First Group @ Moab Off-Roadeo: Bronco Drive Notes & Video

[ICUGAZN]

This video might help. When dodging trees and rocks it was helpful. You maintain great control of the steering wheel. I guess we learn something new every day.

It's funny becasue if you watch any of the Texas Off-Roadeo videos, you no the drivers that keep blowing their horns on the trails are not suffle steering.

Sponsored

 

[ICUGAZN]

I can't wait to start seeing more video for the 3 new locations. I probably won't schedule my trip until I get my Bronco. So i'm torn between the new locations.

 

[ScoutandBronco]

Bronco6g,

I live in Denver, CO region so I had been waiting for the Off Rodeo Moab location to announce availability. When they did I furiously signed up and found that the off rodeo first availability was August 16th (today), and that corresponded to my Birthday. I saw “the sign” and instantly registered.

What an amazing experience, we were the first ever group run through the Moab location today and we got to run the trails hard. The whole team made us feel welcome and a special shout out to our Trail Guides Jeff and Mandy who were simply amazing. We had flexibility in choosing lines and we ran the trails fast, we ran these trucks HARD and the Bronco didn’t care, it just kept going and ate up Moab.

They took us out to a Moab trail called ‘Dom Plateau’, its a rated 4 (or 5) level trail and we absolutely ‘killed it’. Section after section I grew more and more confident in the Bronco and what it can do. I can’t state it enough, we ran the trail FAST and HARD, doing things I would have considered abuse but it simply wasn’t abuse for the Bronco.

Here is a quick and dirty ‘iPhone memories’ video for those that want to watch only 1/16th of what we did, unfortunately I didn’t get many of the bigger obstacles on my iPhone. I did get some on my go-pro but that will take me some time to edit.




My Personal Notes of the Bronco after running this Moab Trail:

• * I have on order a 2.7 Badlands automatic, I will be calling my dealership this week to upgrade to Sasquatch package. I drove a wildtrak and it was awesome, I wasn’t missing the sta bar disconnect. I was able to cross the trail with ease, however the badlands behind me with 33’s several times had some rubbing and I did not.
• * The front and rear locking diffs on the top of the dash with quick on and off engagement are game changers. It’s so easy to flip both the lockers on before a large hill and turn the fronts right off after you up. I found myself toggling them on and off on demand naturally. WOW. (Didn’t realize how amazing that would be)
• * The trail turn assist is no joke, especially on the 4 door, i had one point been wondering would it actually be useful on the trail or just fun in the sand. OMG was it useful on the trail in several tight turns, it was amazing.
• * I had been wondering for a while if manual would be the way to go. The automatic is where its at no question after this trail ride. Specifically when your in 4 lo the transmission programming is so good. It will with purpose as soon as you let off the accelerator try to shift down and engine brake you. It engine brakes HARD. It’s exactly what you want when running the trails. It’s no question better including the trail turn assist in my mind (which I’m glad no more wishful thinking towards the manual I have to deal with personally yay)
• * The one pedal where you’re just on the gas to mimic two feet driving, maybe I just need more time to get used to it but it seems like a gimmick, at first it felt awesome, I tried several times to make it work but there is an issue. I will try to explain: If you just take the gas pedal and say the gas pedal travel from barely on to full gas is 0-100 range, then when in one pedal mode the same gas pedal now has a 0-500 range, where you have to push the pedal down WAY more then you would in normal circumstances. As you come down off an obstacle the vehicle is moving all around you and its instinct to get off the gas when your coming down off a cliff and the bouncing of the cabin makes your foot move on the pedal slightly. Unfortunately this causes the bronco to ‘panic brake’ which is exactly what you didn’t want, you wanted to slow to a gentle roll.
• * The GOAT modes was all useless when in 4LO, they all required 4HI. No goat mode for trail running, I wasn’t missing it since I was flipping the lockers on and off with ease as we went. No muss no fuss.
• * There was legit concern by the off rodeo team about a specific order in which to park the Bronco. Come to a stop, shift to neutral, put on park brake, let off regular brake, then move shifter to park. I don’t know the route cause for that concern.
• * Noise levels on the road with the hard top and 35’s tires was a non issue, per Apple Watch it was 60db, which is the same as one of my current Honda Civic. I will call my dealer and upgrade to the 35’s. Road manners and everything where all there and I was happy.
• * Sport mode on the wildtrak, I didn’t find the point in it. The automatic has so many gears anyways that no matter if your in normal or sport on the road the auto shifts so much to respond to your gas pedal it doesn’t much matter. It doesn’t map to sport mode in a 6 speed like you would think where gears could be held onto longer and had a bigger dynamic range where you would want to hold something. With this 10 speed it is a constant shift fest, it takes some getting used to. As such the sport mode I don’t think really matters. I wont miss it in my Badlands after this trip. (Yay)

