Rusty Shackleford's 2023 Badlands Build

[thetxpopulist]

Thanks, yeah its not a very common breed.

So those photos were a little old, I have now swapped out the bajakits stuff for the billet RPG front and rear upper/lower arms. Got the heavy duty tie rod kit as well and all parts custom colour matched to the wheels.

Regarding the King shocks.. Initially I was not so happy with them off-road. Definitly felt a bit stiffer at first on-road, but off-road for the type of terrain and deserts we have in the UAE, it was not setup properly. The front is way too soft and rear had too much rebound, used to kick the rear up bucking bronco style After re-valving, tune and changing rear pistons, its now well setup. Really happy with performance now, takes the whoops very well as well as the hard inital hill climb hits. The shocks themselves are great, just needs some tweaking for the type of use you want to extract from them.

The tuning with valve and pistons makes a whole lot of sense. I’ve been 4x4 for quite a while now but did not fully understand how the innards of a shock work around restricting or permitting oil flow based on how its valved, and ultimately how that manifests to the operator on a given terrain. Shock Surplus YT vids were extremely insightful. The problem is, I want some Kings and E-Klick now the thought of a closed loop system that ingests feedback in real time and adjusts according is simply…. Incredible. The same concept is applicable in my line of work (Technological Infrastructure), but much cooler played out in the physical world!

Awesome Bronco! Thanks for chiming in

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[Pakman]

Thank You! Night and day vs a traditional pouch IMHO. Although it’s on Amazon, I’ve spoken to the owner and it’s a small Veteran owned Business. Highly recommend! Hopefully he starts offering different sizes.

Love the pouches gonna use on my molle tail gate table for my gear. I think you bought all of them no longer available on amazon lol. Great build

 

[thetxpopulist]

Love the pouches gonna use on my molle tail gate table for my gear. I think you bought all of them no longer available on amazon lol. Great build

Thank you! That’s crazy, they were just there the other night but I see what you saw just now when I checked. I have these ones as well, and they’re fantastic. They use the same material and hold shape way better, PLUS there’s a lot of built in pockets, straps, dividers, etc. whereas the SST has none inside.

https://a.co/d/5gUn3iO

 

[Pakman]

Thank you! That’s crazy, they were just there the other night but I see what you saw just now when I checked. I have these ones as well, and they’re fantastic. They use the same material and hold shape way better, PLUS there’s a lot of built in pockets, straps, dividers, etc. whereas the SST has none inside.

https://a.co/d/5gUn3iO

Thanks I will check these bags out. Curious how did you mount your power tank to the rear pillar? I need to find a place to mount my powertank as a back up for my twin arb

 

[thetxpopulist]

Thanks I will check these bags out. Curious how did you mount your power tank to the rear pillar? I need to find a place to mount my powertank as a back up for my twin arb

It’s mounted using a QD mount with a pull pin, but it’s only a 20oz power tank. I will be covering that along with the Pro Eagle jack, recovery gear, and on board tools probably tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[thetxpopulist]

Recovery Gear & Onboard Tools:
-------------

Buying the truck used, it didn't come with a toolkit which is fine because I would build and supplement it anyways. Here's what I keep on board:

-Milwaukee 3/8 Fuel ratchet
-Milwaukee 1/2" torque driver
-Various sockets ranging up to 40MM
-Torx bits and allen bits
-Old fashioned torque wrench
-Dead blow hammer
-Carhart tool roll with various pictured tools
-Tire plug kit+butane cooking torch to heat if needed
-Tow Strap
-Gear America stuff, tree saver, soft shackles, etc. in the ORR MOLLE bags
-Snatch Block
-Jump Box
-Pro Eagle C02 powered Jack
-Two fire extinguishers

 

[DriveAllNight]

Recovery Gear & Onboard Tools:
-------------

Buying the truck used, it didn't come with a toolkit which is fine because I would build and supplement it anyways. Here's what I keep on board:

Mine is in a drawer, I'm not sure it could withstand actually being used. I use my own tools

 

[Trooper19]

Howdy all!

Back in December of 2023 I bought a used 23 Badlands with Sasquatch & high package. It came with a 2.5" RC lift/level, which is staying for now but will ultimately be replaced, and KMC wheels/Toyo OC RTs (run these tires on my super duty and love em). The truck had 4k miles on it and I've put another 1500 on it since purchasing.

I am coming off of the Polaris RZR platform predominantly because my best bud, John McClane (named after the protagonist in the best Christmas movie ever; Mac for short) won't ride with me. Not sure why but he is scared straight of golf carts and anything that sounds remotely like a motorcycle. I've had him since he was 8 weeks and he's two now. Fortunately he loves the Bronco!

I've been modding like a maniac and will post each mod thus far as a comment.

This is Mac--at 120lbs and 37" tall he's unusually large for a Labrador Retriever and I often encounter him with his snout and big ol gums atop a counter pilfering for scraps. On all fours he's high torque and perpetual energy

Forgot to post the Bronco itself! LOL

DV8 Elite pocket cube lights:

Nice build, I know all too well about big pups and 4 wheeling. My boy Trooper is 150lbs, has the full back of the 4dr to himself.

 

[Monster1926]

I didn’t read all the comments. Sick build, but where do you hold the extra pocket sand?

 

[thetxpopulist]

I didn’t read all the comments. Sick build, but where do you hold the extra pocket sand?

Thank you! With 96% of the vehicles stock space unobstructed, I would say there, but the dog eats any and everything he sees including pocket sand and critters

 

[Bigmoose]

do you have any pics of the mounting bracket for the CRS? Does the standard bracket use the two nutserts in the rear bar?

 

[thetxpopulist]

No, it just uses one of the available two mounting points atop the passenger side rear bar, but the slot on the bracket lines up with the slot in the bar (which is between the two mount points). I lined the bracket up straight and used thread locker on the bolt in the lower nut, then used an identical M8x1.25 Allen screw in the slot. Ive thought about finding a toggle-bolt type nut for the bolt that’s in the slot, but its fine even doing 80 woththe tops off.

Side note. It pisses me off that Ford couldn’t just use the same spacing for the mount points as a jeep. What a sick joke!

 

[Bigmoose]

No, it just uses one of the available two mounting points atop the passenger side rear bar, but the slot on the bracket lines up with the slot in the bar (which is between the two mount points). I lined the bracket up straight and used thread locker on the bolt in the lower nut, then used an identical M8x1.25 Allen screw in the slot. Ive thought about finding a toggle-bolt type nut for the bolt that’s in the slot, but its fine even doing 80 woththe tops off.

Side note. It pisses me off that Ford couldn’t just use the same spacing for the mount points as a jeep. What a sick joke!

Thanks for the info. Did you go with the 20ft or 35ft. Im wondering if the 20ft can reach the front tires mounted there.

 

[thetxpopulist]

Thanks for the info. Did you go with the 20ft or 35ft. Im wondering if the 20ft can reach the front tires mounted there.

NP! 20ft. I have an EZ Flate system so it definitely reaches. As far as the chick goes, it will definitely reach, you might have to go through the cab though. Length is just under 16’ for 4 door

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