Did some off-roading today. High centered, and driving through deep crusty snow

[Freeskierdude]

Today I took my BS Badlands out on a 2-hour excursion to test out what she had in her. I'm really happy how Ford designed the underbody of my badlands. Today I high centered on a rotten log. I still had two wheels on the ground so I decided to just back off of it instead of going forward and potentially high centering it. When I backed off I heard some of the underbody scraping through the rotten log and softish dirt. I checked for damage and I was happy to see there was zero at all. could see where is scraped underneath from the first sticking to the bottom. A few things that I think helped. The undercarriage components are all in the same horizontal plane so no competent is taking on the most pressure, the next thing is, any plastic or rubber that is lower than the undercarriage is very soft so it doesn't break, the seem (although not metal) is very flush so when backing down it helps prevent the bumper from grabbing and pulling off.

The next thing I did was head up my local mountain to see how far I can get up when I hit the snow level. I got all the way up! On my way up I was dragging some of the underbody through some slushy/semi-crunchy snow and very happy to see I didn't damage anything yet again! The snow near the top was about 2 feet of mashed potatoes with deep tire grooves. I'll tell you what. This thing can power up some pretty impressive stuff! I absolutely love how traction control works. It truly works on a wheel by wheel basis and doesn't cut power to the whole system like most other vehicles in this class

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[BagOJuice]

Good stuff! Cant wait to take my Badlands off road, your story makes me a bit more confident now too. Here in the North East were getting slammed with a blizzard and took about an hour cruise through and couldnt be more impressed. Cars already pulling off the side of the road, a few accidents passed on the parkway, but i felt planted to the road in the BS Badlands, no loss of traction at all. Even while driving unplowed and hilly back roads.

 

[Central Jersey]

Good stuff! Cant wait to take my Badlands off road, your story makes me a bit more confident now too. Here in the North East were getting slammed with a blizzard and took about an hour cruise through and couldnt be more impressed. Cars already pulling off the side of the road, a few accidents passed on the parkway, but i felt planted to the road in the BS Badlands, no loss of traction at all. Even while driving unplowed and hilly back roads.

My Big Bend is handling the snow and ice in New Jersey like a champion. I have already been asked how I like the vehicle. After today the only response will be: I highly recommend it !

 

[RonSwanson]

While not off-road, I got to try my FE out in about a foot of snow that fell in Chicago over the weekend and I was very impressed.

Generally, the BS did great even though this was really heavy packing snow. I used the slippery mode pretty much exclusively. The only time I had trouble was trying to back into my garage in an alley. It was closer to 1.5 feet there due to drifts. The ground clearance and shorter length made this the choice over my Edge ST, which even though it has winter tires, sits lower and is much longer than the BS.

With the ruts from everybody driving down the alley, it just wasn't possible to turn the wheel sharply from a dead stop without likely hitting something. That said, I was still able to pull forward into the garage, even from the direction less conducive to making that direction of turn into the garage. This may not seem impressive to some, but this is a very narrow alley, lined with fences and garbage cans on all sides. I was pleased to be able to get back into my garage without having to get out of the car or hitting anything, even if it's just a plastic garbage can.

I don't know how well the Falken Wildpeak At3w compares to a purpose specific winter tire, but it felt like I had a lot of traction in deep snow, untreated roads with fresh snow, slush, etc. I had about 2 hours in the car yesterday while it was still coming down at about an inch an hour in some spots and felt very confident the whole time. Lots of confidence in the snow after this weekend.

 

[kino]

While not off-road, I got to try my FE out in about a foot of snow that fell in Chicago over the weekend and I was very impressed.

Generally, the BS did great even though this was really heavy packing snow. I used the slippery mode pretty much exclusively. The only time I had trouble was trying to back into my garage in an alley. It was closer to 1.5 feet there due to drifts. The ground clearance and shorter length made this the choice over my Edge ST, which even though it has winter tires, sits lower and is much longer than the BS.

With the ruts from everybody driving down the alley, it just wasn't possible to turn the wheel sharply from a dead stop without likely hitting something. That said, I was still able to pull forward into the garage, even from the direction less conducive to making that direction of turn into the garage. This may not seem impressive to some, but this is a very narrow alley, lined with fences and garbage cans on all sides. I was pleased to be able to get back into my garage without having to get out of the car or hitting anything, even if it's just a plastic garbage can.

I don't know how well the Falken Wildpeak At3w compares to a purpose specific winter tire, but it felt like I had a lot of traction in deep snow, untreated roads with fresh snow, slush, etc. I had about 2 hours in the car yesterday while it was still coming down at about an inch an hour in some spots and felt very confident the whole time. Lots of confidence in the snow after this weekend.

