For quite some time now, the new Ford Bronco seems to have been the focus of many in the off-road world ever since its launch in late 2019. Ford has been pushing hard to showcase the capabilities of this new platform at events like the Baja 1000, and King of the Hammers. These new Broncos boast a ton of features specifically designed for the trail, rock crawling, running through the desert, and just about anything else you can throw at them. Due to this, the Bronco makes a strong platform for getting the absolute most out of performance on and off-road.
Loren Healy, who you may know from Ultra4 off-road racing and as a King of the Hammers 4400-class driver, has been very involved in the new Bronco platform with teammate Vaughn Gittin Jr. This custom build , affectionately called "Rooney," features some Funhaver prototype parts that Loren and team plan to move into production very soon.
For example, if you have a Bronco it is likely the wide fiberglass fenders may stand out, making room for the 38” Nitto Ridge Grappler tires and 17" Centerline beadlock wheels. Or, perhaps the front and rear bumpers and rock sliders get your attention. High-clearance, functional, and clean.
The core of this build however is the +3 long travel suspension, utilizing race-proven technology from years of experience. This kit looks like something right out of one of Loren’s Ultra4 race cars, but is designed to bolt right in to any new model Bronco. The front suspension features a boxed steel lower A-arm with uniball design to handle rocks and abuse, while the upper is a billet aluminum that bolts right to the OEM knuckle. As a known weak link of the Bronco, this kit upgrades the tie-rods with solid aluminum links and ¾” rod ends for strength and reliability.
In the rear, the rear lower links have been replaced with beefy solid aluminum and rod ends to allow for proper pinion angle adjustments.
Upgrading to Long-Travel
This long-travel suspension requires a few additional upgraded parts. The front axle shaft assemblies have been replaced with RCV Performance’s 300M axles designed specifically for this +3 long travel suspension.
It also features brand new FOX 3.0 prototype coilovers with internal bypass front and rear, also specifically designed for this suspension kit.
Out & About
While this rig is designed to tackle toughest off-road environments (and has already run Pritchett Canyon in Moab for example), it also handles on-road extremely well. Loren drove from his home in New Mexico, 20+ hours to Tennessee, where it will be on display for the CMA Festival, a country-music event in the heart of downtown Nashville.
Next, he will drive it north to Chicago to start the Nitto American Road Tour, and cruise the entire length of the historical Route 66.
Building a rig that is capable of handling tough rock trails, bombing through the desert, and cruising comfortably on the road is not easy, but it seems this Bronco does it all with ease. We expect to see the aftermarket support for this new platform to be very strong, for just about any need you have.
