The Jeep Wrangler is a famous off-road vehicle that can handle tough landscapes. It's often compared to the Ford Bronco because both are great for adventures.
Rock crawling is a way of driving off-road where vehicles go over big rocks and rough terrain. It needs special vehicles that can handle tough obstacles.
Independent front suspension means that the front wheels can move up and down separately. This helps the vehicle handle better and provides a smoother ride compared to a system where both wheels are connected and move together.
King of the Hammers is a tough off-road race that happens every year. It features both rock climbing and fast driving on rough terrain, making it a big event for off-road fans.
The Sasquatch package is a special upgrade for the Ford Bronco that makes it better for off-road driving. It includes bigger tires and a higher suspension to help it handle tough trails.
The Ford Bronco Raptor is a special, high-performance version of the Bronco made for tough off-road driving. It has a stronger engine and better suspension to handle rough conditions.
A sway bar is a part of the car's suspension that helps keep it stable when turning. It connects the two sides of the car to prevent it from leaning too much to one side.
GOAT modes are special settings in some vehicles that help them drive better on different types of surfaces, like mud or sand. They make it easier to handle tough driving conditions.
A locking differential helps both wheels on the same axle move together, which is great for getting through tough terrain. It makes sure that if one wheel is stuck, the other can still help pull the vehicle out.
A locker is a part of a car that helps the wheels work together, especially when driving on rough or slippery surfaces. It makes sure both wheels turn at the same speed, which helps the car move better in tough conditions.
The Toyota Tacoma is a type of truck that is great for driving on rough roads and carrying heavy loads. It's known for being tough and reliable, making it a favorite for people who like outdoor activities.
Ground clearance is how high a car sits off the ground. A higher number means the car can go over bumps and rough surfaces without getting hurt underneath.
Water fording means how well a vehicle can drive through water without getting damaged. It's important for off-road vehicles to have this ability so they can handle wet conditions without breaking down.
The Everglades is a special version of the Ford Bronco made for off-road driving. It has features that help it drive through tough conditions, like water and mud.
A winch is a tool that helps pull heavy things, like a stuck vehicle, out of tough spots. It's often attached to off-road vehicles to help them get out of trouble.
A 2.3 liter four cylinder engine is a type of car engine that has four cylinders and is 2.3 liters in size. It's often chosen for its good balance of power and fuel economy.
The Morgan Plus Six is a fancy sports car that looks old-fashioned but is very fast and fun to drive. It's made with a lot of care and is for people who love unique cars.
The Dodge Power Wagon is a strong truck that can handle tough jobs and rough terrain. It's built for people who need a reliable vehicle for work or off-road adventures.
Bomber Fabrication is a company that makes special off-road vehicles and parts. They are known for creating tough and high-performance designs for racing.
King Shocks makes special parts for cars that help them handle bumps and rough terrain better. They're popular among people who drive off-road or race in tough conditions.
Alignment is about making sure the wheels of a car are pointing in the right direction. If they're not aligned properly, it can cause uneven tire wear and make the car harder to steer.
The cooling system keeps the engine from getting too hot. It uses a special liquid called coolant to absorb heat and help the engine run smoothly without overheating.
A modified vehicle is a car that has been changed from how it was made in the factory. People often do this to make it look different or to help it perform better.
The Volkswagen Bus is a classic van that's famous for its unique shape and ability to carry lots of people. It's often associated with fun road trips and a laid-back lifestyle.
The Nissan Frontier is a small truck that can carry heavy loads and go off-road. People like it for its toughness and the idea that it could be made into a more family-friendly vehicle.
The Nissan Pathfinder is a medium-sized SUV that can carry a family and their gear. It's designed for comfort and is good for both city driving and some light off-roading.
The Ford Ranger is a small truck that can carry things and go off-road. It's popular because it's tough and can handle rough terrain, making it a good choice for outdoor adventures.
The Land Rover Discovery is a fancy SUV that can go off-road and is very comfortable inside. It's great for families who want to explore rough terrains while enjoying a nice ride.
The Chevrolet Suburban is a big family SUV that can fit a lot of people and their stuff. It's been around for a very long time and is known for being reliable and good for road trips.
LIVE
Now this is an exciting moment because Case, what are we up to?
We're starting an off-road podcast and this is something that you notice, it's not really
much of any off-road podcast out there on the air and off-roading is something that
we love doing here at TFL and living in Colorado so we figured why not talk about it.
So you guys are part of our pilot program and if you like this podcast please leave
us a rating, please leave us a comment if you want to see more of these but basically
how this is going to work is my idea is every other week we take an off-road vehicle, sometimes
extreme, sometimes fairly mild, we run them through our off-road test course here live
on the podcast and then we go back to the studio and talk about all the things that
you want to hear.