Thank You to everyone at the Bronco Off Rodoa team for making it a trip to remember and letting us run in Moab. I simultaneously can’t wait to get my Bronco and are willing to wait longer knowing it will be worth it after today. Anyone on the fence absolutely should go, you will learn what your rig will be capable of.

Let me know if any questions.

Thanks for the write up and feed back!

 

[tracythemighty]

Great write up!
I believe the reason for coming to a stop, then neutral, parking brake, then Park is to make sure the drivetrain is unloaded and not causing unnecessary strain/wear on the drivetrain components…..that was the explanation at the Raptor Assault.

So I've been using my parking brake wrong all this time, or are you only talking about manual transmissions?
Just so I have this straight, I should put it in neutral, then put on parking brake, then put in park? I am seriously the worst driver that I didn't know this. Thanks!

 

[brettclutch]

I did not go for the extra insurance. The post drive inspection was just a simple walk around, scrapes underneath was expected. They accept that these things are going to get run hard it seemed from my trip.

The scariest part was pulling out from the location... the gravel they have in the parking lot is just the perfect size to get stuck in the teeth of the tires. I was flinging rocks for 5 minutes straight on the road right after we pulled out. I suggest if you go to give some space for the rocks to fling out, that was the only part I was concerned that I didn't have the insurance was a rock from ahead cracking the windshield or dinging up the panels. Just keep it out of the trees and you'll be fine.

As to the +1's, there was no 'mommies' on the trail, I don't think they would care who drove. Its all on you to 'switch out', there wont be anyone telling you to switch or even watching or caring. The trail guides were focused on the group not what any individual was doing was my 'read' on the situation.

Yes I think I was 6 but I switched with someone pulling out. Glad to meet you on here!

Someone asked about 4L vs 4A. Its fundamentally different, you'll notice as soon as you drive. Simply spoken, 4L takes all 10 gears of the transmission and makes it so that the max speed you can go is ~45 MPH because your in 10th gear and 'wound out the transmission'. This means you have a TON more torque between 0-45 at the wheel. It makes it possible to spin the tires will trying to climb an obstacle. 4A is more similar to 4H in the sense that its not the low range gear box but the high speed gear box but it tries to smartly apply power front and back depending on what is slipping/grip with clutch packs.

Hopefully I answered everyone's questions.

 

[Panzer948]

Bronco6g,

I live in Denver, CO region so I had been waiting for the Off Rodeo Moab location to announce availability. When they did I furiously signed up and found that the off rodeo first availability was August 16th (today), and that corresponded to my Birthday. I saw “the sign” and instantly registered.

What an amazing experience, we were the first ever group run through the Moab location today and we got to run the trails hard. The whole team made us feel welcome and a special shout out to our Trail Guides Jeff and Mandy who were simply amazing. We had flexibility in choosing lines and we ran the trails fast, we ran these trucks HARD and the Bronco didn’t care, it just kept going and ate up Moab.

They took us out to a Moab trail called ‘Dom Plateau’, its a rated 4 (or 5) level trail and we absolutely ‘killed it’. Section after section I grew more and more confident in the Bronco and what it can do. I can’t state it enough, we ran the trail FAST and HARD, doing things I would have considered abuse but it simply wasn’t abuse for the Bronco.

Here is a quick and dirty ‘iPhone memories’ video for those that want to watch only 1/16th of what we did, unfortunately I didn’t get many of the bigger obstacles on my iPhone. I did get some on my go-pro but that will take me some time to edit.




My Personal Notes of the Bronco after running this Moab Trail:

• * I have on order a 2.7 Badlands automatic, I will be calling my dealership this week to upgrade to Sasquatch package. I drove a wildtrak and it was awesome, I wasn’t missing the sta bar disconnect. I was able to cross the trail with ease, however the badlands behind me with 33’s several times had some rubbing and I did not.
• * The front and rear locking diffs on the top of the dash with quick on and off engagement are game changers. It’s so easy to flip both the lockers on before a large hill and turn the fronts right off after you up. I found myself toggling them on and off on demand naturally. WOW. (Didn’t realize how amazing that would be)
• * The trail turn assist is no joke, especially on the 4 door, i had one point been wondering would it actually be useful on the trail or just fun in the sand. OMG was it useful on the trail in several tight turns, it was amazing.
• * I had been wondering for a while if manual would be the way to go. The automatic is where its at no question after this trail ride. Specifically when your in 4 lo the transmission programming is so good. It will with purpose as soon as you let off the accelerator try to shift down and engine brake you. It engine brakes HARD. It’s exactly what you want when running the trails. It’s no question better including the trail turn assist in my mind (which I’m glad no more wishful thinking towards the manual I have to deal with personally yay)
• * The one pedal where you’re just on the gas to mimic two feet driving, maybe I just need more time to get used to it but it seems like a gimmick, at first it felt awesome, I tried several times to make it work but there is an issue. I will try to explain: If you just take the gas pedal and say the gas pedal travel from barely on to full gas is 0-100 range, then when in one pedal mode the same gas pedal now has a 0-500 range, where you have to push the pedal down WAY more then you would in normal circumstances. As you come down off an obstacle the vehicle is moving all around you and its instinct to get off the gas when your coming down off a cliff and the bouncing of the cabin makes your foot move on the pedal slightly. Unfortunately this causes the bronco to ‘panic brake’ which is exactly what you didn’t want, you wanted to slow to a gentle roll.
• * The GOAT modes was all useless when in 4LO, they all required 4HI. No goat mode for trail running, I wasn’t missing it since I was flipping the lockers on and off with ease as we went. No muss no fuss.
• * There was legit concern by the off rodeo team about a specific order in which to park the Bronco. Come to a stop, shift to neutral, put on park brake, let off regular brake, then move shifter to park. I don’t know the route cause for that concern.
• * Noise levels on the road with the hard top and 35’s tires was a non issue, per Apple Watch it was 60db, which is the same as one of my current Honda Civic. I will call my dealer and upgrade to the 35’s. Road manners and everything where all there and I was happy.
• * Sport mode on the wildtrak, I didn’t find the point in it. The automatic has so many gears anyways that no matter if your in normal or sport on the road the auto shifts so much to respond to your gas pedal it doesn’t much matter. It doesn’t map to sport mode in a 6 speed like you would think where gears could be held onto longer and had a bigger dynamic range where you would want to hold something. With this 10 speed it is a constant shift fest, it takes some getting used to. As such the sport mode I don’t think really matters. I wont miss it in my Badlands after this trip. (Yay)

Thank You to everyone at the Bronco Off Rodoa team for making it a trip to remember and letting us run in Moab. I simultaneously can’t wait to get my Bronco and are willing to wait longer knowing it will be worth it after today. Anyone on the fence absolutely should go, you will learn what your rig will be capable of.

Let me know if any questions.

Great review and I concur. I just returned from Moab's Day 2 event and can't agree more with your assessment (note, I have only had time to read your first post and not any comments afterwards).

