2023 2 Door Badsquatch Armor

[Rory Shields]

What engine????

A 2.3 does not have the crossmembers hanging down but a 2.7 does.

These can take some damage but the rocket scientist who decided they need to be there also found it prudent to put a big lip on them to catch everything you try to drive over. Some companies make a skid for these but that will kill some ground clearance.

That transmission pan the others have talked about is just behind the crossmembers. Make sure at minimum that gets covered.

I’ve got the 2.3L so I’m hoping that will be easier to deal with.

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[Rory Shields]

Rory Shields /OP/I see you're in the East. Okay, southeast, still, "East," as opposed to the more distant West. I'm in New England, and one thing we share is: highly foliated (i.e. trees & bushes) trails. So you might want to consider body armor.
You might consider the MEK Magnet Body Armor (link, below) to protect your truck's sides (and maybe hood, optional). Since there's very little steel on the Bronco body, it comes with an adhesive backing. I put it on mine, and went through overgrown, overhanging Vermont trails without a scratch--literally. It comes in various designs, and I do get complemented on the topographic design I chose.

Some caution: the adhesive is very strong. Don't opt for the heavy-duty version, you won't need it. And although the lady on the demo version is perky and fast, installation is tricky: it is very definitely a two-man, four-hand job. I can't emphasize that enough. The demo lady has probably done it dozens of times, and you (and I) haven't. And getting those bubbles out is quite a chore.

But: it's really tough, looks great, and offers your paint very serious protection.

https://www.mekmagnet.com/products/mek-removable-trail-armor-bronco

This image is off their website, the "toppo" design I chose:

PS: If you haven't figured it out yet, off-roading can be an awfully expensive hobby!

I love it! I’m in Virginia and I scratch up the sides all the time. I will definitely take a look at the side armor. As for the install taking two hands, luckily I’m a professional paperhanger. I glue annoying difficult things for a living! Should be easy peasy, can’t be harder than Grasscloth. Thanks!

 

[Rory Shields]

Other than trans armor, your steering rack and tie rods are your weakest parts if you want to get into some harder stuff on the rocks. You WILL break yours "in the hard stuff". You have a cheaper or more expensive route.

With the cheaper route you have two companies to choose from: BroncBuster or 74Weld. Both offer a bushing for the pinion side and an complete end cap for the other side. Those are the weakest points of the steering rack. Personally, I think the 74Weld option is better AND cheaper option ($1000 vs $1500).

The more expensive route, but by far the strongest, is only through 74Weld. They take your Hoss 2.0 or Hoss 3.0 steering rack guts and put them into their completely re-engineered, billet rack.

On both options I would recommend replacing the stock tie rods, as opposed to buying braces. There are a lot of options there. Ford, Icon and a few others (I think) offer a better than stock traditional tie rod. There are also heim joint options. Each have their good and bad points. The Ford performance option is $320.

Other than the trans skid, this is THE biggest upgrade to make sure you are able to drive off the rocks instead of calling for recovery.

So I’ve got a transmission skid coming. Broncobuster braces and bushing piece for the steering rack. Bilstein 6100s I’m going to put on the stock Sasquatch springs to lift 2in. So far that’s what I’ve got for my version of gen 1 upgrades. I’m really hoping the bushing and braces is insurance against busting a steering rack or tie rods.

 

[kpark_67]

Braces are way better than nothing. Just make sure you have a plan for when/if you get stuck or broke down. That is true no matter how "built" your rig is. Building your perfect rig is a long game unless you have loads of money. It will take me 2 more years to get my done. Be safe and have fun!

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