BD 2.7 Mid Tow Nav... bad weather in the summer, DD in the winter, beach then VT service roads a couple of times each year. Most import (and probably unique to me) will be city driving, grocery getter, etc. anything with public parking where I don't like taking my other cars.
Daily driver 13 miles to and from work. If I feel spicy, I'll take the gravel back roads to save 3 miles each way. Weekends, wife and I will take the top off and drive to the golf course.
Nope, I won't be muddin or crawlin or anything else and I'm totally cool with that. And yes, my brother-in-law will get a bronco and go muddin and crawlin every weekend and I'm totally cool with that too.
p.s. Thank you for searching and reviving an old thread instead of starting a new one. I really am being serious. A lot of good conversation already and it's interesting to see if it still holds up.
I bought a GT350 thats a garage Queen ..never seen rain or even temps under 50 degrees, gets to see a sunny weekend drive in the summer, or maybe the occasional cruise at the night with some stoplight action. No Mods ...it’s An incredible performance car, a pleasure to drive. It should be tracked, but probably never will.
ordered Badlands, Lux, SAS, 2.7..gonna mod it, change to off road body panels when needed, hit the many off road trails in Ozark‘s of Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas and have some fun..daily driver too. Do I care about rock crawling? Not really..will I end up doing some ..yes, but not like out west. It’s too slow and technical for me. Would rather go through an array of obstacles: steep grades, mud, rocks, slides, creeks, etc..
Quail hunting in northern Baja. Getting to where we hunt involves lots of dirt “roads” and then its really off road. My Bronco will have some Mexican pinstripes after the first weekend in the field.
I plan on getting a Wildtak, and plan on forest roads and occasional trips to Silver Lake sand dunes. It will be a heavily used camp vehicle and mountain bike transporter (but in all honesty a minivan with AWD would be fine with this). I want the doors off and top off in the summer, never owned a jeep always wanted one.
Went Wildtrak as the BL has too much offroad tech I won't use, like the factory standard bumper with fogs, and wanted the Lux package and leather. I will buy one of your skid plates off the BL when the time comes too!
I figure if I can hike the terrain or mountain bike it faster than offroad rock crawling that's pointless (yes I know some of you live for this).
Mine will probably get scratched before It gets into my driveway, I've told all my friends that after I leave the dealership, its going right up to walker valley orv Park for some trail riding then I'll take it home. Nobody believes that I'm gonna bash a 57k badlands......guess I'll just have to prove them wrong. But.....im certainly not intentionally going to run it into shit. I mean its a nice peice of machinery, so, im not gonna get "bent outta shape" about it when the trail rash happens. Lol. Thats why they make new fenders and quarter panels folks!
Now, on the realistic side, correct - I am NOT taking a brand new Badlands for anything beyond basic rock crawling because a) I do not have the experience (yet) b) it is a nice shiny vehicle that I do not want to trash from my inexperience c) I live in NJ where I will go through the Pine Barrens and to Virginia, PA, an NY on off-roading excursions, but not extreme. I'm happy to have the capability.
I feel I was somewhat compelled to 'over-buy' due to options and packages. Lux was a definite requirement for me - total deal-breaker. So that puts me at a certain level. OBX might have been good, but I hated the wheels and by the time I swap to the wheel/tire combo I want, the price difference is less. Then, I have two big dogs and want to MGV. Wish I could have power seats, but trashing leather and cloth is bigger risk than a little inconvenience. I want the better suspension, but certainly don't need the unlocking sway bar, but that's in the package.
A long time ago I sold my Piper Archer and bought a Mooney - much faster plane, more complex to fly and more money to maintain. Still had four seats, but I wanted the capability and the challenge, even though I did not need it. Don't see this as any different. It will cost more, but it will likely re-sell for more as well. Enjoy whatever Bronco you choose (or not) to buy.
My rig will be used for my daily driver however it will on average make (2) trips to MOAB...yes Hells Revenge and other various trails at MOAB. I will then use it on exploring old abandoned mining town in the mountain towns of Colorado. From there I will use it for bird hunting trips in various states with my German Shorthair pointers. If it's a wet year in SD then I will most likely need to add a winch this fall. My selection is the Badlands. I have built Jeep's previously the draw back to using a 60K vehicle for off road is that you're going to see damage and regardless of how cautious you are from time to time....it happens. What I have found from my past experiences once I've figured out the limitations of the vehicle I then start making changes. On my last Rubicon I lifted it and added bigger tires...well that lead to redoing the brakes (bigger rotors and calipers) and other suspension modifications. I was never quite happy with how the vehicle handled on the road thereafter. Hence I sold it and got my money back out of it.