THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

I was able to take a much needed camping/sightseeing trip in the Gwagen to Quartzite Az. for the big flea-market, then it was off to Oatman (where wild mules roam), then to walk around the Hoover Dam, spent a night in a hotel room in Vegas to clean up and reset, then back to BLM camping and off-roading in Mojave. 940 miles total on the 39yo Puch and not one hiccup.

The trip was great and the Mojave trail is amazing to sleep on but on the last day and just as I had found an outlet off the desert trail that led to the pavement again, there was water covering a 20ft stretch with no other options. I made a rookie error and assumed. Who would think it would be more than 6" out in the dry desert?? Well it turned out to be at least 3 feet deep! I came very close to stopping as the wave was starting to cover the headlights. I admit, I got nervous this time. I'm also without snorkel... for now, until I can save up.

It didn't quite make it over the hood and I made it to the other side, luckily. I was not happy about the exposure though since I had another 3 hours of highway to go before home. At home and after a thorough re-greasing, new diff oil and bearing check, it occurred to me the next day that the winch had been submersed.

Most winches on 4x4's are planetary types. I'm not aware of any of them that are actually sealed against water other than the higher priced commercial grade versions and even then, I'm not sure how well they are sealed up or how long that really lasts. I dont personally think putting a bunch of silicon sealant on them is a good idea. Another problem is even if a sealed one lets a little water in, it's trapped.

It sucks but you really have to open them up after heavy water exposure. Here's why... the red is water/rust. You can see where about 2oz poured out on the bumper. The grease was fine so I just let it sit in the sun for 5 hours where it dried. The grease looks that way new; it's actually most commonly used in aircrafts (AeroShell 33MS/64), in case you were wondering!

And here's a couple pics. I already need to get back ASAP.

The mule was waiting at the entrance of a store in town where they sold snacks for people to feed them.

Great scenery! I really need to visit that area some time - bucket list item!
And thanks for the heads-up on the potential winch issue. I remember crossing a snow-melt swollen creek south of Williams, AZ quite a few years ago and being surprised how deep it turned out to be. Fortunately (for me) it was a rental vehicle but no harm was done.

Vince,

Was that the Mojave river crossing near Afton Canyon campground?
That was running about 3' deep this past October. A number of the
Mogfest guys did that crossing and got water just at the hood line.

I guess it has to be. I'm sure there was some option to go around it but I wasn't thinking at the time, obviously. It's odd how it can be that dry all around it but still remain that deep.

Water crossings like that were fun at one point in my life and I did plenty in the SIII Land Rover, even going deep enough to go over the hood a couple times, but now all I can think about it is the problems it brings with it.

I forgot to add that when I changed gears, my clutch was slipping when I came out of that hole, so it got deep. At least it wasn't muddy.

Yup, there's a bypass. Rasor Rd., intersects with Mojave Rd and goes up to the "15".
I had to take it a few years ago, as the river was in the 3' range. There's another
bypass Basin Rd., closer to Afton but goes through some mining operation, doesn't
show on my maps, you get there then they tell you to turn around

Oh I was looking for Basin before that, which I had been on before but more north. I had never been on that last section before and didn't know about the "river". I have a topo GPS which was showing the short cut but the mine really messed me up! Yeah the roads, when viewed on the ground, are very confusing around that mine. I drove on the railroad-road the rest of the way.

Like all equipment - winches need to be dismantled regularly (once a year if used often) and have the grease etc replaced and properly resealed so water cannot get in. Certainly as minimum what you have done - check it after a dunking.

Garry