Mid life crisis Cali Swamper!

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

In a depth of water where a snorkel could be useful, wouldn't the Cali's diesel heater cop It?
I've always been wary of that depth of water, rightly or wrongly

Make sure the heater is off and not hot prior to entry in water. I also have a rubber cap that covers the exhaust outlet and put this on before entry in water to prevent ingress. I bought it from Oryx in Germany.

For a river crossing it’s unlikely to cause damage. If driving in a flood for a long period (or sitting standing in water) you may have some ingress into the air intake for the heater. While there are kits to raise the intake for the heater I didn’t bother as every specialist told me the heater just needs to dry out and might take a few attempts to fire up. So far I’ve only done river crossings but with the rubber cap on the exhaust I’ve been fine. This is the most exposed part as the heater itself is behind the underbody protection. So if you keep moving at a steady pace you shouldn’t have any issues.


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[wildslammer22]

In a depth of water where a snorkel could be useful, wouldn't the Cali's diesel heater cop It?
I've always been wary of that depth of water, rightly or wrongly

You can buy a bung for the diesel heater exhaust, unless you’re doing long sustained crossings in deep water the heater will be fine ie no problem for the odd ford or flooded road. If you plan on doing a lot of water crossings a raised intake and gearbox/diff breathers are more important than a snorkel.

I have a raised air intake on mine but not a snorkel, this takes the intake up around a metre, if you went in anything that deep the van would float!

Snorkels are really more for dust and sand unless you get the sealed ones. TBH a snorkel on a Transporter is mostly for aesthetics and the sound they make!

 

[Defender90]

In a depth of water where a snorkel could be useful, wouldn't the Cali's diesel heater cop It?
I've always been wary of that depth of water, rightly or wrongly

I have the answer

Waterproof silencer for air heater, suitable for VW T5 / T6 (price inc

Waterproof silencer for air heater, suitable for VW T5 / T6 (price includes deposit)

www.gtv-van.com

Also

VW T6 Gearbox vents for greater fording depth

VW T6 Gearbox vents for greater fording depth<br /> <br /> To prevent transmission damage due to passages through water, the vents for gearbox, transfer case and diffe...

www.gtv-van.com

 

[Nand0]

Looks great brother! We're expecting a dump of 26-30cm's starting in an hour throughout the night. Will be going up the mountain behind Pilatus to go have some fun myself!

where be that cheeky place then?

 

[Nand0]

Headed into Dartmoor for some snow last night. Rescued a car that was stuck in a car park this morning. Had to abandon the walk after a couple of miles as was too deep for the pup.

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OK, I'll say it, that is one sick looking van. I'm tempted to put some mean wheels on mine, alas, a two tone van would not look anywhere near as mean as that

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

where be that cheeky place then?

In this case we went to Eigenthal and parked at the end of the public road after the small bridge. Went snowshoeing with my daughter and built some snowmen.

However WikiLoc (available also as an app for mobile) is your friend for finding great and legal off road trails. I’ve used it in Switzerland and Germany in the Black Forest so far and it’s been great. Just need to setup your filters properly to remove the low rated posts of locations. Sort activity by Off Road.


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[wildslammer22]

OK, I'll say it, that is one sick looking van. I'm tempted to put some mean wheels on mine, alas, a two tone van would not look anywhere near as mean as that

Thanks! My van is actually two tone - black and indium grey but it does look mostly black in that picture.

 

[Nand0]

Thanks! My van is actually two tone - black and indium grey but it does look mostly black in that picture.

Really couldn't tell from the picture...

Mine is blue and white. Luckily it's dark blue, otherwise with swamper wheels it might just look like a smurf with hiking boots.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

Really couldn't tell from the picture...

Mine is blue and white. Luckily it's dark blue, otherwise with swamper wheels it might just look like a smurf with hiking boots.

Don’t tell that to this guy:

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[Nand0]

Don’t tell that to this guy:

I would... but it should be white top and blue bottoms for a smurf

 

[wildslammer22]

In this case we went to Eigenthal and parked at the end of the public road after the small bridge. Went snowshoeing with my daughter and built some snowmen.

However WikiLoc (available also as an app for mobile) is your friend for finding great and legal off road trails. I’ve used it in Switzerland and Germany in the Black Forest so far and it’s been great. Just need to setup your filters properly to remove the low rated posts of locations. Sort activity by Off Road.


