Bronco Slipstream Security Enclosure

[Village Idiot]

Following. Gurtrude and I are hopeful there will be a 2 door rear seat delete cover to protect the junk in her trunk! Great to see all of the positive reviews.

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[bhornberger]

Any update of a possible 2 door version?

 

[JRock17]

Hey all -- anyone have a rear cargo cover for the floor that fits when the Slipstream is already installed?

I have the ford mat and it fits just fine with no modification

 

[coreymd]

Just received my slipstream today, and of course could not wait to install it when I got home from work. It took me about three hours, but I was super careful to watch and rewatch (instructions via youtube video) each step so I did not have to go backwards and take things apart. Honestly, it was like putting together a piece of IKEA furniture. I am handy, but not an advanced technician by any means. The video was awesome.

initial thoughts are you absolutely get what you pay for. Every piece was perfectly packaged with a lot of care. And although it was overwhelming when I took all of the pieces out, everything fit together perfectly. It is super solid, super tight, and for those of you wondering, it does work with the IAG soft top assist struts. You just have to close it from the top corner of the soft top rather than pulling down from underneath, which is not really a big deal at all.

I overall I think it was a fantastic investment. I equate this to having a hard tonneau cover on a pick up truck, of which I have never owned a truck without. The best part is you lose almost zero cargo space, and the easy takeoff of the lid, pass through portal, and complete fold down of the back panel for full cargo access is key

I just installed my Slipstream today and thought I had missed an important step for the soft top. But I see that your soft top levers don't clear the Slipstream lid either.

I am not as enthusiastic as you about hacking a solution (adding your own foam strip to pad the contact between the lever and the lid). It should have been engineered with more clearance there. The lever being stopped by the lid means the latch isn't fully secured.

Also, opening the latch from underneath with so little space is a challenge. And now consider that you have to push on the lever closer to its fulcrum because the end of the lever is inaccessible - sitting on top of the Slipstream lid. The loss of mechanical advantage is significant and makes the task much more difficult.

It's a big deal for soft top owners, not just those with IAG's lift assist. I'll be in touch with Diabolical. Hopefully I'm just missing something obvious.

 

[JRock17]

I just installed my Slipstream today and thought I had missed an important step for the soft top. But I see that your soft top levers don't clear the Slipstream lid either.

I am not as enthusiastic as you about hacking a solution (adding your own foam strip to pad the contact between the lever and the lid). It should have been engineered with more clearance there. The lever being stopped by the lid means the latch isn't fully secured.

Also, opening the latch from underneath with so little space is a challenge. And now consider that you have to push on the lever closer to its fulcrum because the end of the lever is inaccessible - sitting on top of the Slipstream lid. The loss of mechanical advantage is significant and makes the task much more difficult.

It's a big deal for soft top owners, not just those with IAG's lift assist. I'll be in touch with Diabolical. Hopefully I'm just missing something obvious.

I agree there should have been a notch out in the lid to make more room for the handle.
That being said, I have not used that soft top lift function since I put the slipstream in because everything that goes back there now is under the enclosure. And it hasn't randomly unlatched itself or leaked in 2000 miles so its latched enough for my liking!

 

[coreymd]

So, Alan from @Diabolical Inc called me after I emailed them about the soft top latch issues.

That's fantastic customer support, but in the end he couldn't help me. There are no workarounds to prevent the lid from interfering with the latches and no plans for a design change.

I understand business decisions must be made, but it's disappointing for sure.

So, here is my honest review for anyone else with a soft top who is contemplating the Slipstream:

It has outstanding features, flawless fabrication, long but relatively painless install, first class packaging, and personalized customer support.

BUT, if you have a soft top, be aware that there will be limitations on rear window operation, compared to factory, when the Slipstream lid is closed. Access to the latches will be physically constrained when the back window is closed, and additional force must be applied to the release lever to open the rear window because the full length of the lever will not accessible. The rear window must be closed by pushing down quickly and firmly from the top of the soft top frame, as there are no available handhold locations when the tailskin is in place. When the top is closed this way (and when it works), the automatic latching will cause the levers to snap down loudly on the metal lid of the Slipstream, and the latch will not be fully in the factory closed position, although it's probably closed 'enough'.

Overall: probably would not buy again on a do-over, but it still has so much going for it. If the issues ever get addressed, I'd recommend without reservation.

Oh well. I'll have to keep looking for some good hacks...

 

[Mpatient1]

Following. Gurtrude and I are hopeful there will be a 2 door rear seat delete cover to protect the junk in her trunk! Great to see all of the positive reviews.

+2 Nugget and I are looking for the same!

 

[Easy-v]

So, Alan from @Diabolical Inc called me after I emailed them about the soft top latch issues.

That's fantastic customer support, but in the end he couldn't help me. There are no workarounds to prevent the lid from interfering with the latches and no plans for a design change.

I understand business decisions must be made, but it's disappointing for sure.

So, here is my honest review for anyone else with a soft top who is contemplating the Slipstream:

It has outstanding features, flawless fabrication, long but relatively painless install, first class packaging, and personalized customer support.

