Bronco Overlanding 6 months review + photos from Southern Utah, Colorado and Wyoming

[broncosor]

Both my best friend and I reserved our Broncos 7 minutes after the reveal and we both took delivery of our 2022 4D Badlands Sasquatch Lux on Feb 2022, the same day. Both same config except one is Cactus the other Area 51. After 6 months of use including several overlanding trips in Southern Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, I thought I would share my experience and share some cool pictures about those trips (more pictures and videos on our IG page @landscapturer).


I wrote an extensive report on the forum for both my experience at KOH last year, then at the Utah Offrodeo, so the information below is a complement to that.

Configuration:

Badlands 4D Sasquatch Lux hardtop

Look mods:

• Beauty rings powder coated black
• FE vinyls and mountain vinyls on rear windows
• Front Windows ceramic tinted

Accessories:

• Rigid Pilar lights
• Goose Gear cargo platform
• Goose gear fridge slide + Dometic Fridge
• Rokblokz mud flaps
• American Adventure Lab cargo shelf (to be installed next week, photos incoming)
• Ford roof rack
• Yakima Skyrise HD roof top tent
• Lots of various Ford accessories bought with points such as floor mats, air compressor etc
• Lots of overlanding gear

After a few issues with Rokblokz and Goosegear that got sorted out (I posted comments and reviews in dedicated threads here) I am super happy with all my mods and wouldn’t change a thing except the roof top tent.


Now about the Bronco itself:

Things I love:

• Comfort. Both on and off road this car is comfortable and it all starts with the seats. They are, in my opinion, with Volvo SUV seats the most comfortable seats I have ever tried, especially on long trips. That’s an important point because at the end of the day you spend huge amount of time on those seats…
• Ride and drive. When you think about the capability offroad, I believe Ford did an amazing job with on road behaviors. The body roll is reasonably controlled, the ride is comfortable, track straight, everything just feels right (steering,…). Even when compared to regular non off road SUVs, the Bronco still holds its own and that’s a huge achievement and miles ahead of the Wrangler.
• Engine. I drove the 2.3 and 2.7 a lot before ending up with the 2.7. I did write an extensive post on this but I strongly advice anyone with a heavy build (remember I have a Badlands with 4D, Sasquatch and Lux so basically the heaviest build) to go with the 2.7. The engine is super smooth and powerful, it’s just a joy to drive in any situation. Another excellent job from Ford
• Off road and overlanding. I wrote in length about that for my KOH and Offrodeo report, and the summary is it’s really excellent. I will add that the Bronco has been a fantastic vehicle for overlanding. I am not passionate about off-roading. I don’t do difficult trail because I love it. I do offroad because it takes me to remote beautiful places and amazing camp spots. And for that application the Bronco is excellent for 1 reason: you know it will take you there. I used to be stuck all the times in our adventures with our previous SUV because at one point in the road trip you needed a more capable vehicle. It’s been a hassle many times. The bronco completely changed that. Now I don’t sweat about trail planning. I know that if any stock vehicle including Jeeps can make it, I can make it no pbm. Another HUGE advantage is the speed to get there. One time I did have to drive 5-10 mph for 2 hours to get to my campspot. Even though the SUV could make it there, it was very slow (adding the stressful to pop a tire). Came back with the Bronco and flew over that section at 50mph, with a smile on my face. World of difference.
• Fun. Never a vehicle provided me with that amount of fun. That includes driving to the grocery store. It’s just a fun vehicle to drive all around and I am always smiling, 6 months after, whenever I put my ass in there.
• Look. One of the best looking vehicle on the road IMO. I never get tired to look at it.
  

Things I don’t like:

• Noise. It’s factually quite noisy on the highway and it gets tiring for long road trips. I don’t remove the hardtop much so I wish they had a non removable top version.
• Interior build quality. Plastics are flimsy. Non premium materials for a premium price.
• Reliability. Despite being a 2023 both my best friend and I got our Broncos at the same time. We both got several issues including rattling from the windows and wheel wells, weather strips that get unglued, bugs with the media system, 12V plug not working, body panel alignment issues, rear doors that can’t be open properly due to window not coming down, etc. Looking at the forum, those are not one time events. I have never had that many issues in vehicles I drove for 50,000 miles (including first model year), let alone 6000 miles like this Bronco. It’s really a shame.
• Suspension platform when loaded. The Bilstein work really well when the vehicle is empty, but throw in overlanding gear and it will bottom out on mild bumps at 15mph. That’s expected though for a stock vehicle, and it still is miles better than most vehicles money can buy, and the easy fix will be stiffer springs and compression adjustable coilovers.
• Lux package is a bit lacking. I am glad I got it, but I wish there was an option for ventilated front seats which would make a huge difference especially in warm states. Hard to understand why a lot of the tech from the F150 is not available as well.