We're going to be talking about modifications, things in the off-road community, a Case's
garage segment where we talk about some of the projects that we've got going on so
it's going to be kind of a fun little thing and if you guys are interested drop us a comment,
if you hate it drop us a comment and we'll never do it again but let's give it a go.
We're starting off pretty strong talking about this Bronco which is arguably the best Bronco
that you can get out there especially because these are all at this point used which means
they should be a little bit less expensive.
Yeah and I want to kind of discuss the pros and the cons of Ford Bronco ownership, what
they're like off-road and then talk about this trim in specific a little bit later which
is the Everglades version of the Bronco but Case, the Bronco has been out now for five,
six years depending on when some customers got their first ones.
What do you think of the Bronco as a platform in general?
Well we've spent quite a bit of time with it.
We had a Bronco right when they first were reintroduced onto the market several years
ago.
We held on to that Bronco for at least two years, really did a lot with it and this is
now the second Bronco we've actually owned as a company vehicle.
They are right up there at the tip top of factory rock crawling 4x4s you can buy, turn
key ready to go, hands down.
It's essentially this and a Wrangler are at the very pinnacle.
I mean it's so funny for 25 years Jeep kind of owned the off-road specifically the crawling
space.
I know there were four owners and other kind of four-wheel drive vehicles but if you wanted
the ultimate in terms of capability you bought a Wrangler from the mid 90s through 2020 and
you can tell what Ford did is they basically went with the Wrangler platform and then
they just kind of like one up them in pretty much every category.
They're like oh you offer this power we're going to one up you.
You're this size we're going to make it just a little bit bigger and the result is a vehicle
that I think takes a lot of the goodness that the Jeep fans have loved over the years and
improved upon it.
And again we're specifically talking about rock crawling.
There's a lot of other types of off-roading that other vehicles could be good for overlanding,
mudding, sand dunes, things like that but I would argue that those are maybe more specialized
types of off-roading.
Sure.
A lot of the off-roading that most people go out and do in my experience anyway is rock
crawling so if we're talking about all-out capability we're talking about rock crawling
capability specifically and yeah the Bronco took basically everything that you can throw
at a 4x4 and threw it at this vehicle to make it as capable as possible but there's
definitely there's a few fundamental differences between the Bronco and a Wrangler.
One of the primary differences is the front suspension.
Yeah I mean and this is what the Jeep people keep returning to time and time again is of
course the Bronco uses an independent front suspension instead of a solid axle so instead
of having a beam underneath the front end that links both front wheels together you've
got a set of control arms and the left and the right side aren't connected by any means
and what the hardcore off-road rock crawling guys will tell you well limits the potential
wheel travel also limits the potential modifiability of the Bronco platform and what do you think
of those those discussions?
Ultimately there are independent suspension designs that can flex articulate really well
that have a lot of wheel travel so it's not impossible to design an independent suspension
that articulates really well does it articulate as well as a solid axle is it as easy to do
suspension modifications all these things that's maybe another topic but out of the
box they can be really good and we'll test momentarily how this one in particular flexes
and articulates because we can look at that in real time but it does certainly make this
Bronco more refined on the street where even the hardest core off-roaders are still probably
driving a majority of the time as compared to the solid front axle on a Wrangler and
I think like in my opinion what shut up a lot of the solid axle guys is like for years
all of the most hardcore buggies were all solid axle yeah right and then with the emergence
of side by sides and then especially with the explosion of King of the Hammers in the
last couple of years which is kind of the pinnacle of the off-road space in terms of
torture testing I think you know what but but but the solid axles guys need to realize
and what a lot of people have is like some of those rock buggies and some of those bashers
and especially all those super capable side by sides they're all independent suspension
everywhere and granted it's long arm stuff which gives you huge amounts of wheel travel
up and down but it is proof that like well the technology is there it's capable you
know and maybe it'll start trickling down in the consumer products as well yeah there's
a big difference between the independent suspension that you get on on a pilot right
and the independent suspension that you have even on this Bronco or on a specific purpose
built tube chassis off-road or something absolutely insane that doesn't mean that there isn't
a place or a use case for solid axles they still are very dependable perform really well
right but if you're trying to also balance driving on the street you could definitely
make an argument for the independent front suspension on this Bronco another interesting
point of comparison with this is this is a very wide vehicle yeah for sure and I think
that this is something that Ford absolutely nailed I mean if you look at the form factor
too you know jeeps have a really narrow engine bay and and they've got these fenders that
are are very separate from the actual body and wide of the vehicle Ford in you know kind
of with that retro throwback design as well has extended the fenders all the way to the
wheels then just see small flares and the result of this is that on the inside it's
