Bronco vs. Wrangler - Door and Roof Removal Comparison by Car and Driver

[Arterius2]

Oh, it's totally a marketing gimmick to one-up Jeep, but it simply isn't practical. I can't wait for the YouTube video of someone tossing their doors in the back, hitting a trail, and one of them flying out and hitting the driver or a spotter or something.

Sure, everything is a gimmick if it doesn't apply to you.

Imagine if we took that approach to everything we do.

For 99.9% of the population out there, everything we talk about on this forum is a gimmick.

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[Pepe My Little Mule]

The mirrors look like they can fold in fairly well, shouldn't be a huge issues for most people, unless you do trails hardcore enough to warrant their removal, I'm sure they can be

Foldable as in break-away or folding them out of the way kinda like the CH's of yesteryear?

Obviously all mirrors are removable to one extent or another, but if they could be folded along with the arm's - that would be nice. 'Cuz who doesn't Ike to see a rooster tail of mud, snow or sand now and then?

 

[Spank]

Sure, everything is a gimmick if it doesn't apply to you.

Imagine if we took that approach to everything we do.

No, it's a marketing gimmick because it's a marketing gimmick. It's as much of a marketing gimmick as the Wrangler's folding windshield that virtually nobody uses. And it's fine; I don't blame them for doing it. But there's theory vs. application and I doubt we'll see the majority of Bronco owners carrying doors around.

 

[Nickp01]

The mirrors look like they can fold in fairly well, shouldn't be a huge issues for most people, unless you do trails hardcore enough to warrant their removal, I'm sure they can be removed.

Here’s how they fold just for reference

 

[Kurt0]

I hate hate HATE when people say this. Such a dumb myth, full size trucks have been basically the same size for decades now. 79” wide, length depends on the bed/can size of course, and height has gone up just like it has for EVERY type of vehicle.

If anything, trucks have actually grown less. A 2-door JL is WAY bigger than a TJ. A 2020 F-150 crew cab short bed is basically identical to one from 30 years ago in width and length.

uh....ill never claim to be the smartest guy in the room, but comparing a 2020 f150 to a 2000 f150, the 2020 is about 7” wider and 6-7” longer wheel base. Height not withstanding. The current Silverado HD is nearly a foot longer than the predecessor, and 20” longer wheel base than 20 years ago. Ill fully admit i was shocked to see a 2000 f150 is the same width as a current. I would have absolutely lost money on that bet.

jeeps got gigantic compared to their predecessors too, of course.

 

[Arterius2]

No, it's a marketing gimmick because it's a marketing gimmick. It's as much of a marketing gimmick as the Wrangler's folding windshield that virtually nobody uses. And it's fine; I don't blame them for doing it. But there's theory vs. application and I doubt we'll see the majority of Bronco owners carrying doors around.

I might actually be the few of those who can see myself using this 'gimmick'.
Where I previously wouldn't have ever considered removing the doors on my Wrangler -- due to many reasons I've listed previously.

I can see myself going for a nice afternoon drive around town or playing in mild ruts near where I live with the doors off, and easily put them back on when I'm done.

With that train of thought, I can probably convince 10 more people to do the same where they previously would have never considered it.

For extended trips, no, I wouldn't be using it. But options are always nice to have.

 

[MrMischief]

"Ford did tell us that the driver's-side roof panel must be removed first, which is pretty negligible, as both panels eventually need to be removed anyway."

I don't know why they went out of the way to point this out. The same holds true for the Wrangler.

The same does not hold true for the JL. You can remove just the driver side, or just the passenger side, of the freedom top if you want. You can also put both of them (or just one) back in place after removing the back if you want.

I don't see many people driving with just one freedom panel removed, but it can be done and I have done it.

 

[Spank]

I might actually be the few of those who can see myself using this 'gimmick'.

Hey, if it works for you, great! If I end up being wrong and every Bronco owner decides to carry their doors around as a right of passage, I don't think I'm gonna lose any sleep.

 

[BullMoose1776]

Oh, it's totally a marketing gimmick to one-up Jeep, but it simply isn't practical. I can't wait for the YouTube video of someone tossing their doors in the back, hitting a trail, and one of them flying out and hitting the driver or a spotter or something.

Had not really thought of that. Unintended consequences of what seem to be good decisions can be pretty bad!

 

[Arterius2]

Hey, if it works for you, great! If I end up being wrong and every Bronco owner decides to carry their doors around as a right of passage, I don't think I'm gonna lose any sleep.

Glad we can sort of agree on something.
Regardless if people actually want to carry the doors around, I think Jeep can take some notes on how Ford did their doors, especially their doors that pretty much function like half doors straight from production, and the ease of install/removal, plus the plug connections.

 

[jludave]

The same does not hold true for the JL. You can remove just the driver side, or just the passenger side, of the freedom top if you want. You can also put both of them (or just one) back in place after removing the back if you want.

I don't see many people driving with just one freedom panel removed, but it can be done and I have done it.

Yes, the same holds true. Please go back and read what was quoted.

What the quote and I were referring to is, that you need to remove the driver panel first.

This had nothing to do with removing and driving with one side out only.

 

[Nickp01]

uh....ill never claim to be the smartest guy in the room, but comparing a 2020 f150 to a 2000 f150, the 2020 is about 7” wider and 6-7” longer wheel base. Height not withstanding. The current Silverado HD is nearly a foot longer than the predecessor, and 20” longer wheel base than 20 years ago. Ill fully admit i was shocked to see a 2000 f150 is the same width as a current. I would have absolutely lost money on that bet.

jeeps got gigantic compared to their predecessors too, of course.

No.

Here’s an apples to apples comparison. 2001 crew cab short bed vs 2021 crew cab short bed. They are not that different.

A challenge I have presented to people that claim the same thing is this. Find me a vehicle, that carries the same nameplate, that has changed less in length/width than an F-150 from 2001 until now.

 

[SirMagnus89]

Apparently you can store all the doors and roof panels in the back of the Bronco, which is a huge plus for me. Mirror attached to the body is a no-brainer.

And it seems like removing doors and panels are easier on the Bronco as well.

As someone who lives in a condo. I don't want to deal with hoists and lifts, and I don't want to deal with door hangers. This is a huge turn-off and the only reason restricting me from taking off my hardtop and doors on my JL.

I am not understanding your issue with the Jeeps hardtop. The Bronco has the exact same style hard top where you need to store the rear shell somewhere if you want to take it off. The doors you cannot store in the Jeep but if you store the doors in the back of the Bronco you lose all rear cargo room as well as all rear visibility.

 

[SlowPoke21]

It is easy for engineers to copy a design (Jeep) and one up it.

 

[SleepEatJeepRepeat]

I hate hate HATE when people say this. Such a dumb myth, full size trucks have been basically the same size for decades now. 79” wide, length depends on the bed/can size of course, and height has gone up just like it has for EVERY type of vehicle.

If anything, trucks have actually grown less. A 2-door JL is WAY bigger than a TJ. A 2020 F-150 crew cab short bed is basically identical to one from 30 years ago in width and length.

Shots fired lol

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