Pepe, the little mule - journal

[wizardoforange]

I just got my 2023 Wildtrak after a 1003 day wait. I’ll be making some slight modifications over time to make it work for me and the things I do. I’m heading out to Nevada and Idaho from East Tennessee in the middle of May for a medical conference, the Bronco Off Roadeo, and to fly fish, mountain bike, and explore the backcountry. I hope I have time to make the additions I want to do before I leave. Here’s step one, my fly rod holder that saves me at least thirty minutes a day on a trip by allowing me to keep my rods rigged instead of having to assemble and disassemble them every time I fish.

I’m a minimalist and my “build” will be spartan compared to many. I’m almost ashamed to journal it, but there might be a handful of people who will benefit from the parts I’ll use.

(“Pepe, the little mule” is in reference to the kindly smuggler’s Bronco in the adventure film Romancing the Stone.)

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[wizardoforange]

I’m heading out on an extended trip to wilds of Nevada next week, and luckily some parts I had ordered arrived for further enhancement of the Bronco.

Ford Performance branded Rigid 360-series off-road lights. I followed the instructions, except that I did not route the hot wire under the wiper cowl as directed. I zip tied it to existing electrical conduit in the back of the engine bay.

Kuat Pivot 2.0 swing-away hitch extender. For those of you thinking about the Kuat Pivot 2.0, there is less than 1 inch of clearance between my stock 35” spare and the device, so if you’re running 37’s it is not a viable solution for you.

My trusty Thule T2 Pro bike rack.

Fly rod holder installed on factory rack. I started to install my old Thule cross bars, but upon examination of the factory rack I decided it was exceptionally strong and decided against using my Thule bars for now. There is plenty of room on top for my whitewater kayak when paddling time comes.

I think the tongue weight of my hitch is 350 pounds, and I’ve got about 160 pounds attached to it including the swing away adapter, the bike rack and my bike. Do y’all think I’ll be ok with this set up? On the horizontal plane, the bike is about 25 inches away from the end of the hitch.