particularly better for road tripping because you're not nearly as tight and close to the
person next to you and I think that once again it does limit where this thing can go when
you're in tight areas with a lot of trees but as as a livable daily drivable vehicle
it's a big improvement it is and the outermost points on this Bronco and the majority of
Broncos you're actually going to take off road they aren't painted surfaces you've got
matte fenders that are a little better equipped to handle some scuffs here and there so still
majority of trails you can squeeze this through and it's not a huge problem but I would actually
argue that either something like the severglades or a typical Bronco the Sasquatch package
for most people most places is going to be the better off-roader than even a Bronco Raptor
yeah how wide that is definitely on in a lot of parts of the country parts of the country
that have trees yeah it's too wide for sure yeah and and even this I think is pushing it in some
cases but you know it does it does a really good job of making the vehicle very stable as well
right that's true when you're out on on the trail running up some some some tilted obstacles
or articulated sections of vehicle feels very planted yeah you can side hill no problem you
can get pitched and rock back and forth a little bit really not a big issue then of course another
huge advantage of this Bronco over a lot of other 4x4s but one area where it's similar
to a Jeep Wrangler is removable top yeah for sure right and I think you know another thing that
Ford is underly well is instead of just having this monstrously heavy rear panel with the rear
passenger cover and then the two freedom panels that Wrangler does there's actually a lot more
modularity in this so you can break it up into smaller bites makes it a lot easier to manage
this one is the Everglades which we'll talk about here in a sec so you get the roof rack so maybe
this one is less easy to go convertible than your typical option but one thing that I think
Ford should look into and I don't think they really have Jeep has the one touch power top
right and that's a really nice option because as lazy as it sounds I mean it's nice just being
anywhere at any time with an any number of people and things in the trunk and pushing that button
you're going to use it more often if it's that much easier to use for sure yeah this is really
cool too I love that Ford pioneered what you know they call we've got a nail in that tire shoot
what uh what uh Ford pioneered the the Sasquatch package so can you kind of explain what that was
or is what's cool about the Sasquatch package is it kind of shook things up a little bit because for
a long time with the Jeep Wrangler if you wanted all of the all out capability if you wanted to have
lockers have a disconnecting sway bar have bigger more aggressive tires you had to go for a Rubicon
and Rubicon's came with a lot of other things like nicer seats and more electronics and maybe a
better set of headlights although not necessarily and so you were buying a much more expensive
model just to get the off-road features the cool thing about the Sasquatch package on the Bronco
is the way that Ford shook it up was to offer that package even on some very base level Broncos
so if you wanted off-road capability you could spec off-road capability and nothing else if you
so chose which is such a good idea right and then like 35s out of the box like you said
you know you got the front of your locking discs and it turns what would essentially be in some
cases like you're mentioning a rental car spec barbie Bronco and it's something that you could do
pretty much any trail realistically you'd ever want to do straight out of the box so that was a
really great pioneering feature and then of course you know like they put a huge trunk in it so it's
it's really easy to carry a lot of things so I think that Ford has done a really good job of
um benchmarking Jeep and then improving a lot of things but let's talk about some of the downsides
of the Bronco and we're actually going to do that driving through our off-road course here yeah so
let's jump in the seats and get it moving do you like this interior case I do yeah I wouldn't say
it's maybe I wouldn't say it's necessarily better than the Jeep interior I still like the Wrangler
interior a lot love the way it looks but the Bronco does a good job it's comfortable enough all of
these vehicles are very compromised when it comes to on-road comfort and drivability so you're
talking about this independent front suspension maybe well almost certainly being better than a
solid axle yeah but that doesn't mean that this drives the same as other vehicles that are designed
specifically to be road going cars it's not a pilot like you said earlier right uh it still is
very tall and has a pretty high center of gravity um but one another cool thing that you know Ford
has done here is they've given us a lot of options in terms of four-wheel drive systems right so so
Jeep forever you had a manual manual six double four-wheel driver you had two high and four high
and then they introduced rock track on a very limited number of trims but on forward it's really
easy to get too high and a four-auto setting which is huge for for like us in Colorado in the winter
time you just leave it in four-auto and then regardless of whether it snows or rains you never
have to actually think about it which sounds like a dumb thing but like the number of times in the
winter where like it's wet but is it wet enough to the four-wheel drive oh but it's drying out in
places and then you hit a patch of ice so just being able to stick it in the auto setting and
forget about it it's really really nice that's really nice and then the other thing that Ford
did incredibly well is the locker engagement which we can look at too one thing this everglades in
particular is missing is a disconnecting front sway bar yeah so the articulation we're about
to demonstrate on the front end of this Bronco is not going to be as good as a Sasquatch package
Bronco with the sway bar disconnect so this is our trenches course and basically we dug out these
