Ditch lights AND a snorkel?

[Fstduc]

AEV snorkel, amazon light bracket

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[GATORB8]

Not trying to muddy the water (pun intended) on this issue, but I was always told the snorkel was for clean air on dusty trails, not necessarily for water crossings. I know there are some applications where it is used strictly for water; however, the large majority are not designed for that purpose. Before you buy, I’d ensure you get the right one as per yours and the manufacturer’s intended design.

I always thought it was because the vehicle owner thought it looked cool.

j/k.

First time I remember seeing them commercially was Safari Snorkle out of Austraila who sold the dust thing as a secondary benifit. They've been part of the water fording kits on military vehicles for a long time.

 

[CBIRD]

Yet, nothing you did proves that you needed the snorkel or didn't risk damage to other components.
A water sock over the filter or a water-resistant filter could have handled that fine. However, submerging your axles, transmission, engine in water gets water in to the differentials, transmission, and risks electrical issues. Cool, you skirted by issues, that doesn't mean its SMART.
Here's an analogy ... if you want to avoid heart failure and you smoke, drink, eat junkfood every day and don't do any cardio ... cutting out junkfood, may reduce your risk by 10%, but you're still probably going to have an issue someday. That's how risk works. So, if you want to *do it right*, go all the way.
The problem is that the inexperienced Jeepers out there don't know any better. The huge marketing engine for aftermarket upgrades tell them that they need a snorkel, a hi-lift jack, a +5hp air filter, that they can increase their MPG with the SuperPowerTunerPlug+ExtremeEdition, etc. The reality, for those of us who have been doing this for decades, is that we KNOW that bolting on something rarely does what its advertised to do and usually the "fix" is much more time intensive and costly to do *right*.
If he gets a snorkel and starts doing deep water crossings, there's a HUGE likelihood for an expensive failure and one that the manufacturer's warranty won't pay for once they discover the water. Should you still do it? Hell yeah, but take the extra 4-6 hours to do it RIGHT.
Or, if its never going to see water and this is for aesthetics, know that those of us actual crawlers ... don't look at a snorkel and go "holy crap, that guy is a bad ass" ... we look at the snorkel and 33" tires on symbeadlocks and chuckle.

ooooooooh, you are an "actual crawler". Wow. Been doing this for decades. Cool. Because no one else on this forum can say that. Aren't you special. I have 37's and a snorkel and I wheel it in CO. I chuckle when I look at you "get off my lawn" guys who think you know everything and your way is the only way. Go buy a CJ-5 and start your own forum that only allows "actual crawlers". And yes, I owned one of those in the '80s. You must really be bitter about something (I can guess) to take all the time to try to shit on other forum members.

 

[Poorboyjeeper]

I love reading comments like above how unless you waterproof every electrical connector a snorkel is useless.
I have had snorkels on every Jeep I’ve owned, had water over the hood numerous times, never touched an electrical connector and have never had an issue with any connector.
And, I would much, much prefer to deal with an electrical connecter then straighten out a bent connecting rod from water intrusion.

After my 1st or 2nd wheeling trip in my current JL while doing routine maintenance I found the engine air filter nearly soaked with water. Snorkel went on shortly afterwards.

As far as cleaner air with a snorkel, in my experience the filter gets dirtier much faster if the snorkel inlet is facing forward.

 

[Poorboyjeeper]

Lost 2 motors to water. Run a snorkel on everything now.

 

[Mudduck]

