50,000 mile Review - Why the Bronco Sucks

[david haz]

did you tell us what wheels you put on?

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[mpeugeot]

Exactly. And for the record, I’ve got soft office hands, but do get outside and like being dirty or to ski, so not everyone needs to be in construction.

Point you just made about affordability is my soapbox. I hate that even pickups now cost $70K. Real men who do real work can’t afford things anymore and that makes me depressed.

Anyway, respect your comments here and always have @mpeugeot for years now.

Just want to always add the perspective to actually get out there. It’s not hard or intimidating unless you’re too prideful.

Trailhead awaits!

I appreciate that. Thanks!

Despite my soft office hands, I manage to get outside a fair bit. I mean, when I did do SERE school at 50 with my soft office mitts. I also enjoy wrenching on my own vehicles, it gives me the opportunity to really curse like a sailor.

The cost of these things and proper maintenance makes me wonder how people legitimately make it happen without doing their own work. Especially as I am about to retire. I really didn't want to spend $50k, much less $70k on a new vehicle (although, probably will close in on 60k at some point with my modifications).

 

[mpeugeot]

People have broken them on 33s too. Shock loads can be harsh.

I miss the days when a car came with steelies or a single alloy option. Nearly all factory wheels across all makes and models look awful so those base steelies are at least useful for snow tires.

The Black Diamond steelies look ok.

As many know, I have 3 sets of rims/tires right now. Stock OBX, Stock BD, and my RTR Tech 6 rims (17x9 +30 offset).

I plan to put some 34's on the steelies in the future. Right now, just wearing them out. For $600 for a full set of 5 with tpms, how can you go wrong?

 

[MnLakeBum]

I appreciate that. Thanks!

Despite my soft office hands, I manage to get outside a fair bit. I mean, when I did do SERE school at 50 with my soft office mitts. I also enjoy wrenching on my own vehicles, it gives me the opportunity to really curse like a sailor.

The cost of these things and proper maintenance makes me wonder how people legitimately make it happen without doing their own work. Especially as I am about to retire. I really didn't want to spend $50k, much less $70k on a new vehicle (although, probably will close in on 60k at some point with my modifications).

My hands are not soft as I played 90 rounds of golf this year without a glove.

If you want a super capable off-road vehicle that requires zero mods, I suggest looking at one of these. They are a blast to drive. I was introduced to them last summer and am in full ponder mode right now. Don’t demo one unless you’re ready to buy.

 

[mpeugeot]

What a joke of a f’n write-up. I wish you had bought a POS Jeep.

I wish I had too. They are so less judgmental. LMFAO. I have owned 2 Jeeps in the past, an XJ and a TJ.

 

[Beach_Bum]

The Black Diamond steelies look ok.

...

I plan to put some 34's on the steelies in the future. Right now, just wearing them out. For $600 for a full set of 5 with tpms, how can you go wrong?

I intend to do the same. My biggest problem is that people unload the Grabbers on the steelies at crazy prices. I hate to turn down a bargain. A set local to me was $500 recently. My original set only has 5k on them and I almost bought the extra set just to use in the rotation.

 

[Snowdogyyz]

There’s just nothing quite as entertaining as watching the butt hurt on this forum if you don’t subscribe to the “my bronco is the greatest vehicle ever built and I love it so much that if my wife and kids say it’s us or the bronco- goodbye wife and kids” crowd.
Nice write up. Now go and buy a Jeep you loser!

 

[JBlanco]

There’s just nothing quite as entertaining as watching the butt hurt on this forum if you don’t subscribe to the “my bronco is the greatest vehicle ever built and I love it so much that if my wife and kids say it’s us or the bronco- goodbye wife and kids” crowd.
Nice write up. Now go and buy a Jeep you loser!

I sure hope Ford is spending a lot of money bribing those Bronco "owners" because that type of fanaticism doesn't make any sense if not being compensated in any way...

 

[CADUC3US]

How has the build quality held up after 50000 miles? I am mostly interested about rattles but also parts like the turn signal/wiper module and selection knobs/buttons?

 

[Ksjrb03]

There’s just nothing quite as entertaining as watching the butt hurt on this forum if you don’t subscribe to the “my bronco is the greatest vehicle ever built and I love it so much that if my wife and kids say it’s us or the bronco- goodbye wife and kids” crowd.
Nice write up. Now go and buy a Jeep you loser!

I sure hope Ford is spending a lot of money bribing those Bronco "owners" because that type of fanaticism doesn't make any sense if not being compensated in any way...

Amen.

 

[mpeugeot]

How has the build quality held up after 50000 miles? I am mostly interested about rattles but also parts like the turn signal/wiper module and selection knobs/buttons?

