CR117's A51 Badlands Build

[cr117]

Figured now was as good of a time as any to start one of these. I'll try to keep this first post updated as I go.

Current State:

Ordered: 2/13/2022
Delivered: 8/11/2023 (544 days)

From the Factory:

• 4-Door Area 51 Badlands w/ 2.7L Automatic
• Sasquatch Package
• Lux Package
• MIC Hard Top
• Towing Capability
• Hoop Steps
• Keyless Entry Keypad
• Holes drilled in the front by the dealer for the stupid front license plate bracket (which we requested them not to do)

Mods/Accessories Installed:

• Trailrax Roof Rack w/ Pak Rax
• Roam Adventure 95L Rugged Cases (x2)
• Baja Designs S8 40" Clear Light Bar
• Ford Modular Bumper w/ Safari Bar
• BumperPlugs
• Baja Designs Triple Fog Light Kit w/KR Off-Road Brackets
• Turn Offroad Rear Window Molle Panels

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[cr117]

First full day of ownership, had less than 24 hours before going on a week-long camping trip with the family (2 adults, 1 toddler, 2 dogs). We traded in our F-150 for the Bronco, so we knew were were going to be much tighter on space.

Backing up a few months, when the Bronco was finally scheduled, I realized I needed to start planning on how we were going to make it out there with everyone plus all our gear in the scenario that the Bronco came in before our trip. I picked up a used (new in box) Trailrax rack and some used Roam boxes locally and assembled what I could in my garage to get an idea of where everything would go.

Fast-forward back to day 1, it was time to put the plan in action.

Top priority: Removed that dumb front license plate.

Next I completely removed the roof so I could bolt on the Pak Rax mounts to the body. Took this opportunity for a quick joy ride since this may be the only time we'd be able to drive it with the top completely off.

Back on with the top and base roof rack all mounted up:

Pak Rax bolted on:

Added some grab handles to the rack as well:

Bolted on the Roam boxes:

Finally, installed our Yakima bike rack into a Kuat pivot hitch extender and got the bicycles loaded up:

At this point, all accessories were installed and we were ready for an adventure.

 

[cr117]

Woke up early the next day and got it all loaded up. It all fit perfectly, just as planned!

Headed down to Fort Stevens State Park in OR for a week-long family camping trip. It was the perfect opportunity to break in the Bronco and test out some of its off road capability. The Bronco was a huge success!

Literally the only other Bronco we saw the entire week happened to be camping right across from us:

 

[cr117]

Returned from our camping trip now, so it's back to work.

Started with unbolting the Roam boxes and giving it a quick wash and vacuum. There was sand everywhere!

Disassembled the roof rack's front crossbar and wind deflector to mount a Baja Designs 40" S8 light bar:

For the wiring, it took me a long time to make a decision on how things should be routed. I couldn't use the pre-routed line since I needed two (one for the driving lights, another for the backlights). Additionally, the factory wires are pretty weak. I don't know why Ford decided to cheap out on this, seems like a recipe for an electrical fire if someone didn't know what they were doing.

I didn't want to drill through where the pre-routed wire was because the front mounting plate for the roof rack is bolted directly on top of that location and the wires would be pretty pinched under there. I also didn't like the idea of running them down the edge of the windshield because (a) it looked kind of tacky, and (b), since these windshields are so prone to cracking, I didn't want these wires to be in the way if we ever needed to get ours replaced.

I ultimately decided on pushing the wires through a small hole in the roof seal and snaking them down the A pillar behind the passenger door seal.

You can just barely see it popping out from behind the seal and underneath the side view mirror into the engine bay:

Zip-tied it across the engine bay over to where the aux switch wiring is located and finished it off with a terminal strip I mounted behind the fuse box. This will keep everything neat and simple to add/move around different accessories on the various aux switches.

First test of the lights, they look awesome. Will need to actually drive it at night for a true trial.

 

[Kyukidoeric]

I like the how you color matched with the ocean water. Nice touch. Mine doesn't quite match as well.

