New Boot Goofin’
BRONCO SHAKEDOWN DRIVE // EAGLE CANYON, SAN RAFAEL SWELL
Nights out: 1 Miles driven: 441 Soundtrack: Matt Maeson — That’s My cue
shakedown drive
This was a quick Bronco shakedown drive through Eagle Canyon and the San Rafael Swell after adding new suspension, wheels, and tires. The goal was simple: get the truck on dirt, test the setup on real desert roads, and see what changed before trusting it on longer Utah trips.
Day 1
New boot goofin’ in the bronco. We picked the bronco up from Teraflex, brought it home, and scraped it into the garage with a quarter-inch of clearance over the roof. I missed the floor getting out and almost took my teeth out on the workbench. The truck grew a good 4 inches overnight. We ran a chalk test to find our air pressures on our new beefy tires, and set our new shocks up for a fully-loaded adventure. Then we hit the road.
We had one night, so I kept it close to home. We went back to the San Rafael Swell. We headed straight for Eagle Canyon. I had seen photos of the arch and wanted to go see it in person. The road was listed as a 3/10 on onX, so I figured it would be perfect for making sure all the new parts we installed stayed on tight. We were certainly overbuilt for the trail, but that was the whole point of the drive.
We spent the sunny, breezy afternoon exploring pictographs, arches, and high-speed, sandy roads. We saw some of the most well-preserved pictographs I’d ever seen. Bold, crisp, and somehow still stuck to the wall after thousands of years. The truck felt like it was floating over every bump and dip. We giggled and drove faster. Mission success.
I had mapped out a few potential campsites, but as we explored, we found a different one that we couldn’t pass up. Nestled in a quiet alcove with towering cliffs all around us, we settled in for the evening. After some ham and cheese sandwiches and a few dozen Oreos, the sun set. The cool evening blues came out, and so did the Canyon Swifts. As the Swifts darted back and forth, the character of the day shifted. The wind died, the canyon cooled, and the desert came alive.
Day 2
We woke with the sun, packed up camp, and headed toward Eagle Canyon. Right after we started, the road changed. It went from fast and open to rough and tight. The first obstacle we found was a tight squeeze around a rock with plenty of ledges to get the truck rocking. We navigated tricky corners and rocky descents. The road was easy enough not to make you sweat, but interesting enough to keep you awake.
And just like that, Eagle Canyon Arch appeared. We almost drove right under it without even seeing it. We argued whether it looked more like an elephant or an anteater. Either way, it's a magnificent pile of rocks. Around the next few bends, arches of a different kind appeared. The two towering I-70 bridges spanned the canyon rim.
The road ended in a T, and we had to make a choice. Left or right. Right looked easier, but significantly longer. The sign on the left option said it was quite a bit more difficult. I sat there for a minute pretending to think about it. But after the confidence we gained in the truck, we went left, hoping for a challenge. And challenges were presented. The road got rocky, steep, and made us use 4-low at least once. It was every bit as difficult as Hardscrabble Hill from my White Rim trip. It all culminated in a tight squeeze through some tunnels under the highway. We had maybe 2 inches on either side of the mirrors and 3 above the roof. A tight, cozy, and spooky drive as semis rumbled over our heads. The scratches on the tunnel’s ceiling and tire rub marks on the walls were a reminder to go slow. We hit the highway, headed home, and considered the truck shaken down.
A FEW PRACTICAL NOTES FROM THE EAGLE CANYON BRONCO SHAKEDOWN
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Eagle Canyon is in the San Rafael Swell, a rugged desert area in central Utah with sandstone cliffs, dirt roads, open views, and old routes tucked around I-70.
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Yes. Eagle Canyon and the surrounding San Rafael Swell roads are a good place to test a new vehicle setup because the terrain includes sand, washboard, rocks, climbs, and enough remoteness to make the test feel real without committing to a huge trip.
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Conditions matter. In dry weather, many San Rafael Swell roads are manageable with a capable high-clearance vehicle, but weather can change the difficulty quickly. A Bronco, Jeep, Tacoma, or similar 4x4 is a good fit for exploring beyond the easy roads.
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The goal was to test the Bronco after adding new suspension, wheels, and tires. Eagle Canyon gave me enough dirt, sand, washboard, and rough road to see how the setup felt before trusting it on longer Utah desert trips.
Keep Wandering
More San Rafael Swell: Buckhorn Draw
More Bronco setup notes: The Rig
More Utah desert miles: White Rim Jamboree
