Even a Toyota Hilux cannot always conquer the forces of nature. Picture: X Speed and low range… those are two things real men can’t resist when it comes to cars. Speed in your highway ride shows you’re cool and slick.
Low range – as well as chunky tyres, bullbars and spotlights – on your 4×4 shows you are rough, tough and hard to bluff. Sadly, tough as you are, mother nature will bliksem you if you try to challenge her in the rainy season – 4×4 low range and the rest of the toys notwithstanding. Why irritated?
Because, no matter what the okes think, a Cruiser cannot conquer everything and trying it out could well cost you your life. Proper 4×4 experts, who have seen and done most of what is out there, will always exercise caution at a river crossing. In most cases, they will stop on the bank and wade a certain way in to determine two things: how deep it is and how fast it is flowing.
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The latter is the critical part of river crossings. Many of the videos of Cruisers and others crossing watercourses are taken when the water may be quite deep but is flowing slowly. Indeed, on diesel-powered 4x4s equipped with snorkels where the engine intake is placed well above the water, the “wading depth” can be impressive.
On the other hand, there are plenty of funny videos on YouTube of dumb British motorists trying to negotiate river fords after heavy rains in ordinary cars and finding out that, if you exceed your wading depth, not only does your car stall and stop, but you’re in for a hefty engine repair bill, because it will have seized solid thanks to the phenomenon known as “hydrolock”. That is when a large amount of water is sucked into the cylinders. Internal combustion engines normally deal with air, which can be compressed. Water – not so much.
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