Rock Crawling a 2-Door Base w/ No Lockers, Manual Transmission -- @ Holcomb Creek Trail in Southern California

[annieVonBebop]

For those of you like me that may be relatively new to off-roading, trails off road rates this at a 6-8 or difficult/severe and mentions it's probably the hardest trail in the area.

I started slightly regretting going with a manual non-squatch Badlands until I realized I'd never take it on anything remotely this challenging

Was a great watch if only to reassure me that I'll probably be fine with a stick on those nice moderate trails where the rocks are a third the size of these ones

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[JJ Bronco]

This past Sunday my wife and I headed up to run Holcomb Creek Trail with a few of our buddies from So Cal Broncos and a couple of my co-workers from ICON. In addition to just having a fun day on the trails, my wife and I were continuing the benchmarking series on your YouTube channel, for testing the off-road performance limits of the Cheapest Bronco You Can Buy™ (2-door Base non-Squatch, 2.3L 7-speed manual, $28,500 MSRP). Each time we've stepped it up a bit higher on the difficulty level, and with Holcomb Creek I think we've found the limit of what I'm comfortable tackling with it, without further modifications. For those who would like to skip right to the video here it is. But after that I go much further in-depth about what's going on, for anyone who's interested.




The summary is that the stripper Bronco is surprisingly capable, once you've solved the main issue they have when they're factory-fresh, which is the dismal ground clearance afforded by the stock pizza cutter tires. The lower shock mounts hang down so far below the rear axle, and the frame mount for the lower control arms robs you of a lot of breakover clearance. So adding a lift and some 35's solves that issue. So technically it's no longer the Cheapest Bronco You Can Buy™, but if you're going to be venturing off-road at all you should probably at least upgrade the tires anyhow. At any rate, just getting the thing a little higher off the ground makes doing rocky trails like these a possibility.

The other big elephant in the room is the lack of lockers. Anyone who's watched our videos so far knows that we treat that as a challenge rather than a hindrance. It's actually pretty fun, in my opinion, trying to "solve the puzzle", so to speak, of getting the Bronco through an obstacle even with that handicap. You have to choose your lines differently than someone with lockers, trying to keep both tires planted as much as possible, even if that puts the rig off-camber.

One of the neat things about the non-locked differentials though, is that the traction control still seems to work on occasion. As you'll see in the video, sometimes if you just stay in it, keep the hammer down, the computer will eventually figure out that the un-gripped tire is spinning and apply a bit of brake to it, which helps to transfer power to the other wheel. You can see that happening in several instances in the video.

Also of interest to some is the 7-speed manual transmission, and how it handles working through rock gardens like these. I'll admit I prefer an auto. I find them much easier to control, especially on slippery rocks like these where, without much traction and lack of lockers, you're often using momentum more than crawling. So it gets a bit herky-jerky at times. I suppose to some it probably looks like a continuous wreck as I crash it through those rocks. It does look that way but most of that was intentional, and for the most part it usually went where I was trying to get it to go. But I will say this, if you get the manual transmission and want to do this type of wheeling, get the pre-paid maintenance plan through your Ford dealer, like I did. It comes with clutch replacements any time they're needed, not just at certain intervals.

The 2.3L engine has been both praised and panned in these pages. But I continue to be impressed with it, and I have other 4X4's with fire-breathing V8's. It has plenty of power, even to turn those 35's. It can pull the weight of the Bronco up any grade it can get enough traction on. But the power doesn't come right off-idle. It's a bit higher in the RPM band. Sometimes you'll see in the video as I wind it up a bit before dropping the hammer. Which also contributes a bit to the jerky-ness of working through rocks like these. But the power is there, and I'm getting better at learning how to use it. By the way, the Crawl gear of the 7-speed works well in concert with the 2.3L, as it lets you get up into that power band at lower speeds.

You might have seen in our other videos that we've tackled a few different types of terrain so far. Holcomb Creek is different that any of the other trails we've tested it on so far, in that the rocks are round and slippery (they were a lot more jagged and grippy on Gold Mountain). Plus it's winter time and there's ice in the water pools between them. So traction, or lack of it, really is the determining factor on a trail like this. I probably should have aired down further than I did. I only went down to 18 PSI. With the bead retention properties of the ICON Rebound Pros I could have safely gone way lower than that. But I was thinking that I needed the ground clearance more than I needed the increased contact patch, in those boulder fields.

As you'll see in the video we did eventually reach a hard limit. I did have to pull some cable near the end of the toughest rock garden. I was pleased with how far I was able to get before I had to hook up though. But I think we've found the limits of wheeling without lockers. I still encourage anyone with one of these non-Squatch Broncos, who feels confident in their driving, to take it out and see what it can do. Just be careful, use your best judgement, and wheel with friends so you can get some assistance if needed. You should NOT attempt a trail like this alone.

Here are a few pics but they're not the best since we were usually filming video during the best parts rather than still shots.

Dusty, big fan of your videos and really enjoyed this write-up.

I'm definitely new to off-roading so I appreciate someone taking the time to write and explain in detail about the Bronco in general and what you can do and what you might need.

Keep up the good work and hope to see a video sometime soon after Christmas.

 

[broncoepic]

Kicking @$$ and taking names is what this was. Enjoyed the video!! So jealous of the weather you guys have there.

 

[Dusty]

That stressed me out so much. You mentioned you had 35's at the beginning of the video, but do you have any kind of lift on it?

Yeah it's got an ICON 3/2 spacer lift on it. Disclaimer: I work for ICON. But I think it's the best spacer lift on the market

 

[Dusty]

Dusty, big fan of your videos and really enjoyed this write-up.

I'm definitely new to off-roading so I appreciate someone taking the time to write and explain in detail about the Bronco in general and what you can do and what you might need.

Keep up the good work and hope to see a video sometime soon after Christmas.

Thanks, it's comments like these that make it so much fun. Helping folks who are new to the sport understand some of what's going on. I know it can be intimidating starting out. And not everyone is going to try to tackle something like Holcomb Creek in a Bronco like mine. I actually don't recommend it, unless you just really want to push it and have some experience. But pushing the envelope like this and documenting it on tape, then explaining it a little, I think is helpful for those who are new coming in. And I expect the new Broncos will be bringing a TON of new folks into the sport. I look forward to it!

 

[Dusty]

Kicking @$$ and taking names is what this was. Enjoyed the video!! So jealous of the weather you guys have there.

Come on out, we'll show you around! Start making plans to be out here in June for our annual Big Bear Bronco Bash. It'll be our 21st annual

 

[TiredOldMedic]

By the way I should probably add the same disclaimer here as I did in another thread. I think the Sasquatch Package is a great deal, and highly recommend it. Our videos are not intended to convince anyone that they "don't need lockers." I think they're essential, especially for those who are new to off-roading, and especially if you want to venture into remote areas alone. This Bronco will probably wind up with at least a rear locker at some point. But I hope my videos do help those who happened to have bought a Bronco that isn't as well equipped, and convince them that they can still go out and have fun. Yes, you need to be more careful, choose your lines, start out easy and work your way up to the more technical stuff as you learn how to handle your rig, and ALWAYS wheel in groups if your rig is a bit handicapped like this.

Who makes the skid plate on the ICON bronco? I like it.

 

[Free Pizza]

You did a more wild run than I've see any other bronco do.

 

[Dusty]

Who makes the skid plate on the ICON bronco? I like it.

It's an ICON prototype. The bumper and skid are still in development.

 

[MillerAndCheeto]

Fantastic write up, appreciate the information!

 

[Dusty]

For those of you like me that may be relatively new to off-roading, trails off road rates this at a 6-8 or difficult/severe and mentions it's probably the hardest trail in the area.

I started slightly regretting going with a manual non-squatch Badlands until I realized I'd never take it on anything remotely this challenging

Was a great watch if only to reassure me that I'll probably be fine with a stick on those nice moderate trails where the rocks are a third the size of these ones

I see you're in Colorado. We were out there in September for Bronco Super Celebration and ours did great on all the old mining roads out there around Buena Vista. That crawl gear is awesome when chugging up those 20-degree grades in 4-low! Go back on our channel and check out the video from that event, you might find it interesting. That's the kind of stuff our '21 Bronco will mostly be doing once it settles into it's normal life. We have a highly built Early Bronco for this tougher stuff, but we're still testing the new one to push it to the limits and learn all about its capabilities.

 

[broncoepic]

Come on out, we'll show you around! Start making plans to be out here in June for our annual Big Bear Bronco Bash. It'll be our 21st annual

I would be down for coming out for the annual Big Bear Bronco Bash. I could make pit stops along the way in Moab and St. George

 

[Dusty]

I would be down for coming out for the annual Big Bear Bronco Bash. I could make pit stops along the way in Moab and St. George

Sounds like a fun trip! We'll be out in St. George in March for United By Bronco at Sand Hollow. You should look into that.

 

[USAGUY]

. You my friend are insane. You need help. Loco. Maniac. Bat sh:t crazy.
Love the video, your lady, and your write up. Keep on keeping on. Well done.
BTW. I’d like to borrow your Bronco some day & No! You can’t borrow mine.

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