Low Buck, High Value Build

[HeHateMe]

With the manual transmission that’s correct. You get 285/70r17 and Badlands wheels and narrower flares. In the automatic you get 4.46 gears instead of the 4.7s from the sas package.
they are the bilstein shocks but have slightly different part numbers. I suspect the valving is slightly different with the lighter tire package. It actually has a few mm more up travel compared to sas and it sits more level than the sas package.

Well looked into the Zone offerings after I posted that and apparently I'd need a different kit than what you have.

It would be the 3 inch version for my OBX Sasquatch versus your 3.5 inch version. Should still be able to push to 37s when time to replace tires. Maybe that'll be the same time Ford replaces these recalled Bilsteins...

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[NHBadlands]

Well looked into the Zone offerings after I posted that and apparently I'd need a different kit than what you have.

It would be the 3 inch version for my OBX Sasquatch versus your 3.5 inch version. Should still be able to push to 37s when time to replace tires. Maybe that'll be the same time Ford replaces these recalled Bilsteins...

From what I’ve heard Ford is only replacing shocks with heavy leaking or missing piggybacks. The repair is coating the welds with woolwax kind of coating and putting a hose clamp around the piggyback. Their only concern is that thing bouncing down the highway like a missile.

 

[NHBadlands]

Any idea how much she weighs now?

Good question. I don’t know. Guess it’s time for a trip to the transfer center to get weighed.

 

[jrollo7]

I finally wrapped up the little details on my weekend camping/mountain bike race rig so I thought I’d share my build. The Bronco is usually 3rd in line for money; skis and bikes take precedent in this family. But, I like all the “overland” stuff and being a decent carpenter and mechanic I went to work building with a budget. Are there better options out there: Definitely. Does this work “good enough” for me: Sure does. I’m not out shooting an episode of or XO or TSTN.

2022 Badlands (non-sas) purchased Oct 22
2.3M 7MT
Ford Performance Tune
B and M shifter
Catch can

IAG bolt on steps

Zone 3.5” lift on factory suspension
37/12.50r17 Nitto Ridge Grappler
Rhino wheels1:7x9.5 +6 offset

Yakima bike rack and Kuat swing out. (After a lot of internet searching the Kuat swing out has the widest swing so it allows the bike to be close to the spare tire but swing wide enough to clear the side of the Bronco. Also it opens to 120* which allows the tailgate to swing wide open.

Rough Country lighting in the modular bumper and ditch lights. I’m not racing Baja at night. They are plenty bright enough for cruising back roads

On the roof:
At the time I bought the Bronco there weren’t many options for roof platforms and what was available was too narrow for what I wanted. So I bought a Yakima 54”x84” platform and used 3 sets of Rhino rack feet. I went with the Yakima platform vs the Rhino because the load bars were perpendicular to the vehicle vs parallel. I felt it makes it easier to walk up there and mount the stuff I already had up there. I used the Rhino feet since they had the shortest stack height. I worked up the nut to drill the roof and figure out I could mount the feet around the most structurally parts of the roof. The most forward foot mounts right over the latch for the mid roof section and the rear feet land right where the factory rack feet sit. I now have a factory rack I may cut up and use the forward part as a4th mount

Mounted to the platform is a Yakima RTT and an OpenRoad 270* awning.
Next I needed storage on the platform and after looking at all the “overland” stuff I was not going to pay the overland tax. I went down to Home Depot with a tape measure and found the Husky bins fit the space I had left perfectly. I liked the quick on and off some of the premium storage bins but all that was out of the budget. I knew straps were going to be my only option so I grabbed some $8 straps, M8 t slot hooks and the sewing machine and got to work creating quick mounts for my bins. The rings give some leverage to pull down on and the just tie off the tails. I cut the straps to length and bar tacked with nylon thread in the sewing machine. The ends are secured through the hooks with some 1/4” threaded rod and nuts staked on them. You just push the loose strap though and pull the bolt out and everything is free.

