Whats Up With The Snorkel Thing?

As of late, there has been some buzz about snorkels and their practicality on an overland vehicle. I recently came across this post by Mark Doiron which I believe gives and excellent perspective on snorkels and their practical use in overlanding. Mark is an avid adventurer and can be found at @DxDOverland on Youtube.

What’s up with the snorkel thing? So, here goes …

“First off, in order to understand that “snorkel thing”, you must first understand what overlanding is. And what it is not. It is not just going camping for the weekend like you did for years with your pappy. It isn’t a hunting or fishing trip. It isn’t just rock crawling. Yet, it can include all of them things and so much more. When you travel overland, you have the opportunity to experience new areas in ways you have not before. You can learn about its human history and culture. Study its flora, fauna, geology. Try new foods at local restaurants. Visit the museums, bars and saloons, historic buildings. Maybe stay in a local bed and breakfast or unusual motel (ever stay in a restored WW II barracks before?) instead of camp for one night. And document your experience: Write a journal, or take and curate photos with captions, or create a video retelling your story. It is all of this rolled up into one that creates the best overlanding adventure.

And here is the crux of the issue: You and your rig are prepared for whatever the route may throw at you. You’re traveling beyond your local area, so the refrain, “I don’t need a snorkel because we don’t have stream crossings in XYZ county” suggests there is much more possibility to your overlanding than you are imagining and prepared for. And preparation is the why for which a snorkel is highly recommended for your rig: Be prepared for whatever the route may throw at you. Whether it involves a dirt road, mud, rocks, fallen trees, snow. Or a deep stream crossing. Be prepared.

But adding a snorkel to your rig is just one step in preparing for stream crossings. Does your rig have differential breathers or are the differentials sealed? That will affect how you cross a stream: With sealed differentials, you want to stop and let the diff cool off before entering the water. Otherwise, you risk the differential sucking water into the lube. With breathers, you may want to plumb them to the air cleaner housing so that you know the diffs have clean air to suck in. You also want to protect the electronics. RTV sealer and dielectric grease are useful for electronic boxes, connections, etc. If you vehicle is old, you may want to replace door and gate seals that could allow water to enter the vehicles (some vehicles are better made to prevent water entry into the cab). If your rig has floor drain plugs, you should inspect those every few years; they can dry out and shrink, allowing water to enter. And you might want to consider how to turn off your engine cooling fan to prevent water splashing across the electronics in the engine compartment. The best way is a switch that in the relaxed (unpowered) position allows the vehicle circuits to control fan operation, and when activated by the driver, disables the engine fan voltage flow. Engine fans draw a lot of current, so be sure your solution is rated high enough. If you have a mechanical engine fan, you may be able to pull the fan belt, if that doesn’t cause other problems (this is probably not a good solution if you have a serpentine belt running everything including you water pump). Finally, after you cross a stream, as soon as practical, it is a good idea to check your diffs, transmission, transfer case and engine oil for water contamination.

As for the snorkel, there are several options for the intake, which Tom Asher shows us in another post. Do be aware that certain of the air-particle separators are self-cleaning and others require that you empty the fishbowl of accumulated dust. It is really important that is done daily. Dust left in the bowl can get beat into a fine powder over time. A powder so fine that it can flow right through your air filter into the engine intake.

So, bottom line is, which guy do you want to be when you arrive at the deep river crossing? The one who goes first because he has a snorkel? The one who goes later because he doesn’t, and worries during the entire crossing? And maybe after the trip does add a snorkel. Or the one who turns around because he just isn’t sure? And don’t make a mistake thinking I’m criticizing turning around. I have done it myself, at a remote area of Alaska, when the stream was way too fast for my taste. And I have a friend I travel with who last year lost his overlanding rig during a low water crossing when the stream floated it off into deeper parts. So, not only are you prepared, but you’re smart about it.”

-Mark Dorion Facebook 2022

Thank you Mark for this great insight from your time over the road. Hope to see you on the trails one day!