- Joined
- Jan 7, 2021
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- Location
- Desert Southwest
- Vehicle(s)
- Vintage Motorcycles, F-150, various other
- Your Bronco Model
- Big Bend
- Thread starter
- #1
I've had my Bronco (4dr Big Bend) for a year now, 13,000 miles. I took it on the Alpine Loop in Colorado, and several not quite as hairy SW desert trips. But had not taken an overlanding trip yet, so I did one the week after Christmas, solo. I decided to visit an extremely remote Arizona area. I chose it to be away from people, as near as you can get to a wilderness with there still being roads (no roads in true Wilderness). It was great, and several times I thought "I need to report on the 3 things I'm very glad I had." So here are the three top things I was thankful for.
1. E-rated RT tires
For the past year I've kept the stock Dueller tires, which were fine. But I wanted a little more size, and a more rugged tire to not worry about flats. After a lot of research I got the new Toyo Open Country R/T Trail, in 255/80 size. I got E-rated and was someone concerned about their heavier weight, for MPG and performance. I drove on them for about a week, and was getting about 1.5-2 MPG less, and felt the power was just slightly diminished. But bear in mind IF you can get these tires in C rating (cannot yet), their weight will be about the same, based on their C rated Open Country AT...within about 3-5 lbs of these
I'm very thankful I had these E-rated R/T tires vs the Dueller ATs. It's a VERY rocky area, much of it sharp lava rock or broken scree. Sometimes you'd drive on sharp broken rock for a half mile, down hill. With my old tires I had to baby them and creep around any upward tilted rock that looked pointed. These gave me total confidence even driving over mine tailings, piles of antique nails, etc. The idea of having a flat or getting stuck miles away from anyone makes you be very careful. One day I drove for about 7 hours, in 4Low most of the time at about 5-10 MPH. Seven hours away from the last sign of humanity...I saw no one else out there. Worrying about your street tires would not be fun. How's the ride? Actually....fine. I don't notice any more roughness even aired up for pavement. Off road I aired them down to 20 PSI, and there was a noticeably softer, gentle ride. When I aired them back up for the journey home, about 2 miles from pavement, you can feel many of the rocks and it's jolting. Aired down, they were cushy and grippy in sand, rock, whatever. So all the naysayers are wrong - E-rated tires are exactly what I needed, and I do not experience a harsh ride on pavement. They feel the same as the old ones there.
2. Locking differential.
A lot of the commentary prior to any Broncos being released (I have a 2021) was about what you "need" and don't need. I live out West, and knew I wanted a locking rear differential. Many say "you won't need it, you'll never notice if you don't have...blah" For me, that is untrue. There were several times on this trip when I was facing a rocky, dipped, sandy, off camber steep uphill climb where I was very thankful I could lock the diff. Around home, there are times I get some slip and I stop, push the button, and magically get back over that spot that was trouble. Out in the wilderness, you don't want to be messing around and worrying if you can make it up without a lot of spinning tires and drama. Oh, and I don't need lift, nor 35" tires. I think I lightly ticked down on a rock twice in 5 days. You just go slow, use 4Low and lock the diff about 4-5 times a day for 5 min, then turn it back off.
3. Sirius XM radio.
Never had it before, but got it with the Bronco, then bought it after the trial period. When you are 42 miles from the nearest pavement, and 100 miles from any town you appreciate good music. Again, some days I would drive for 4-7 hours mostly at 10 MPH. It's great to have selections of classic music you can switch between at the push of a button, without another thing to juggle wires, devices, menus.
It was a great trip, slept in the back every night, picking my campsite when I felt ready to stop for the afternoon. Then back packed in the morning and exploring again.
1. E-rated RT tires
For the past year I've kept the stock Dueller tires, which were fine. But I wanted a little more size, and a more rugged tire to not worry about flats. After a lot of research I got the new Toyo Open Country R/T Trail, in 255/80 size. I got E-rated and was someone concerned about their heavier weight, for MPG and performance. I drove on them for about a week, and was getting about 1.5-2 MPG less, and felt the power was just slightly diminished. But bear in mind IF you can get these tires in C rating (cannot yet), their weight will be about the same, based on their C rated Open Country AT...within about 3-5 lbs of these
I'm very thankful I had these E-rated R/T tires vs the Dueller ATs. It's a VERY rocky area, much of it sharp lava rock or broken scree. Sometimes you'd drive on sharp broken rock for a half mile, down hill. With my old tires I had to baby them and creep around any upward tilted rock that looked pointed. These gave me total confidence even driving over mine tailings, piles of antique nails, etc. The idea of having a flat or getting stuck miles away from anyone makes you be very careful. One day I drove for about 7 hours, in 4Low most of the time at about 5-10 MPH. Seven hours away from the last sign of humanity...I saw no one else out there. Worrying about your street tires would not be fun. How's the ride? Actually....fine. I don't notice any more roughness even aired up for pavement. Off road I aired them down to 20 PSI, and there was a noticeably softer, gentle ride. When I aired them back up for the journey home, about 2 miles from pavement, you can feel many of the rocks and it's jolting. Aired down, they were cushy and grippy in sand, rock, whatever. So all the naysayers are wrong - E-rated tires are exactly what I needed, and I do not experience a harsh ride on pavement. They feel the same as the old ones there.
2. Locking differential.
A lot of the commentary prior to any Broncos being released (I have a 2021) was about what you "need" and don't need. I live out West, and knew I wanted a locking rear differential. Many say "you won't need it, you'll never notice if you don't have...blah" For me, that is untrue. There were several times on this trip when I was facing a rocky, dipped, sandy, off camber steep uphill climb where I was very thankful I could lock the diff. Around home, there are times I get some slip and I stop, push the button, and magically get back over that spot that was trouble. Out in the wilderness, you don't want to be messing around and worrying if you can make it up without a lot of spinning tires and drama. Oh, and I don't need lift, nor 35" tires. I think I lightly ticked down on a rock twice in 5 days. You just go slow, use 4Low and lock the diff about 4-5 times a day for 5 min, then turn it back off.
3. Sirius XM radio.
Never had it before, but got it with the Bronco, then bought it after the trial period. When you are 42 miles from the nearest pavement, and 100 miles from any town you appreciate good music. Again, some days I would drive for 4-7 hours mostly at 10 MPH. It's great to have selections of classic music you can switch between at the push of a button, without another thing to juggle wires, devices, menus.
It was a great trip, slept in the back every night, picking my campsite when I felt ready to stop for the afternoon. Then back packed in the morning and exploring again.
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