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beachman101

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Nice work, Zack. I was going to comment on Beachman's thread, but it has been locked. Even though the CG MIC Top above with the gunner's hatch is fantasy, it likely is an accurate depiction based on the description of the updated documents (ignoring the accompanying graphic). The actual description of the rear panel on the 2-dr mod top aka gunner's hatch is that it is a "circular panel" which of course doesn't match the corresponding graphic. In addition, the cargo area remains covered which doesn't match what the graphic depicts.

Absent of any actual photographic evidence that supports the graphic's depiction, we should expect an oblong panel that matches the CGI rendering above with the cargo area remaining covered.

For others that have suggested an AM tent with access via the gunner's hatch, Ursa Minor offers an integrated RTT. There was mention last summer that they were planning on offering a similar product.
Yes seeing as this graphic is the only thing hinting at this, it’s possible it’s a fluke and we are just getting the smaller gunner hatch. However this new design is much much cooler and has greater potential for aftermarket stuff
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mdonathan56

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Another B6G member shared some images from their dealership which showed the official ford breakdown of the differences between the MIC and Modular tops.

I grabbed them and credit to @beachman101 for recognizing that the ”Gunner’s Hatch” on the mod top is shown considerably larger here compared to what we’ve seen in the past.

We have not seen a recent picture of the hatch on a real-life Mod top, but these documents being dated “January 2021” may mean that this is the size we can expect from production units... however confirmation is still needed.

View attachment 91779

Additionally, this document lists the specific removable panels for all top variations, and confirms that both the 2-door and 4-door Mod tops get the removable windows in the rear.

Finally, these views give a great view of how the relative sizes of top components compare to one another, and between 2 and 4 door models.

The “Note” at the bottom of this image seems to be referring to the Area51 “Overland” concept build with the blanked out rear windows.... and confirms that factory units will “always be glass.”

View attachment 91780

I also recently updated my top difference ”cheat sheet” to reflect the apparent darkening of the MIC top as we get closer to production, and concerns by insiders that the MIC top is not any less prone to showing scratches as the Mod top.

View attachment 91782


Here is an image from the Ford Bronco webpage which shows a cg rendering with a much smaller roof hatch (albeit on what appears to be a MIC top):

View attachment 91786
That picture right there almost hooked me on the AMB. Glad I saw it in person.
 

Rick Astley

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Yeah. Not sure about the weather-proofing... but there could be some cool rooftop tent integration with this.
One can only guess how extensive (and expensive) any rail system will be to support the weight of an occupied rooftop tent which ejects from the roof hole.

Sorry, but the first thing that came to mind with a roof tent which has passage directly through the roof sphincter into the cabin was this.....

Ford Bronco “Bronco Dealer Playbook” describes MIC and MOD (Modular) top differences. Shows larger “Gunner’s Hatch” and confirms removable rear windows. tenor[1]


Every morning camping with family is a good morning, until somebody has to crawl through the sphincter for their 4am constitutional..... (Pro tip: Keep a few 32 oz Gatorade bottles handy. They will help you hydrate then provide excellent storage)
 
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ZackDanger

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Nice work, Zack. I was going to comment on Beachman's thread, but it has been locked. Even though the CG MIC Top above with the gunner's hatch is fantasy, it likely is an accurate depiction based on the description of the updated documents (ignoring the accompanying graphic). The actual description of the rear panel on the 2-dr mod top aka gunner's hatch is that it is a "circular panel" which of course doesn't match the corresponding graphic. In addition, the cargo area remains covered which doesn't match what the graphic depicts.

Absent of any actual photographic evidence that supports the graphic's depiction, we should expect an oblong panel that matches the CGI rendering above with the cargo area remaining covered.

For others that have suggested an AM tent with access via the gunner's hatch, Ursa Minor offers an integrated RTT. There was mention last summer that they were planning on offering a similar product.
I actually don’t disagree with you. I was hesitant to make a point of this (hence why I didn’t when I initially saw it), but enough people thought it was news worthy that it at least should be shared for others to make their own judgement.

We saw one pre production mod top’s hatch from the inside early on... and it didn’t strike me as any bigger than the initial CG render...

But considering that these are the official docs sent out by Ford dated January, and are obviously some sort of engineering images, it would seem not un-likely to me that this larger hatch is indeed what they settled on and what we’re getting.