The Kitchen:
I had a kitchen in my 5th gen 4runner that had a similar design. I decided to follow my previous design after spending many hours on the forums seeing what others did. Most seemed to just use up a ton on space for the sake of “organizing” there stuff and have some cool drawers. The kitchen wastes no space. Is build from 1/2” birch plywood and a few coats of water based poly. It’s covered with Raptor liner. The dry goods box fits inside the kitchen box. Just pull the dry goods box out and now there is plenty of prep space. The little drawer holds all the utensils for a family of 4 to eat a meal and the open storage holds the pots and pans that fit a small stove. The fridge is a 47qt ARB on an ARB sliding drawer. all mounted on a floor plate with T nut fasteners just like a Goose Gear floor system.

Electrical:
The fridge only draws .8Amp hours so for the first 2 summers it ran of the Bronco battery and I was just diligent to turn of the fridge if I wasn’t going to drive the Bronco for a few days. Now is wire to aux batteries. I was able to mount a Renogy 1000w inverter and 20amp DC to DC charger where the factory amp and sub would be. The inverter is used so infrequently that it’s just wired to the Bronco battery and I make sure it’s running if I use it. Usually I make a big smoothie in a blender before a bike race. In the storage well is 2 30Ahr batteries in parallel to power the fridge and the awning lights. I added power ports for the fridge, 2USBs and a singe 120v. I used 2 gauge OFC wire off the batter to the back to power the whole system.
I know the Aux switches can handle the load of the lights but kept the relays for ease of wiring. I had to cut. Whole lot less and gives some extra protection

On Board Air:
I like the American Adventure Lab ARB tailgate compressor mount but no the price tags for the entire kit. So I bought their blank tailgate panel and build my own system with an ARB “knockoff” from Amazon that is an ARB compressor without the ARB stickers on it for $130. I also wanted a hose real but those are stupid expensive until you figure out a $40 26’ 1/4” hose reel from Harbor Freight fits in the spare tire mount once it’s wall mount bracket is removed.

Last mod was moving the Jack since the floor plate is bolted down with all the kitchen stuff on it. So I built a mount that fits between the fridge and the back seat.

Load helpers:
To help carry all the weight I added some load helpers from Amazon. It’s an easy $35 temporary fix until I can swap the springs out for Dobinsons that are sitting on the bench. With 50k miles on it already I may find some takeoff shocks and just add the Dobinsons and swap everything.

I hope this thread sheds some light on the fact that you don’t have to spend $$$$$ to have a fun functional “Overlander” with all the same features that the million dollar rigs have. I’m happy to go into more detail of stuff if you have questions

Good work. Enjoy it all!

 

[chrisstyle420]

I finally wrapped up the little details on my weekend camping/mountain bike race rig so I thought I’d share my build. The Bronco is usually 3rd in line for money; skis and bikes take precedent in this family. But, I like all the “overland” stuff and being a decent carpenter and mechanic I went to work building with a budget. Are there better options out there: Definitely. Does this work “good enough” for me: Sure does. I’m not out shooting an episode of or XO or TSTN.

2022 Badlands (non-sas) purchased Oct 22
2.3M 7MT
Ford Performance Tune
B and M shifter
Catch can

IAG bolt on steps

Zone 3.5” lift on factory suspension
37/12.50r17 Nitto Ridge Grappler
Rhino wheels1:7x9.5 +6 offset

Yakima bike rack and Kuat swing out. (After a lot of internet searching the Kuat swing out has the widest swing so it allows the bike to be close to the spare tire but swing wide enough to clear the side of the Bronco. Also it opens to 120* which allows the tailgate to swing wide open.

