Driving through deep water (fording)

[JasonG]

Ok, so it's getting wet out there.
Lots of areas are having some flooding.
I know the old ma-deuces will go through 5or6 got of water.
We've all seen Russian log trucks crossing rivers.

How deep have you taken your truck?
There had to be some good stories in this bunch!

Back when I lived in Florida my buddy and I would go around after a storm in my old diesel pick up and pull people out for a few bucks. Hey, no spark plugs to get wet
The old mechanicals could get pretty deep. Not to sure about the waterproofness of the newer electronic engines.

 

[Truck Shop]

I remember some years back a driver for a sand and gravel company would drive through a big mud puddle leaving the pit loaded. He would try to splash
the fancy trucks coming in. He took a two week vacation came back and first trip through the puddle sank it up to the headlights. The truck was a Freightliner
conventional with frontal air intake in the grill. It pushed water through and past the filter. The shop cut two of the connecting rods out with a torch.

One of the pit loader drivers had been driving a 988 loader through that puddle while the dump driver was off:bouncegrin.

Truck Shop

 

[td25c]

I generally shy away from crossing flooded roads in a car or truck .( It's a judgment call depending on currant situation ) . To many " pit falls " & unknowns . My choice on a wheeled vehicle crossing high water would be a farm tractor or Max ATV .

http://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?11556-Digital-television&p=168029&viewfull=1#post168029

 

[JasonG]

Well shoot TD, we'd all prefer an ATV or farm tractor.
I'm thinking more of a "the roads are still flooded but I've got work to do" type of situation.
That Holmes 750 of yours should fare well.

 

[td25c]

Yeah Jason , years ago late 1980's before we had cell phones my buddy & I decided we would drive to town in his jacked up Dodge Power Wagon during a flood . Got to the point had water in the cab , cooling fan on the engine was starting to pick up water and that's what ended it .

Distributer got wet and there we were . Waded out & hiked to the next home to call the Old Man .

He pulled us out & hauled the truck back home with the wrecker . Oh yeah , buddy & myself both got an earful from the Old Man .

That pretty much weened me from crossing high water unless I could afford to loose the vehicle .

 

[td25c]

Pipe line companies would also do this on some river crossings . Pile some trees in the river , cut down the bank a little & go diddy bobbin over the edge .

D7G dozer with winch would go first , if lucky he would make it to the other bank and then stall out on the slope . Then send in another 7 to push the first dozer to terra firma .

Then first dozer cuts down bank on opposite side & assists with winch getting everyone else across .

That's how they would do small river & creek crossings .

And once in awhile they would loose a dozer .

 

[JasonG]

What's this distributor thing you talk of? LOL
Great story on the pipe line guys.

 

[td25c]

Great story on the pipe line guys.

Yeah Jason , those pipe like cats would get pretty froggy with the equipment . One strict rule they did go by was staying inside the property " rite of way " line .

Depending on the job it might be 75' wide . In flat country that's pretty easy . Hill ground with river bottoms it can be a challenge .

Keep in mind these were " cost plus " jobs . A pipe line company loosing a dozer would be like you or myself loosing a 9/16 wrench .

 

[td25c]

What's this distributor thing you talk of? LOL

I uttered the same words when my Jeep Grand Cherokee shut down on me one day .

Opened the hood .... Where the hell is the distributor ? Good lord .... don't even see the spark plugs or wires !

Called my buddy with a rollback & let him deal with it .

Turned out it was simple , crank shaft sensor . What ever the heck that is ?

 

[bam1968]

A number of years I loaded a load of cattle in southern Texas just north of the border. They were to be delivered just south of Emporia KS. I had called the rancher while enroute to get directions but he neglected to tell me about the 2 'Missouri crossings' I had to cross for some reason. I don't really know how deep the water was mainly because it was still pretty dark out (sun was just starting to come up). But I'm guessing the water was less than a foot or so deep but it looked like 4 ft when I first came up on them.