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I’ve just downloaded it, thanks for the tip. I wasn’t expecting there to be many UK trails as ‘green laners’ as we call them over here are very secretive about where the permissive trails are! There are actually a few not to far away that I will explore, mostly on Salisbury Plain where I run the risk of becoming tank shooting practice for the army!

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

I’ve just downloaded it, thanks for the tip. I wasn’t expecting there to be many UK trails as ‘green laners’ as we call them over here are very secretive about where the permissive trails are! There are actually a few not to far away that I will explore, mostly on Salisbury Plain where I run the risk of becoming tank shooting practice for the army!

There’s also an app called iOverlander 2 which I check as well as it has spots that aren’t on WikiLoc. Glad to help!


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[wildslammer22]

There’s also an app called iOverlander 2 which I check as well as it has spots that aren’t on WikiLoc. Glad to help!


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I’ve been using iOverlander for several years but wasn’t aware of Wikiloc

 

[The Merle]

I’ve just downloaded it, thanks for the tip. I wasn’t expecting there to be many UK trails as ‘green laners’ as we call them over here are very secretive about where the permissive trails are! There are actually a few not to far away that I will explore, mostly on Salisbury Plain where I run the risk of becoming tank shooting practice for the army!

Lots of them out Salisbury are very overgrown so expect to scratch up that lovely paint. Lots of great parkups out that way

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

Lots of them out Salisbury are very overgrown so expect to scratch up that lovely paint. Lots of great parkups out that way

In places like this I put on some track tape (like temporary PPF) to prevent that. Even more important with the high roof!


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[The Merle]

In places like this I put on some track tape (like temporary PPF) to prevent that. Even more important with the high roof!


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I cheat and tend to walk them with the dog when south

 

[wildslammer22]

Lots of them out Salisbury are very overgrown so expect to scratch up that lovely paint. Lots of great parkups out that way

I still haven’t polished out some tree rash from my recent France trip!

 

[Cali-donia]

OZ Rally Raid wheels fitted with 235/65/17 Falken Wildpeak. Really happy with the look and ride, fitted them just in time for the bad weather

 

[JuanVecino2023]

OZ Rally Raid wheels fitted with 235/65/17 Falken Wildpeak. Really happy with the look and ride, fitted them just in time for the bad weather

View attachment 131056

I do like the Fortana & black combo. Looks great.

Rally Raids still high on the list to replace my parsimonious steelies.

Lovely!

 

[larrylamb]

parsimonious

that's a big word for 7.58AM

 

[larrylamb]

I do like the Fortana & black combo. Looks great.

Makes all the difference with red. Goes from steady eddie to cool in one move.

 

[Cali-donia]

What is the best pressure to run Falken Wildpeak 235/65/17s at? I have them all at 48PSI (cold).

I think I’m going to keep them on all year, they’re great for the single track roads about here. Does anyone know the going rate for gloss black 18” Springfields and tyres?

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

What is the best pressure to run Falken Wildpeak 235/65/17s at? I have them all at 48PSI (cold).

I think I’m going to keep them on all year, they’re great for the single track roads about here. Does anyone know the going rate for gloss black 18” Springfields and tyres?

I run them at 3.5 bar / 50psi


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[RoB5urf]

What is the best pressure to run Falken Wildpeak 235/65/17s at? I have them all at 48PSI (cold).

I think I’m going to keep them on all year, they’re great for the single track roads about here. Does anyone know the going rate for gloss black 18” Springfields and tyres?

I've been running at around 45PSI just because it was suggested on another forum. I might try 48-50 instead to see if my mpg improves. Its definitely taken a hit since changing from 235/55 but not entirely unexpected given the tread pattern and the increased radius.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

I've been running at around 45PSI just because it was suggested on another forum. I might try 48-50 instead to see if my mpg improves. Its definitely taken a hit since changing from 235/55 but not entirely unexpected given the tread pattern and the increased radius.

I should note that my van is much heavier than a Cali and this makes a difference. With fully loaded water and diesel tanks and all my gear I’m driving around at 3.2T weight. Anything less than 3.5 bar cold and I could feel it via the suspension and pedals and see more bulge in the sidewalls than I was comfortable with.

In a Cali you could theoretically go with lower Tyre pressure for the same result. Just need to know your vans weight and adjust accordingly.

Many will say just use the pressure on the door card sticker. Mine say 2.4 bar. That is totally unrealistic with the change in Tyre dimensions as well as the build of the Falken Tyre. These have 3 ply Duraspec sidewalls for more durability off-road and can handle/require more pressure for street use. Of course when going off-road you’d want to air down depending on the surface (sand, gravel, mud)


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