I wish the Bronco was built properly, with the right materials and the right QC but those negatives don’t prevent me from enjoying this vehicle that provides us massive joy and fun. Most of the cons are relatively minor except reliability. I accept the reliability trade off though thanks to the warranty and I would much rather do that than having a really boring and less capable and less comfortable and less technologically advanced but more reliable 4Runner. To each his own!

Now time for some photographies, if you would like to see more in the future don’t hesitate to follow along on our IG page clicking here: @landscapturer

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[palley6]

I love those pictures. What camera/lens do you use primarily?

 

[dcaero]

Great photos, looks like tons of fun adventures!

 

[talbot]

great write up and pics!
can't agree more with everything you've outlined and envious of the overlanding time and locations

 

[broncosor]

I love those pictures. What camera/lens do you use primarily?

Thank you! Using a Canon R5 and the 14-35, 24-105 and 100-400 mostly.

 

[Scohin]

Dumb question, how much was it to powder coat the beauty rings?

 

[Bronco cat]

Both my best friend and I reserved our Broncos 7 minutes after the reveal and we both took delivery of our 2022 4D Badlands Sasquatch Lux on Feb 2022, the same day. Both same config except one is Cactus the other Area 51. After 6 months of use including several overlanding trips in Southern Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, I thought I would share my experience and share some cool pictures about those trips (more pictures and videos on our IG page @landscapturer).


I wrote an extensive report on the forum for both my experience at KOH last year, then at the Utah Offrodeo, so the information below is a complement to that.

Configuration:

Badlands 4D Sasquatch Lux hardtop

Look mods:

• Beauty rings powder coated black
• FE vinyls and mountain vinyls on rear windows
• Front Windows ceramic tinted

Accessories:

• Rigid Pilar lights
• Goose Gear cargo platform
• Goose gear fridge slide + Dometic Fridge
• Rokblokz mud flaps
• American Adventure Lab cargo shelf (to be installed next week, photos incoming)
• Ford roof rack
• Yakima Skyrise HD roof top tent
• Lots of various Ford accessories bought with points such as floor mats, air compressor etc
• Lots of overlanding gear

After a few issues with Rokblokz and Goosegear that got sorted out (I posted comments and reviews in dedicated threads here) I am super happy with all my mods and wouldn’t change a thing except the roof top tent.


Now about the Bronco itself:

Things I love:

• Comfort. Both on and off road this car is comfortable and it all starts with the seats. They are, in my opinion, with Volvo SUV seats the most comfortable seats I have ever tried, especially on long trips. That’s an important point because at the end of the day you spend huge amount of time on those seats…
• Ride and drive. When you think about the capability offroad, I believe Ford did an amazing job with on road behaviors. The body roll is reasonably controlled, the ride is comfortable, track straight, everything just feels right (steering,…). Even when compared to regular non off road SUVs, the Bronco still holds its own and that’s a huge achievement and miles ahead of the Wrangler.
• Engine. I drove the 2.3 and 2.7 a lot before ending up with the 2.7. I did write an extensive post on this but I strongly advice anyone with a heavy build (remember I have a Badlands with 4D, Sasquatch and Lux so basically the heaviest build) to go with the 2.7. The engine is super smooth and powerful, it’s just a joy to drive in any situation. Another excellent job from Ford
• Off road and overlanding. I wrote in length about that for my KOH and Offrodeo report, and the summary is it’s really excellent. I will add that the Bronco has been a fantastic vehicle for overlanding. I am not passionate about off-roading. I don’t do difficult trail because I love it. I do offroad because it takes me to remote beautiful places and amazing camp spots. And for that application the Bronco is excellent for 1 reason: you know it will take you there. I used to be stuck all the times in our adventures with our previous SUV because at one point in the road trip you needed a more capable vehicle. It’s been a hassle many times. The bronco completely changed that. Now I don’t sweat about trail planning. I know that if any stock vehicle including Jeeps can make it, I can make it no pbm. Another HUGE advantage is the speed to get there. One time I did have to drive 5-10 mph for 2 hours to get to my campspot. Even though the SUV could make it there, it was very slow (adding the stressful to pop a tire). Came back with the Bronco and flew over that section at 50mph, with a smile on my face. World of difference.
• Fun. Never a vehicle provided me with that amount of fun. That includes driving to the grocery store. It’s just a fun vehicle to drive all around and I am always smiling, 6 months after, whenever I put my ass in there.
• Look. One of the best looking vehicle on the road IMO. I never get tired to look at it.

