Alright Ford you broke me - question for soft top owners

[JojoReady]

I‘m a 2 door owner and installed the Bestop soft top last spring. The convertible top completely transformed the Bronco experience and is by far the best mod I’ve made. In warm weather I mostly run around in Safari mode (top up, windows out) and I can quickly close it up if bad weather pops up. I love it.

This fall I was going to put the hardtop back on but I decided to see how the softie worked out in winter. So far no issues. At this point, I may never put the hardtop back on.

The biggest negatives are the noise at highway speeds (more than the MIC), the windows scratch easy and require special care when cleaning, and the need to hand wash.

I‘m glad I have both, but if I could only have one it would be a soft top.

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[BUFFBRONCOS]

Holy shit! Where is it coming in from? The top tail gate seal?

Came in from the seals above the windows and above the rear doors.

 

[MnLakeBum]

Came in from the seals above the windows and above the rear doors.

Super strange. Mine has been parked outside in 5 snowstorms this year and I haven’t had a flake inside. I also don’t have any water leaks when I take it through the drive through car wash. I’d take it to the dealer and have them fix it.

We’ve had a lot of snow this year and have had zero issues with the top or heat rentention. 17,000 miles so far.

This is our winter wonderland.

 

[22OBX]

Can’t speak specifically to Bronco - but I think you might be asking the wrong question.

I drove a JK Wrangler with a soft top exclusively for about 15 years here in western Montana. Similar climate to Colorado I would imagine - just a little longer winters. It was never an issue. Endured snow loads and below zero temps and never once wished I had a hard top because of winter driving.

Now “road noise”? Yeah…whole nother question. I had bluetooth in the Jeep but it was basically useless above 40mph due to road noise. I got used to it to the point where it really only bothered me sometimes.

I can imagine owning a Bronco is the same. You get used to it.

You can carry on a normal conversation at 70 mph, and definitely no issue with noise less than 70. I can talk on my Bluetooth all day at 55-65 with no issue. To me noise really isn’t an issue and this is with louder than stock AT tires. Over time the second ribbed row of fabric stretches slightly and will occasionally flop in the wind but I designed a simple solution where that isn’t even an issue for me.

 

[22OBX]

I really regret not waiting for a hardtop. The main reason being once you get a soft top its nearly impossible to get a hardtop. Aftermarket prices are wild and I really do not like how the ADV looks. The main downside for me is that I much prefer the look of a hardtop and the lack of roof rack.

That being said the soft top is very well built and has never given me any issues in extreme weather. I hear the rattles and squeaks of the hardtop are really bad and the soft top does not have that problem.

Contrary to what others have said on this thread its hard to have a convo or listen to music or talk on the phone going above 65. And forget talking to anyone in the back going at highway speeds.

What tires are you running? I can comfortably have a conversation at 65 with passengers or on Bluetooth

 

[BUFFBRONCOS]

Super strange. Mine has been parked outside in 5 snowstorms this year and I haven’t had a flake inside. I also don’t have any water leaks when I take it through the drive through car wash. I’d take it to the dealer and have them fix it.

We’ve had a lot of snow this year and have had zero issues with the top or heat rentention. 17,000 miles so far.

This is our winter wonderland.

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Wow! What a great scene! Is that a lake?

The snow was during the Buffalo snowstorm right before Xmas. Winds were insane. We lost power from Friday to Sunday.

 

[Rspayde]

This is mine in December. No issues with the snow on it, and that's about a foot or so just overnight.

It holds in the heat really well (I've been in -10 C or colder), and the road noise is definitely there, but nothing I wasn't expecting. It's a bit harder to talk on the phone via Bluetooth but it's do-able. Overall the soft top is much better than I expected. That being said, I did pre-order an ADV hardtop as I'd prefer one and don't actually take the top off as often as I thought. At least this way I can still remove a couple panels if I want to.

If I'm looking for a downside to the soft top, it does pour water into the vehicle when you open the door. The water really has no gutter to drain, and I believe is a common issue on most soft top vehicles. I also think the hardtop look looks better vs. the wavy windows and soggy top when it rains. But those are just minor.

