What is the appeal of off-roading?

[MyATV]

The Bronco is sorta like that exercise equipment sitting in the garage; we always plan to use it for its intended purpose.

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[solar]

It's been a family thing, camping, exploring, baja. I've been doing off-road stuff since I was a kid. I've had off-road capable vehicles since I was "legally" allowed to drive. Not being afraid to ding shit up helps. Knowing that puts you in a spot to say you're fine with what happens off the road. But I also know the limitations of my machine and know how to protect it with like sliders, skid plates steel bumpers, etc

I love these lights. What are they? (Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread)

 

[TEAMSLO]

I love these lights. What are they? (Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread)

TMNT series

Sorry, I usually don't do this but couldn't resist on this one.

 

[cynicalrider]

If you go off-roading, you'll come across a lot of guys that aren't driving shiny brand new vehicles. A lot of guys use an old vehicle they bought for cheap or inherited, and they fixed up themselves to make it off-road capable. That's where it gets fun: seeing if you can make a vehicle capable of tackling obstacles. Eventually, you try more and more challenging obstacles and fail, so then you go back to making your machine better. Yes, you do damage, but most guys agree that's part of the fun and learning process. Also gets you to upgrade vehicle armor.

Some guys get to a point where they're tired of using a beater and have the extra money to beat up a nice new bronco or Wrangler. It's refreshing after many years of turning wrenches to just have all the work done for you. By that point, you're likely very good at off-roading and know how to limit damage. Any scratches are considered trail badges. At the end of the day, the bronco is an off-road vehicle so it's weird to not use it for that.

Hit the nail on the head for me. Got a truck to haul bikes and then dipped my toes into offroading and I got hooked. I built my Tacoma to be more and more capable and kept chasing the rush of accomplishing the next obstacle. I started camping to be able to stay near the offroad parks for cheap and then fell in love with that too. So then I started doing bigger and bigger trips trying to find the hardest trails and connecting it with scenic offroad drives and adventures. Now with a family the Bronco is a tool added to the arsenal for the easier trips with my wife and son. And it's SO NICE to have something ready to go from the factory built to be as capable as my Tacoma that I have taken so many places that most people can't.

I love the fact that my Bronco gets me to places my other vehicles can't. I'm an ultra runner and up in the mountains often training. I enjoy the ride to and from the trails as well as running them. Win/win for me!

Damn you were prob one of those a holes running past my wife and I on Quandary as we were huffing and puffing doing the hike.

 

[GlueBoy]

I love these lights. What are they? (Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread)

The headlamps? Those are from Ford.

https://www.rtrvehicles.com/products/rtr-light-bar-w-project-x-ff-70-lights-21-bronco-all

RTR Lightbar with Project X lights sold on RTR.

 

[tourproto]

I think there is a middle ground as well. I have very little interest in rock crawling. Did it at the Off Rodeo. It was interesting to know what the Bronco can do, but little interest in doing it with my personal vehicle.

But getting my Bronco wet and dirty, and needing to engage the crawler gear to get to a remote fishing or hunting place? Absolutely! But where I go, there is little danger of flipping my rig or breaking a tie rod.

 

[Kaydee21]

The thrill of it all. Took my Bronco up some narly dunes today in the Arabian desert. Really pushed it and ive got a 2 dr OBX (badged as Wildtrak here in the Middle East). No better feeling like finding out what your car can do.

 

[indio22]

At first blush off-roading appears to be a guaranteed way to damage a vehicle and spends lots of money on repairs. To someone like myself who is completely uneducated with no experience in real off-roading, what is the appeal? Is it simply being able to drive where most vehicles can't? This isn't meant to offend; I'm simply educating myself.

P.S.... Being in Northern Ontario I appreciate access to nature and exploring / camping. I guess that's what is called overlanding.

What I'm referring to are the folks going out as a group in their new expensive vehicles for a day and tackling rocks, mud etc. Every single video I've seen their vehicles are bottoming out on rocks, getting scratched etc, with repairs obviously required.

I can see tackling rough terrain being a lot of fun but thought I'd see what those with experience would like to share.

Cheers.

The photo below is a big part of the off-road appeal for my household. Having navigated a reasonably difficult off-road trail in Colorado's Roosevelt National Forest, enjoying peace and quiet camping with no one else in sight. Using driving skill to navigate trails is also a fun aspect of off-roading for me. Sometimes we bring a canoe to access a remote lake, or bikes/hiking/climbing gear to travel further into less accessible areas.

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