First trail shakedown. Otay Mtn, Anza-Borrego Desert, Ocotillo Wells

[OffroadCamper]

Thanks to all for the helpful info here.

Huge thanks aagin to Ford Motor Company for designing and engineering another amazig rig.

Had a blast, Bronco kicked butt !! Loose nut behind the wheel still need some development.

Old Guy here, some offroad experience, first Bronco after beloved Ford F150 5.0L 4x4 passed on.

Pardon so many pics, vids, questions, and me thinking out loud , I’m just super stoked to be back on the trail and getting this rig trail ready.

Rig: ’24 Badlands, Sasquatch, 2.7L V6, 4 Door, “Cactus Dog” (SD Rack)

1st Upgrades: RCI 20 deg frame mounted sliders, cross member and rear mount skids, Btech 50W Ham and handheld, antenna and tusk whip mount, Hang Loose Big foot riding bronco emblem, Baja design Sqadron Pro Driving combo pattern on RCI mounts, (Duct tape to stop the whistle at speed)

Mission critical equipment: Black Rifle Coffee Company Blackbeard’s Delight, Brazilian Arabica, dark roast, hint of chocolate and nuts, (Thanks Mat Best et al), French Vanilla Coffemate, C&H cane sugar from Hawaii, Jetboil flash burner with Sumo Pot, Sterling double wall stainless 1.75 Liter French Press, Stanley double wall coffee mug, Timmberdige directors chair, compact stool/footrest. Native American menthol smokes. Dang…Life is good, LOL

Lessons learned, mistakes made, questions:

Love stabar disconnect when crawling, Love rear locker, trail turn assist when needed

Front locker when neccesary, Love manual override,

Love Baja mode with rear locker for sand not sand mode?

Havent really tried trail control yet.

Rock crawl seems to work well.

Cant find gear lockout?

Need to stop and put on reading glases to figure out what gear im in M1, M2, M3 ?

Tachometer WTF? Rather have big analog than spedometer.

No idea what AWD is? LOL Does anyone use it? Mayb in snow on roads next winter?

Seemed to handle desert heat well 108 deg.F. Usually never turn it off, but was tempted to in order let her cool down, any tips? Still need to find the engine and trans temp gauges ?

Also never had turbos, prefer N/A but so far it works well need baja mode or manual to keep her in the power band for sand climbs.

Surprised I barely touched shock mount skids or sliders but keep hitting front trailing arm mounts which look solid, but forsee welding in the distand future. Have to research this, never had them before. Maybe need to be more aware of them in wheel placement?

Love RCI cross member skids. Porb would of got stuck or done more damage bumping or getting winched off obstacles.

Ran up Sand hill in Baja mode auto and trail turn asist on not rear locker. Oops ! Thank God and Ford enginners disable it at speed.

Almost dipped a wheel off a cliff first thing in the morning after 5 hours sleep, foggy old brain, lesson learned. Yikes !!

Future:

Just waiting for these C rated Good years to get cut down but performed suprisingly well so far. First cut and I’m going to Toyo R/T Trails 35x12.5 R17

I asume factory skids will taco soon and will upgrade to RCI raw aluminum? Get my moneys worth first. Problem for future self.

Bilsteins work well, nicely comliant but planted when needed get harsh/weird at extreme end ie pre bump stop or on bump stop. LOL

Would like 2 more inches of clearance but have to wait $$ Fox?. Not sure if I’ll need UCAs.

Need a winch still. IAG High mount? Plan to keep factory bumpers $$.

Need more storage around driver for stuff. Working on it.

Need an alternative side mount trasharoo solution still for long hauls.

Also need reliable/secure fuel mounts, may mount on spare strap for rotopax. Maybe tail X brace in future. We actually do use extra fuel out here on a couple trips a year. LOL



Thanks for reading my musing and any suggestions.

No unkind comments please. Just want to share, be helped, or be helpful with my Ford Bronco brothers and sisters here. Always leave with one more piece of trash than you brought. Peace out.

May need some diting. LOL

Pics n Vids:
Mountains:

Desert:

Vid too big?: Admin might need help with insert full , maybe delete duplicates? Thanks.
Keeps saying oops ran ionto some problems ok edited vid down to 33MB well below the 64MB limit? Edited a bit better. Oh well.

Sponsored

 

[DarthLincoln]

Oh, I gotta disagree with you there…I have to go with Hazlenut Coffeemate. Actually, I only use it for meh coffee. If the coffee grind is good, drink it black.

Baja is definitely better for shallow sand like the desert washes out in Borrego. Sand mode is intended for deep sand like sand dunes so the go pedal is a bit weaker.

Yeah AWD no bueno off-road - just for inclement weather on pavement. Also, I think of “AWD” as a term only for vehicles like VW and Subaru AWD with center diffs that constantly split the torque between front and rear. Ford Bronco is more of an “Automatic 4WD” that is primarily RWD but will automatically engage and disengage the front axle via clutch plates as needed.

Lack of a tachometer gage was definitely a bad choice by Ford. I dunno what they were thinking with that bar graph so they could give us 2 speedometers.

Thanks for sharing the pictures and videos! Looks like a real fun trip! I haven’t been to Borrego in over 10 years and need to visit.