 

[Brokenparts]

Looking good! I have the JCR rack with the same cut out for the 40" bar. I've been kicking the can on which single row bar to purchase... I am looking forward to some pics and your impressions of that particular light bar. That bike rack is pretty slick too!

 

[cr117]

Looking good! I have the JCR rack with the same cut out for the 40" bar. I've been kicking the can on which single row bar to purchase... I am looking forward to some pics and your impressions of that particular light bar. That bike rack is pretty slick too!

Did a few tests in the driveway, have yet to try it off road. First impressions are really good. Did it’s job of lighting everything up and not much noticeable glare on the hood. I preferred the single row light bar with my setup because the top of it still sits below the rack rails so I can load extra long items up there without them interfering.

 

[cr117]

Probably not all that common of an accessory around here, but this will be super useful for our long driveway now that I no longer have a truck to haul them down and back (traded it in for the Bronco).

 

[cr117]

Bumper swap night!

Before:

After:

 

[cr117]

Time for fog lights. I went with the Baja Designs Squadron SAE and a couple of S2 Sports (1 driving/combo, 1 wide cornering), all in amber. I wanted one set (the Squadrons) to be connected to the factory fog light switch that originally came with my capable bumper that I could use on the road. The other two would be for off road adventures.

I ended up taking the front bumper off again to make installing the fog light kit easier. I also took the opportunity to make sure I did everything I could make the sensors from my old bumper work. I had been driving around the last few days since switching to the modular bumper, and every once in a while when coming to a stop I'd get a "parking aid sensor blocked" alert on my dash. This alert would only stick around for a second or two and then go back to normal. I inspected all the wiring for pinches or loose connections, but everything looked good. Just to be safe, I rerouted some of the wires a bit more efficiently and used some liquid tape on my modified sensor plugs.

Next I attached a pair of connector plugs that came with the Baja Designs kit for connecting the SAE fog lights to the factory circuit.

Got everything back in place and installed the aux wiring harness from @4x4TruckLEDs.com. This harness saved me a ton of time. The one thing I'm wanting to modify is add a disconnect plug for this harness near where the factory wire harness connects right above the bumper. This would make removing the bumper much easier if I ever need to in the future without having to disconnect the wire terminals up by the fuse box.

Lights installed with the wires & plugs tucked up above:

Since I wired the SAE fogs to the factory circuit, I just had to connect to two other pairs of S2s to the aux switches. I decided to spare one switch and connect them both to the same one since I'll probably be using both sets at the same time anyways.

Super happy with how everything turned out. Woke up to drive to work an hour early this morning just to test things out a bit. Still need to adjust the lights' positioning a bit, but they're a major improvement over the ones that came with the capable bumper.

I'm considering "Phase I" of mods complete. I want to do a few off roading/camping trips with the current setup to see if there's anything I'm still missing from a driving experience perspective.

 

[cr117]

Oh yeah, also fixed the holes left by the dealer for the license plate bracket.

 

[cr117]

Installed some rear window molle panels from Turn Offroad. Very happy with the quality of these things!

 

[Turn Offroad]

Installed some rear window molle panels from Turn Offroad. Very happy with the quality of these things!

Thanks for posting!

 

[cr117]

Just realized it's been a while since I posted any updates to my progress. Got a few things added, including some Turn Offroad "Stiders" as well as mounted my traction boards on the pak rax. Also swapped out the antenna to a stubby because the stock one interfered with the limb risers I mount when I go off roading.

I've shifted my attention to my portable solar generator build. The goal with this is to make something that's customizable should my needs change, as well as serviceable in the case of a component failing. Still waiting on a few of the parts to get delivered, but I have the foundational elements in place. This will fit nicely underneath the back seat, which I'll eventually connect to a DC-DC charger while on the road.

 

[cr117]

Made some progress on my DIY portable power station. Managed to get all the hardware fit and mounted inside. Now just gotta wire everything up.

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