What is the appeal of off-roading?

[GeoBig]

My number one reason for getting my Bronco? To be off-road capable when society collapses. No, really.

My second reason, because it looks cool and fits in my garage.

Other than that, I use it to drive to work and that's about it.

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[Aonarch]

You should try an EXO Baja Bronco Run. It’s anything but a snails pace. Faster drivers go towards the front, slower drivers usually have their own pace. You can drive for miles and not see another Bronco, until we all meet up, take a break, and do it again. Lots of fun.

I’m in rural Montana. My road is “off-road,” so I think my mentality is just different.

 

[FloridaBurgBronco]

I had to reread that, the key here is "will never go", as in WILL, not can't and I agree. A Sport BL has good enough clearance and awd with nannies to get one to some pretty cool places and remote camping. It's size would make it fun to "rally" a bit on a forest road.



Your effort is working to pay for the gas, insurance and of course the Bronco... Haha.



I agree here unless you live in a climate (snow) that a 4x4 comes in handy, but an extreme example of wasted capability for the money is an AMG G-Wagon with THREE locking diffs and crazy capability just to put on 22s with street tires and how much horsepower just to take the kids to daycare... (some of them go skiing) But, there are two everyday picking up the kids at a local day care near where I worked and the moms are dressed to impress every time.



Go on lessor rated trails and in smaller groups and you move along most of the way. In Moab at the Safari on some of trails, some were almost going too fast. On local trips we've done on a forest road from the bottom of the mountain to the top and we moved along at a good rate with 33 Broncos, so it depends on the group and trail.


So true, I had made a deal to buy a manual Mustang online and was going to go in the morning to do the deal when I thought, "How am I going to go camping & exploring, skiing and such in a Mustang?", you can, but not as fun; and my days of SCCA racing are over.

But a manual Bronco? "Your car can go fast, but my Bronco can go anywhere".

I made my reservation that night for the Bronco and canceled the deal on the Mustang... I still have a Triumph for speed.

Totally agree with the G-Wagon, I'm sure they are cool if they were tricked out right, but they seem to be a status symbol only. And yes, being from Florida, I did forget the idea that they (4X4's) would come in very handy in the snow. But my F-150 (4x4), was exactly like I would have ordered it from the factory, except as a line item order from the factory, I would have never ordered 4x4, based on living in Florida and also giving up another 290# of payload, 2330# VS 2620# in the 8200 GVWR version.

 

[FloridaBurgBronco]

Don't sneer at the Sport needlessly
The Sport BL can actually go places where at least 95 percent of full size Broncos will never go, just look at the YT videos where skilled drivers have taken it.

Just so we are clear here, you think that the Sport BL can go places where my 2 door fullsize 2022 Badlands can't go, this I'd have to see!

 

[PSUTE]

I’m in rural Montana. My road is “off-road,” so I think my mentality is just different.

Kind of the same boat, 1.5 miles to the paved road, gets interesting in winter...

 

[Aonarch]

Kind of the same boat, 1.5 miles to the paved road, gets interesting in winter...

My buddies cabin where we fish and hunt is a 50 minute drive down a rough winding, hilly dirt road. That is in the summer! I air down… in the winter you can be stuck there for weeks.

 

[Brian_B]

in the winter you can be stuck there for weeks.

I dream of this kind of place for when I retire.

 

[Aonarch]

I dream of this kind of place for when I retire.

My place is 15 minutes down a dirt road. It isn’t terrible in the summer, but you definitely need an SUV/ truck. 99% of people had HD trucks or Suburbans.

 

[Hkak45]

my advice is to buy a side by side for $20k or less and keep your $45,000+ vehicle in good shape. IMO, SXS vastly more fun off-road vs. a big heavy standard vehicle anyways in almost every situation. When you go to sell them nobody wants a modded out beat up vehicle. People expect it for a SXS.

Or if you are like me and find out the SXS is going to cost me about the same as the bronco, go with the bronco as it can go off road trails and also drive across the country with no need to tow it around.

 

[BeerForMyHorses]

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.

 

[Black_Stallion13]

Or if you are like me and find out the SXS is going to cost me about the same as the bronco, go with the bronco as it can go off road trails and also drive across the country with no need to tow it around.

I mean trust me I get it. But saying a sxs costs as much as a Bronco is like saying a Bronco costs as much as a house… if u r spending that much you are being way over the top for a toy. For me I can go off-road w/ a sxs many places within an hour or two of my house. Off-roading w/ a full size vehicle requires a much farther drive and there r far less places in general to do it. Depends on your situation I guess.

 

[AttackGuy64]

That spirit of adventure?

For me it's not even the camping or overlanding aspect (maybe one day in the future) - it's just the excitement of seeing things and places that most people can't.

Plus how many places in modern society are truly quiet? Once you get off the paved roads back in some national park or forest - there's no car sounds, no electrical lines, in some places not even planes flying over head and you're struck by this incredible sense of peace.

(at least for me)

For example, I regularly cave dive - I get to see ice age bones and evidence of human activity deep underground in a flooded cave that maybe only a couple of hundred people have seen in the world. That's pretty effing cool.

(pic for attention)

With all due respect, sir, you are a f'n nutcase. No way in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks are you getting me into an underwater cave. I dive in open water but enclosed spaces with no air freak me out.

 

[Draughon]

With all due respect, sir, you are a f'n nutcase. No way in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks are you getting me into an underwater cave. I dive in open water but enclosed spaces with no air freak me out.

LOL! It's amazingly relaxing and everything goes great...until it doesn't. ;-)

 

[Bullitt]

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!

 

[timhood]

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.

I'll add that sometimes off-roading is just having the ground clearance to make it easier to get to something fun. We like to check out slot canyons, but it sure is tedious having to drive slowly on a trail for 5-10 miles because of fear of popping a tire or scraping on rocks. What the Escape could do at 10-15 mph, the Bronco can do at 30-35.

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