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- Austin, TX
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It's 2:22am here, and we just got home from the first ever Ford Bronco Off-Road Connect Drive, which was hosted at Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area in Gilmer, TX. I'd like to thank our trail guides, the folks from @BroncoNation , and the BMRA staff who made it a fun, educational, and exciting experience.
Fire away with questions!
The Experience
If you've been to Off Roadeo, the Off-Road Connect drives are a similar convoy-style outing with trail guides who instruct, spot, and keep you and your rig safe throughout the 1 day outing. BMRA was pretty different than the Austin Off Roadeo in 2 respects:
1) Mud. LOTS of mud. A powerful storm system had just moved through the prior night, so every trail had water, soft clay, and plenty of reason to use those lockers (front + rear)
2) Being East Texas, near the Louisiana border, there were a lot of flat trails, and a great deal of tight, technical trails for beginner to intermediate drivers. Unlike the Off Roadeo locations I've seen, many tight turns left only 5-6" of clearance on either side of the Bronco
Educational Content
Our group's head guide, Brian, was really friendly, encouraging, and knowledgeable. We reviewed and practiced trail etiquette when sharing the trail with oncoming vehicles, maintaining a contiguous convoy, recovery techniques and equipment (most valuable, imo), as well as the big 3:
1. Human preservation
2. Trail preservation
3. Vehicle preservation
We also reviewed the function and use cases for features including your front/rear lockers, sway bar disconnect, G.O.A.T. modes, trail control, and trail turn assist. Plenty of opportunities to test out each (and some obstacles where multiple were needed).
I would still recommend attending Off Roadeo prior to a Off-Road Connect drive if you are a novice, as the Off Roadeo is geared toward beginner trail riders, and is long enough to permit more in depth discussion of your equipment, line planning, and multiple recovery safety tips.
Takeaways
If you're looking to see what your Bronco can do in a less controlled environment but still benefit from the experience of seasoned trail riders, I'd highly recommend a Off-Road Connect drive, and plan to attend another when I'm able. Taking on more challenging terrain in a vehicle you're still getting used to is so much more fun when you aren't worried about trashing your $50-100k pride and joy (looking at you 700 day+ crowd). I can't say enough good things about everyone who turned out from The Bronco Nation, Ford, and its partners who turned out to launch this series with to help everyone appreciate just how much more fun they can squeeze out of their rig with the right techniques.
Fire away with questions!
The Experience
If you've been to Off Roadeo, the Off-Road Connect drives are a similar convoy-style outing with trail guides who instruct, spot, and keep you and your rig safe throughout the 1 day outing. BMRA was pretty different than the Austin Off Roadeo in 2 respects:
1) Mud. LOTS of mud. A powerful storm system had just moved through the prior night, so every trail had water, soft clay, and plenty of reason to use those lockers (front + rear)
2) Being East Texas, near the Louisiana border, there were a lot of flat trails, and a great deal of tight, technical trails for beginner to intermediate drivers. Unlike the Off Roadeo locations I've seen, many tight turns left only 5-6" of clearance on either side of the Bronco
Educational Content
Our group's head guide, Brian, was really friendly, encouraging, and knowledgeable. We reviewed and practiced trail etiquette when sharing the trail with oncoming vehicles, maintaining a contiguous convoy, recovery techniques and equipment (most valuable, imo), as well as the big 3:
1. Human preservation
2. Trail preservation
3. Vehicle preservation
We also reviewed the function and use cases for features including your front/rear lockers, sway bar disconnect, G.O.A.T. modes, trail control, and trail turn assist. Plenty of opportunities to test out each (and some obstacles where multiple were needed).
I would still recommend attending Off Roadeo prior to a Off-Road Connect drive if you are a novice, as the Off Roadeo is geared toward beginner trail riders, and is long enough to permit more in depth discussion of your equipment, line planning, and multiple recovery safety tips.
Takeaways
If you're looking to see what your Bronco can do in a less controlled environment but still benefit from the experience of seasoned trail riders, I'd highly recommend a Off-Road Connect drive, and plan to attend another when I'm able. Taking on more challenging terrain in a vehicle you're still getting used to is so much more fun when you aren't worried about trashing your $50-100k pride and joy (looking at you 700 day+ crowd). I can't say enough good things about everyone who turned out from The Bronco Nation, Ford, and its partners who turned out to launch this series with to help everyone appreciate just how much more fun they can squeeze out of their rig with the right techniques.
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