We didn't properly scout the puddle. Figured it was like the other ones we had run into but longer. As it turned out mudders or someone with huge tires had been in there and completely rutted out the track so the bottom fell out from underneath me. My cute little 265's couldn't find anything to grab hold of and I sat down on the differentials.

It was a stupid mistake made my a guy who was too busy living in the moment. The whole trip was a blast irregardless but I should have been doing a better job of thinking things through. We did much better as a group after my incident.

As far as preparing for water crossings I would read this multi-part article from Central Overland. It does a great job of covering water crossings.

Water Crossing 101: Part One - Central Overland

3rd Gen specific I would check to make sure all your breathers are raised, not just assume they are because you read it on the internet. ;) I'm running a snorkel with definitely saved me in the mud puddle as my air box was in the water but for almost all the rest I've run across it has been unnecessary.