How to best cross a deep-ish river with a large EUC

[FlyboyEUC]

Ok, let me immediately shoot down the people who'll say "just get an A2" by saying that a minimum of 2700wh is required for the route(s) I have in mind. Additionally, the river is too deep (roughly 12-20 inches or 30-51 cm deep) and too soft (silt and small rocks) to ride through. Wading through the water while carrying an 80+ lbs (36+ kg) wheel chest high also doesn't sound like much fun. Lets get creative here.

Requirements:

• What you pack in, you must pack out. All items must be able to fit in a pack and be able to ride a wheel over dirt roads for say 20-40 miles.
• Wheel must stay dry (at least enough to be functional). Water can't touch batteries, motor, or control board.
• Preference to have dry feet. I don't like soggy shoes and socks.
• Group rides and solo rider scenarios should be taken into account.

Ideas:

• For keeping feet dry, I think trash bags on each leg will suffice. Simple enough. Easy to pack in and out.
• For the wheel
  • Maybe have multiple people hold each corner of a tarp to carry each wheel over? (Group ride)
  • Have some sort of way to tandem carry a wheel. (Typing this out is really helping me solve my own problems ). This idea is sounding more simple and practical then any other, assuming there are multiple people and they can hold the wheel high enough and safely above the water.
  • Bring some sort of inflatable big enough to support a wheel but light enough and small enough to fit in a back pack. (Solo or group)
  • Place the wheel in a large bag and drag it across on a tarp to prevent the bag from ripping along the riverbed. (Solo)

What other ideas do you have or have you done. I really want to do some routes but a river crossing is a huge turn off for people, me included. 

[Roadpower]

Hmm, first off any cotton or denim clothing is a hazard because of how they hold water. For this reason I have come to much prefer work clothes like Dickies because if I get caught in the rain I know they will dry surprisingly fast. Synthetic fibers use to be a concern for me long ago but these days I prefer them for usability reasons. I don't know what time of year you plan on doing this but assuming modestly warm temps I would just gear up to strip down to swimming trunks when it is time to cross the water.

I like the idea of using an inflatable raft and that might not be such a terrible idea since it is likely several people in the crew are going to have air pumps, I'm wondering if there are any such inflatables that come with more than one valve stem to inflate with. You are obviously going to want to have not just the protection and carrying ability of the raft but also protection on the wheel. In addition you will want to protect the raft from punctures so every person bringing a wheel will need to inspect their wheel for anything sharp and then deal with that prior to the trip.

On Amazon I used search terms like "inflatable raft" and "utility raft". I think you want small enough so as to not be a pain to inflate (and low weight) but large enough to sustain a wheel above water. If the raft idea ultimately sounds like too much to deal with I would then resort to commercial grade thickness garbage bags sometimes called contractor bags, and I would test those before taking them on the trip.

[Cerbera]

And we definitely do have to solve this problem then ? Can we not just move the route downstream a bit until we find a bridge ? There is bound to be one somewhere, no ?

Edited March 25 by Cerbera

[alcatraz]

If you have time, a tiny inflatable raft and slippers. Take your shoes and socks off .

If you want to cross quickly then a heavy duty garbage bag and like crocs type of slippers with toe protection. Take socks and shoes off. If there's any way to inflate a heavy duty balloon/floatation device and attach to the wheel inside the bag you won't have to carry its entire weight. Or if you can seal the bag somehow. 

My wife has vacuum bags for clothes so they use up less space. Something like that comes to mind, but in reverse (no vacuum). They're relatively hard to puncture.

[Litheenty]

4 hours ago, FlyboyEUC said:

Ok, let me immediately shoot down the people who'll say "just get an A2" by saying that a minimum of 2700wh is required for the route(s) I have in mind. Additionally, the river is too deep (roughly 12-20 inches or 30-51 cm deep) and too soft (silt and small rocks) to ride through. Wading through the water while carrying an 80+ lbs (36+ kg) wheel chest high also doesn't sound like much fun. Lets get creative here.

Requirements:

• What you pack in, you must pack out. All items must be able to fit in a pack and be able to ride a wheel over dirt roads for say 20-40 miles.
• Wheel must stay dry (at least enough to be functional). Water can't touch batteries, motor, or control board.
• Preference to have dry feet. I don't like soggy shoes and socks.
• Group rides and solo rider scenarios should be taken into account.