Yet, nothing you did proves that you needed the snorkel or didn't risk damage to other components. His money, his Jeep.... proof enough he needs it if he wants it.
A water sock over the filter or a water-resistant filter could have handled that fine. Because a oiled filter or "water sock" will regurgitate water out of the airbox? When you put on a snorkle, you seal the box, so its not an issue as far as water in the intake. However, submerging your axles, transmission, engine in water gets water in to the differentials, transmission, Fluid changes, obviously. and risks electrical issues. Cool, you skirted by issues, that doesn't mean its SMART.
Here's an analogy ... if you want to avoid heart failure and you smoke, drink, eat junkfood every day and don't do any cardio ... cutting out junkfood, may reduce your risk by 10%, but you're still probably going to have an issue someday. That's how risk works. So, if you want to *do it right*, go all the way. Another analogy.... Don't be a penis, and you wont get beat up.
The problem is that the inexperienced Jeepers out there don't know any better. All mighty experienced JEEP God, please pass us peasants some of your overflowing cup of experience. The huge marketing engine for aftermarket upgrades tell them that they need a snorkel, a hi-lift jack, a +5hp air filter, (They have those?) that they can increase their MPG with the SuperPowerTunerPlug+ExtremeEdition, etc. The reality, for those of us who have been doing this for decades, is that we KNOW that bolting on something rarely does what its advertised to do My bumpers bump, lights do illuminate, winch does some winching, skids be skidding, Gears be turning, tires holding air, Rack be racking, cargo shelf holds that, lift be lifting..... What are you on about? and usually the "fix" is much more time intensive and costly to do *right*.Sounds like you did it wrong the first time.
If he gets a snorkel and starts doing deep water crossings, there's a HUGE likelihood for an expensive failure and one that the manufacturer's warranty won't pay for once they discover the water.(Its a extra layer of caution in the event he finds himself in a situation he cant back out of. its not so he can traverse lake Superior. (Not sure why this needs to be explained to you, with all your knowledge and all) Should you still do it? Hell yeah, but take the extra 4-6 hours to do it RIGHT. He/we will wait on your professional write up....
Or, if its never going to see water and this is for aesthetics, know that those of us actual crawlers ... don't look at a snorkel and go "holy crap, that guy is a bad ass" ... we look at the snorkel and 33" tires on symbeadlocks and chuckle. The internet is chuckling at you.... just FYI.

You're welcome.

 

[dragoneggs]

Re-think the lights, or the snorkel. The snorkel is almost never useful, and the ditch lights even less useful.

Huh? Studded tires, okay maybe not a great play. Ditch lights??? Your experience? You won't convince me as I have them mounted on my A pillar cowlings and find them very useful. Glad I have them. Wife loves them. Do you drive at night... in the country, narrow roads, tight turns, off-road?

 

[dragoneggs]

Snorkels and ditch lights were developed for a reason and it wasn't for mall crawling. Yeah for most, they are for show. I will argue that those who are poo-pooing them haven't experienced their benefits.

 

[Terrymo]

You're welcome.

You just made me spit coffee on my iPad ?

 

[NWJeepr]

People can decorate their rigs however they want. If you feel the need to carry a loaded weapon into a department store for "your safety" then driving around with snorkels for that one time (and only once) you're going to ford water that goes well over the hood, it starts to make some kind of sense. But the point is, it doesn't need to make sense to the rest of us, it's just a snorkel. Not a loaded weapon.

Does the bank know what you're doing with their Jeep? That's always a good question to start with.

Air filters do get dirty when you wheel. Bang 'em out or replace it if it's dirty, and change the oil. Clean out the throttle body if it needs it. Save the $300+ on a snorkel kit and buy a steak for dinner after a great day on the trail. That's my methodology.

 

[five9dak]

Snorkels scream "mall crawler".
They don't do much. I've heard it all ... "better air for the engine". No.
"Deep water". Ok, so are you disconnecting all engine plugs before trips to add dielectric grease? Did you raise diff breathers to the roof line? Can't seal the trans gearbox. Etc. Adding a snorkel doesn't make you suddenly be able to drive in 6' deep water.
Get the ditch lights and skip the neon sign that says "my most extreme 4wheeling experience was the speed bump at Applebees".

My stock TJ on 31s went to the mall, and it also had water over it's hood line on an offroad trip. I was lucky it was just a quick wave to crested over it. You don't need it until you do. I used to think snorkels were stupid, until that butt clenching moment. Never had a single eletrical problem on that jeep in 247k miles. And it was left door and windowless for 7 months a year, outside.

 

[wibornz]

Well I run a snorkel. I have the high snorkel and the low mount snorkel. I have had water over my hood many many many many times. Not like five or six times. More like 50+ times. There have been days where water was over the hood five or six times in one day.

This is what I run. It also includes an air box drain.

I do not typically run the high mount, but I do run it at times. It take less than a minute to switch from the low mount back to the high mount. In this picture. You can see that I run a set of ditch lights under the front turn signal.

I do not run the high snorkel when traveling as I think it cost me a bit in mileage. So my Jeep is set with the low snorkel 95% of the time. Like this.

A better pic of my ditch lights.

I did this water crossing four times this day.

video of it.


It should be noted, I WALK any water crossing that I think might get deep.

In this video, there are many times the water is over the hood. Jump to 4:15 for just the water crossing.

