Redneck Snorkel on my 99 Tracker

[fierodough]

Not much to it. I'm putting the final touches on the DIY video. But here is the finished product.

My design was inspired by a friend of mine who trails a Sidekick with a home made snorkel.

Yes, that is my Escalade behind the Tracker. I'm only a redneck on the trails! lol...

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[Dirk]

Intake opening would probably be better is pointed rearward.

Had one similar to that some 20 years ago, worked well.

 

[fierodough]

I did not glue that portion because I ordered this from eBay:

There are a few spots that I have been wheeling in that have a "pond" crossing. Now that all my electronics have dielectric grease and siliconed, with this snorkel I might make it across.

I will test pointing the opening forward and rearward and see the results on my air filter. I know I will pick up more dirt so I'm going with a K&N filter so I can clean it after a good run.

If it's a fail, I'm out $35 bucks.

 

[fierodough]

Opinions are like assholes, and well I always have one about snorkles. They are , as you say Red Neck. If you are that need in water, you are either wheeling in the wrong place or going too fast through the water. The next issue is, snorkles like lights are just a tree magnet. You will spend more time worrying about breaking your snorkle off on a tree or actually doing more damage to the tin because the snorkle was there. Just my .02

You are never wheeling in the wrong place! (well unless it's private property or maked as such that we are not allowed. ) but if I could make my Tracker capable of crossing the ocean, you can bet I would attempt it!

This is the video that inspirted my decision to go this route:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Tsz_SMF5I

If I could pull that off it would be fun! LOL! (not there yet!)

 

[quickspool]

Uhm its called the carp trail? That "unmaintained " road often has hi water crossings that definitely at times is over the hood. I myself prefer the mud/water type wheeling. Not everyone wants to go superflex rock crawling.

 

[Andy4802]

I gotta agree with John on this...
Failure rate with snorkels is pretty high, especially with home made PVC ones. also your air intake is not the only place water can get in to your motor... also also, your motor is not the only place you want to prevent water from entering!

 

[Kunker]

Uhm its called the carp trail? That "unmaintained " road often has hi water crossings that definitely at times is over the hood. I myself prefer the mud/water type wheeling. Not everyone wants to go superflex rock crawling.

Not the part of Carp that I've run on several occasions with the club - there is 1 mud hole that is rather deep, but the rest are puddles, unless you're wheeling a Subaru.

 

[Kunker]

I gotta agree with John on this...
Failure rate with snorkels is pretty high, especially with home made PVC ones. also your air intake is not the only place water can get in to your motor... also also, your motor is not the only place you want to prevent water from entering!

That was my thought - are all your vent lines (trans/diff) extended that high? Dip sticks locked down and sealed well? Having seen the inside of my frame recently, deep water/mud is something I'd rather avoid - it's pretty much completely packed with crap.

 

[fierodough]

All my electrical connectors have dialectric grease and silicone and some even have heat shrink tubing. My ecm has been opened up and greased and then wraped in a bag. My dif vents are extended and my oil dip stick can be taken out and caped for wheeling.

Not sur about my gas cap however... I might have to find a way to test that.

To top it off.. I often get stuck. lol. Once I get a winch installed, i want to be able to keep the truck rinning to minch myself out.

I understand that some of you guys are really hardcore offroaders whe spend sevel thousands in the "best of the best" upgrades. But i just want to go out there and have some fun.

At the cottage, we have a large bay. I think I can cross it. *evil grin*

 

[mudturtle]

comes down to it that u do what u want to do,,guys that run the mud curse at the rock crawlers,,guys that rock crawl curse the guys that run the mud,,,lol,,ive done both over the past 20 years,,i like to trail ride and rock crawl but at the same time if i see mud im in it,,lol,,

 

[whateverworks]

I guess some people like working on there rigs when they are full of mud and ried up crap a couple days later...
To each there own mind you.
I hate it myself... Nothing worse than trying to repair something wether it be wet or dry and cakes of mud falling in your eyes even with safety glasses on.
Even after a decent pressure wash you will find mud n dirt in some of the most obscure places holding moisture to create rot spots that will be a serious pain in the ass to fix with a welder due to all the silt caught in those areas.
Like I said... To each there own desisions...
Kelly

 

[Kunker]

Like they said, to each their own. If it's something you enjoy, go nuts in a responsible way.