pits in the earth to test stuff like four-wheel drive systems and articulation and right now
I'm just running it in four-wheel drive auto high-range we're going to see if it can do it
so we're picking up two wheels yeah and some people might be saying Tommy why aren't you
using some momentum to get up this hill when we're doing testing like this it's actually
our explicit goal not to use momentum to make this test as challenging as it can be yeah and
we'll try it again with lockers here so you can see even in the four-auto setting
you know the traction control is able to figure it out you're right though in that
it would be cool if this did have that disconnect because it does seem to make a really big
difference wouldn't you say as a whole yeah definitely Broncos that have the front sway
bar disconnect articulate noticeably better than ones without you could turn to the aftermarket
you could do a manual disconnect but the ease of the factory sway bar disconnect you just can't
compete with so we'll stick it in the low-range here do you like the buttons or do you prefer the
lever uh you know I'm not that particular to be honest you don't care you don't tie your manhood
to the no I think there's other things to base your personality on so we also have these goat
mows which stands for goes over any terrain and you can see we've got you know eco we got sport
we got slippery we got mud and ruts sand and rock crawl we'll probably go to mud and ruts
kind of where we're at right now now when you think about these moses are very particular so like
mud and ruts to exit for low shift to end be like well what if I want to stay in for low
when it button ruts and then if I go to rock crawl that well that'll let me use for low
but also automatically kicks on your rear locker which maybe you don't want if you're
going to go through a lot of tight turns yeah so I I kind of just like leave it in normal mode and
then lock and unlock but I do want to show this because in case you mentioned this earlier
the engagement for the locking diffs in the Bronco is the best in the industry yeah it really is
I mean the moment you hit that switch it works so we're gonna articulate here so that's full
articulated all right we're slipping right obviously but watch this switch go yeah and what's funny is
like I've talked about this before in the channel people are like well that's just fake right the
light comes on but the lock is not actually on no it kicked right on like that locker is on and
same thing with the front end switch on now we're fully locked up because if you're and if you're
paying attention you you can see that in the footage the moment you hit that switch and went to
the throttle yeah the locker was working there was no more spin on the rear end so yeah no it
really does work that well it's pretty impressive especially when you look at some other manufacturers
lockers things like any else the grenadier those lockers take some trial and error well yeah and
look if you guys like this podcast format we'll try to do a whole bunch of videos and we'll talk
about little things like this because like I'd love to get a Tacoma out here like a 30 pro and then
you can see what the frustration is like with some of the Toyota lockers where it's just like mind
numbing and how long it takes for the lock up all right now we're we're going down our Boulder
Boulevard here which is kind of a little rock crawling section we built this is more for crossover
so nothing here is going to even remotely test the ground clearance of this brocco because we've
got something like 10 or 11 inches yeah absolutely tons of clearance and we can go ahead and talk about
one of the perks with this being in Everglades is that we've got some good underbody protection
we have sliders yeah Everglades is obviously Florida so we've also got a snorkel even though
there's no water almost anywhere in Colorado so I'm not sure or the raised intake is manufacturers
like to call them I'm not sure that's going to do us a ton of good here I just had a really fun
conversation we cool thing to do in this podcast to the interview engineers with the head of the
Ford off-road program and we were talking about water forwarding and like you know so much engineering
now especially with the modern-day models yeah right can be done in the computer I'm like well
you can probably just do water depth in the computer right he's like water depth is one
of the hardest things to account for in a computer because water goes everywhere right and especially
when you factor in air inlets cooling fans right it's really hard to actually rate a vehicle for
water forwarding and until you see how everything actually fits together maybe what kind of gaps
you might be dealing with yeah I could see that yeah a lot of manufacturers don't seem to try and
push the water forwarding too far because ultimately if you're drowning your fuse box are they going
to guarantee that that's going to be sealed and one of the things with the Everglades the reason I
love it is because it's very purposeful like it's pretty stripped down in here plastic floors
right the standard audio system but then you get the lockers you get the great tires you get the
cool wheels and snorkel you also get the integrated I'm going to put air quotes around integrated
because it's kind of plaster on the front of it you get a winch which is great that's a great
thing to have from the factory it's not really built into the front of it so much it's it is
kind of copy and pasted onto the front bumper right but because of that you also get the small
engine yeah so this is a 2.3 liter four cylinder and I've had many debates in comment sections
and forums about people saying you're wrong I talked to the head of the offeror program for
Ford he said the reason this had the four cylinder is a weight thing when you account for the weight
difference between the four and the six plus the winch it would be too heavy with the v6 I know
you guys are going to say I'm wrong and there's a million reasons why that's what the the head of
