20+ Broncos hit the mountain to find some snow... lessons were learned

[MnLakeBum]

Great video and looks like everyone had fun. I lived in El Dorado Hills from 1998-2018 and I miss the Sierra Nevadas the most. We had a condo up in Tahoe and we spent about 100 days each year up in those mountains.

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[Hedrock]

Awesome video and ride. I grew up in Grass Valley and did some dumb solo stuff in the snow. Hoping to be out there with the Bronco in March, but not sure yet.

 

[brianbrn]

Awesome video until YouTube makes you take it down due to copyright crap for the Van Halen, proper with Roth singing. But hey, until then, rock on brother!

Great to see a group of guys using their Broncos as intended; hope you inspire. That Braptor almost stuck early in the vid is pretty cool too!

That was a my first thought. I get busted even if music is playing in the background when i didn't even realize it.

 

[JHawk]

This is great information, and timely! I’m attending a winter event next month in Kansas. I’ll definitely use your advice.

May I get more info on the winter event in Kansas?

 

[Xjeepowner]

Good video but I could see how frustrated you were because they broke the cardinal rule, always make sure the guy behind you is ok, they left the 7 of you to fend for yourselves. Next time I would make sure they split the capable rigs up throughout the line so they could help the less capable.
And I would make sure that everyone knows to make sure you never leave someone behind. Thank goodness ya'll made it Ok but spending a cold night on the trail would not be fun.
Lesson learned.
Glad everyone is ok.
Beautiful pictures.

 

[22Badskwatch]

Wow - thanks for all the comments! I'll do my best to reply to outstanding questions....

Good video but I could see how frustrated you were because they broke the cardinal rule, always make sure the guy behind you is ok, they left the 7 of you to fend for yourselves. Next time I would make sure they split the capable rigs up throughout the line so they could help the less capable.
And I would make sure that everyone knows to make sure you never leave someone behind. Thank goodness ya'll made it Ok but spending a cold night on the trail would not be fun.
Lesson learned.
Glad everyone is ok.
Beautiful pictures.

Thanks - yes - definitely frustrating ini the moment - but in the end, we helped ensure everyone in our group made it through safely. Lessons were learned.. .there were a lot of people who were new to off roading, and I'm glad they didn't get discouraged and are looking forward to going out again. Our group will be better as a result of this - which is the silver lining

Awesome shots! Glad to hear you all were able to make it out safely and in one piece. Accidents happen and mistakes were made but its all apart of the fun and it also turned out to be a great learning experience. Hope to join you guys again on another trail ride soon!

Thanks! exactly - we all made it out unscathed, with a story to tell, and lessons learned. Looking forward to seeing you on a run sometime soon!

Makes sense. Like sand driving. It seems like this trip as the OP described it needs some plan tweaking, given the wide range of vehicle ability with some getting stuck and needing pull out, and the trip extending 5 hours far beyond sunset which can be a recipe for disaster in snow. Limit the # vehicles? Break into teams? Its not a good narrative for a trip leader that I read here.

Yes, we could have done a better job of setting the tone prior to hitting the trail, and setting expectations for everyone. Again - lessons learned all the way around.

I remember going once sub 8 psi in deep snow on a 38" w/o Beadlocks .... lets just put it that way, we needed to take out the starter fluid and a lighter to get home.

yeah, I was at 15psi on my stock sasquatch tires on aftermarket (non- bead lock) wheels - and I never got stuck ... I probably could have gone down to 12 psi comfortably. anything between 8-12 psi and you have to start watching out for popping a bead if you're turning while still pushing forward in the snow (if not running bead locks)

What type of radios are you all using?

Baofeng gmrs

4-7 psi gotta go way low in snow. But then you need Beadlock or inner Beadlocks.

yeah, I don't think anyone went below about 14-15psi

This must've been the recent Gold Country Bronco's trip I've been following.
What an experience. Glad y'all didn't have to spend the night!!
Lot's of lessons learned on that trip.
Rear view mirror, Appropriate tires, Comms, & Lockers, seem to be top of that list.

correct, it was the GCB group

What did you use to organize the trip? A Bronco club page here on the forums?

as mentioned, it was the Gold Country Bronco group - based out of Northern CA.

 

[Mattyfly42]

This past Sunday - I met up with the local Bronco group for a drive up to the snow - well, we expected to be done by 2 or 3 pm.. we didn't finish the trail until almost 7:30pm.. I didn't get home until almost 10pm.. things did NOT go as planned... but it was a good learning experience, and of course, I got photos and video.. the video is a little longer than I usually like - but there was a lot of content.




There were definitely quite a few recoveries that day, largely a result of a few factors:
1: Rig setup: Not having a front locker - this is a necessity in snow like this
2: Rig setup: Not having appropriate tires- there was a Non-Sasquatch bronco that kept high centering on the snow - with how deep it was, definitely needed the taller tires. Also, there was a Jeep running on mall-crawler tires that had no business being in the snow - he got stuck about every 50 feet for a while.
3: technique: people going too aggressive on the gas when trying to make progress, they just spun tires and got stuck
4: technique: not maintaining momentum going through the deep snow
5: technique/trail etiquette: the more appropriately equipped vehicles in the front of the group didn't pay attention to the people behind them, resulting in the first 2/3 of the group quickly moving away from the rear 1/3 of the group, causing us to have an ill-equipped bronco inadvertently becoming our lead vehicle, and we couldn't get around him to help when he got stuck.

