- First Name
- Kyle
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2025
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 34
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Bronco
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
My family and I went on our first major road trip last week and I wanted to share some of my experiences since I’m probably driving a less than ideal Bronco for this sort of trip.
The Bronco
I’m driving a 2024 2D BadSAS with manual transmission. I fell in to a BadSAS because I found a good deal on this 2024 back in Sept 2025. I would not have specced SAS if I was building a Bronco myself. A strong desire for a 2D + MT + Lux interior basically locked me in to a Badlands, though, when an Outer Banks is probably the “right” trim for my life and location. I’ll admit though, I like being able to say I have front/rear lockers and a front sway-bar disconnect, but if I’m honest, I’m never using those things in Illinois. That just means I need to go out of my way to find places to utilize these tools!
The Trip Out
Context: This was a trip mostly planned by my sisters. I’m a terrible planner and basically flew by the seat of my pants when it came to traveling to and from our major destinations. I’m sure there is a better way to make this trip easier and I will definitely be taking more time to plan ahead next time.
We left from Northern Illinois Tuesday June 16 around 6am with the goal of reaching Driggs, ID by Wednesday evening. I drove down I-88 to I-80, stopping in North Platte, NE for the night. Another early Wednesday morning, continuing down I-80 until turning off to take US-191 up to Driggs. This route had tons of head and cross winds.
Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks
We spend June 18 and June 19 experiencing Grand Teton National Park. The major theme of this trip is going to be that there are a lot of amazing landscapes that I’ve missed out on living my entire life in Northern Illinois. The mountains were beautiful and the weather was incredible. Cool air mixed with clear skies both days. We spent time exploring turnouts, the Teton Village mountain tram, and the surrounding area of Jackson. The later half of June 19 was spent driving through Grand Teton and then through Yellowstone to reach our 2nd destination in Island Park, ID.
June 20-22 were all spent mostly in Yellowstone National Park. We did a few short stops in West Yellowstone and I also took the Bronco on a forest service trail just outside of West Yellowstone on June 21 to sate my need to off-road.
The Trip Home
I had more flexibility in how much time I could commit to the drive home so we opted to take I-90/US-212/I-90 home with the goal of spending a few hours in Badlands National Park. Our first day (June 23) towards home took us to Rapid City, SD. Realizing that Mt. Rushmore was 30 minutes away, I decided we’d see that the next morning before heading east again to Badlands National Park. After Badlands, we spent the rest of trip on I-90, stopping to sleep in Mitchell, SD and then making the rest of the trip through Minnesota, Wisconsin past the Dells, and finally back into Illinois.
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial
We spent a few hours viewing the monument, walking to the Sculptor’s Studio, and then witnessing a Native American hoop dance presentation. It was a short but sweet stop. Looks like Teddy needed some work.
Badlands National Park
It only felt right to see The Badlands while driving a Badlands. We spend lunch and few hours in the afternoon driving along SD-240. We entered near Ben Reifel Visitor Center. Much to my chagrin, the park details pamphlet stated that the South Unit contained Sheep Mountain Table Pass, the only 4x4 and high clearance trail in all 3 National Parks we visited and I drove right past it taking SD-44 into the North Unit. That’s what I get for not planning my routes and doing my research. Also, we didn’t see a single prairie dog, what a rip off!
Some Stats
During this trip, we:
The trip
Absolutely beautiful landscapes and weather. There is an insane amount of stuff to do at each of these parks and we barely scratched the surface. I think I’d focus on one park next time and attempt to stay much closer to or even inside said park. Traveling 30-60 minutes just to get to the gates and then spending hours in the car inside the park is a bit tiring. I want more hiking but our group composition didn’t really allow for it and more off-roading but that’s my fault for not doing my research.
The Bronco
A major reason I wanted to make this post is because I hear a lot about how the 2D Bronco is not practical for a family. Of course, 4 doors does give you more space both in the rear seats and the trunk, I won’t deny that. However, we had no trouble packing all of our stuff in the trunk of the 2D. I have 2 kids, 5 and 8, who are both in booster seats and can buckle themselves. We packed our clothes into a single large suitcase and relied on laundry 2 times at our Airbnbs but we could have easily packed enough clothes to skip laundry if we wanted. I think if you have space concerns but really really want a 2D, there are options to overcome the small trunk. I’m going to lean in to a hitch carrier but roof carriers are also a good option.
As for driving, it was way easier and more comfortable than I assumed. I love the Bronco but I had serious concerns about long road trips and this trip has assuaged them all for me. Beyond crosswinds, noise was manageable, ride was smooth, mileage was above highway EPA rating, and the adaptive cruise + lane keeping allowed me to crush double digit hours driving for multiple days.
I’d love to use this thing to car camp. I had this overly optimistic idea of using this truck to road trip and live out of for long weekends, but I think I‘ll run in to issues . Payload is pathetic at 808lbs. Packing 475lbs of people in the car (and the kids are doing nothing but growing) leaves so little for stuff like roof tents, clothes, food/water, camping gear, etc. However, I don’t think the 4D gets me much more, if any payload so this is probably another case of me not doing my research.
This post is already really long so I’ll end it there. I’d be happy to answer questions. Also, I hope the post formatting isn’t too bad. This is my first time here posting with pictures and tons of text.
Thanks for reading and get that 2 Door if you really want it! Don’t let your dreams be dreams!