I know mabbett has a product that is meant to solve the drip. Not huge on how it looks but it definitely would solve the problem.

https://www.amazon.com/Mabett-Windo...74&sprefix=mabbett+bronco+drip,aps,112&sr=8-4

 

[MannyG20]

You can carry on a normal conversation at 70 mph, and definitely no issue with noise less than 70. I can talk on my Bluetooth all day at 55-65 with no issue. To me noise really isn’t an issue and this is with louder than stock AT tires. Over time the second ribbed row of fabric stretches slightly and will occasionally flop in the wind but I designed a simple solution where that isn’t even an issue for me.

Agreed. I have a 4 Dr soft-top and I have taken road trips of 900 miles, 1800 miles and 6000 miles with my wife and have never had a problem with carrying a conversation at normal levels.
now that does not mean you don’t get road noise. I don’t have the SAS tires and they may be louder.

 

[SevenT]

I have gone through 2 Colorado winters with my soft top and have no complaints. I will use the soft top in the summers, but will have my ADV hard top for winters after I get it in the next few months.

 

[JohnnyBronco]

Holy shit! Where is it coming in from? The top tail gate seal?

It's coming from the east end of Lake Erie. You can get the same snow intrusion in a sealed up house when it is minus 17 and 70 mph winds

 

[MnLakeBum]

Wow! What a great scene! Is that a lake?

The snow was during the Buffalo snowstorm right before Xmas. Winds were insane. We lost power from Friday to Sunday.

It is Gull Lake in northern Minnesota where we spend summers and also play in the snow a handful of winter weekends. There are more than a dozen resorts and over 2,000 homes on the 45 miles of shoreline.

They have an an annual ice fishing contest next weekend that attracts over 11,000 anglers, only in Minnesota, lol. First prize is a Ford F150 - they give $200k in prizes away for the one day contest.

We will be out on our snowmobiles today as we had more fresh snow yesterday. In the summer, it’s a little slice of heaven and our favorite place to be.

 

[JohnnyBronco]

Agreed. I have a 4 Dr soft-top and I have taken road trips of 900 miles, 1800 miles and 6000 miles with my wife and have never had a problem with carrying a conversation at normal levels.
now that does not mean you don’t get road noise. I don’t have the SAS tires and they may be louder.

Not true in all Broncos. It could just be my hearing but it seems as if the right side of vehicle allows more noise to enter than left. It may be an adjustment to roof needed as it may not seal the same on each side but honestly in the 27,000 miles I have driven I have not had the downtime to leave it at the dealership to investigate

 

[jehines3]

Other members have made the same complaints I would but haven’t mentioned the snow on the inside!

I can tell based on the snow pile on the roll bar and on the back window seem to corner, that someone removed the top exactly the way the Ford video said not to or didn't put it back correctly. The rear panel removal seam is on the side window, not between the back glass and the corner where there is snow piled. Follow the installation and removal directions and this won't occur, the entire corner is molded plastic covered in fabric and solid seemed on the back glass to corner transition. The corner top frame button may not have engaged in the frame either.

I picked up a window bag for the vinyl windows and it accounts for the solid corners on the back glass as well.

Until the Mod top exists for purchase, there is no easy way to have the back open on a Bronco. The four hard top owners that went full-on top removal will chime in here saying how easy it is. It isn't 4 minutes easy to be topless with a hard top.

For the OP, If this is your daily driver and requires a lot of highway time, get the hard top and do not get an aftermarket exhaust. I realized that all the aftermarket exhaust videos are with MIC top builds. A softie with exhaust is tough at 65+ MPH.

video here:


and

 

[BurtMacklin]

I have been through some pretty wicked snow in Upstate NY- no issues at all with my soft top. Holds heat just fine and even with 35's the road noise isn't bad at all. I was anti soft top in the beginning, but I caved because I really wanted my Bronco- no regrets here.

 

[BroncoKing610]

I dont know what others think but the heater in the car kicks like no other so do the seat heaters

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