Finally Here! The Ford Trail App for Bronco

Where I run some of the time the trails on the app are non existent. As soon as I opened it I figured it was worthless for me. I am not one to get too technical anyway. I am not the kind of person to add trails. I just run and figure it out. A friend and I were scouring paper maps yesterday to run our enduro bikes. We found a couple of routes we will try and if we can't get through we have plans to double back and go another way. One road awhile back while in the Bronco had an old small wooden sign Guadaloupe Mexico with an arrow. That is first on the list. I may hit it in the Bronco before February when it warms for the bikes.

OnX is good too for general stuff.

JoergH

LOL, why would you live anywhere else?!? LOL. Seriously, I just meant that if you are close to it, you probably know where it is. I don't know many people who make the trip to Bronco Knoll from out of state just for that purpose. If you are visiting So Cal and want to hit it, then just ask one of the locals from one of the Bronco Clubs and they can point you in the right direction.

I specifically put it on my road trip because it was marked on the Bronco. And it was worth it.

You don't need to ask a local because they give you the coordinates... but since it's a Bronco app you would think it would be a point of interest for Bronco owners. Even if they never visit it.

swooshdave

I don't think the intention of the app is to be a direct competitor to Gaia or OnXOffoad. I think it's meant as a Bronco specific app to help new owners/offroaders get to know their Broncos. Which is why they have curated trails, rather than user submitted ones.

But I wish you could submit comments on the trails like closures and other notes.

That being said it works a lot better than before. Here's my writeup of the last outing using it.

https://thebronconation.com/trails-...ing-the-bronco-trail-app-t.19726/#post-295626

Well, I'll say this, it's not even close to the capabilities that I get with OnX or Gaia, so there's no danger of that. I use both of those, those my preference is OnX to plan trail runs. Often those runs aren't on any of the curated trails in any of the apps. Also, I need the ability to share the run's route with other's on the run, this the need for import/export of gpx files. I get it, there's a whole infrastructure for saving personal routes, folders, etc. that is required what Ford doesn't need right now. The thing that really kills me is that it's not integrated with the camera's in the Bronco. It rely's on the camera on my phone.

JoergH

Well, I'll say this, it's not even close to the capabilities that I get with OnX or Gaia, so there's no danger of that. I use both of those, those my preference is OnX to plan trail runs. Often those runs aren't on any of the curated trails in any of the apps. Also, I need the ability to share the run's route with other's on the run, this the need for import/export of gpx files. I get it, there's a whole infrastructure for saving personal routes, folders, etc. that is required what Ford doesn't need right now. The thing that really kills me is that it's not integrated with the camera's in the Bronco. It rely's on the camera on my phone.

While it would be neat to use the Bronco's cameras, the reality is there's no where to store the footage or a way to pipe it to a storage device.

I think of the Bronco app as an entry level trail tool. But as soon as you outgrow it there are better options.

swooshdave

Ironically they have the Cougar Buttes Trail nearby, but no mention of Bronco Knoll. While the trails up to the Knoll aren't particularly special, the relevance of the location is. I mean they put the location on the Bronco itself...

@Laura Do you folks have a direct line to the app owners?

We don't, unfortunately.

swooshdave

But I wish you could submit comments on the trails like closures and other notes.

That would be immensely helpful. The only trail it lists in my state has been closed to full-sized off-road vehicles since 2016. I work near the trail head and all summer long I saw at least one very confused Bronco owner show up on a weekly basis.

I do agree that it is intended to be a introductory off-road application. Pretty obvious they aren't trying to directly compete with Gaia or OnX, nor do I think they need to compete with those apps. Those two are both fully featured relatively expensive subscription-based services... and I think there is a lot of room for a more basic introductory app. BUT, it does needs a lot more work. If your first introduction to the application is a buggy mess and it ultimately leads you to a closed trail, I suspect most people will just get frustrated and forget it even exists.

I am surprised that no one has thought to integrate the Trail app with all of the good stuff Bronco Nation and the Off-Roadeo team has created. Seems like a no-brainer to add Events and the Trail Basics videos into the Trails app and just make it available. I assume there are different teams working on all of these things, but feels like if some marketing guy took the time to build a cohesive strategy around the whole thing, some awesome stuff could happen.

RagnarKon

That would be immensely helpful. The only trail it lists in my state has been closed to full-sized off-road vehicles since 2016. I work near the trail head and all summer long I saw at least one very confused Bronco owner show up on a weekly basis.

I do agree that it is intended to be a introductory off-road application. Pretty obvious they aren't trying to directly compete with Gaia or OnX, nor do I think they need to compete with those apps. Those two are both fully featured relatively expensive subscription-based services... and I think there is a lot of room for a more basic introductory app. BUT, it does needs a lot more work. If your first introduction to the application is a buggy mess and it ultimately leads you to a closed trail, I suspect most people will just get frustrated and forget it even exists.

I am surprised that no one has thought to integrate the Trail app with all of the good stuff Bronco Nation and the Off-Roadeo team has created. Seems like a no-brainer to add Events and the Trail Basics videos into the Trails app and just make it available. I assume there are different teams working on all of these things, but feels like if some marketing guy took the time to build a cohesive strategy around the whole thing, some awesome stuff could happen.

If there were only some Bronco marketing people around to escalate this idea...

swooshdave

While it would be neat to use the Bronco's cameras, the reality is there's no where to store the footage or a way to pipe it to a storage device.