Ideas:

• For keeping feet dry, I think trash bags on each leg will suffice. Simple enough. Easy to pack in and out.
• For the wheel
  • Maybe have multiple people hold each corner of a tarp to carry each wheel over? (Group ride)
  • Have some sort of way to tandem carry a wheel. (Typing this out is really helping me solve my own problems ). This idea is sounding more simple and practical then any other, assuming there are multiple people and they can hold the wheel high enough and safely above the water.
  • Bring some sort of inflatable big enough to support a wheel but light enough and small enough to fit in a back pack. (Solo or group)
  • Place the wheel in a large bag and drag it across on a tarp to prevent the bag from ripping along the riverbed. (Solo)

What other ideas do you have or have you done. I really want to do some routes but a river crossing is a huge turn off for people, me included. 

I faced a similar challenge crossing a river with my EUC. Solo, I opted for the inflatable method, using a sturdy packable float to ferry the wheel across. Worked like a charm and kept everything dry. For group rides, coordinating a tarp carry seems efficient. Good luck with your crossings!

[Tomallo]

How wide is the river, and is it a spot that other people are coming to sometimes as well? Or people with kayaks frequent there, perhaps?

Because if that's something you're intending to do regularly, maybe it'd be worthwhile to create a makeshift raft out of some wooden planks and plastic jugs, for example. And tie it to both banks of the river so you can drag it across from either side. That's assuming it wouldn't disturb anyone else here, of course.

[Rawnei]

If you can't ride around to a bridge doesn't sound like a great place for a PEV

[Dan Cobar]

How long is the water crossing?  How far away from car access?  Are there any tall trees?

Trees!! Can you find a spot where you can tie a rope around a tree branch and suspend the wheel and pull it over with another rope?

[FlyboyEUC]

Wow. Thanks for the replies. Hopefully I'll answer all the questions. The exact crossing is here. I can't really go up or down stream without some serious bush whacking or crossing international borders . The max depth is maybe 16 inches and the width looked to be about 10 yards or so. There is seasonal deep grass and marsh area around it. There aren't very many trees in this area. Ideally, I'll plan to go during a dry season but the river is feed by a reservoir so it could potentially be there year round and spring time is just so gorgeous and not sweltering hot. I love riding in this area because I can ride 18 miles along the Mexican border wall and the views are stunning. This makes the route extremely unique and worth it to ride around and explore.

Typically it has been an out and back since I can't quite make a loop out of it (been trying for 4 years). Last year I planned a route coming from the east but then noticed this river in the way. There is no chance of car access to the river (locked gates that we have permission to ride around) and the border patrol actively patrols the area. I've run into them many times and they just tell me to be careful. There are no bridges in this remote area. It is surrounded by mountains. I was worried about an inflatable popping with all the sharp corners and spiked pedals, but a good quality inflatable or a tarp might suffice. I'll do more research and maybe try of a team left during the next group ride to see how practical it is. I also do want to cross rather quickly because the U.S./Mexican border is VERY ACTIVE. People are constantly trying to cross over, so I don't want to linger in any one spot for too long. I've seen many people hiding from the BP and many more being detained by them.

 

A video of the terrain and area can be seen in the playlist below. I usually explore this area from the north or west. I'm currently editing the video of my exploration from the east which is way more fun but the river separates the two sides. All the brown in the video is a lush green with wild flowers in the spring time.

 

Edited March 28 by FlyboyEUC

[Dan Cobar]

OK, you've answered all the questions I may have had.

Can you make something like a wheelbarrow frame with two wheels that you could place your EUC into that would keep it above the water.  You would still need to take your shoes off and use crocks or something.  If it's small enough, and you paint it camo, you could hide it in the area, so you only have to pack it in once.

[Paradox]

@FlyboyEUC how would your loop look as opposed to this out and back ride?

 

[FlyboyEUC]

15 hours ago, Paradox said:

@FlyboyEUC how would your loop look as opposed to this out and back ride?

This is the western leg. What is missing is the South, East, and North legs. The map below is more or less the route. The rides I've hosted are only the left portion of it. You can see all my routes on my Komoot profile: https://www.komoot.com/user/1423707589907 just search for Otay or mexican.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tebrQ5isfmncosAB8