Do I really need a snorkel

Is cheaper than a new engine.

Its too late when you find out there is an unexpected hole that is a metre deep.

Geoff, Go the snorkel, I have seen a surf go through a 500mm water crossing and get a gut full of water and stop......... It was a petrol and I towed him back to Albany and he then had to source a car trailer and once back in Perth $8,000 damage.
Cheap insurance.

Archer River, Circa 1980.



Really, it's up to your acceptable level of risk and how you wish to manage it.

For piece of mind I'd fit one!

If the rivers have dropped to their normal June level you can do without asnorkel given you take the extra precautions of walking all the major creeks & fit a blind where neccesary. Many of the creeks are crystal clear and appear quite shallow from the drivers seat when in fact they may have holes well over a metre deep. A snorkel is simply good insurance. Other than taking the Developmental road there is NO way around anything over 600 deep on the Telegraph track ;-)
Cheers Craig................

Membership to EO=$50
Snorkel=$400
Installation=$100
Watching your bonnet dissapear under water when the sandy bottom 600mm deep creek gives way under your vehicle and thinking "mmmm a snorkel would be great right now...." PRICELESS.
In all seriousness, I have gained about 10% fuel economy since getting a snorkel. I worked it out that after just 25,000km I have made my money back. I honestly don't know why everyone doesn't have one.

I've seen petrol 80series go through vic high country with water up to the bonnet without a problem. The intake is well hidden inside the RHS mudguard.
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The other advantage of a snorkel is to lift the intake higher than the dust blowing around your wheels on dirt roads, and also from the vehicle in front of you if you're in convoy. So your engine is getting a "slightly" cleaner shot of air.

I'd suggest the snorkel..... all in all, it's cheap insurance!


Cheers

Brian

A snorkel has 2 other uses besides crossing water.

It increase fuel economy by 5% so over time it will pay for itself. Depending upon kilometers travelled etc.

The second is that it also helps keep the air cleaner clean from dust. Also depending upon the roads your travel. Cleaner air filter also helps economy.

It is a trade off between savings and cost to have it fitted.

Geoff,

Personally I would have a snorkel particularly if it's a diesel.

I've done the OTL track twice, the first time just after the 06 cyclone season. This trip we had a mixture of both petrol and diesels without snorkels.
The creeks were up and we had to pull out a Territory on the Bloomfield track that had drowned the petrol engine. I was the only one in our group to have an issue and that was a fan blade through the radiator.

Last year we all had snorkels and the creeks were lower than the first time. No dramas at all apart from a blowout on the blacktop with one of the vehicles.

My trip reports are in my blog.

Most of the dust generated from a vehicle comes from the wheels, dust is not good for any engine, where does you engine currently suck air from? The front driver side wheel arch, see a problem here?

Snowy

Do you need really need one?? = Maybe...
Do you mentally need one?? = Definately...

You wait till you get there when you are at some of the crossings this year...

Nolans Brook.....
Cockatoo....
Canal....
Sam....
The swamp just before Nolans Brook....
The one between Fruit Bat and Twin Falls....

All of these crossings will make you second guess and for the piece of mind of a snorkel $400 it's a no brainer...
Or you will be criss crossing the OTL all day long trying to avoid these crossings..

Yes i agree,, you do not NEED one.... but you will see what i mean when you are there wishing you had one...
I know this first hand from 5 cape york trips where there has always been somebody with us similar to you...

Always tarp up if the water is higher than your bumper,,,,, if you dont tarp up then GO SLOW.........

I questioned myself on the same issue a few years ago should I or should I not. I pondered this for a few weeks and in the end I decided I would have one installed.

My reason was simply the fact I was part of a group they all had snorkels and I figured I did not want to burden the group if we came across any deep sections of water I would have to find another way around and thus slow the group down.

As it was we never encountered any waters over I guess 700 and taken slow was no issue. Nolans brook when we arrived at the cross roads we met another vehicle and asked about the crossing and told it was around 900 + and there was one drowned there at the moment.

The group wanted to do the Nolan brook path I chickened out and said I would see you all further up the track.

This had nothing to do with the snorkel more my gut feeling and my skill level at the time (my first 4x4 trip) and I did not want to drown my only vehicle or suffer a recovery cost.

My option only is to get one if not for the water crossings but for cleaner air, as for better fuel economy cannot say I've noticed any.

In the end you have to make the choice yourself to cross any water crossing with or without a snorkel.

As for the fans into radiators I was under the impression you disconnected the fan belt so the fan would not spin and get driven back into the radiator apart from tossing water all over the place under the bonnet.

Have a fun trip.

Brian

Thanks Guys,

I think I'll go with the snorkel even if I dodge the deeper creeks, (I'm no hero when it comes to flooded cars or computer chips anyway) the fresh air and possible performence and economy improvement has sold me.

I fitted one to a 2.8 Hilux and the air forced down the snorkel improved performance on the highway noticeable, don't know if I'll get the same improvement with the 80 series.

I never seem to get better economy with engine improvements, think I just drive faster.

Regards
Geoff

G'day Geoff
I bet many of the answers here from those who have never owned an 80 series petrol! I have. 1996 model with 2" lift. Vehicle has been thru water that came up over the bonnet and up the windscreen. Never put a snorkel on that vehicle. Never had any water related problems despite heaps of creek crossings. Always used a tarp if the water level was high. Plenty of WD40 or similar.
So the answer is NO you do not need a snorkel.
Cheers from the Moose

there are plenty of clips on u toob,
here is nolans book

Decide now on how comfortable you would be with or without.

I did it with out a snorkel in 1997 in a petrol SWB cruiser, nil preparation for that particular crossing (nolans), bit consider myself very lucky for my motor not to get a gutfull of water.
Have a look in my rigpics at the second last photo.
Shane

Worked on the roads up there for the Council with a vehicle not fitted with a snorkel - I crossed many a river without the snorkel - You have to pick your track.

Council brought a new Toyota with a snorkel - first creek crossing it was drowned - The seal was no good.

I now own cars and always fit a snorkel - as said above good insurance and less dust to clean out of the filters - just make sure when it is fitted that it has a proper seal

Cheers Tony

We have a sock (proper washable filter) that inserts in the top of the snorkels. On our bush trips 10 days rallying every year we would swap with a clean one every couple of days and clean the other. It was amazing how much dirt it trapped.