BUT, if you have a soft top, be aware that there will be limitations on rear window operation, compared to factory, when the Slipstream lid is closed. Access to the latches will be physically constrained when the back window is closed, and additional force must be applied to the release lever to open the rear window because the full length of the lever will not accessible. The rear window must be closed by pushing down quickly and firmly from the top of the soft top frame, as there are no available handhold locations when the tailskin is in place. When the top is closed this way (and when it works), the automatic latching will cause the levers to snap down loudly on the metal lid of the Slipstream, and the latch will not be fully in the factory closed position, although it's probably closed 'enough'.

Overall: probably would not buy again on a do-over, but it still has so much going for it. If the issues ever get addressed, I'd recommend without reservation.

Oh well. I'll have to keep looking for some good hacks...

I dont think mine looks that way…

 

[coreymd]

I dont think mine looks that way…

How did you get around it?

 

[Easy-v]

Ok, mine does look that way (never noticed the latches above the enclosure) - I've had my top down all of the summer.

The only trouble I have is the passenger side clip on the soft top frame is nearly impossible to engage. Driver side engages easily.

I wish i could shave about half the width off the enclosure piece that goes behind the part the soft top latches onto to - my kit came with two of them, and I used the updated part. Wish I held onto the older part - maybe it was thinner.

 

[jalawson]

So, Alan from @Diabolical Inc called me after I emailed them about the soft top latch issues.

That's fantastic customer support, but in the end he couldn't help me. There are no workarounds to prevent the lid from interfering with the latches and no plans for a design change.

I understand business decisions must be made, but it's disappointing for sure.

So, here is my honest review for anyone else with a soft top who is contemplating the Slipstream:

It has outstanding features, flawless fabrication, long but relatively painless install, first class packaging, and personalized customer support.

BUT, if you have a soft top, be aware that there will be limitations on rear window operation, compared to factory, when the Slipstream lid is closed. Access to the latches will be physically constrained when the back window is closed, and additional force must be applied to the release lever to open the rear window because the full length of the lever will not accessible. The rear window must be closed by pushing down quickly and firmly from the top of the soft top frame, as there are no available handhold locations when the tailskin is in place. When the top is closed this way (and when it works), the automatic latching will cause the levers to snap down loudly on the metal lid of the Slipstream, and the latch will not be fully in the factory closed position, although it's probably closed 'enough'.

Overall: probably would not buy again on a do-over, but it still has so much going for it. If the issues ever get addressed, I'd recommend without reservation.

Oh well. I'll have to keep looking for some good hacks...

Thank you for sharing this. This definitely makes a big difference and pushes me back to being glad I have the Ford top. I’ve been contemplating biting the bullet and getting this for a month; getting closer and closer to pulling the trigger but for the price, smashing the soft top handle into the slipstream every time I close it does not sound appealing.

I hope someone finds a work around or they decide to solve this issue.

 

[coreymd]

Ok, mine does look that way (never noticed the latches above the enclosure) - I've had my top down all of the summer.

The only trouble I have is the passenger side clip on the soft top frame is nearly impossible to engage. Driver side engages easily.

I wish i could shave about half the width off the enclosure piece that goes behind the part the soft top latches onto to - my kit came with two of them, and I used the updated part. Wish I held onto the older part - maybe it was thinner.

I guess you've already tried adjusting the lever from side-to-side and the moving the catch up as high as it will go? That's not covered in the installation videos, but Alan will help you with that if you contact him. Beyond that, you may have to mod something.

I'm thinking about attaching a tow strap in each corner of the soft top frame so I can pull the latches closed from below. Sometimes the frame structure compresses when you push down from above and it doesn't latch.

 

[coreymd]

Thank you for sharing this. This definitely makes a big difference and pushes me back to being glad I have the Ford top. I’ve been contemplating biting the bullet and getting this for a month; getting closer and closer to pulling the trigger but for the price, smashing the soft top handle into the slipstream every time I close it does not sound appealing.

I hope someone finds a work around or they decide to solve this issue.

Everyone has their own feature priorities and product expectations. If you never or rarely use the rear soft top lift functions, the decision to buy becomes easier. Our Bronco is a daily driver, so my wife and I will end up using that rear lift often. Retaining and improving the utility of that feature was important to me.

I'm playing around with some modding ideas. If I can make some small improvements, I will.

 

[jalawson]

Everyone has their own feature priorities and product expectations. If you never or rarely use the rear soft top lift functions, the decision to buy becomes easier. Our Bronco is a daily driver, so my wife and I will end up using that rear lift often. Retaining and improving the utility of that feature was important to me.

I'm playing around with some modding ideas. If I can make some small improvements, I will.

Yeah, I’ve learned from my experience with the Ford Enclosure that having something like that resting on the top is going to cause rattle. Also, it will cause wear on parts over time, especially off road.

 

[coreymd]

Yeah, I’ve learned from my experience with the Ford Enclosure that having something like that resting on the top is going to cause rattle. Also, it will cause wear on parts over time, especially off road.

True. The bungee cord idea was an ideal solution to the pin rattling. Thank you to whoever thought that one up!

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