First Mojave Trail trip, need advice.

Joseph Mongillo

Joseph Mongillo

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Traveler III

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Camarillo, CA
First Name
Joseph
Last Name
Mongillo
Member #

13100

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KM6WLT
I'm new to the camping / off roading / overlanding hobby. I'm going to hit the Mojave Trail in about two weeks and am particularly concerned about the water crossing at the end. I have a stock 2009 Tacoma with some BFG KO2s on, but no lift, no snorkel. Am I going to get the interior of my car wet? Will the water damage any of my electronics? Will I drown my engine?

All advice is appreciated for the trail, but the water crossing is what I'm mostly worried about right now.
Thanks
 
Water depth varies with season and weather. You will have to look at it and make your own determination. That is part of the adventure. Don't feel pressure to do something risky. You can always backtrack a few miles and exit at Basin Road. Your vehicle manual likely lists the maximum water fording depth. A general practice at unknown water crossings is to walk it first to determine the water depth and the bottom condition (rocky, muddy, sandy, firm). I believe there are two crossings in Afton Canyon.
 
That is pretty deep. My Jeep manual says 30 inches max.

Once it is up on the doors, it can start to get inside. Even if the door seals hold, there are drains in the bottom of the door which will allow water to start flooding the door cavity. Eventually it will find a place to pour into the cab. This is where time becomes important. Longer time at depth will allow more water in. I'm curious how much water gets into doors and people don't realize it? Look at the bottom of your doors to see the holes.

Joseph - Look under your truck to understand where the vents for your front axle, rear axle, and transmission are routed. You do not want to go in water deep enough to allow water in those vent tubes. Also, understand where your air intake is for the engine.

If you are going solo, consider Basin Rd. exit.

Jeep water fording vid
 
I did the trail two weeks ago in my stock FJ Cruiser. It did the water crossing fine, water depth was 30". Like others have said, it does vary. And we just had two storms roll through, the most recent was also the largest on Thursday/Friday. It was my first time as well. I would caution against staying too far to the left, a guy before us did that and he couldn't keep momentum, it was so heavily pitted he was bouncing like a he was in a washing machine.

I went just left of center and it was smooth sailing. Like others have said, it's your call, and do get in over your head. Remember you need to drive that home. A snorkel isn't really going to help either, you'll fry electronics long before you start pulling water into your air intake. IMO. There's a catch basin and drain hole under your air filter. I have a video of me doing the crossing two weeks ago, I'll try to post it on youtube so I can share it. My only mistake was coming in too fast. So the splash did go over the hood, but it was just the splash, I wasn't submerged.

Do you know how to ride behind the wave? When you enter you'll create a wave and there will be a significant dip in water height behind that wave. You want to stay in that zone riding just behind the wave. That will keep your engine bay in lower water than the back half of your vehicle. My FJ had factory front diff and trans breathers so I only had to add a rear. Definitely, find out, and extend those diff breathers if you think you will do the crossing. You don't want the rapid change in diff pressure due to fast cooling to suck in water to your diff.

Most of all have fun, it was an amazing trip and the water crossing is literally that last 100 yards of trail. So don't focus too much on it. There is a ton of adventure the other 140+ miles.
 
Ver
OffWheelin said:
Good points. Also good you that extended the breather tubes. I didn't find anything about Tacoma, but I found this about the FJ Cruiser:
Click to expand...

Very cool, thanks for sharing. I figure diff breathers are a must. If I'm going deeper than 30" (Trail Teams sits a bit higher than stock 4x4 FJ mostly due to larger stock tires I think). then I'm not doing it because usually water that deep is moving pretty good. Mojave Road is different, 30"+ just sitting there, lol.
 
Thank you guys for all the feedback! This helps alot already. After posting here I was able to find it suggested elsewhere to keep the water below the bottom the the door, which seems to more or less align with your guys advice. I'll decide when I get there and see how deep it is, and stay to the left if I do. I'm working on relocating the rear breather, but I haven't heard of a tranny breather before.

FrankRoams, I know the FJ and Tacoma share the same chassis. Do you know where your tranny breather is located so I can check for one also? Also I'd like to see the video of your crossing when you get around to posting it!
 
Joseph Mongillo said:
Thank you guys for all the feedback! This helps alot already. After posting here I was able to find it suggested elsewhere to keep the water below the bottom the the door, which seems to more or less align with your guys advice. I'll decide when I get there and see how deep it is, and stay to the left if I do. I'm working on relocating the rear breather, but I haven't heard of a tranny breather before.

FrankRoams, I know the FJ and Tacoma share the same chassis. Do you know where your tranny breather is located so I can check for one also? Also I'd like to see the video of your crossing when you get around to posting it!
Click to expand...