I think of the Bronco app as an entry level trail tool. But as soon as you outgrow it there are better options.

I see what you mean, they would have to integrate the Bronco camera feed with the app on the phone. They do it for other stuff like speed, etc. so it must not be impossible.

JoergH

I see what you mean, they would have to integrate the Bronco camera feed with the app on the phone. They do it for other stuff like speed, etc. so it must not be impossible.

Video is a completely different beast that data like speed and different telemetry. Trust me when I say it’s not impossible but it’s too expensive to implement.

swooshdave

If there were only some Bronco marketing people around to escalate this idea...

If only....

I guess just to be fair, for all we know it may have been an idea that was pitched internally and some exec shot it down.

I don't fully understand how this whole marketing thing around Bronco is structured honestly. There is obviously Ford's internal marketing/brand team. Then you have Bronco Nation and Off-Roadeo, which are technically separate (I think?), but still affiliated with the same marketing agency that Ford hired. And then there is the Trails app, which may be an internal Ford team or it could be a completely different company that Ford contracted with on the side. Who knows.

Either way... in case any one of those marketing people read this: There are some missed opportunities for cohesion and integration. Heck there is some really cool stuff that Bronco Nation could do by itself if it had the resources to do it.

RagnarKon

If your first introduction to the application is a buggy mess and it ultimately leads you to a closed trail, I suspect most people will just get frustrated and forget it even exists.

THIS^^^
Down loaded the app tried it a few times, gave up on it and forgot I even had it. we have just been using OnX . But I do think there is a missed opportunity here.

Jakob1972

THIS^^^
Down loaded the app tried it a few times, gave up on it and forgot I even had it. we have just been using OnX . But I do think there is a missed opportunity here.

This brings up an interesting point. Who is the intended target audience for the app? Certainly not people who are already using OnX or Gaia GPS. At least I wouldn't think so considering how much more full featured those apps are. So it's first time app users. That's great, except I think that Ford missed the window on those folks by delaying the release for so long. Sure, they continue to sell Broncos, and thus create more first time app users, but now anyone who buy a Bronco and asks about the app is going to get a lot of people telling them "it's not any good, just get OnX or Gaia GPS". I think it would have been much more successful of they had it ready to go back in '21 when the Bronco started shipping. Not only would they have been "first to market" among Bronco owners, but they could have had more years of development by now and closed the feature gap a bit. Personally, I think that they missed the boat by no simply developing a partnership with OnX or Gaia or both. That would have given them a jump start on the whole thing since, quite frankly, the current app only has one thing that OnX and Gaia don't have, and that the telemetry info from the Bronco.

RagnarKon

If only....

I guess just to be fair, for all we know it may have been an idea that was pitched internally and some exec shot it down.

I don't fully understand how this whole marketing thing around Bronco is structured honestly. There is obviously Ford's internal marketing/brand team. Then you have Bronco Nation and Off-Roadeo, which are technically separate (I think?), but still affiliated with the same marketing agency that Ford hired. And then there is the Trails app, which may be an internal Ford team or it could be a completely different company that Ford contracted with on the side. Who knows.

Either way... in case any one of those marketing people read this: There are some missed opportunities for cohesion and integration. Heck there is some really cool stuff that Bronco Nation could do by itself if it had the resources to do it.

Having worked with marketing people for many years I have a really good idea of how it "works". Oh, the stories I can't tell. 😁

Sometimes it's more about how to spend the marketing budget rather than a strategic plan.

swooshdave

I specifically put it on my road trip because it was marked on the Bronco. And it was worth it.

You don't need to ask a local because they give you the coordinates... but since it's a Bronco app you would think it would be a point of interest for Bronco owners. Even if they never visit it.

When did you go? Last time we were there there was a flag, etc. I love that spot. The view is amazing, and the "history" makes it extra special for Bronco folks.

JoergH

When did you go? Last time we were there there was a flag, etc. I love that spot. The view is amazing, and the "history" makes it extra special for Bronco folks.

https://thebronconation.com/trails-trips-n.64/month-long-9k-mile-road-trip-june-2023-t.19959

JoergH

This brings up an interesting point. Who is the intended target audience for the app? Certainly not people who are already using OnX or Gaia GPS. At least I wouldn't think so considering how much more full featured those apps are. So it's first time app users. That's great, except I think that Ford missed the window on those folks by delaying the release for so long. Sure, they continue to sell Broncos, and thus create more first time app users, but now anyone who buy a Bronco and asks about the app is going to get a lot of people telling them "it's not any good, just get OnX or Gaia GPS". I think it would have been much more successful of they had it ready to go back in '21 when the Bronco started shipping. Not only would they have been "first to market" among Bronco owners, but they could have had more years of development by now and closed the feature gap a bit. Personally, I think that they missed the boat by no simply developing a partnership with OnX or Gaia or both. That would have given them a jump start on the whole thing since, quite frankly, the current app only has one thing that OnX and Gaia don't have, and that the telemetry info from the Bronco.

That is why we have OnX in the first place. we needed something on our first outing. the Ford app was not available. It would be cool if they could merge those together.

I am gonna have to finally use this app, so I can stop using it🫣

I think the only thing associated with the app that I have seen was the treasure hunt.

TK1215

I think the only thing associated with the app that I have seen was the treasure hunt.

There's a treasure hunt? I thought owning a Bronco was treasure enough!

swooshdave

There's a treasure hunt? I thought owning a Bronco was treasure enough!

Pretty much both treasure hunts are done!