Back to Appleton, MN - This time with Grandkids

My son, grandsons, and I embraced a delightful off-roading journey at the Appleton Recreational Park a couple weeks ago, which was absolutely jam-packed with memories and a few unexpected turns!

With a hearty 3-hour drive, airing down our trusty Bronco, and diving straight into the thrilling terrains of the park's southern ORV-only section. Motorcycles, 4-wheelers, and SxS were aplenty in the north park, while we spotted a spirited group of Jeep and Toyota fans gearing up for a trail run!

We encountered a fellow Bronco owner, navigating through a trail repair and a muddy buddy rescue mission. A true testament to the off-roading spirit, don’t you think? Yeah, he broke a tie rod.

My son took charge of the Bronco for a spell, and yes, the grandkids joyfully had their share of the driving fun too!




Appleton sure rivals Gilbert with its expansive, weekend-worthy adventure spaces and diverse terrains for all off-roading lovers!

22 Degree hill






What I learned on this trip was I'm getting nervous about tie rod ends, with the latest reports of stock SAS rigs breaking tie rods. I'm torn between letting it break and then dealing with the warranty. Or just investing in a solution.
Also, the hill hold with the manual and the brakes is a little irritating. It makes it hard if you stop and want to get going nice and gentle. You have to actually put more throttle input into it to overcome the brakes which can make things less gracefully than it otherwise could be.

Here is a link to a portion of the 45 minute trail video that has just the obstacles I delt with.

Looks like fun! Fellow Minnesotan here - will have to get out there next year. Wish there was more off-road opportunities closer to the TC

Badlands77 said:

Looks like fun! Fellow Minnesotan here - will have to get out there next year. Wish there was more off-road opportunities closer to the TC

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Yeah, I agree. Next year I hope to hang out in that area for a weekend as it is big enough that I could spend 2 days easily and not get bored.

Great stuff . I'm sure there Grandkids will be able to look back in fondness later in life

BTW, tie rods and most breakage won't be covered under warranty

Felix808 said:

Great stuff . I'm sure there Grandkids will be able to look back in fondness later in life

BTW, tie rods and most breakage won't be covered under warranty

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Ya know, I have a feeling that if I press hard enough with my stock wheels, stock tires, stock suspension, if a tie rod fails, I could get them to eat the part and labor. Considering they are now including the beefed-up steering rack and tie rods from the Hoss 3.0 system on all 2024 Sasquatched models is indicative of an engineering issue being addressed. Sounds like a warranty thing to me.

mike8675309 said:

Ya know, I have a feeling that if I press hard enough with my stock wheels, stock tires, stock suspension, if a tie rod fails, I could get them to eat the part and labor. Considering they are now including the beefed-up steering rack and tie rods from the Hoss 3.0 system on all 2024 Sasquatched models is indicative of an engineering issue being addressed. Sounds like a warranty thing to me.

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Best wishes. Let us know how it works out .

mike8675309 said:

My son, grandsons, and I embraced a delightful off-roading journey at the Appleton Recreational Park a couple weeks ago, which was absolutely jam-packed with memories and a few unexpected turns!

With a hearty 3-hour drive, airing down our trusty Bronco, and diving straight into the thrilling terrains of the park's southern ORV-only section. Motorcycles, 4-wheelers, and SxS were aplenty in the north park, while we spotted a spirited group of Jeep and Toyota fans gearing up for a trail run!

We encountered a fellow Bronco owner, navigating through a trail repair and a muddy buddy rescue mission. A true testament to the off-roading spirit, don’t you think? Yeah, he broke a tie rod.

My son took charge of the Bronco for a spell, and yes, the grandkids joyfully had their share of the driving fun too!

Appleton sure rivals Gilbert with its expansive, weekend-worthy adventure spaces and diverse terrains for all off-roading lovers!

22 Degree hill

What I learned on this trip was I'm getting nervous about tie rod ends, with the latest reports of stock SAS rigs breaking tie rods. I'm torn between letting it break and then dealing with the warranty. Or just investing in a solution.
Also, the hill hold with the manual and the brakes is a little irritating. It makes it hard if you stop and want to get going nice and gentle. You have to actually put more throttle input into it to overcome the brakes which can make things less gracefully than it otherwise could be.

Here is a link to a portion of the 45 minute trail video that has just the obstacles I delt with.

Click to expand...

What a fun adventure Mike! Glad you guys had fun in your Bronco. Thanks for sharing!