So that's a great question.

The black plastic panels in the back mar easily and aren't exactly durable, cover them or the will get scratched or gouged easily.

The hardtop cracked while resting on the alignment pins my first time taking it off. Ditch them.

Rattles - don't have any after 50k miles.

Dash - looks as good as new.

Front accessory mount - pull it out and locktite the castle nut to the mount. Otherwise, it will come loose eventually if you use it like I do.

knobs and switches - no issues, holding up fine.

Wipers - mechanically work fine, but I need new blades.

The speaker enclosures rattle a bit if I have some heavy base (especially drivers side footwell) with the upgraded speakers, but I will eventually address that.

Otherwise, it's been far more solid than I expected.

 

[CN72]

I'm curous where you come up with a statement like this:
" My Bronco was built at a time when the MAP employees were not high AF "
Do you assume they are generally, High AF?
That sure is a massive statement and I hope you have knowledge to back it up, otherwise you might want to take a second and read that from a 3rd person point of view and the stigma you have just cast on these workers. These are hard working folks that aren't to blame for a vast majority of what has happened with the Bronco rollout and issues.

Good for you for having 50k and authoring such an interesting read.
I'm still in a hold pattern for 838 days.

 

[Beto69Bronco]

Curious, does the Aeroskin II Deflector reduce any of the wind noise at highway speeds? Thanks!

 

[lakesinai]

How did I start with the wrong trim level? I wanted a cloth interior (that wasn't ugly) and I didn't need the front locker.

Tell me, what trim level comes with all 8 GOAT modes, is on 33's, has the advanced 4x4 transfer case, can be equipped with the lux package, has front fog lights, with a cloth interior?

Oh, that's right, none of them.

It was really either the OBX or the Badlands without Sasquatch. The Badlands lost out for 3 reasons. MGV or Leather only, cost, weight. I wanted to make the most of the power to weight ratio, I wanted to keep the cost under 50k, and if you have ever taken the top off in Texas during the summer, you would understand why black MGV wasn't very appealing.

Saying I got the wrong trim is like telling a Badlands owner that he should have gotten the WildTrak if he wanted a heavy duty steering rack for rock crawling, and then telling the WildTrak owner that he should have gotten the Badlands if he wanted more articulation with the sway bar disconnect.

The real problem was that none of the trim levels were exactly what I wanted. That's ok, this is one thing about the Bronco that truly shines, the modularity of it. I had to pick a starting point and all of them weren't really what I wanted.

You're absolutely right, Mark. There is no right or wrong Bronco. We got our OBXs at the same time for similar reasons, with the assumption that we'd upgrade tires and suspension over time. I just picked up my Badlands 33" Takeoffs and now that I've completed the Off-Roadeo, will be buying tires. Still waiting on a 1" coilover shock lift that I like, but the car does fine as it us on the beach.

 

[Rick28078]

Change journal.

So the very first day... I knew that changes needed to be made. Yes, I was well aware that I "started with the wrong trim" sorta... They were all wrong for me. I went through the configurations over and over again... Only to be frustrated.

So the first thing that happened was removing the OBX refrigerator magnets (which coincidentally now reside on my refrigerator). Those were replaced by the classic Bronco scripts.

I immediately added the air struts for the hood, an aeroskin II deflector, stubby antenna, and the RTR Tech 6 rims with Patagonia M/T's (17x9 +30 offset and 295/70R17 - 33.5").

Then came all the FORSCAN mods, these made all the difference with respect to day to day enjoyment of the vehicle. This happened before the end of the 1st month of ownership.

It was about this time that I was frustrated with the lack of sound from the B&O system... I replaced all the speakers except the sub-woofer at this point. Huge difference - now on par with the stock Honda CR-V EX-L sound system... lol.

Next modification was the Flowmaster High Clearance Axle Back exhaust. Depending on the road trip, I run either the stock muffler or the Flowmaster. I like the Flowmaster, but the girlfriend doesn't. Around that time, I also installed the RC reinforced tailgate bracket.

After that, I installed the hidden winch mount from RC and the front tow hooks. I installed the actual winch later.

Shortly after that, I installed the Badlands shocks and springs. Less comfy on the highway (by a marginal amount) but better off-road and offers more articulation than the sasquatch package.

I have installed a bunch of tech gadgets. GMRS radio, radar detector, ditch lights, and a tablet for entertainment purposes that's easily viewable from the front passenger seat and both rear seats.

Currently, installing the HOSS 3.0 steering rack.

Naturally, there's a bunch of other things that I have forgotten (example - oil drain plug with adjustable flow) but will add as I go along.

Curious how the install of the hidden winch was? Thinking about doing it but heard the 2.7 install is difficult.

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