Fording-shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle.

First things first:

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE FORCE OF FLOWING WATER.

Some fundamentals-

Water weighs about 62 lbs per cubic foot, and generally moves at 6-12 MPH. As a vehicle enters water, 1500 lbs of buoyant force is applied per foot; basically meaning that a vehicle weighs 1500lbs less for each foot of water.

For each foot of water applied to the side of a vehicle, there is about 500 lbs of lateral pressure applied.


SOOOOO, let’s put this into perspective. A stock 4Runner weighs about 4,000 lbs. So, it takes about 2 .75’(rounded up) to “float” a 4Runner, before it fills with water. That’s not a whole lot. Remember, the front end will go down before the ass end, because of the engine and such. Your ass end WILL float before it fills with water, and your front end will most likely be the driving wheels, because of the lack of anything to keep the water out of the engine bay.

Now, a 4Runner is about 180”, give or take 3” per year differences. The 96-98 versions were 178.7”, and the 98-99 were 183.2, and the 01-02 were 183.3. That’s ABOUT 15 feet long. Remember, water places about 500 lbs of lateral force on an object PER FOOT, so, 500 lbs x 15 feet =7500lbs of force against a 4Runner. Plenty of force to move it out of the way.

Toyota rated the STOCK 3rd Gen 4Runner to “ford” about 700mm of water, which equals 27.55905511811024”, so we’ll say 27.6”. That’s about the height of the stock tires. 2.75’ of water is 33”. The height of where a stock intake tube is on a 02 Runner is approx 37".

Think your truck would make it? There’s a decent possibility, but still not sure I would want to try it without some help around.

Think of what we’ve done with our trucks. We’ve lifted them, armored them, put bigger tires on them.

The lift will help raise the stock “fording” depth. The armor will help keep the rig SOMEWHAT weighted in the water, especially on the front.
BUT, the bigger tires will also create more buoyancy. Why? Because they hold more air.


We’ve all see the videos of the rigs that will wade through just about anything, and come out unscathed. HOW DO THEY DO IT?? They have a snorkel, for one.


The relocation of the intake above the hood of the car can and will do wonders for a vehicle. HOWEVER, you need to make sure it’s sealed. As stated in the above post, the stock intake is only about 2-3” below the top of the motor, in the front fender facing backwards. The only thing that is protecting the intake is the plastic piece of fender liner. That’s it. All the grime that gets slung up from the tires doesn’t make it into the fender because of this little piece of plastic.

There are also three holes in the air box that need to be sealed, or water will work its way into the intake system. You also need to find a way to get the lid of the air box to seal.

Moving the intake above the roof isn’t the only place it needs to go. Putting it in your cab can be just as beneficial, as long as it’s done right. I’ve seen people use flex-able drain pipe for “snorkels”. Really some pretty creative stuff out there.

Anyway, back on topic.

Moving the intake is step #1 in being able to wade through some deep stuff.

Step two is to know a couple of physics of water, most notably water displacement.
Water displacement is when an object moves water out of the way. While doing so, the water fills in whatever spaces it can in said object.

So, you take a vehicle, and drive it into a pool. The water is going to move out of the way of the vehicle, but then come right back and fill in all the spaces it can. The space between the rims, the engine bay, and eventually the body, until the pressure equalizes on either side of the object. IDK if I should say equalizes, but it reaches the same level inside and outside the vehicle, because it’s not water tight.

Now, obviously the water level is going to be higher, because you’re adding mass to the water. The engine, tires, rims, body, all that take up space. So, these all displace water. When the water reaches equal pressure inside and outside the vehicle, the level is still going to be higher than it once was, because there is solid material in the water, displacing it.

Boats float on top of the water, because they don’t allow water to get into the hull, while they still displace a massive amount of water.

Submarines use water displacement to fill and drain their ballast tanks, to sink or float, respectively. Water in the tanks makes the sub go down, air in the tanks makes the sub go up.

Along with the displacement, is, what I guess you would call, resistance. Take your hand, palm down, and make it glide through the water. Not much resistance and you can move it fairly quickly, right? Now, take your hand, with your palm at a 90* angle to the water, and do the same thing. Gets pretty difficult, huh?

Notice when you push your hand through the water, you create a wave in front of your hand, and a negative space behind your hand. That is the same thing you are doing with a vehicle, a boat, or anything else that you put into the water, known as a “bow wave”.

The “bow wave” is what really saves a vehicle. This is the water that is being pushed out of the way, going around and under the vehicle. As long as you’re moving, and keeping that “bow wave”, you MIGHT be ok with fording something to the headlights.

BUT, the moment you stop moving, you’re screwed.

Which leads me to the next point: NEVER STOP. You stop, you’re screwed. Said it once, I’ll say it again. NEVER STOP.


Here’s some basic things to do IF you have to “ford.”

1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE TO. If there’s another possible way around, in a shallower spot, look for it. Look for the BEST possible spot to go across.

2. Walk the area. If you live in the SE, you know that what looks like solid ground can actually be the famed “clay”. Get stuck in that, and you’re straight ****ed. Ain’t nothing gonna help you.

Walk up and down the bank, looking for the best area to cross. Wade out into the water, if it’s warm enough outside, or you have a change of clothes, and make sure the river bottom is solid, and there’s nothing under there that you’re going to get stuck in.

IF YOU CAN’T WADE IT, DON’T CROSS IT.

3. Have your recovery gear ready to go. Nothing sucks more than waiting to be pulled out of the water. Ask me how I know……

4. If you have someone else that is with you and they have a winch, as long as the crossing isn’t more than their winch cable, hook up to them. That way, if something goes wrong, they can pull you straight out.

So now you’re prepared to cross a river. You’ve probably got a bunch of emotions going on. “WTF am I doing?” “What happens if I get stuck?” “How do I get home if I kill my rig?” Take a deep breath. Relax. Paranoia breeds paranoia. Relax, and focus on the task at hand.

EASE YOUR WAY INTO THE CROSSING. DO NOT PUNCH IT. This is probably the biggest mistake that people make. “Fording” isn’t mudding.
“You see the hole, you think about it, slowly ease in, then its balls to the wall till your motor blows.” No. Not fording. EVER.

Again, EASE into the crossing, and keep a STEADY FORWARD momentum. You want to keep the RPMs around 1500-2000, keeping that bow wave in front of the rig. DON’T STOP. DON’T USE THE CLUTCH. The gas is the only thing that should be being used.

Hopefully, you’re already in 4wd. If not, then you’ve got some balls….

If you stall the rig, get pulled out right away. Some people will say to try and start it, but if you’ve got water in your motor, there’s a probable hydrolock.

People say to lock em up before you get in. I’m a little different. I prefer to use the lockers WHEN I get stuck, not IF I get stuck. Just a matter of preference. All it takes for me is the flip of a switch. I can see why you’d want to lock them up before, but I can also see why people wait to lock em up.

You’re going to get in, and realize that your ass end is floating. DO NOT STOP. Keep moving forward. The front wheels WILL pull you, then, when the water enters your rig and weighs it down, your back wheels will push. As long as you are moving forward, keep going. DO NOT STOP.

Once you get to the other side, CHECK EVERYTHING. Let your motor run in case you’ve gotten any water into the intake, or on any electrical components. We all know the motors get warm, so let them to the drying.

If water got into your body, open the doors and let it drain out. Hopefully it didn’t get any of your more vital electronics.

Congrats. You’ve just crossed a river.

Remember, our rigs ARE NOT HMMWVs(HumVees). They’re made to be on the road, not going through 3 feet of water. BUT, they can. You just need to take the appropriate steps to be able to do so, and hope you didn’t over look anything.