the offeror engineering program told me at Ford so that seems like a pretty credible source yeah
now three engine options available in the Ford lineup right you get the 2.3 you get the the 2.7
right or if you get a raptor the three liter but again there's trade-offs with the raptor not
only in price but the size and the form factor is is different and I've actually learned something
interesting the actual engine block and the bottom end is exactly the same from the 2.7 to the 3.0
so it's all in the the I think it's I think he said it was bore is the difference or maybe the stroke
between the the 2.7 and the 3.0 but are you like really picky about the engines in this thing like
if if you are shopping between two one had the v6 one of the four cylinders that going to be a
deal breaker for the four cylinder in a Jeep Wrangler between a pentastar and a 392 I am very
particular between a four cylinder and a six cylinder I like the 2.7 better
but this 2.3 believe it or not has really no problem motivating this Bronco this Bronco
as a rock crawler especially it doesn't need to be any faster than what this one is yeah I actually
think even with the 35 like it's not blisteringly quick but when you made it to the 10 speed which
is just so many ratios for the engine to kind of work with I think it's plenty plenty plenty
it's what it's around 300 horsepower yeah you got it right exactly how much you need I like your
point it's a bit of a hot take for most people but I think it's especially true actually with
rock crawlers can it go 80 miles an hour yeah then it's fast enough yeah can it go up a hill
you're probably good um but this is where I think as we finish this up um we're going to
have a little bit of a disagreement because I think this is a fantastic vehicle the Everglades
has been discontinued it cost about $55,000 in this trim now Bronco pricing is kind of all over
the board I mean I think they start mid 30s realistically at dealer lots yeah what's a
raptor now 80 90 probably yeah pricey so for me I think that the one to get keep it on the base
and keep it basic keep it 2 3 Sasquatch it would be awesome um where I think we might disagree a
little bit and I want to hear your take when you're looking at the top end of the Bronco lineup I'm
talking Bronco Raptor versus 392 Wrangler yeah are we in agreement that like on a basic one we'd
probably both go forward yeah fair enough I think we probably agree on that yeah I think so if we're
looking at a $40,000 one the Ford I think is is it if you're looking at a Bronco Raptor or a
392 Wrangler I'm getting the Wrangler you're getting the Wrangler I knew you were going to say that
um and actually I'm not going to disagree I think I would get the Wrangler too because
this vehicle is leapfrogged the Wrangler in so many ways but the V8 makes up for so much of the
of the magic the V8's a V8 it's two better than a V6 yeah that's right and that's all there is to
say about them apples all right guys well that was just our quick first drive off-road in our
Bronco um the idea with this format is like in a couple weeks we tried to come on a Land Cruiser
and a power wagon all these things but now we're going to cut back to the studio and talk about
some news of the week so now we are no longer in the dirt we're in the studio we're in the studio
and I thought what would be cool for this podcast is kind of transition to talking about some of the
news in the off-road space of the week and then we can also talk about some other things going on
within our garages and that kind of thing um now pretty slow news week I did want to show you this
case the biggest news is happening right now in the off-road world is King of the Hammers yeah
which is the ultramarathoning of of of car driving ultramarathon slash burning man for spectators
exactly right and there is this guy scroll up uh Cole I forgot the name of his channel here
bomber fabrication who had a buggy and I want to show you just a hint of how extreme this race is
all right Cole quit play this clip so this man ran into probably a four foot tall boulder and he
said it felt like being hit in the chest with a sledgehammer but the insane part is he hit this
boulder at probably 25 30 miles an hour and then keeps driving yeah some so his page is a fabrication
page obviously there's got to be some good welds going on in there what an ad can we see one more
time Cole this is on his instagram in case you want to check it out himself but here he goes
bam immovable object 30 miles an hour and he just drives away from it yeah I'm I'm shocked not only
that the car made it but that he was okay enough to keep driving this is a hell of an ad too for king
shocks I know to say free free posted this on there yeah on their page the car was not totally okay
like apparently it um needs an alignment no apparently it sprung a leak in the cooling system
I could see why which is not unsurprising yeah um but uh yeah I mean crazy crazy stuff that's
doing over at king of the hammers yeah absolutely and there's crazy footage coming out of it it
really is almost a sturgis like event do you have any interest people go pretty wild and doing that
it'd be interesting to see I don't know if I would want to be in the uh in the mosh pit where
people are punching each other and shoving each other off of cliffs yes exactly right it looks uh
it looks exciting nice yeah I think it's um I think driving it looks crazy it's so hard to relate
to you've driven this area I have actually yeah I did one of the big hills actually in a bronco
raptor but we're doing it at like two miles an hour instead of 40 yeah which is the crazy part
is like difference not only rock crawling but you're like rock crawling with speed yeah yeah
it's next level it's crazy unreal um so piece of news this week though which is interesting this is
over on car bus uh apparently nissan dealers saw some behind the scene images it's a sneak peek
preview of the new exterra the image we're looking at is not it no that is a a build that somebody
made for sima that is maybe an idea of some of what the exterra will be like obviously heavily