All that is to say: I’m usually very conservative with my conclusions around here until we have enough evidence to support something, and when it comes to this, I’m waiting for more evidence.

And in a few months (or hell, maybe a few days) time, all this discussion will be worthless because we’ll just know.
 

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ZackDanger

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From the other thread.

Yes. We need to see some real-life bonafide pictures of how this top is coming.


I think the opening is still oval...
The exterior shape I believe adds a lot of overlap to help keep out the elements and wind noise.

20210220_172946.jpg
That’s from the website and potentially CGI/early prototype, but the operation appears it swings down in for removal? And in the least it’s forward of the rear roll bar. Which would put it about 2/3 the length of the rear top


Ford Bronco “Bronco Dealer Playbook” describes MIC and MOD (Modular) top differences. Shows larger “Gunner’s Hatch” and confirms removable rear windows. 1613864909792


Here’s a crazy theory: what if the very first prototypes were smaller and dropped down inside... and then at some point they made an engineering change so that it was much larger an removed off the top like the other roof pieces? (Ability to remove the panel with the roof rack in place vs while the back is full of stuff and consistency with the second row on the 4-door).

All the early cgi and Ford images are built off the old concept, but the dealer document is representative of the final design?

Full disclaimer: that’s wild speculation.
 
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WuNgUn

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From the other thread.

Yes. We need to see some real-life bonafide pictures of how this top is coming.




That’s from the website and potentially CGI/early prototype, but the operation appears it swings down in for removal? And in the least it’s forward of the rear roll bar. Which would put it about 2/3 the length of the rear top


Ford Bronco “Bronco Dealer Playbook” describes MIC and MOD (Modular) top differences. Shows larger “Gunner’s Hatch” and confirms removable rear windows. 1613864909792


Here’s a crazy theory: what if the very first prototypes were smaller and dropped down inside... and then at some point they made an engineering change so that it was much larger an removed off the top like the other roof pieces? (Ability to remove the panel with the roof rack in place vs while the back is full of stuff and consistency with the second row on the 4-door).

All the early cgi and Ford images are built off the old concept, but the dealer document is representative of the final design?

Full disclaimer: that’s wild speculation.
I think it DEFINITELY removes from the outside. The two forward hand screws draw it down snug and the rear two tabs look like they underhook inside the cabin. But yeah, again, these are renderings.
I still believe from the outside, the cover umbrellas the opening with a wide lip all the way around.
If they made changes, maybe this is the reason for the delay?
 

Toccoa

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Ford Bronco “Bronco Dealer Playbook” describes MIC and MOD (Modular) top differences. Shows larger “Gunner’s Hatch” and confirms removable rear windows. 1613867754559

Ford Bronco “Bronco Dealer Playbook” describes MIC and MOD (Modular) top differences. Shows larger “Gunner’s Hatch” and confirms removable rear windows. 1613867780746


Giant Gunner’s hatch is cool and all, but onboard storage would be nonexistent and leave Bronco with a much worse problem than Jeep’s door storage issue. Pop up showers would drench the interior. Including that nice cloth on the back of the rear seats. Smaller hatch would be better for usability.
 

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I think it DEFINITELY removes from the outside. The two forward hand screws draw it down snug and the rear two tabs look like they underhook inside the cabin. But yeah, again, these are renderings.
I still believe from the outside, the cover umbrellas the opening with a wide lip all the way around.
If they made changes, maybe this is the reason for the delay?
And that would give the appearance of a larger panel from the outside rendering. I'm throwing away the graphic that accompanied the updated docs as it shows the panel extending over the cargo area. The top down render shows a larger panel, but it still clearly ends before the roll bar. The larger outline of the panel would account for the overlap "umbrella" lip.

I think we are all in agreement (You, Zack and I) that the updated panel is larger than the initial prototype. And it makes sense that they re-engineered the removal/seal of the panel.
 

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Elephant in the room. The rear hatch window. Gonna look silly (and possibly noisy) with that one window in place.
 

Beach_Bum

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Elephant in the room. The rear hatch window. Gonna look silly (and possibly noisy) with that one window in place.
Which are you referring to? You seem to be combining the nomenclature of hatch and window. Are you referencing the glass on the rear gate?
 

Used2jeep

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