Water Crossings

There are several basic considerations before attempting a water crossing:

• Know what you are getting into. If you are not familiar with the crossing, and especially if the water is not clear, walk it first. This lets you confirm depth, if there are underwater obstacles, and rate of flow. If you have trouble staying on your feet, don’t drive your vehicle into it. Read more about floodwaters here.

• After walking the crossing and determining your best line, consider the vulnerable mechanical aspects of the vehicle and prepare the vehicle for crossing. Consider if you have a snorkel and breather extensions. If you don’t have breather extensions or your brakes are hot, you may need to pause to allow critical drivetrain components to cool down before entering the water.

• I recommend low range, second gear (never change gears during a water crossing), and engage any diff lockers you have.

• If in a group and at all concerned, prepare for a recovery, front and rear. This may mean connecting bridles or recovery straps to rated tow points and preparing your winch. If someone is less confident, consider hooking them up with a recovery strap to follow the most capable vehicle across.

• Wind down the downstream windows. This provides an emergency escape route should you lose electrics. Leave the upstream windows wound up as they are more likely to let water in. Leave your seatbelt on.

• You should enter the water at a fast walking pace (about 10km/h) and keep a steady pace through the crossing. You want to create and maintain a bow wave, which reduces the water depth in your engine bay.

• Pause on the far bank to drain water from your vehicle back into the water crossing.

• Dry you brakes after the crossing by lightly applying brakes for about 10 seconds while driving

Check out these videos of Eyre Creek in South Australia in May 2024. The creek was uncrossable due to flooding at the QAA Line and deep but crossable at the bypass: