Disappointing Off-rodeo in NH

[Will2497]

Sounds like the rain just made for a tough day.

I went on Sept. 19th and the weather was beautiful. Although we did have only one guide per group (8 cars), he let us loose to go ahead once he guided us over obstacles and had plenty of opportunities to explore the vehicles. Max amount of time we sat waiting for the rest of the group might have been 5-8 minutes, a little longer when we had to tow/recover the two door that was about to slide into a tree but it was a bonus lesson about recovery with another vehicle.

When I got in the car in the morning it had 147 miles on it, when I was done for the day, about 178 miles (so I drove about 30 miles); so it does sound like the rain just made for a tougher day, and hopefully not too many people skip out on NH based on this single review

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[Will2497]

Sounds like the rain just made for a tough day.

I went on Sept. 19th and the weather was beautiful. Although we did have only one guide per group (8 cars), he let us loose to go ahead once he guided us over obstacles and had plenty of opportunities to explore the vehicles. Max amount of time we sat waiting for the rest of the group might have been 5-8 minutes, a little longer when we had to tow/recover the two door that was about to slide into a tree but it was a bonus lesson about recovery with another vehicle.

When I got in the car in the morning it had 147 miles on it, when I was done for the day, about 178 miles (so I drove about 30 miles); so it does sound like the rain just made for a tougher day, and hopefully not too many people skip out on NH based on this single review

 

[Butzy]

I was @ NH on Sunday 9/26. There were 15 vehicles w/ two spotters. I don’t feel shorted at all. The NH trail was pretty technical with mud, trees, rocks and steep terrain. I honestly think seeing others go through the obstacles helps people determine their lines. See what works and what doesn't. I don't feel like I paid to drive the Bronco for 10 hours, I feelblike I paid to drive it and see what it's capable of as well as what it isn't capable of. Overall, I came away pretty damn impressed and a little enlightened. I drove a $40k base sasquatch where I would not have otherwise driven my own. Spotter Dan was on point and working hard all day and from what I gathered, Evan was also good. I do think the previous 2 days of rain made their jobs a bit more difficult. You get out what you put in.

 

[Shotsy]

I was @ NH on Sunday 9/26. There were 15 vehicles w/ two spotters. I don’t feel shorted at all. The NH trail was pretty technical with mud, trees, rocks and steep terrain. I honestly think seeing others go through the obstacles helps people determine their lines. See what works and what doesn't. I don't feel like I paid to drive the Bronco for 10 hours, I feelblike I paid to drive it and see what it's capable of as well as what it isn't capable of. Overall, I came away pretty damn impressed and a little enlightened. I drove a $40k base sasquatch where I would not have otherwise driven my own. Spotter Dan was on point and working hard all day and from what I gathered, Evan was also good. I do think the previous 2 days of rain made their jobs a bit more difficult. You get out what you put in.

THIS

I agree. Yes, there was a lot of stopping and watching, but I chocked that up to being all learning opportunities as I am a noob to off-roading. I went on 9/5 and we had two guides (Dan and Frank) who were awesome. The guides have to roll with the weather - it drizzled in the morning for us and was clear until the last hour or so on the trails, so we were able to do the granite crawl, which is weather dependent, to my understanding.

Overall, I think it was great and would do it again. Originally, I was confused about the 'negative' reviews for NH, but I went into it thinking it's a day of learning, so we wouldn't be driving 50 miles. Each 'obstacle' consists of getting there, talking about it, doing it, guides talking about how folks are doing it, then moving on. So if you go into it expecting you'll be driving non-stop all day, maybe the Off-Roadeo isn't for you.

 

[Murph914]

Asking out of ignorance, but it doesn’t look that crazy from the angle of the video…couldn’t they have just driven more or less straight through the middle of this and made it?

Fair enough question. Photos and videos never show how bad this terrain was. There were two lines one to the left and one to the right. Both were tough and maxed out the bronco’s suspension to the point if you stoppped at the right spot you’d teeter totter back and forth. Most of the day we were hitting or very close to hitting our bash plates and rims.

 

[Murph914]

That's unfortunate to hear. I did the Moab offroadeo a couple weeks ago and I think we did about 24 miles. We had 5 Broncos in our group with 1 guide in the lead Bronco.

From what I hear NH is quite a bit different than the others. It was super technical and we really just inched through the rock piles. Nobody really got stuck, but plenty of people had to stop and reverse out or stopped solid on a bash plate. If you want to see rock crawling go to nh. I would love to be able to do it again and try some higher speed stuff and sand out west.

 

[vrtical]

Yup you’re correct, just needed more guides. We had 2 guides for 4 Broncos when I went to Vegas it was fantastic

we had 1 guide for 6 and we moved pretty good at Vegas They said they try to do a guide per 6/7 vehicles, I went during the week to make sure I was in a smaller group, the weekends have like 18+ but they will staff the guides / groups appropriately. Sounds like NH was short on staff for that day.