We had 7"+ out here in the far west 'burbs and my (inexperienced in the snow) daughter did fine driving the BL to work without even using slippery mode. The original tires do have good traction! I truly believe it is a MUCH better vehicle (price and quality) than anything Subaru offers right now - and this was a trade for a Forester (that I loved and DO NOT miss).

 

[Y2Dre]

While not off-road, I got to try my FE out in about a foot of snow that fell in Chicago over the weekend and I was very impressed.

Generally, the BS did great even though this was really heavy packing snow. I used the slippery mode pretty much exclusively. The only time I had trouble was trying to back into my garage in an alley. It was closer to 1.5 feet there due to drifts. The ground clearance and shorter length made this the choice over my Edge ST, which even though it has winter tires, sits lower and is much longer than the BS.

With the ruts from everybody driving down the alley, it just wasn't possible to turn the wheel sharply from a dead stop without likely hitting something. That said, I was still able to pull forward into the garage, even from the direction less conducive to making that direction of turn into the garage. This may not seem impressive to some, but this is a very narrow alley, lined with fences and garbage cans on all sides. I was pleased to be able to get back into my garage without having to get out of the car or hitting anything, even if it's just a plastic garbage can.

I don't know how well the Falken Wildpeak At3w compares to a purpose specific winter tire, but it felt like I had a lot of traction in deep snow, untreated roads with fresh snow, slush, etc. I had about 2 hours in the car yesterday while it was still coming down at about an inch an hour in some spots and felt very confident the whole time. Lots of confidence in the snow after this weekend.

While my profile says Michigan, I was born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago. As a result, I I can fully appreciate the significance of your alley story. If your FE can handle that, I know my future BL+BL can handle the weather here in Southeast Michigan.

 

[RonSwanson]

While my profile says Michigan, I was born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago. As a result, I I can fully appreciate the significance of your alley story. If your FE can handle that, I know my future BL+BL can handle the weather here in Southeast Michigan.

It definitely adds a degree of difficulty to maneuvering in a tight amount of space. After I got it in the garage the first time yesterday, my wife and I shoveled a little in front of the garage door (so it will close properly /not freeze shut) and cleared some of the middle of the alley, so I'd have a prayer of moving with the wheels turned...

I had to run to Home Depot this morning to get more salt and was able to back into the garage this time with relatively little fuss.

 

[kino]

... I was born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago.

Same here!

 

[Freeskierdude]

the turning radius is very impressive in my opinion

 

[Y2Dre]

Same here!

Small world. I grew up in Harvey.

 

[Wyo]

I think we're all finding out (especially for us BL owners) that Ford put together one heck of a vehicle! It truly shines off-road (or in inclement weather)!

 

[Central Jersey]

I think we're all finding out (especially for us BL owners) that Ford put together one heck of a vehicle! It truly shines off-road (or in inclement weather!

I have a Big Bend and I feel the same way

 

[kino]

Small world. I grew up in Harvey.

Born there. Ingalls.

 

[Meathanky]

Today I took my BS Badlands out on a 2-hour excursion to test out what she had in her. I'm really happy how Ford designed the underbody of my badlands. Today I high centered on a rotten log. I still had two wheels on the ground so I decided to just back off of it instead of going forward and potentially high centering it. When I backed off I heard some of the underbody scraping through the rotten log and softish dirt. I checked for damage and I was happy to see there was zero at all. could see where is scraped underneath from the first sticking to the bottom. A few things that I think helped. The undercarriage components are all in the same horizontal plane so no competent is taking on the most pressure, the next thing is, any plastic or rubber that is lower than the undercarriage is very soft so it doesn't break, the seem (although not metal) is very flush so when backing down it helps prevent the bumper from grabbing and pulling off.

The next thing I did was head up my local mountain to see how far I can get up when I hit the snow level. I got all the way up! On my way up I was dragging some of the underbody through some slushy/semi-crunchy snow and very happy to see I didn't damage anything yet again! The snow near the top was about 2 feet of mashed potatoes with deep tire grooves. I'll tell you what. This thing can power up some pretty impressive stuff! I absolutely love how traction control works. It truly works on a wheel by wheel basis and doesn't cut power to the whole system like most other vehicles in this class

post a few pics of that sweet Badlands

 

[Freeskierdude]

post a few pics of that sweet Badlands

I forgot to take photos of my recent trip. It was raining wicked hard . This weekend I'm taking it up into the mountains again. Ill make sure I take some more photos

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