting it. Surprisingly, diesels stand up much better to this abuse than gassers. I've helped a number of Jeeps of the trail with catastrophic damage from a mudhole that I hardly gave notice to. I can tell you that the price of a snorkel is minimal compared to even a single connecting rod.

You'd be surprised how far a well waterproofed rig will go even without a snorkel. I watched as this rig made a wrong turn in a flooded trail system and continued until the water contaminated the gasoline in the tank. We dried the rig out and were underway again within an hour.

 

[Superu]

Hey SWR, Did somebody say "Outback"?

How many times have I needed the snorkel?
Only once so far, but summer's coming and we'll be heading further off the beaten path this year.

Once the lift kit arrives, we'll be ready to take on more adventures. :1888fbbd:

Good call in an earlier post btw on Corrosion Block spray. Cheap added protection and easy as pie to apply!

 

[Chas Stricker]

I think snorkels are for girls. Oh that's right my truck came with one. I was always going to put one on my old FJ55 pig. I do live in Nevada, not exactly the tropics, but, cleaner air and just incase.

 

[mountainpete]

I think snorkels are for girls. Oh that's right my truck came with one. I was always going to put one on my old FJ55 pig. I do live in Nevada, not exactly the tropics, but, cleaner air and just incase.

I know it was for fun, but we don't like saying anything is for girls here on ExPo... After all, the ladies on this site can drive circles around the vast majority of us :sombrero:

Snorkels are a hot topic in these parts so just trying to keep the waters calm

 

[Scott Brady]

Hey, lets see some pictures of that Mog...

Regarding snorkels, I would NEVER consider driving in the developing/third world without one. I have been forced down rivers by police that had closed villages and had to cross hood deep rivers because that was the only way through after having driven days on remote tracks. And not just for recreational fun, but as a matter of requirement to continue on or have to wait for days for the rivers to hopefully recede.

The nay-sayers can take whatever position they chose, but I fit a snorkel, a winch and appropriate suspension and tires not because I might need them, but because history has shown that I WILL need them. If you really want to get off the beaten path, you must be prepared. Luck favors the prepared...

 

[Chas Stricker]

Sorry MoPete, I really meant no offense. I must admit my daughter is great a great offroad driver and when I broke my leg (in 3 places while jogging) my wife came and got me. Nothing made me feel better than seeing her and the kids coming over the ridge straddling a ditch. I was so proud of her and glad to get to the hospital. Once again my apologies,
Chas

 

[mountainpete]

Sorry MoPete, I really meant no offense. I must admit my daughter is great a great offroad driver and when I broke my leg (in 3 places while jogging) my wife came and got me. Nothing made me feel better than seeing her and the kids coming over the ridge straddling a ditch. I was so proud of her and glad to get to the hospital. Once again my apologies,
Chas

No worries Chas - it's all good :sunflower

 

[madizell]

Do I need a snorkel? Well, let's see. I live in what is perhaps the world's quintessential tropical country, straddling the equator along an axis 1/8th the world's circumference, rainy seasons unlike any other I've experienced outside of Latin America, frequent natural disasters and flooding, including in the country's capital, and possesing huge expanses of forest lands. The next expedition on a D40 Nissan Navara, planned to start in July/August, will take me across the island of Celebes (Sulawesi). I probably need a snorkel, yet I still ask wanting to get the whole picture. I also ask because getting one here is not a simple and cheap process as it is in the "developed" world. When I get one, I probably have to import the kit from Australia, with all the expense involved.

My comment was facetious but essentially based in truth. If you live in the environment you do and have either never needed to have a snorkel to drive from point A to point B, or if you still harbor doubts about the need, my guess is you don't need one because of the way and the places you drive. The question is not whether one is available, expensive, simple, complicated, or otherwise, but whether, in order to go where you need to go or will need to go, you will need a snorkel to get there.

The original question was whether snorkels are so much snake oil (assuming this to mean that they are largely for show). My opinion is that while they are often installed for exactly that reason (along with 99% of the add-on, bolt-on whatnot that you see on mall cruisers) they were not designed for show, and are considered by some to be essential equipment. [See Scott's explanation]. I have rejected many a water crossing for lack of a snorkel, but have faced many a deep water section without concern because of one. Anything more than 24 inches of water begins to pose a significant risk for most vehicles.

If your upcoming expedition might take you to deep water, a snorkel will make it far less dangerous. There are ways to temporarily mitigate the risk of crossing through deep water without a snorkel, but nothing will replace a snorkel for protecting your motor from water ingestion.

 

[BiG BoB]

If your vehicle "should" be offroad, then a snorkel will in most cases get it through deepwater.

If you're driving a vehicle that will need much more work than adding a snorkel, and perhaps extending some breathers, then its really not suited to being offroad in the first place.

Such problems may be being petrol/gasoline/propane powered and using spark plugs, distributors etc, or any sort of electronicaly controlled fuel injection on a petrol or diesel.

Sorry if I'm opinionated, but its the truth out where I work/play

Sean