modified so somebody for sima put basically a newer frontier front end on an older
exterra modified the body a lot it's got a raised intake it's got a roof rack it's got
steel bumpers it's heavily heavily lifted so it's a cool build this it is cool it's cool it's not
very much like what an actual factory exterra would be like yeah but apparently uh this is
according to car bus nissan showed its dealers understandably desperate for anything resembling
a new and exciting product ouch that's a harsh car bus there um a preview of the new exterra
one dealer told automotive news the new scv is quote radical looking and described it as quote a
beefy full-size truck with big tires a muscular grille and a no frilled rugged focus another
dealer told told automotive news there's an aggression to the new exterra style which
curious the dna of the original but has a modern twist we're kind of expecting that they're going
to keep this new exterra a body on frame vehicle like it was in the past my hope and i would be
perfectly fine with this personally is if they just suv eyes the frontier right yeah little
shorter wheelbase make it an suv but it could have the same front end have the same powertrain
make a pro forex trim with a rear locker same basic suspension layout that would be great right
yeah i mean what i know about this vehicle is i was at a nissan program a while back and they
took our cameras dang it um and they actually put them in these little like zip lock unsealable bags
yeah um anyway but they showed us like a little behind the sneak peek teaser of the exterra which
hopefully is uh less than what the dealers saw because you couldn't see much but one thing i did
see is it did appear to have like you know a 33 or even larger offer tire and perhaps even a solid
axle so i hope that they they they keep going down that route and and they do it right because
you know they do this rock creek thing like with the rogue and with the pathfinder yeah but that's
not really what enthusiasts are looking for no it's more tires and cosmetics i think everyone's
first question when the exterra is coming out is going to be is it body on frame does it have
a solid rear axle does it have any lockers that have a low range if the answer is no to just about
any of those it doesn't necessarily have to have a solid rear axle it'd be nice if it did
but if the answer is no to basically any of those things then i think a lot of people are going to
be disappointed yeah right right i think you're i think you're on the right track there i mean i
think that likely is going to be like you mentioned frontier based which makes sense because the
broncos more or less ranger based right yeah so the forerunner in the Tacoma yeah that's a good one
especially the new gen are very very closely related yeah so if they just do that same thing
then that i think that would be great be a big hit yeah so really excited for nissan to come out
with this i mean they killed the exterra right before like the offer at stv's blew up in popularity
and we've been asking well not just us everybody's been asking for the exterra to come back for a
long time ever since it was announced that it was going away this was time yeah bring it back nissan
please um case another thing i want to talk about um oh my gosh so the next segment is going to be
called what's in the garage and it's going to be time about our little wrenching projects that we
got going on a little project a little projects uh we've got we've got some maybe bigger than
little projects in there so case of course has a super cool land over discovery two that he ls
swapped and it's got a big lift on it and it's bright blue and it's super rad and the last time
it was on the channel we were cruising over the rocks in moab utah and and now it's not doing that
as much oh yeah there's the video of it in moab if you're watching this as a video rather than
just listening you can see some images related to what we're talking about so yeah drove it through
hell's revenge headed out in moab for the land rover national rally which was a lot of fun we
got to meet some really cool people and i finally got to test it out on some more interesting trails
i'd taken it on some local trails here in colorado before going out to moab but this was really kind
of my initial shakedown and i had had quite a few issues with the 6l80 gm transmission that i swapped
into this vehicle it's a computer controlled transmission a lot of electronics very complicated
most of it is over my head so i'm not a software guy the programming is is out of my league by far
so i'm happy to bolt up an engine bolt up a transmission all of that kind of stuff that
i was comfortable with doing in my own garage but when it came to getting the program programming
actually done on the transmission i kind of had to export that to uh to other people and the transmission
initially stopped going into reverse and then stopped transmissioning uh entirely so transmitting
the power to the rear wheels or all four wheels yes so it was basically all all neutral so
yeah it's it's back under investigation the motor is great the ls is just unstoppable it's an awesome
engine gm automatic transmission not as great not as good no i mean the crazy thing is like
it's been to now what two or three shops that you know are specialists in this kind of thing
yeah transmission i've had it in and out quite a few times and it's just kind of wild to me that like
you have a gm engine and you have a gm transmission and it's it's not some one of 450
you know automated single clutch manual ferrari crazy transmission from 28 years ago it's
it's a Chevy suburban transmission yes there are hundreds of thousands of these very same
transmissions out there shifting through gear sometimes so occasionally i don't i don't know
i'm i'm amazed that it's been so difficult um we're coming up on the one year anniversary of the
first time i had any issues with that transmission so really uh putting swapping an ls into it the
motor that was it was a project but that wasn't that hard yeah i got that figured out in a few months
