2-Door Ford Bronco Wildtrak Off road Build on 37s

With its rugged Sasquatch package and a few choice upgrades, this 2 Door Bronco Wildtrak build with the top off takes on nearly any terrain. Fitted with 3-inches of aftermarket lift and massive 37-inch tires wrapped around Method beadlock wheels, this mean machine tackles the trails just as easy as the Raptor.

So before you shell out the big bucks for the top trim package, take a look at how a few mods can make the Bronco Wildtrak every bit as trail-taming. We hit the dirt to find out if this locked-up two-door has what it takes to run with the Raptor pack.

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2 Door Bronco Top Off build

Suspension Lift

• Zone Offroad 3-inch spacer lift
• RPG Off-road fully adjustable A-arms
• RPG Off-road fully adjustable upper and lower rear trailing arms
• Fox or King coilovers (planned future upgrade)

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Wheels & Tires

• Nitto Trail Grappler 37″ tires
• Method 106 beadlock wheels 18×9 -44 offset
• RPG Off-road full tie rod kit
• Broncobuster steering insert

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Exterior Modifications

• KC HiLights Slim Lights for the pillars
• Advanced Fiberglass Concepts 2- or 5-inch fender kit (planned)
• Advanced Fiberglass Concepts slot hood (planned)
• 50-inch KC light bar for roof (planned)
• 10-inch KC bumper light bar (planned)
• KC Cyclone rock lights all around (planned)

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Interior Modifications

• Custom leather seats with black leather and tan stitching
• 67 Design phone mount
• Gear Shades sunshade

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All Other Mods

• Vivid Racing plug and play tune
• S&B cold air intake system (in progress)
• Innovative AT Products 4 air up/down system with ARB twin air compressor
• RPG rear diff billet diff cover

The Interview With the Owner & Builder

Honest Feedback & Must-have Mods for the New Bronco

First steps in off-roading and living the Jeep Life

– I grew up off-roading with my dad out in Glamis and 4-wheeling out in the big dunes. I had a 450 for a while also out in Glamis. Then I moved up to Washington and didn’t do any Offroading for a while, as I just couldn’t afford it, but all my friends had Jeeps, and Toyotas and were always going up wheeling.

I wanted to join, so I saved up for a couple of years and was able to get myself a 2007 2-door Jeep from the car dealership where I worked at the time. It was all done up with bumpers, some steely wheels, and 315 all-terrain tires.

I took it up wheeling with the boys one day and was hooked…and then quickly became more broke, as I started buying lift kits and all kinds of stuff for it.

I’ve had that for about a year or so, and traded it in for a new 4-door JLU Rubicon…and that’s where I really became broke, as I was hooked on Jeep life and bought all kinds of stuff for that thing. It ended up being on 40 inch Nitro Trail Grapplers, RV axel shafts, Metal Cloak Game Changer 6 pack lift kit, and a host of other things on that.

With my offroad journey in about 2 years, I had put 72k miles on it, then sold it to get the Bronco and started this build. I had sold the JLU to a buddy of mine that I would go wheeling with. It’s always a cool thing when your build goes to someone, who is enjoying it as much as you did and treating it the same.

“I had already done the Jeep build and didn’t want to do another one, since I probably would have just done all the same stuff.”

Long story short for this. I’m a commercial fleet manager at a Ford dealership, so I was able to get a Bronco quickly. I had already done the Jeep build and didn’t want to do another one, since I probably would have just done all the same stuff. So I decided the new Bronco would be a cool new build, and I can give people an honest review, coming from a built-up Jeep Wrangler owner.

“So I decided the new Bronco would be a cool new build, and I can give people an honest review, coming from a built-up Jeep Wrangler owner.”

What inspired you to choose this modification style?

– This one is one that, probably, almost everyone that modifies their vehicles can understand…I did my research on all the different companies that had stuff out for the Bronco and hit up a couple of the people I knew in the companies that had made stuff for Jeeps to see if they were going to be coming out with something for the Broncos.

• Engine Specs & Mods

– Currently, all I have done to the motor is just a Vivid Racing plug and play tune, which honestly is pretty nice. With the audition of the Nitto 37s and Method beadlock wheels, it brings it back to feeling like stock power plus a little more.

I also am working with S&B filter on a cold air intake system more on that soon.

• Lift & Suspension

– For the suspension I am running, it’s a little bit of a frankenlift…I started out with just the Zone Offroad 3-inch spacer lift since I was waiting for other companies to come out with some more lift kits. Quickly after getting it, RPG had come out with their system.

I was able to link up with RPG Off-road and buy a set of their billet aluminum black anodized fully adjustable A-arms, billet rear fully adjustable upper arms, and lower trailing arms. I do plan on going with Fox or King coilovers eventually, but as everyone knows, currently, they are impossible to get.

To back up a little with the addition of the Nitto Trail Grappler 37s and the Method 106 Beadlock wheels, it was an absolute must to upgrade the steering on these Broncos, since the tie rods are basically toothpicks. So I bought the RPG off-road full tie rod kit and the Broncobuster steering insert. Honestly, those 2 upgrades probably made the biggest difference in the way the bronco drives/handles.

When I first had the Bronco all stock, I had taken it out to Glamis to have some fun and the steering was all over the place and super loose to the point where I ran over a couple of bushes. Since getting tie rods and the insert, the steering feels much more responsive and direct. I need to plan another Glamis trip to see if I can now avoid some of those bushes.

• Wheels

– For the wheels, I’m running a set of Method 106 deadlock wheels 18×9 -44 offset with 3.5 inch backspacing…they have the perfect amount of poke.