Great group running that show with awesome enthusiastic guides. Yes I too wasn't sure really why on parking break sequence and did find myself still applying it after putting it on park (by accident) but never saw an issue.

I liked your thoughts and recommendation on the Sasquatch Package. I was so focused on making sure I picked a vehicle with 2.7L engine (which they all ended up having anyway) I ended up with a Badlands with 33" tires. Note that most of the Badlands they had there were non Sasquatch! Anyway my 33" tires did rub a bit more I think than some of the others woth 35" tires although it was hard for me to tell since I also lucked up and was the lead Bronco... others said they could watch my lead and adjust if necessary.

I also agree they were very open with your line and my guide stressed basic 4x4 controls over the GOAT modes. I only used it once while driving in thick sand (sand mode)... which was pretty fun!

Just make sure you select which vehicle you really want at beginning since there isn't really any opportunity to change up.

Finally, on another post I had mentioned that I was going to rent a locally modded Jeep Rubicon for 2 days prior to the Off Rodeo Event. That we did and it was great but I am glad we did it first as it wasn't half as fun as doing this even with the Bronco (but was a good build-up and practice). First of all the Jeep we rented was super modified with 37" tires. However it handled alot worse than our Bronco on road (we got to drive our Broncos about 15 miles or so on scenic two lane road each way to trail). Although the Jeep was pre aired down to about 20 PSI which didn't help its on road performance; still steering was vague and even had a "death wobble" feel between 35 and 40 MPH. In comparison Bronco drove like a regular car to me on road! Off road I can't say which was better since I didn't have a guide with the Jeep but this Bronco sure felt just as capable since I pushed it harder and in more technical situations than I ever dreamed of with the Jeep! Below is pic of the Jeep comparison.

 

[Panzer948]

I would also like to know if the additional add on people get to drive or just how that works..... I might have a few coming with me and was curious what their experience might be like and how it does or does not differ from the primary experience.

Hi I can also vouch for this... as I did have a "mommy" with me along with my 12 year old daughter. Mommy did get to drive but not daughter (no she was just fine enjoying the trail).

The guide was very cool about giving my wife some seat time and actually encouraged it. She was nervous at first but quickly fell in love with off-roading the Bronco... She actually surprised me with her ability since she had 0 off-roading experience but that also goes to show how great a vehicle it is. Of course she is even more sold now on our purchase decision .

I think our group was unique in the fact there were three sets of couples (we had the only child). I think atleast one other significant other got some seat time.

 

[goatman]

Finally, on another post I had mentioned that I was going to rent a locally modded Jeep Rubicon for 2 days prior to the Off Rodeo Event. That we did and it was great but I am glad we did it first as it wasn't half as fun as doing this even with the Bronco (but was a good build-up and practice). First of all the Jeep we rented was super modified with 37" tires. However it handled alot worse than our Bronco on road (we got to drive our Broncos about 15 miles or so on scenic two lane road each way to trail). Although the Jeep was pre aired down to about 20 PSI which didn't help its on road performance; still steering was vague and even had a "death wobble" feel between 35 and 40 MPH. In comparison Bronco drove like a regular car to me on road! Off road I can't say which was better since I didn't have a guide with the Jeep but this Bronco sure felt just as capable since I pushed it harder and in more technical situations than I ever dreamed of with the Jeep! Below is pic of the Jeep comparison.

Nice pic going down Long Canyon. Was there two months ago and one day did Gemini Bridges out to the highway, then went down Long Canyon to Potash Rd and back to town along the river. Nice day. I came back through Moab least week and got to tour the Off Rodeo facility and check out the Broncos, which was very cool! I'll be at the Las Vegas event next month.

 

[Panzer948]

Nice pic going down Long Canyon. Was there two months ago and one day did Gemini Bridges out to the highway, then went down Long Canyon to Potash Rd and back to town along the river. Nice day. I came back through Moab least week and got to tour the Off Rodeo facility and check out the Broncos, which was very cool! I'll be at the Las Vegas event next month.