transmission has been a huge pain honestly in a lot of ways it would have been better if
i stuck with the original four speed but we live up here in the mountains four speed
automatic transmissions just don't drive that well on i-70 so ideally i'd like to have a functional
six speed and i think it's possible for a six l 80 to work it's just been a challenge yes
you're gonna get there it's gonna happen i believe it i believe you you're gonna be at the next
land over rally um and i'm getting a call right now which i'm not gonna answer but from a gentleman
named rob the jeep guy which is a type of call that you get a lot now i do i am talking to rob
all he's my new best friend and also the reason i'm broke um so a while back i bought this 1948
willy cj2a or willis if your case um and half the world uh but basically the story is i bought
this like little cheap jeep jeep it was pretty awesome um this should be a video over a tfl
classics where we took it off road and it needed a couple little things like it you know i had a
starting issue and and it had some carb work but then can case you know convince me that the best
way to fix it would be to split it in half yeah so that is exactly what i did um and and now i'm like
three or four months into this quote restoration and i don't know what the hell i'm doing
but i've had a really fun time trying to figure it out it's been really really fun it is it's
a fun vehicle to work on because it is dirt simple it's so little going on and this particular one
time i found a great buy yeah yeah figure it out it it's uh on the rougher side yes but what's
cool about what you're doing is cosmetically we're you know you're leaving a lot of the
bumps and bruises on it it's not going to be a trashed tub but it's an original tub that's
got some character to it so the story is you know like about this thing home you know start poking
around it and figure out the the actual body which jeep people call the tub is pretty trashed pretty
rusty uh so that's when case convinced me well i just pulled the whole face off of it so i pulled
the face and all the limbs off of it um and then figured out like it'd probably be easier to replace
the tub than to try to fix the old one so that's where rob the jeep guy comes in he's my jeep guy
and he has like a graveyard of 30 of these things so i found a pretty good tub and did some welding
work on it um and then i attempted i don't know if you know this i attempted some welding work and
it looks like trash but that's okay because i'm learning and it's it's a jeep right that's part
so so right now the way it says is there's there's a bare frame which i have
ground down given myself emphysema i got new brake lines i'd got new my new brake lines
i had a realization i was on grinding that paint that is probably all leaded paint but that's okay
that'll haunt me in 30 years new brake lines um jeez i got a lot of new stuff it's getting the
trans rebuilt it's getting the transfer case resealed on the engine i'm doing all the accessories
pretty much everything yeah exhaust manifold intake manifold distributor
carb rebuild even the manifold studs yes manifold studs that's where i'm currently at
it's getting new gaskets in the engine which is fresh coat of enamel it's very shiny now that's how
i restore it which is important yeah you painted a black getting a new steering box in it probably
front main rear main seal pan gasket yeah a little bit everything you might do head gasket yeah maybe
head gasket because it's my head anyways um so at this point i need to get it running again we're
getting laughed at by our producer are you laughing at me because you don't think i can do it you're
right i can't do it but i'm figuring it out yeah the whole thing what started out of the flywheel
is now the whole damn thing have you seen this jeep recently what what we're gonna do col we're
gonna leave the bottom end of the engine alone for you just for you otherwise yes it will be
completely rebuilt electronic ignition it's getting a new wiring harness whole new wiring harness
yeah the whole thing because it did have cold things that's really funny what the hell col just a
wiring harness tommy got shocked by his fuel gauge do you know it electrocuted him electrocuted me
and then caught on fire that's what it was it was uh it was like simmering no you should have
seen it was a pretty good was it an open flame it was i could see flames coming out of that i
thought it was just a little sizzle no it wasn't so much a sizzle as a flame i i what i did is i
grabbed the wire yanked it out and like the whole wiring harness was black you what why did you do
that because it was on fire i wanted to get the fire out from underneath the dash oh the fire
didn't start because you tugged the wire no no it just started randomly i was driving it along
and then it just caught on fire it started smoking and sizzling the fuel gauge chored it out and then
it took out all the wires next to it all six of them um yeah so which is about half the wires in the
jeep yeah exactly so now it's got a new new wiring harness coming um and then i got to do all the
suspension and the axles it's a small project i'm not saying i'm not saying it'll be fast or easy
but yeah in case it's going to help me paint it here and hopefully in the next few weeks yeah
simple single stage i think we're looking at dark blue yeah so it's going to be really red and what
were you going to do on the wheels uh i don't know i mean so originally the dark blue tubs i think
had orange wheels but that's a little too denver broncosi yeah so thinking i might do white wheels
i think that'll look the best maybe the black wheels make it look kind of a steer
and then long term it'd be really cool to do lockers in it and suspension but i just need to
get it back to where it moves again so coles stops laughing at me yeah and then we'll be in a good
spot but it's really rough trying to build stuff with color yeah what the hell man it's not very
over here tell him my my story and he's just coming in and making fun of me
