- First Name
- Mark
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2021
- Threads
- 119
- Messages
- 6,733
- Reaction score
- 13,152
- Location
- St. Jacob, IL
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Badlands | 2020 Escape
- Thread starter
- #1
Gang,
If you haven't been to a Bronco Off-Roadeo you might consider doing so. I went to the Texas location back in 2022 shortly after purchasing our Badlands (you can find a write up somewhere here on the board), and I wasn't terribly impressed. We did a lot more driving around the Texas hill country than actual off-road stuff. That said, we did get a chance to discuss some of the Badlands' off-road capability as well the different G.O.A.T. modes.
This past weekend Tigger and I attended the Off-Roadeo in Tennessee. Tigger had not attended an Off-Roadeo before, and he asked if I wanted to go as his guest. Of course!!! The location is phenomenal--it's in one of the prettiest parts of East Tennessee, and the fall foliage was spectacular. The Tennessee location opened just last month, so the facilities are shiny and new. The food was catered by a local restaurant, and it was great. We had beef and chicken tacos with all the typical sides for lunch, and BBQ brisket and chicken for dinner.
Our instructor/guide, Corey, has been off-roading for decades, and he was involved in setting up the first location in Texas. That means he's not only knowledgeable about off-roading in general, but he knows these vehicles inside and out. The experience at Tennessee was entirely different from Texas; our tires never touched pavement the entire day. We got to use all of the different G.O.A.T. modes in the very situations for which they were designed. In addition, we talked about being environmentally responsible, and discussed at length recovery techniques. As Corey said, we never get stuck, we just temporarily lose momentum... Heh.
Below are a few videos I took while Tigger drove. You can tell we had a complete blast. If you can at all find the time, I highly recommend attending. This is a really great benefit Ford offers us, and since you already paid for it when you bought your car you should use it.
This is a demonstration of how the Intelligent 4WD system in your car adapts to changing conditions.
When you are driving a vehicle with limited ground clearance off road one of the most important things to learn is throttle/brake control. Here's Tigger in learn mode.
One of the situations you might find yourself in is called "cross-axle traction loss."
Having a (knowledgeable) spotter is almost as valuable as having a capable 4WD system. The line you pick can be the difference between negotiating an obstacle and falling prey to one.
Of course, we were given an opportunity to have a bit of fun too.
Overall, I can't recommend this experience highly enough, especially if you are an off-road beginner. Going with a good friend is a bonus--I guarantee you will have a good time. In addition, you'll learn how to take the most advantage of all the tools your car's 4WD system has to offer, how to be kind to the environment, and what to do if you temporarily lose momentum.
EDIT: BTW, those of you who've read a lot of my posts will know that I typically recommend people just leave the Mode switch set to NORMAL and let the system figure out what it needs to do to keep you out of trouble. I did just that for all the times the Tigger let me drive, and we only lost momentum once. It was a steep, muddy uphill with a lot of slick rocks and roots poking out of the mud. I got a little slow going uphill and the left front tire lodged against one of those slick roots. Corey came over and admonished me for not using the mode he suggested, so I switched. We still couldn't get over the root until I backed off a bit and took a bit of a run at it. I'm convinced I would've gotten over that root in NORMAL mode if I hadn't gotten slow.
If you haven't been to a Bronco Off-Roadeo you might consider doing so. I went to the Texas location back in 2022 shortly after purchasing our Badlands (you can find a write up somewhere here on the board), and I wasn't terribly impressed. We did a lot more driving around the Texas hill country than actual off-road stuff. That said, we did get a chance to discuss some of the Badlands' off-road capability as well the different G.O.A.T. modes.
This past weekend Tigger and I attended the Off-Roadeo in Tennessee. Tigger had not attended an Off-Roadeo before, and he asked if I wanted to go as his guest. Of course!!! The location is phenomenal--it's in one of the prettiest parts of East Tennessee, and the fall foliage was spectacular. The Tennessee location opened just last month, so the facilities are shiny and new. The food was catered by a local restaurant, and it was great. We had beef and chicken tacos with all the typical sides for lunch, and BBQ brisket and chicken for dinner.
Our instructor/guide, Corey, has been off-roading for decades, and he was involved in setting up the first location in Texas. That means he's not only knowledgeable about off-roading in general, but he knows these vehicles inside and out. The experience at Tennessee was entirely different from Texas; our tires never touched pavement the entire day. We got to use all of the different G.O.A.T. modes in the very situations for which they were designed. In addition, we talked about being environmentally responsible, and discussed at length recovery techniques. As Corey said, we never get stuck, we just temporarily lose momentum... Heh.
Below are a few videos I took while Tigger drove. You can tell we had a complete blast. If you can at all find the time, I highly recommend attending. This is a really great benefit Ford offers us, and since you already paid for it when you bought your car you should use it.
This is a demonstration of how the Intelligent 4WD system in your car adapts to changing conditions.
When you are driving a vehicle with limited ground clearance off road one of the most important things to learn is throttle/brake control. Here's Tigger in learn mode.
One of the situations you might find yourself in is called "cross-axle traction loss."
Having a (knowledgeable) spotter is almost as valuable as having a capable 4WD system. The line you pick can be the difference between negotiating an obstacle and falling prey to one.
Of course, we were given an opportunity to have a bit of fun too.
Overall, I can't recommend this experience highly enough, especially if you are an off-road beginner. Going with a good friend is a bonus--I guarantee you will have a good time. In addition, you'll learn how to take the most advantage of all the tools your car's 4WD system has to offer, how to be kind to the environment, and what to do if you temporarily lose momentum.
EDIT: BTW, those of you who've read a lot of my posts will know that I typically recommend people just leave the Mode switch set to NORMAL and let the system figure out what it needs to do to keep you out of trouble. I did just that for all the times the Tigger let me drive, and we only lost momentum once. It was a steep, muddy uphill with a lot of slick rocks and roots poking out of the mud. I got a little slow going uphill and the left front tire lodged against one of those slick roots. Corey came over and admonished me for not using the mode he suggested, so I switched. We still couldn't get over the root until I backed off a bit and took a bit of a run at it. I'm convinced I would've gotten over that root in NORMAL mode if I hadn't gotten slow.
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