So this is what I would say about snorkels, ditch lights and some of the things I have read in this thread. Snorkels can be helpful in water crossing. More helpful is being smart about the water crossing and having the ability to address any failures if something goes wrong. Water in an engine is not a good thing. Balance out the risk.

Ditch lights. Note I am not a big fan of all kinds of crazy lights all over a Jeep. I think that money can be better spent on other things. I do use my ditch light occasionally. Truth be told, I don't care to wheel into the night. Yet it still happens and I will turn them on. Most wheeling is not done at high speeds. Also there is nothing worse than some idiot behind you with 100,000 lumen of lights lighting up the whole inside of your Jeep while you try and lead them on a trail. So if you are not leading turn that shit off. I blame this on YouTubers hyping products. None of you are driving on the trail at 100+mph. requiring all that light. The stock LED headlights are enough to irritate the fuck out of others already.


I !00% do not worry about electrical connections. They are all marine grade electrical connections and seal up tight. Never had an issue and I have had water in my Jeep up to the seats on the inside. My jeep probably get wheeled more in a two weeks than most do in two years. My 2019 JLUR has 113,000+ miles on it and it has been wheeled in just about every terrain. When traveling, it will get wheeled four to six times a week for months on end.

Now for differentials, transmission, transfer case and what on. They have vent tube that as a check valve that will allow air out and in, but will not allow water and dirt back in. They use a filter screen that allows air molecules to pass through, but not water molecules. It is basically the same type of material that is used in pre filter. like this.



Mind you, you call all believe what you want and I am not trying to change your mind. I am just passing on my knowledge and experience specifically aimed at the JL wrangler.

At the end of the day, I say it is your money, spend it on what you want. My high mount snorkel is basically for looking cool as I have no desire to have water to the top of my windshield. I do find that when we do extended Jeep travel with the side mount snorkel, my air filter is usually not as dirty as the others that are traveling with me. Not a big deal, as I change them often and more than I need to. They do make a snorkel pre filter that will remove the dust / more of the dust before it get to the air filter. I do not have any experience in that. Maybe someone will chime in that does.

 

[AcesandEights]

Huh? Studded tires, okay maybe not a great play. Ditch lights??? Your experience? You won't convince me as I have them mounted on my A pillar cowlings and find them very useful. Glad I have them. Wife loves them. Do you drive at night... in the country, narrow roads, tight turns, off-road?

Yeah.

 

[teedublya]

They do make a snorkel pre filter that will remove the dust / more of the dust before it get to the air filter. I do not have any experience in that. Maybe someone will chime in that does.

The ability to use a maintenance-free pre-filter was the main reason I installed a snorkel. For my planned (use?) case of traveling around Central and South America, I figured paper air filters might take some serious searching for. Hopefully I can keep the paper filter cleaner for longer in crazy dusty areas, have better filtration overall, and have the added insurance against water issues. Without all those benefits, I would have rather not put on a snorkel in order to keep the rig looking as discrete as possible.
I don't have enough miles on the setup yet to comment on how effective the pre-filter is, but have heard positive results from others. I would think some would be interested in the throaty sound the snorkel and Mopar cold air intake tube make, but if it were much louder with the passenger window down, I might reconsider it all.

 

[zonearc]

Ditch lights and snorkels are non-essential items. Everyone here saying one is more important than the other is using personal conjecture/opinion. If you don't do night wheeling and you don't drive offroad fast, you probably don't need them. If you drive dunes/desert above 40mph and/or trail/rockcrawl @ night, you want additional lighting because headlights are NOT enough visibility.
The same goes for Snorkels. 99% of the people buying snorkels buy them for looks and don't use them. Cool, so you are the .5% that use them ... awesome ... don't get your panties in a bunch over the fact that you are in the minority. But, my point earlier was that a snorkel doesn't make your rig a submarine. Everyone who responded said "yeah but" and then listed off reasons they didn't agree and THEN acknowledged things they did in ADDITION to the snorkel to increase their water fording ability. FYI ... that means you agreed with my point, you see that you probably should raise diff breaths, change gear oil after deep fording, etc.
Either way, you build your rig for what you will build it for. Assess that first. Will you drive offroad fast? Will you do night runs down challenging trails that require a spotter seeing under/around your vehicle? Will you go in to deep water? How much ground clearance do you need? Should your suspension be tuned for speed or travel? etc.

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