At the cottage, we have a large bay. I think I can cross it. *evil grin*

My only comment here is, if you are serious, think about the image you are putting out to all the other cottagers about wheelers, especially if something goes wrong and you leave a big oil slick across said bay. It's fun for you, but the negative image can cause everyone in the sport to lose access to many trails as a result.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[fierodough]

Like they said, to each their own. If it's something you enjoy, go nuts in a responsible way.



My only comment here is, if you are serious, think about the image you are putting out to all the other cottagers about wheelers, especially if something goes wrong and you leave a big oil slick across said bay. It's fun for you, but the negative image can cause everyone in the sport to lose access to many trails as a result.

Just my 2 cents.

I get what you are saying here but that's pretty much grasping at straws. Like I described in my "waterproofing" mods, It would be very hard for me to leave an oil slick in our (private) bay. The only thing that will get hurt is my pride, not nature or any bystanders. If you take a look at the slicks left from boats being lowered or retrieved from the water and people filling boats on the water, I'm on nature's good side.

The only thing left for me to "test" first is my gas filler. I don't know if anything can leak in our out from there..

 

[Andries]

You wanna play in water that deep, check out wheels a' churnin in north augusta three times a year. Big hole, private property, and altogether a fun weekend. Public creeks, ponds, streams, etc. are not the place. There's enough people out there that wanna shut us down, we really don't need to give them any ammo...
IMO

 

[mudturtle]

wheels a churnin is a blast,,,lol,,dont no what the guy meant about working on a muddy 4 wheel,,having mud falling in your face?????,,i had a jeep yj 4 14 years and was in mud holes every weekend with it,,and there was never any mud or build up of dirt anywere on it,,not even in the frame,,when i came home i took the time and cleaned it all off,,the frame was org from 87 and was still like brand new when i sold it last summer,,no dirt build up anywere on it either,,

 

[Kunker]

wheels a churnin is a blast,,,lol,,dont no what the guy meant about working on a muddy 4 wheel,,having mud falling in your face?????,,i had a jeep yj 4 14 years and was in mud holes every weekend with it,,and there was never any mud or build up of dirt anywere on it,,not even in the frame,,when i came home i took the time and cleaned it all off,,the frame was org from 87 and was still like brand new when i sold it last summer,,no dirt build up anywere on it either,,

Feel free to swing by and crawl under my 85 CJ any time - you'll enjoy the dirt shower, and the frame rails are packed up at least 1-2"s with crap. Hopefully they last a couple of years so I can build a new frame.

 

[mudturtle]

should have taken the time and cleaned it out more when u were done playing,,lol,,i always cleaned mine when i was done,,even inside the frame,,,my toyota i have now the frame is pretty much closed all in so the dirt cant get inside,,and other the the t case cross member theres nothing underneath that the dirt can stay on,,,lol,,im not trying to start a fight guys,,im just saying if u take the time and clean when your done playing it wont get built up with crap,,,

 

[fierodough]

LOL, my rig is dirtyer than yours fight! WIN! LOL!

 

[Richard]

While many are trying to convince you to stay out of the water (with good reason), they're also in the BTDT and moved on crowd like myself. So if you're not going to be convinced to stay out let's at least try to keep nasty fluids in your truck instead of the water. To that end some items got missed: your power steering box, coolant overflow, and transmission or t-case shifter boots.

 

[Kunker]

Richard,

How did you deal with the fuel system? In thinking about this more last night, you can't draw from a vacuum (which a totally sealed gas tank would create). Vent line on the charcoal canister? Or is there another vent point I'm not thinking about?