 

[mjbk12]

THIS

I agree. Yes, there was a lot of stopping and watching, but I chocked that up to being all learning opportunities as I am a noob to off-roading. I went on 9/5 and we had two guides (Dan and Frank) who were awesome. The guides have to roll with the weather - it drizzled in the morning for us and was clear until the last hour or so on the trails, so we were able to do the granite crawl, which is weather dependent, to my understanding.

Overall, I think it was great and would do it again. Originally, I was confused about the 'negative' reviews for NH, but I went into it thinking it's a day of learning, so we wouldn't be driving 50 miles. Each 'obstacle' consists of getting there, talking about it, doing it, guides talking about how folks are doing it, then moving on. So if you go into it expecting you'll be driving non-stop all day, maybe the Off-Roadeo isn't for you.

Were you in the first group or the second group on that Sunday, as I was there that day as well. And i appreciated learning how much movement the vehicle would have on wet rock with minimal engagement of the throttle. Learned a lot as a newbie.

 

[Shotsy]

Were you in the first group or the second group on that Sunday, as I was there that day as well. And i appreciated learning how much movement the vehicle would have on wet rock with minimal engagement of the throttle. Learned a lot as a newbie.

Ha! I was in the first group. Had the blue two-door base squatch, last in the convoy. Dan used me as a guinea pig on the granite using the trail-assist and then the recovery winch stuff.

 

[SkyKing]

THIS

I agree. Yes, there was a lot of stopping and watching, but I chocked that up to being all learning opportunities as I am a noob to off-roading. I went on 9/5 and we had two guides (Dan and Frank) who were awesome. The guides have to roll with the weather - it drizzled in the morning for us and was clear until the last hour or so on the trails, so we were able to do the granite crawl, which is weather dependent, to my understanding.

Overall, I think it was great and would do it again. Originally, I was confused about the 'negative' reviews for NH, but I went into it thinking it's a day of learning, so we wouldn't be driving 50 miles. Each 'obstacle' consists of getting there, talking about it, doing it, guides talking about how folks are doing it, then moving on. So if you go into it expecting you'll be driving non-stop all day, maybe the Off-Roadeo isn't for you.

I know that you’d like to conclude that I was the problem here with unrealistic expectations, but on my trip, we had times where we were waiting 30 minutes or more wondering what could possibly be happening. My friends in back were calling me on the phone asking what was happening. Again we drove about 3 miles total with only a few technical sections. Other people on other Off rodeos got 40 miles in and said they spent almost no time waiting. My day was 90% waiting. Those are the facts. Again it was a fun day but very different than what most people have had.

 

[joeramirez]

That's a bummer. We went on a Thursday and it was great. Our instructor said Fri-Sun is very busy. Our group of 6 had a guide in the 1st Bronco and one in the 6th Bronco. I can't imagine how bad it might have been for 1 guide for 10+ Broncos. The Texas Off Roadeo was a blast and very informative!

 

[Shotsy]

I know that you’d like to conclude that I was the problem here with unrealistic expectations, but on my trip, we had times where we were waiting 30 minutes or more wondering what could possibly be happening. My friends in back were calling me on the phone asking what was happening. Again we drove about 3 miles total with only a few technical sections. Other people on other Off rodeos got 40 miles in and said they spent almost no time waiting. My day was 90% waiting. Those are the facts. Again it was a fun day but very different than what most people have had.

I am not concluding that you are the problem. I think part of the issue is that there is a comparison between the 4 Off-Roadeo sites when there shouldn't be. They are different experiences and, from what I've heard, NH is more technical.

The convoys are in line, so if folks are going slowly in front of the line or if they are having issues with the course, yes, you are going to have to wait. You're not going to Leeroy Jenkins that crap!

I didn't go into it thinking that when I got there, they would throw me a fob and say "have it back by 5pm with a full tank of gas!"

 

[mjbk12]

Ha! I was in the first group. Had the blue two-door base squatch, last in the convoy. Dan used me as a guinea pig on the granite using the trail-assist and then the recovery winch stuff.

I was in the second group ran second in my line, was the one being told to be careful going over everything as i was the only non sasquatched Badlands in the line, learned a lot from them that day that I will be able to use on my own non sasquatched Badlands if it ever shows up.

 

[SkyKing]

I am not concluding that you are the problem. I think part of the issue is that there is a comparison between the 4 Off-Roadeo sites when there shouldn't be. They are different experiences and, from what I've heard, NH is more technical.

The convoys are in line, so if folks are going slowly in front of the line or if they are having issues with the course, yes, you are going to have to wait.

I didn't go into it thinking that when I got there, they would throw me a fob and say "have it back by 5pm with a full tank of gas!"

I didn’t expect that eitherz the problem was very clear that they simply needed a higher ratio of staff to Broncos. That’s it.

 

[Shotsy]

I didn’t expect that eitherz the problem was very clear that they simply needed a higher ratio of staff to Broncos. That’s it.

The last thing I'll say is that Ford didn't have to provide the Off-Roadeo at all and Gunstock was a little late to the game than the other sites. Perhaps NH isn't/wasn't adequately staffed because of that but it's an experience that is voluntary and hindsight is always 20/20. Maybe they will implement some changes/enhancements for 2022.

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