Rough Country lighting in the modular bumper and ditch lights. I’m not racing Baja at night. They are plenty bright enough for cruising back roads

On the roof:
At the time I bought the Bronco there weren’t many options for roof platforms and what was available was too narrow for what I wanted. So I bought a Yakima 54”x84” platform and used 3 sets of Rhino rack feet. I went with the Yakima platform vs the Rhino because the load bars were perpendicular to the vehicle vs parallel. I felt it makes it easier to walk up there and mount the stuff I already had up there. I used the Rhino feet since they had the shortest stack height. I worked up the nut to drill the roof and figure out I could mount the feet around the most structurally parts of the roof. The most forward foot mounts right over the latch for the mid roof section and the rear feet land right where the factory rack feet sit. I now have a factory rack I may cut up and use the forward part as a4th mount

Mounted to the platform is a Yakima RTT and an OpenRoad 270* awning.
Next I needed storage on the platform and after looking at all the “overland” stuff I was not going to pay the overland tax. I went down to Home Depot with a tape measure and found the Husky bins fit the space I had left perfectly. I liked the quick on and off some of the premium storage bins but all that was out of the budget. I knew straps were going to be my only option so I grabbed some $8 straps, M8 t slot hooks and the sewing machine and got to work creating quick mounts for my bins. The rings give some leverage to pull down on and the just tie off the tails. I cut the straps to length and bar tacked with nylon thread in the sewing machine. The ends are secured through the hooks with some 1/4” threaded rod and nuts staked on them. You just push the loose strap though and pull the bolt out and everything is free.

The Kitchen:
I had a kitchen in my 5th gen 4runner that had a similar design. I decided to follow my previous design after spending many hours on the forums seeing what others did. Most seemed to just use up a ton on space for the sake of “organizing” there stuff and have some cool drawers. The kitchen wastes no space. Is build from 1/2” birch plywood and a few coats of water based poly. It’s covered with Raptor liner. The dry goods box fits inside the kitchen box. Just pull the dry goods box out and now there is plenty of prep space. The little drawer holds all the utensils for a family of 4 to eat a meal and the open storage holds the pots and pans that fit a small stove. The fridge is a 47qt ARB on an ARB sliding drawer. all mounted on a floor plate with T nut fasteners just like a Goose Gear floor system.

Electrical:
The fridge only draws .8Amp hours so for the first 2 summers it ran of the Bronco battery and I was just diligent to turn of the fridge if I wasn’t going to drive the Bronco for a few days. Now is wire to aux batteries. I was able to mount a Renogy 1000w inverter and 20amp DC to DC charger where the factory amp and sub would be. The inverter is used so infrequently that it’s just wired to the Bronco battery and I make sure it’s running if I use it. Usually I make a big smoothie in a blender before a bike race. In the storage well is 2 30Ahr batteries in parallel to power the fridge and the awning lights. I added power ports for the fridge, 2USBs and a singe 120v. I used 2 gauge OFC wire off the batter to the back to power the whole system.
I know the Aux switches can handle the load of the lights but kept the relays for ease of wiring. I had to cut. Whole lot less and gives some extra protection

On Board Air:
I like the American Adventure Lab ARB tailgate compressor mount but no the price tags for the entire kit. So I bought their blank tailgate panel and build my own system with an ARB “knockoff” from Amazon that is an ARB compressor without the ARB stickers on it for $130. I also wanted a hose real but those are stupid expensive until you figure out a $40 26’ 1/4” hose reel from Harbor Freight fits in the spare tire mount once it’s wall mount bracket is removed.

Last mod was moving the Jack since the floor plate is bolted down with all the kitchen stuff on it. So I built a mount that fits between the fridge and the back seat.

Load helpers:
To help carry all the weight I added some load helpers from Amazon. It’s an easy $35 temporary fix until I can swap the springs out for Dobinsons that are sitting on the bench. With 50k miles on it already I may find some takeoff shocks and just add the Dobinsons and swap everything.

I hope this thread sheds some light on the fact that you don’t have to spend $$$$$ to have a fun functional “Overlander” with all the same features that the million dollar rigs have. I’m happy to go into more detail of stuff if you have questions

I think we might have different views on low dollar lol. Sick build tho. I have the same swing arm and rack and its amazing. Out of curiosity how much roughly was the lift and 37's?