My trans and from diff breather comes up in the front half of the driver's side in the engine bay. It sits on the batter side right across from the front of the block. You'll see two tubes coming up with silver caps. they're clipped together. I'll get that vid posted. ;)
 
Sorry, I misspoke. It is actually the transfer case breather.

All of those devices have vents to accommodate changes in elevation and temperature. In operation they warm up and air vents out. When they cool, such as hitting cold water, air is drawn back in. That is why it is important to keep them above water level.
 
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Joseph Mongillo said:
I'm new to the camping / off roading / overlanding hobby. I'm going to hit the Mojave Trail in about two weeks and am particularly concerned about the water crossing at the end. I have a stock 2009 Tacoma with some BFG KO2s on, but no lift, no snorkel. Am I going to get the interior of my car wet? Will the water damage any of my electronics? Will I drown my engine?

All advice is appreciated for the trail, but the water crossing is what I'm mostly worried about right now.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Maybe we will see you. We will be on the trail starting around the 23rd.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using OB Talk mobile app
 
Joseph,
We're trying to be in that area in a couple of weeks and were considering a Mojave trip until our planned second vehicle backed out. If the timing works out ( we're waiting for work on the truck to complete in Yuma ), are you interested in another vehicle?

We're tent campers in an '18 ZR2. Have done some off road ( Hell's, Fins, Elephant Hill, a few dozen others ) and overland (white rim, El Camino ) trips. We're not really experienced, but we're not noobs, either.
 
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@Joseph Mongillo last year at about that same time, end of March, we took several/many vehicles through. The lowest was a stock Chev Colorado. He made it without any problem.
I was there last weekend (3/4/18) and it seemed slightly deeper but still no problem for any of the trucks we had.

Do diff breathers if you'd want them, and like @FrankRoams said, the technique of the bow wave is very useful in water this deep. Go in a little slowly, then build up your speed to create that wave just in front of your hood line. However, don't concentrate so much on the two feet in front of your car that you lose track of what else is going on!.
You don't need a snorkel unless you've spent some time waterproofing everything else that needs it first!

You may get water in your doors, but it drains/dries. Don't be intimidated, but use caution. It would be better if there were a second vehicle but I get that some like to go it alone.

Lastly, take pictures, it's an epic trip.

Oh, and air down your tires too! For the sake of the passengers as well as the trail. I would think about 18psi on a Tacoma with KO2's is about right but that's only a suggestion.


Enjoy. Dan.
 
This is a new Jeep JL going through, it's a video but I snagged a still image of it (that's why its crappy!)
It's running 285/70-17 KO2's for comparison, which is about a 33" tire.
I'm not sure that's the deepest spot, but it doesn't get much more than that.

He did say afterward that the carpets were a little wet. Leaky Jeeps I guess :tonguewink:.

Stock_JL_Mojave_xing.jpg

Dan.
 
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@Eric and Jeanette and @James Feldermann I'd certainly be happy to have another OB member to cruise with, but our dates are already set for March 19 -21st so I dunno if I'll be able to time it with either of you. Eric and Jeanette, if you think you'll be able to make those days though, let me know!

@VCeXpedition I appreciate the info and the picture. I think I'll do as others have suggested and decide when I see the water level.
 
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Joseph -Our ZR2 has been in the shop for a while and we were supposed to get it back Friday, Mar 9, but they got the wrong parts, so it's now looking like at least Monday the 12th as the earliest we'll get it back. Possibly later. I doubt we can be there and ready by the 19th, but I'll let you know if the situation improves. For now, don't count on us. Thanks for the invite, though.

Joseph and James - We should be in that area for a week, however, so if you have a problem on the Mojave and need to reach out to someone who might be able to reach you and help, you can call or message if you have a signal. Feel free to PM me for contact info if you'd like it.
 
James Feldermann said:
Ok. It's looking like we will start the trail on the 22nd. I think we are going to do it West to East and head up to Death Valley entering through Titus Canyon.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using OB Talk mobile app
Click to expand...
I messaged with someone that just finished the Mojave a few weeks ago in a pickup like mine ( it was a ZR2 Facebook group) and he said they had all seven vehicles including his do the big river crossing and none of them had issues.

Hope that helps.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using OB Talk mobile app
 
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Here's the video of that water crossing 3 weeks ago. Also, don't go this fast lol. I was having a little too much fun with the skinny pedal but all was good and the huge wake actually worked out, putting water following the wake below my bumper. lol. You can see the headlights peeking over the wake. Still, not recommended you come in anywhere near this fast

Jbr_8yxsYGg
 
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