When I was on the hunt for wheels, I really wanted the method 106’s but everyone kept telling me they won’t fit due to aggressive offset. but I wanted deadlocks and I wanted these, so I said f**k, it lets send it and see how it goes.

I ended up picking them up and throwing them on with the stock wheels and stock suspension. I ran that for a little till the tires came in from Nitto, and to everyone’s surprise, I had no rubbing issues whatsoever, and they looked sick! Still after getting the 37s and 3-inch lift kit on I have no rubbing.

• Exterior Mods

– Other than the wheels and tires I don’t have much done to the outside. There are not many bumpers on the market that I personally like. I did just get a set of KC HiLights Slim Lights for the pillars, that I need to put on.

For the exterior, I have a lot of plans just simply waiting for the products to get shipped and/or come out. I plan on doing an Advanced Fiberglass Concepts 2- or 5-inch fender kit and their slot hood. From KC, I plan on doing a 50-inch light bar up top and a bumper-mounted 10-inch light bar, with Cyclone rock lights all around.

• Interior Mods

– For the interior, I have a set of custom leather seats, nothing too crazy on them. I just did black all around with tan stitching to match the dash and door air rest from the WildTrak. I also have a 67 Design phone mount which is a must. It’s super clean and screws in right above the screen in the mount the Broncos have. I have a Gear Shades sunshade since I am topless pretty much 90% of the time now.

• All other mods

– Probably one of the most convenient things I have done is the Innovative AT Products 4 air up / air down system. I had this system on my Jeep and absolutely loved it, so naturally, I had to get it on the Bronco. Super cool system!

It has an ARB twin air compressor mounted in the back on the rail, where the hardtop is bolted in, and then plumbed in the pines and under the carpet to an outlet under the drivers and passengers seat where I can plug in my Y chuck to then plug into all 4 tires.

Super nice, since I can just use the ARB app to control it and set the pressure I want it to air down to and air up to. Also, I have RPGs rear diff billet diff cover which I have already put a scuff or 2 in.

What challenges did you face while putting it together?

– It’s still a work in progress as every build since no build is ever truly finished, but my biggest challenge currently is just product availability for the 2-door Bronco.

What do you love about your rig?

– How it looks and how it performs off-road, while also being like a Cadillac on the road.

Is it your daily or a weekend ride?

– Both daily and weekend whip.

Do you take it off-road? If so, where and how often?

– I mostly go up to Big Bear, as those are the closest 4×4 trails to me.

What are your future plans for this build?

• Advanced fiberglass concepts slot hood and either 2 or 5-inch fender flare kit
• King or Fox coilovers
• Bumpers front and rear (when I see some come out that I like)
• KC HiLights cyclone rock lights their 50inch Gravity Pro 6 light bar and some lights on the bumper
• Rock Slide Engineering side steps.

that’s it. Just keeping it simple and clean.

My motto with builds has always been to keep it simple and clean. I always see some of these builds and they are just way too overdone to the point, where what you built it for is either too expensive that you don’t want to wheel it, or it’s just not good at doing those things…

For my builds, I try and keep it budget-friendly and show that you don’t need much to have a good time, and you really do not need to do much, to make a really killer-looking build – clean and simple!

“Bronco could be all things for all people, a convertible, a pickup, a family car that goes off-road” – Hagerty

“The New Ford Bronco has made its way into the top of our Best Modern Off Road SUV comparison chart and proudly scored 151.5 points overall according our evaluation tests”.

Off-road Capability Score: 65/70

Being a lifted 4×4 with oversized 37″ tires (which is worth 30 points in our evaluation system) with rugged Body-on-Frame construction (+5 Points), part-time 4WD system with low range (+10 Points), front & rear locking differentials (+20 Points) from the Sasquatch Package, this Bronco build earns an off-road capability score of 65 out of 70 possible. The only deductions are for lack of a body armor and a winch. But this Locked & Loaded top off 2 door Wildtrak has the hardware to trade paint with a Raptor on all but the most extreme terrain.

Complexity Level: Advanced

Significant upgrades to major systems like suspension, drivetrain, and steering demonstrate this is far beyond an entry-level build. With custom tunes and forged wheels on top of quality aftermarket lift components, it’s clear that no expense has been spared to optimize capabilities. We classify this Bronco as an Advanced level build.

Budget: $$$

While some premium parts have been invested in, the owner has taken a practical approach focused on capability over cosmetics. With a smart stage-by-stage build process rather than throwing everything at it upfront, we estimate this Bronco likely represents a $$-$$$ level investment so far. But built to be enjoyed off-road rather than hidden away, it delivers an immense return on investment behind the wheel.

Author’s opinion

The new Bronco is straight awesome. Ford’s marketing team and their high-class engineers did a great job at addressing the needs of modern drivers in the best way possible. The Bronco outperforms the competition at various levels and becomes a vehicle of choice for many off-road enthusiasts throughout the country.

“Now there’s a new Bronco and history is repeating itself. Once again the Bronco is a great-looking simple, elegant piece of the industrial design. Once again it has removable doors, a removable roof, and class-leading horsepower. A look at the spec sheet shows that it poos all over today’s Jeep Wrangler in almost every off-road metric: ground clearance, break over, water fording depth, departure angle, and so on.” – Hagerty

If you have the experience of modifying your vehicles, it absolutely makes sense to get a more affordable package and maximize it’s capabilities with the help of the aftermarket parts, which I am 100% sure will soon become available on the aftermarket. To maximize the off-road potential of your build we recommend choosing the Sasquatch package that features vital front and rear lockers.

Watch the progress and find out more about this Ford Bronco WildTrak project by visiting the Instagram profile of the owner: @austin_berendes!

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