 

[Sicantreis]

@NHBadlands - Thank you for sharing! Some really interesting ideas here. Could you share more pictures and details on your air compressor and the hose in the spare tire? That seems like a very elegant solution and I'm curious on how it all worked!

 

[NHBadlands]

@NHBadlands - Thank you for sharing! Some really interesting ideas here. Could you share more pictures and details on your air compressor and the hose in the spare tire? That seems like a very elegant solution and I'm curious on how it all worked!

I don’t have many pictures but if you check these links out I just copied their install with their blank tailgate cover.

https://americanadventurelab.com/product/ford-bronco-tailgate-compressor-mount-bundle/

Bought this blank.
https://americanadventurelab.com/product/ford-bronco-tailgate-hump-cover/

compressor:
KMA12 High Output 12V Air Compressor System Single Motor Replacement for Tire Inflating and Air Locker Differentials

Hose reel
https://www.northerntool.com/produc...if-gjlcUHMHI8QNsyXQQOwbr5PU59JYBoC_mQQAvD_BwE

the reel just fits in the mount and secured with a zip tie. The wall mount is removed by taking two screws out of the case and the nubs that hold the wall mount come out. Hope that helps. It would be a lot to take it apart to photograph

 

[NHBadlands]

I think we might have different views on low dollar lol. Sick build tho. I have the same swing arm and rack and its amazing. Out of curiosity how much roughly was the lift and 37's?

I went back to my build sheet from 22’ so prices are way higher now. I had the Bronco on order for over a year so I started shopping sales by Black Friday in 21’.
lift $540 ( didn’t come with Ball joints at the time. I had to pull them out of the factory arms)
Tires: $2075
Wheels: $1155
Install was a bit of a deal too. I usually do my own wrenching but I’m friends with dealership owner so I got employee labor price so about $1000 to do the entire install. The benefit is if there was ever a problem with anything I could say the dealer installed the lift and tires so they (ford) needed to back it.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Badlands suspension was/is Sasquatch suspension?

Squatch will get something like 1/2" or 3/4" more suspension height over base Badlands. Thus the different part numbers.
So ...

• All the base suspensions are the same (black Hitachi shocks) ( HOSS 1.0 ?)
• Then the Badlands gets a bit of lift over the base suspension and gets the Yellow Bilsteins. (HOSS 2.0 ?) gears, M210, etc etc
• All Squatches are the same with a bit more height than the Badlands , yellow Bilsteins again. (HOSS 2.0 again ?)
• Newer Squatches get a beefier steering rack. (HOSS 3.0 ?)
• Raptor

The sway bar disco allows so much wheel stuff that they have to limit to up travel with the 35's.

Pardon any errors above, this is all from memory.
I'm thinking there's a sticky thread regarding the suspension lifts and differences between them.
See if I can dig it up if anyone is interested.

EDIT:

Yep...
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...ide-lift-heights-with-wheel-tire-sizes.17719/


Base Hitachis = standard ride height
Badlands = + .67"
Squatch = +1.1" over standard , +.43" over Badlands

These are just the lift amounts from suspension parts.
Obviously the 35's go a really long way compared to a Base on 30's or the 32's.

 

[NHBadlands]

.

 

[THE_SAVSQCH]

Holy smokes that is a badass ride (to the OP haven’t read rest of post).

impressive build and you definitely made it your own.

nice work.

BBR

 

[STAYLOR66325]

Low buck or otherwise, your buck is pretty sick; amazingly efficient look-wise. Nice.