As far as recovery gear - between several of us, we had a few kinetic ropes and soft shackles, which made it quick and easy to pull people out when they got stuck in a snowbank. We also had some shovels and traction boards (I don't think the traction boards EVER worked for us though).
As far as GOAT modes - I didn't use the goat modes - I put it in 4H with rear locker activated for most of it.. .a couple times I activated both front and rear lockers, and in some of the really deep and wet stuff I went to 4L with both lockers activated (and I disconnected sway bar for as much of it as I could too, just to help with ride quality). I was aired down to 15psi, and I personally never got stuck, but next time will probably go to 10-12 psi for the snow. As far as how the tires did in the snow - this is probably my 4th or 5th time going to the snow, and every time I've been REALLY impressed with how the stock sasquatch tires do in the snow. as far as traction control, I really played that by ear.. I turned it off for a while when I wanted to play and get sideways, back on when I needed the help... back off if I felt like it was hindering my ability to give throttle (and maybe spin a tire or two) if needed to get through deep stuff

When we got done with the trail, I was helping one of the other guys air his tires back up after I aired mine up, and I realized how much of a pain in the butt it is to get to the valve stems on the stock SAS wheels with the bead lock beauty ring in the way... another reason I'm glad I put aftermarket wheels on!

killer video. What trail is that?

 

[22Badskwatch]

killer video. What trail is that?

Thank you! Wentworth Springs - Northern CA

 

[techdisaster]

May I get more info on the winter event in Kansas?

Kansas Rocks Frost Bite Event.
https://www.ksrockspark.com/event/frostbite-event/

This is a great park run by awesome volunteers.

 

[HoosierMan]

Awesome Video and looked like a fun time even with the problems. I would have loved to been on that trip!! How did the doggies enjoy the ride?

 

[22Badskwatch]

Awesome Video and looked like a fun time even with the problems. I would have loved to been on that trip!! How did the doggies enjoy the ride?

My little guy did well, but he was happy to get home. It was way past his dinner time lol

 

[Myke98]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[UncleBuck]

This past Sunday - I met up with the local Bronco group for a drive up to the snow - well, we expected to be done by 2 or 3 pm.. we didn't finish the trail until almost 7:30pm.. I didn't get home until almost 10pm.. things did NOT go as planned... but it was a good learning experience, and of course, I got photos and video.. the video is a little longer than I usually like - but there was a lot of content.




There were definitely quite a few recoveries that day, largely a result of a few factors:
1: Rig setup: Not having a front locker - this is a necessity in snow like this
2: Rig setup: Not having appropriate tires- there was a Non-Sasquatch bronco that kept high centering on the snow - with how deep it was, definitely needed the taller tires. Also, there was a Jeep running on mall-crawler tires that had no business being in the snow - he got stuck about every 50 feet for a while.
3: technique: people going too aggressive on the gas when trying to make progress, they just spun tires and got stuck
4: technique: not maintaining momentum going through the deep snow
5: technique/trail etiquette: the more appropriately equipped vehicles in the front of the group didn't pay attention to the people behind them, resulting in the first 2/3 of the group quickly moving away from the rear 1/3 of the group, causing us to have an ill-equipped bronco inadvertently becoming our lead vehicle, and we couldn't get around him to help when he got stuck.

As far as recovery gear - between several of us, we had a few kinetic ropes and soft shackles, which made it quick and easy to pull people out when they got stuck in a snowbank. We also had some shovels and traction boards (I don't think the traction boards EVER worked for us though).
As far as GOAT modes - I didn't use the goat modes - I put it in 4H with rear locker activated for most of it.. .a couple times I activated both front and rear lockers, and in some of the really deep and wet stuff I went to 4L with both lockers activated (and I disconnected sway bar for as much of it as I could too, just to help with ride quality). I was aired down to 15psi, and I personally never got stuck, but next time will probably go to 10-12 psi for the snow. As far as how the tires did in the snow - this is probably my 4th or 5th time going to the snow, and every time I've been REALLY impressed with how the stock sasquatch tires do in the snow. as far as traction control, I really played that by ear.. I turned it off for a while when I wanted to play and get sideways, back on when I needed the help... back off if I felt like it was hindering my ability to give throttle (and maybe spin a tire or two) if needed to get through deep stuff

When we got done with the trail, I was helping one of the other guys air his tires back up after I aired mine up, and I realized how much of a pain in the butt it is to get to the valve stems on the stock SAS wheels with the bead lock beauty ring in the way... another reason I'm glad I put aftermarket wheels on!

I've done a decent amount of snow wheeling since getting my Bronco. Airing down is a huge help and I agree, the stock SAS tires perform very well. I mostly stay in 4H with traction control turned off instead of using any GOAT modes. I typically have not used the front locker unless I was pushing through really deep stuff and I needed it.

I haven't had the same issues on my stock wheels with airing up, but I use a 4-way inflator with quick connect collars that just slide into place so maybe that's easier. Looks like you guys had a great time!

 

[Xjeepowner]

I also would encourage ya'll to make sure everyone has a GMRS radio so you can communicate appropriately on the trail.
They are inexpensive and have a much better range than CBs.
Next time bring the little guys supper just in case. LOL!

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