The Bronco
I’m driving a 2024 2D BadSAS with manual transmission. I fell in to a BadSAS because I found a good deal on this 2024 back in Sept 2025. I would not have specced SAS if I was building a Bronco myself. A strong desire for a 2D + MT + Lux interior basically locked me in to a Badlands, though, when an Outer Banks is probably the “right” trim for my life and location. I’ll admit though, I like being able to say I have front/rear lockers and a front sway-bar disconnect, but if I’m honest, I’m never using those things in Illinois. That just means I need to go out of my way to find places to utilize these tools!
The Trip Out
Context: This was a trip mostly planned by my sisters. I’m a terrible planner and basically flew by the seat of my pants when it came to traveling to and from our major destinations. I’m sure there is a better way to make this trip easier and I will definitely be taking more time to plan ahead next time.
We left from Northern Illinois Tuesday June 16 around 6am with the goal of reaching Driggs, ID by Wednesday evening. I drove down I-88 to I-80, stopping in North Platte, NE for the night. Another early Wednesday morning, continuing down I-80 until turning off to take US-191 up to Driggs. This route had tons of head and cross winds.
Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks
We spend June 18 and June 19 experiencing Grand Teton National Park. The major theme of this trip is going to be that there are a lot of amazing landscapes that I’ve missed out on living my entire life in Northern Illinois. The mountains were beautiful and the weather was incredible. Cool air mixed with clear skies both days. We spent time exploring turnouts, the Teton Village mountain tram, and the surrounding area of Jackson. The later half of June 19 was spent driving through Grand Teton and then through Yellowstone to reach our 2nd destination in Island Park, ID.
June 20-22 were all spent mostly in Yellowstone National Park. We did a few short stops in West Yellowstone and I also took the Bronco on a forest service trail just outside of West Yellowstone on June 21 to sate my need to off-road.
The Trip Home
I had more flexibility in how much time I could commit to the drive home so we opted to take I-90/US-212/I-90 home with the goal of spending a few hours in Badlands National Park. Our first day (June 23) towards home took us to Rapid City, SD. Realizing that Mt. Rushmore was 30 minutes away, I decided we’d see that the next morning before heading east again to Badlands National Park. After Badlands, we spent the rest of trip on I-90, stopping to sleep in Mitchell, SD and then making the rest of the trip through Minnesota, Wisconsin past the Dells, and finally back into Illinois.
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial
We spent a few hours viewing the monument, walking to the Sculptor’s Studio, and then witnessing a Native American hoop dance presentation. It was a short but sweet stop. Looks like Teddy needed some work.
Badlands National Park
It only felt right to see The Badlands while driving a Badlands. We spend lunch and few hours in the afternoon driving along SD-240. We entered near Ben Reifel Visitor Center. Much to my chagrin, the park details pamphlet stated that the South Unit contained Sheep Mountain Table Pass, the only 4x4 and high clearance trail in all 3 National Parks we visited and I drove right past it taking SD-44 into the North Unit. That’s what I get for not planning my routes and doing my research. Also, we didn’t see a single prairie dog, what a rip off!
Some Stats
During this trip, we:
- Drove 3898 miles (solo, my wife cannot drive stick).
- Spent $777 in fuel (lucky me!)
- Achieved about 21 MPG
- Saw 3 national parks, 1 national monument, and drove through 2 national forests (Custer and Black Hills)
- Saw 48 US license plates, only missing Rhode Istand and Hawaii
- Saw 6 Canadian license plates (Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, and Manitoba)
- A 1 garbage truck turned camper from Belgium
- Stopped in hotels for 3 nights (1 night out and 2 nights back)
- Collected 7 Passport cancellations
The trip
Absolutely beautiful landscapes and weather. There is an insane amount of stuff to do at each of these parks and we barely scratched the surface. I think I’d focus on one park next time and attempt to stay much closer to or even inside said park. Traveling 30-60 minutes just to get to the gates and then spending hours in the car inside the park is a bit tiring. I want more hiking but our group composition didn’t really allow for it and more off-roading but that’s my fault for not doing my research.
The Bronco
A major reason I wanted to make this post is because I hear a lot about how the 2D Bronco is not practical for a family. Of course, 4 doors does give you more space both in the rear seats and the trunk, I won’t deny that. However, we had no trouble packing all of our stuff in the trunk of the 2D. I have 2 kids, 5 and 8, who are both in booster seats and can buckle themselves. We packed our clothes into a single large suitcase and relied on laundry 2 times at our Airbnbs but we could have easily packed enough clothes to skip laundry if we wanted. I think if you have space concerns but really really want a 2D, there are options to overcome the small trunk. I’m going to lean in to a hitch carrier but roof carriers are also a good option.
As for driving, it was way easier and more comfortable than I assumed. I love the Bronco but I had serious concerns about long road trips and this trip has assuaged them all for me. Beyond crosswinds, noise was manageable, ride was smooth, mileage was above highway EPA rating, and the adaptive cruise + lane keeping allowed me to crush double digit hours driving for multiple days.
I’d love to use this thing to car camp. I had this overly optimistic idea of using this truck to road trip and live out of for long weekends, but I think I‘ll run in to issues . Payload is pathetic at 808lbs. Packing 475lbs of people in the car (and the kids are doing nothing but growing) leaves so little for stuff like roof tents, clothes, food/water, camping gear, etc. However, I don’t think the 4D gets me much more, if any payload so this is probably another case of me not doing my research.
This post is already really long so I’ll end it there. I’d be happy to answer questions. Also, I hope the post formatting isn’t too bad. This is my first time here posting with pictures and tons of text.
Thanks for reading and get that 2 Door if you really want it! Don’t let your dreams be dreams!
Sponsored
. Happy wife, happy life and all. So I was happy to see your post about this trip. Now I'm more excited than before.
. So I'm thinking about going with this one when it's time to renew...