but we got a lot of the in the garage so that's what i'm up to and then last update this is kind
of fun col go to youtube and look up a channel called lost cause ranch yes um so we got a lot of
four by fours that don't run yeah we got a ton of them that's interesting is it because we like
jeeps and land roads that's the problem yeah we're Toyota people we would never have this issue
so there's a really cool dude named Joe who are the really cool channel named lost cause ranch
and he's he's doing this awesome project by the way where he's taking a land over lr4
and turning it into a pickup truck yeah which is pretty impressive it's pretty awesome and like
the results are looking freaking awesome so yeah in between doing that he also has another one of
my cars he's in Iowa so he he he ended up picking up one of my cars in Omaha because i bought this
really cool land over discovery one uh super cheap at auction but of course i needed head gaskets um
and this was before i was maybe a little bit more ambitious than i am now and also he is the land
over guy so he pulled it apart took the heads got a new machine shop it's got nice it's got new uh
valve seals in it it's got a new uh water pump he fixed the oil pumping it you're getting basically
a whole top end rebuild yeah look at that yeah it is a whole top end rebuild yes got new rockers
arp head studs so nice yeah so this is pretty cool it's maybe won't be hard to convince especially
non land rover people but the rest of this disco one is actually in really good shape
paints pretty decent yeah the interior is pretty decent it was bone dry underneath not a speck
of rust on it so overall it's actually in pretty good shape but yeah it needed the head gasket
so once a head gasket is done this is going to be a really nice running and driving disco one yeah
and what's really cool is you can actually follow the build over at joe's channel lost cause ranch
he's got a really cool build series uh you can see my new rockers in there so as as far as i know
it i mean it's done and it's running and it's back together and he just wants to you know make sure
that it's all set up and good for my drive back to colorado which we're going to do at the end of
february but uh yeah dude it's it's it's looking good i'm really stoked about it so i'm going to have
a super nice running and driving d1 um which you know i'm going to wheel a little bit and daily
drive a little bit and just have some fun with but uh i think it's gonna be a cool cool car plan is
not to turn that into some huge tire massive lift steel bumpers kind of thing because it's very
very stock and these in relatively stock form are pretty cool hey he uses the same oil
in those that i put in my truck t4 good man yeah case yeah so this video will be coming shortly to
the channel but um yeah common land over issues going through head gaskets and hopefully mine
will have head gaskets in it in the next few weeks yeah which is a big good stuff right there is
pretty cool um well that's all we've got going on in the garage and guys let us know how you'd
like to see us kind of evolve this podcast because we've got some ideas cooking up about
you know what what to do with some cars and trucks and we could do like a question and answer thing
and we could also talk about maybe some more aftermarket parts and modified parts when we can
always talk too about what our experience has been with different manufacturers as far as
uh four-wheel drive systems regarding traction control locker engagement yeah and we could talk
about different suspension designs pros and cons i mean the sure lucky lucky thing for what we
do is that we get to test out basically everything from every brand and since we live in colorado
we actually get to run some cool trails with them yep so i think we get to compare and contrast
a lot of vehicles on some of the same trails and uh yeah so there's a lot of fun stuff we
could talk about yeah we could also go you know talk about some of our adventures that we're up to
and some of the new press drives we've done and some of the company projects like tomorrow we're
breaking the news here but we're picking up 100 series land cruiser that we're going to do a project
build on and we can you know kind of fill people in on the parts that we're using and the parts that
we like and don't like and uh there's a lot of opportunity here so we'd love your feedback and
your input on what we should do yeah absolutely this is a podcast that i'm looking forward to
for sure guys well if you like this one leave a comment if you don't bunker off don't leave a
you
About this episode
A deep dive into the Ford Bronco versus Jeep Wrangler debate highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each vehicle, particularly in off-road performance. The hosts discuss the Bronco's independent front suspension, its wider stance, and modular roof options, comparing them to the Wrangler's solid axle and narrower design. They also touch on the Bronco's Sasquatch package, which offers off-road capabilities at various trim levels. Listeners can expect insights on modifications, off-road community trends, and a live test of the Bronco's capabilities.
( https://www.alltfl.com/ ) Check out our new spot to find ALL our content, from news to videos and our podcasts! On this episode of TFL Car Chat, Kase and Tommy get hands-on behind the wheel of the Ford Bronco Everglades and put it to the test on TFL’s off-road course. They break down how it performs in the real world—from trail capability and driving feel to daily usability, comfort, mods, and ownership considerations. They also dive into the latest off-road news, including highlights from King of the Hammers, talk about Nissan bringing back the Xterra, and share updates on their own current off-road builds.
This episode is a trial run for a potential new off-road–focused podcast, so let us know what you think. If you’re cross-shopping a Bronco vs. Wrangler—or already own one and want to see how it stacks up—this is the real-world comparison you’ve been waiting for.
( http://www.patreon.com/tflcar ) Visit our Patreon page to support the TFL team!