Things I don’t like:

• Noise. It’s factually quite noisy on the highway and it gets tiring for long road trips. I don’t remove the hardtop much so I wish they had a non removable top version.
• Interior build quality. Plastics are flimsy. Non premium materials for a premium price.
• Reliability. Despite being a 2023 both my best friend and I got our Broncos at the same time. We both got several issues including rattling from the windows and wheel wells, weather strips that get unglued, bugs with the media system, 12V plug not working, body panel alignment issues, rear doors that can’t be open properly due to window not coming down, etc. Looking at the forum, those are not one time events. I have never had that many issues in vehicles I drove for 50,000 miles (including first model year), let alone 6000 miles like this Bronco. It’s really a shame.
• Suspension platform when loaded. The Bilstein work really well when the vehicle is empty, but throw in overlanding gear and it will bottom out on mild bumps at 15mph. That’s expected though for a stock vehicle, and it still is miles better than most vehicles money can buy, and the easy fix will be stiffer springs and compression adjustable coilovers.
• Lux package is a bit lacking. I am glad I got it, but I wish there was an option for ventilated front seats which would make a huge difference especially in warm states. Hard to understand why a lot of the tech from the F150 is not available as well.

I wish the Bronco was built properly, with the right materials and the right QC but those negatives don’t prevent me from enjoying this vehicle that provides us massive joy and fun. Most of the cons are relatively minor except reliability. I accept the reliability trade off though thanks to the warranty and I would much rather do that than having a really boring and less capable and less comfortable and less technologically advanced but more reliable 4Runner. To each his own!

Now time for some photographies, if you would like to see more in the future don’t hesitate to follow along on our IG page clicking here: @landscapturer

Not trying to be an ass, but what reliability issues have you had? The definition of reliability to me is being able to dependably get from point a to point b with no issues witch it sounds like you have. The other issues are related to build and qc.

 

[shoelessjoe]

Both my best friend and I reserved our Broncos 7 minutes after the reveal and we both took delivery of our 2022 4D Badlands Sasquatch Lux on Feb 2022, the same day. Both same config except one is Cactus the other Area 51. After 6 months of use including several overlanding trips in Southern Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, I thought I would share my experience and share some cool pictures about those trips (more pictures and videos on our IG page @landscapturer).


I wrote an extensive report on the forum for both my experience at KOH last year, then at the Utah Offrodeo, so the information below is a complement to that.

Configuration:

Badlands 4D Sasquatch Lux hardtop

Look mods:

• Beauty rings powder coated black
• FE vinyls and mountain vinyls on rear windows
• Front Windows ceramic tinted

Accessories:

• Rigid Pilar lights
• Goose Gear cargo platform
• Goose gear fridge slide + Dometic Fridge
• Rokblokz mud flaps
• American Adventure Lab cargo shelf (to be installed next week, photos incoming)
• Ford roof rack
• Yakima Skyrise HD roof top tent
• Lots of various Ford accessories bought with points such as floor mats, air compressor etc
• Lots of overlanding gear

After a few issues with Rokblokz and Goosegear that got sorted out (I posted comments and reviews in dedicated threads here) I am super happy with all my mods and wouldn’t change a thing except the roof top tent.


Now about the Bronco itself:

Things I love:

• Comfort. Both on and off road this car is comfortable and it all starts with the seats. They are, in my opinion, with Volvo SUV seats the most comfortable seats I have ever tried, especially on long trips. That’s an important point because at the end of the day you spend huge amount of time on those seats…
• Ride and drive. When you think about the capability offroad, I believe Ford did an amazing job with on road behaviors. The body roll is reasonably controlled, the ride is comfortable, track straight, everything just feels right (steering,…). Even when compared to regular non off road SUVs, the Bronco still holds its own and that’s a huge achievement and miles ahead of the Wrangler.
• Engine. I drove the 2.3 and 2.7 a lot before ending up with the 2.7. I did write an extensive post on this but I strongly advice anyone with a heavy build (remember I have a Badlands with 4D, Sasquatch and Lux so basically the heaviest build) to go with the 2.7. The engine is super smooth and powerful, it’s just a joy to drive in any situation. Another excellent job from Ford
• Off road and overlanding. I wrote in length about that for my KOH and Offrodeo report, and the summary is it’s really excellent. I will add that the Bronco has been a fantastic vehicle for overlanding. I am not passionate about off-roading. I don’t do difficult trail because I love it. I do offroad because it takes me to remote beautiful places and amazing camp spots. And for that application the Bronco is excellent for 1 reason: you know it will take you there. I used to be stuck all the times in our adventures with our previous SUV because at one point in the road trip you needed a more capable vehicle. It’s been a hassle many times. The bronco completely changed that. Now I don’t sweat about trail planning. I know that if any stock vehicle including Jeeps can make it, I can make it no pbm. Another HUGE advantage is the speed to get there. One time I did have to drive 5-10 mph for 2 hours to get to my campspot. Even though the SUV could make it there, it was very slow (adding the stressful to pop a tire). Came back with the Bronco and flew over that section at 50mph, with a smile on my face. World of difference.
• Fun. Never a vehicle provided me with that amount of fun. That includes driving to the grocery store. It’s just a fun vehicle to drive all around and I am always smiling, 6 months after, whenever I put my ass in there.
• Look. One of the best looking vehicle on the road IMO. I never get tired to look at it.

Things I don’t like:

• Noise. It’s factually quite noisy on the highway and it gets tiring for long road trips. I don’t remove the hardtop much so I wish they had a non removable top version.
• Interior build quality. Plastics are flimsy. Non premium materials for a premium price.
• Reliability. Despite being a 2023 both my best friend and I got our Broncos at the same time. We both got several issues including rattling from the windows and wheel wells, weather strips that get unglued, bugs with the media system, 12V plug not working, body panel alignment issues, rear doors that can’t be open properly due to window not coming down, etc. Looking at the forum, those are not one time events. I have never had that many issues in vehicles I drove for 50,000 miles (including first model year), let alone 6000 miles like this Bronco. It’s really a shame.
• Suspension platform when loaded. The Bilstein work really well when the vehicle is empty, but throw in overlanding gear and it will bottom out on mild bumps at 15mph. That’s expected though for a stock vehicle, and it still is miles better than most vehicles money can buy, and the easy fix will be stiffer springs and compression adjustable coilovers.
• Lux package is a bit lacking. I am glad I got it, but I wish there was an option for ventilated front seats which would make a huge difference especially in warm states. Hard to understand why a lot of the tech from the F150 is not available as well.

I wish the Bronco was built properly, with the right materials and the right QC but those negatives don’t prevent me from enjoying this vehicle that provides us massive joy and fun. Most of the cons are relatively minor except reliability. I accept the reliability trade off though thanks to the warranty and I would much rather do that than having a really boring and less capable and less comfortable and less technologically advanced but more reliable 4Runner. To each his own!

Now time for some photographies, if you would like to see more in the future don’t hesitate to follow along on our IG page clicking here: @landscapturer

Awesome Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[shoelessjoe]

Dumb question, how much was it to powder coat the beauty rings?

I had my Beauty Rings powder coated and it cost me $185

 

[Who iz]

Nice to see you enjoy those tents on the ground and on top too! Awesome to see...heading that way in Sept.

 

[Cable Guy]

Does the RTT work well on the factory rack?

 

[calgecko]

Great write up, thanks!! And, as an automotive photographer, I have to compliment you on the photos, you're clearly paying attention to direction of light, composition, background/foreground elements/distractions, etc... great shots!!

 

[broncosor]

Dumb question, how much was it to powder coat the beauty rings?

It was $200

Does the RTT work well on the factory rack?

It works really well. Very stable and not too much noise added. However the tent is only 105 lbs so that helps.

Great write up, thanks!! And, as an automotive photographer, I have to compliment you on the photos, you're clearly paying attention to direction of light, composition, background/foreground elements/distractions, etc... great shots!!

Thanks a lot!

 

[OhhhhhhSnap]

What is the light you have above the tailgate?

 

[vb_bronco]

What is the light you have above the tailgate?

Would also like to know what your AUX switch setup is! Love the pics and looks like its been an incredible journey out there.

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