 

[OffroadCamper]

DarthLincoln. Thanks for the feedback. Really helps as I learn the systems.
And I don't mind a little Hazelnut one in a while. LOL
Trying to add one more vid...

 

[userdude]

I like my coffee like I like my vinyl seats: As dark as possible and smoking effin' hot. I don't burn the backs of my legs with it, though, at least except for that one time we're not going to discuss.

 

[itwelder]

Nice shot from blowsands, and other great pics/vids. I was just out there baking in the heat last week. Usually run with AC off, windows down. Seems to run ok with AC but I'm not taking a chance if I don't need to.
No real tips here, other than make sure you take a million gallons of water and be safe!

 

[OffroadCamper]

Nice shot from blowsands, and other great pics/vids. I was just out there baking in the heat last week. Usually run with AC off, windows down. Seems to run ok with AC but I'm not taking a chance if I don't need to.
No real tips here, other than make sure you take a million gallons of water and be safe!

Dang Thanks didn't even think of running without AC. Did that years ago in Vegas, guess I got spoiled and forgot. Have to put that on the tool box list after I find temp guages on this tiny dash. LOL

...hmm So for Blowsand and next Competition Hill.. which we couldnt get to in new sand dunes blocking trail in the dark...lots o buttons...but..
Baja mode, rear locker on, 4 HI, Manual mode, M1 M2 M3, Auto startt/stop off,Traction contol, stability control, advanced trac off, Freebird solo on, turn off AC then... SEND IT !!

 

[Pops]

I understand your feelings well about getting back off the pavement and away from city lights.
I’ve spent many a starry night out in Borrego and Ocotillo; ‘87 Cherokee (stayed away from Comp Hill, haha).

One thing: maybe someone else here can explain the traction control settings while in 4WD, especially in the sand and loose rocks.
keep up the fun and great posts!

 

[OffroadCamper]

I understand your feelings well about getting back off the pavement and away from city lights.
I’ve spent many a starry night out in Borrego and Ocotillo; ‘87 Cherokee (stayed away from Comp Hill, haha).

One thing: maybe someone else here can explain the traction control settings while in 4WD, especially in the sand and loose rocks.
keep up the fun and great posts!

Roger that. Rewatched Vaugh Gitten Jr and Loren Healy Bronco How to vids now and starting to make more sense. Theres a couple in the playlist. Those guys a pros, I'm just trying to get/stay in the herd. LOL

 

[DarthLincoln]

One thing: maybe someone else here can explain the traction control settings while in 4WD, especially in the sand and loose rocks.
keep up the fun and great posts!

Hey Pops, you should leave traction control on when on pavement for stability safety in case you have to make emergency maneuvers since this is a high CG vehicle.

In 4WD, have traction control on only in slippery conditions to maintain directional control - like packed snow/ice on pavement, or wet grass, and sometimes hard packed dirt roads with loose gravel on top if traveling at speed and you need to stay on-course because of trees/ditches etc.. For all other 4WD conditions including deep sand/mud/snow, or rock crawl or just having fun in open desert Baja style, turn traction control off.

 

[ThunderFlash]

I have a '22, so your displays might be different, but the buttons on the right of the steering wheel will let you cycle through different displays on the right side of the dash using the back key, OK, and up/down. One called Gauges shows engine and tranny temps. If you use GOAT mode Mud and Ruts, it should move to the Off Road display set in the dash that can be cycled up/down through various information. I believe the Gages is one of the Off Road displays, too. You can also select your specific displays for "My View" so you just cycle through the displays you care about.

FWIW...and it doesn't make sense...but my '22 2.7L WT usually runs cooler with the A/C ON, believe it or not. I had my top and doors off and figured turning A/C off would reduce some of the parasitic drag on the motor and let it run cooler. But the truck was actually running consistently hotter. Some one on 6G posted about their truck running cooler with the A/C on and dang, they were right. With A/C running, the lower louvers on the radiator stay open and my truck generally stays under 200F, typically 185-190F. Turn A/C off and it will go over 220F. Not what I had expected. Play around with that for yourself.

Enjoy your Bronco. I love mine more than I should.

 

[OffroadCamper]

I have a '22, so your displays might be different, but the buttons on the right of the steering wheel will let you cycle through different displays on the right side of the dash using the back key, OK, and up/down. One called Gauges shows engine and tranny temps. If you use GOAT mode Mud and Ruts, it should move to the Off Road display set in the dash that can be cycled up/down through various information. I believe the Gages is one of the Off Road displays, too. You can also select your specific displays for "My View" so you just cycle through the displays you care about.

FWIW...and it doesn't make sense...but my '22 2.7L WT usually runs cooler with the A/C ON, believe it or not. I had my top and doors off and figured turning A/C off would reduce some of the parasitic drag on the motor and let it run cooler. But the truck was actually running consistently hotter. Some one on 6G posted about their truck running cooler with the A/C on and dang, they were right. With A/C running, the lower louvers on the radiator stay open and my truck generally stays under 200F, typically 185-190F. Turn A/C off and it will go over 220F. Not what I had expected. Play around with that for yourself.

Enjoy your Bronco. I love mine more than I should.

Nice. Huge thanks. (duh)
I just went out and played around with it and it makes way more sense now.
Setup My view. Now if I need to know I can scroll. Pretty nice. (F150 display setup was a PITA)
Will test temp readings more next time out.

Sponsored