 

[fjfilips]

I don’t have many pictures but if you check these links out I just copied their install with their blank tailgate cover.

https://americanadventurelab.com/product/ford-bronco-tailgate-compressor-mount-bundle/

Bought this blank.
https://americanadventurelab.com/product/ford-bronco-tailgate-hump-cover/

compressor:
KMA12 High Output 12V Air Compressor System Single Motor Replacement for Tire Inflating and Air Locker Differentials

Hose reel
https://www.northerntool.com/products/ironton-mini-air-hose-reel-with-1-4in-x-26ft-pvc-hose-and-23-5-8in-snubber-180-psi-49586?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Air Tools + Compressors > Air Hoses & Fittings + Air Hose Reels > Air Hose Reels&utm_campaign=Ironton&utm_content=49586&ogmap=SHP|PLA|GOOG|STND|m|SITEWIDE|OOT|AirToolsOwnedBrands|{adgroup}||19586932483|146115063275&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19586932483&gbraid=0AAAAADpPfbPZRenaCfFFb4aFdBvQgS-rU&gclid=CjwKCAjwr5_CBhBlEiwAzfwYuLcGs3FpI5cBZfyo_XnT45if-gjlcUHMHI8QNsyXQQOwbr5PU59JYBoC_mQQAvD_BwE

the reel just fits in the mount and secured with a zip tie. The wall mount is removed by taking two screws out of the case and the nubs that hold the wall mount come out. Hope that helps. It would be a lot to take it apart to photograph

Great idea! Just got our Bronco and was trying to find a purpose for the tailgate hole, and also a compressor solution - perfect. Thanks for providing links to the products, you originally said the hose reel was Harbor Freight so I was unsuccessful in finding it of course.

Love that you have a retractable reel inside the spare tire.
I am guessing that you just connect the hose reel through the air flaps on the outside of the tailgate and permanently connected to the air compressor?
Do you have a neat solution for an air guage/clip on inflator nozzle to monitor the pressure while inflating?
Did you wire it into existing power inside the tailgate somewhere, or did you have to run a dedicated power line?
I will just need to find a switch for mine that can't be bumped with cargo moving, but plan to steal the rest of the design.

 

[NHBadlands]

Great idea! Just got our Bronco and was trying to find a purpose for the tailgate hole, and also a compressor solution - perfect. Thanks for providing links to the products, you originally said the hose reel was Harbor Freight so I was unsuccessful in finding it of course.

Love that you have a retractable reel inside the spare tire.
I am guessing that you just connect the hose reel through the air flaps on the outside of the tailgate and permanently connected to the air compressor?
Do you have a neat solution for an air guage/clip on inflator nozzle to monitor the pressure while inflating?
Did you wire it into existing power inside the tailgate somewhere, or did you have to run a dedicated power line?
I will just need to find a switch for mine that can't be bumped with cargo moving, but plan to steal the rest of the design.

Yeah the air line from the compressor is plumbed through the air flaps. At the moment I just put a clip on air chuck on the end of the hose and watch the tire pressure on the dash. I check it with a digital pressure gauge when it’s close. I’m going to play with a regulator at some point because I’m building a solar shower that will need a 35psi air feed. The compressor amp draw is way too high for any existing wiring. It is connected to the 2 gauge wire running from the battery to all the other stuff in the back. I was able to hide the compressor wire with the tailgate wiring in the cloth protector. I wish I had more photos but I just don’t have the time to document everything.

 

[fjfilips]

Yeah the air line from the compressor is plumbed through the air flaps. At the moment I just put a clip on air chuck on the end of the hose and watch the tire pressure on the dash. I check it with a digital pressure gauge when it’s close. I’m going to play with a regulator at some point because I’m building a solar shower that will need a 35psi air feed. The compressor amp draw is way too high for any existing wiring. It is connected to the 2 gauge wire running from the battery to all the other stuff in the back. I was able to hide the compressor wire with the tailgate wiring in the cloth protector. I wish I had more photos but I just don’t have the time to document everything.

Thanks! I just completed installing the knockoff ARB compressor on the American Adventure Lab blank plate. Ziptied (with metal zip ties available at Harbor Freight, a very good thing) the Northern Tool hose reel (available on Amazon) inside the spare tire carrier. I drilled holes in the plate where the tire mounts and ran zip ties around the 2 nubs where the stock mounting bracket attached, and a loop on the opposite side of the hose reel. Simplified the harness that came with the compressor and ran dedicated power to battery along with a control wire to the overhead switch bank I have inside. When completed, this system looks and feels like it was factory designed. Really slick!

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