Yep thats almost same route I did in a day but included Dellenbaugh Tunnel trail which ended up being the most similar trail to the Dome Plateau Trail we did today in Bronco.

 

[cardad]

Very good review. Your point about the advantages of Sas is something people should listen to. That extra clearance and increase in angles is important.

I was at the same OFFROADEO driving a Badlands with 33s. We did do a decent amount of “hard” stuff, but I think driver skill has a lot to do with clearing obstacles. I basically kept the sway bar disconnect on the whole time and it automatically disengaged above 20. It made the ride very smooth and I only needed to use lockers in some form 3 times. I don’t think I had issues clearing anything other than what others in 35s also scraped on. Personally, after driving the Badlands with 33s and no camera I felt a lot better about losing some options to save a few bucks.

The 35s look cool but I’ll bet your mileage will suck due to the extra weight and the extra weight will harm some areas of performance. I averaged slightly above 8 mpg including the freeway portions so the trail mileage was basically about 7 mpg with the 2.7 L.

Personally, I plan to drive the 33s and if I need to upgrade I’ll look at a stage 1 lift from Loren Healey’s company and go with 37s and better tires than the stock Sas tires. But for a family off-roader I think the 33s were totally sufficient on your “average” Moab trail. If you need more clearance you’re going to want 37s and additional mods.

A few additional thoughts though: the stock stereo is horrible and the soft top will be regrettable if you live in a hot or cold climate. It was 103 F in Moab (where I live) and the entire roof was radiating heat. The AC kept up just fine, but turbo Fords make loud, awful sounds when running the AC at idle on hot days. I always fear something will eventually break. For efficiency I think an insulated roof is sensible.

Also, the door glass seems very light and wobbles like crazy when you open the door. I agree that GOAT modes were gimmicky. Land Rover’s automatic system seems much better for novice drivers.

Overall, that extra articulation from the sway bar disconnect seems far more valuable than 2” of clearance. We did a test where the wheel was maybe a foot off the ground and with the sway bar disconnect it dropped ~6”. This was on a Sasquatch Badlands. I made a video so you can check it out yourself.

 

[cardad]

It's funny becasue if you watch any of the Texas Off-Roadeo videos, you no the drivers that keep blowing their horns on the trails are not suffle steering.

It was my experience that the horn protrudes quite a lot on the Bronco wheel and you didn’t really need to be “crossing” to hit it. I honked 4 times just steering hard where I wouldn’t want to shuffle or move my hands because I’m just steering and then immediately going back straight. So to some degree there is a design flaw.

I think Ford probably knows this might be an issue and they’re trying to alter driving techniques to compensate for it. One noteable thing was that the wheel really unwinds fast when you’re going from a hard turn back to straight. It was pretty intuitive but also quite noticeable how fast it spun.

 

[HardenUp]

Did you find the trial less technical? Between your video and what BN posted, it seems “easier” than the other locations.

 

[TimBee]

So I've been using my parking brake wrong all this time, or are you only talking about manual transmissions?
Just so I have this straight, I should put it in neutral, then put on parking brake, then put in park? I am seriously the worst driver that I didn't know this. Thanks!

Yes, for automatics and manual. I was apparently using the parking brake wrong as well until I learned this!!! Essentially, put the load/strain on the parking brake and Park/1st gear (manual) acts like a back-up in case the parking brake fails/disengages.

 

[da_jokker]

Several folks with BL have installed 34" or 35" tires w/o SAS (note the SAS tires are 34.4"). SAS only adds 0.4" of lift but fitting bigger tires is important. Since all the Broncos need a little leveling IMHO, I plan to either (1) add 1" front and 0.5" rear, or (2) just add just 0.5" front spacer.

So the $2,500 Sasquatch package for a BL really just boils down to tires? I guess I could see $500 per wheel of you count the beadlock wheels.

 

[RubyRedGT]

Did you find the trial less technical? Between your video and what BN posted, it seems “easier” than the other locations.

I have done most of the trails in Moab, from easy to difficult, and this is one of the easiest trails.

Sponsored