Ford Bronco patent for removable roll cage!?

[Carolina Jim]

my ‘74

Beautiful rig. Is that Light Grabber Blue...Wind Blue...Brittany Blue?

Sponsored

 

[Idahorocks]

Thanks! It's the original wind blue.

 

[BroncoBuyer]

I would imagine any sort of convertible without roll protection could be considered just as dangerous in a rollover. If roll protection or even a roof is not required for a Mustang GT, why would it be a problem to make a fully convertible Bronco?

I think it’s a cool idea, you would never see myself with my family rock crawling Moab without some sort of cage or roof on but who am I to judge?
Then again, I don’t ride motorcycles without a helmet either..:captain:

 

[SpursFan]

The A-pillars are reinforced in the convertible to support the cars weight so it's not completely without roll protection.

 

[BroncoMike]

This is an important distinction, not just in the minds of owners, but in juries too. If Ford makes it easy to remove or replace but does not encourage people to do so, doesn't advertise or market it as removable etc., they protect the company from that kind of risk. At the same time, if the community choses to applaud Ford for designing the vehicle to be easily customized and repaired Ford will still reap the benefits.

With the introduction of aluminum the body on the F-series Ford's design team adopted the approach of making the panels quicker and easier to remove and replace to help keep repair costs down compared to legacy steel parts. If a similar design philosophy worked its way into the Bronco, to be quick and easy to replace all kinds of components for the purpose of making the vehicle more customizable and personalization friendly at the discretion of the end user, that will be a great thing. Ford just needs to be careful about how those features are worded in the marketing.

Exactly - unadvertised, unhearalded, possibly even cautioned against - but easily discoverable. "Never, ever, under any circumstances, remove the yellow tab from the blowoff valve mounted next to the turbocharger on the passenger's side of the engine just adjacent to the transmission fluid dipstick. Removing this recyclable plastic tab may cause increased turbine pressure, causing the vehicle to accelerate much more quickly than normal."

The A-pillars are reinforced in the convertible to support the cars weight so it's not completely without roll protection.

I would be shocked if the Bronco top were removable and the A-pillars didn't have similar and even more robust protection.

 

[JimmyDean]

"Allowing" is a very unusual word to use here. I think "encouraging" would be a better fit. Those little steel caps over the idle jet screws on carburetors didn't prevent anyone from adjusting the idle, it just added a step.

Very few things on a vehicle are "non-removable". Having body-integral roll protection as on a Jeep makes it more involved to remove and less likely to reinstall, but that configuration certainly isn't preventing anyone from customizing their rollover protection.

People who want to customize automobiles don't generally allow manufacturers to dictate what they are "allowed" to do.

"All doors are removable".

yeah, not terribly hard to make a jeep roll cage removeable. a little cutting, welding in a smaller DOM tube inside one end, drill some through bolt holes, and there you go. seen it before, not really much point. Even CJ-5s look better with a 4-point than without.

 

[Jake_zx2]

Ineresting.. I just posted in another thread the other day that this whole "removable sunroofs" idea that's been thrown around doesn't quite do it for me and that I would love to see a fully removable top with a cage... and here we are! I really hope this is in the cards for the bronco, because this just gave me some serious reassurance

That's how I feel about the whole removable top thing as well, to be honest. I very very rarely see a jeep up here with the top off, and I'm sure I would never use that feature on the Bronco.

“up here” is the key. Last week the weather was perfect here in Phoenix and at least 50% of jeeps I saw had at least the freedom panels off. Probably 25% had doors or full top off.

Since I moved to Texas, it's fairly uncommon to see a jeep WITHOUT it's roof removed. I know when I lived up north it wasn't as common, but down here in the warmer states, people always pull tops and doors off, even in vehicles that aren't SUPPOSED to have them removed! I know the removable top is a selling point for me. If I didn't want that, I'd go buy a 4-runner or a pickup or something like that

 

[JimmyDean]

Ineresting.. I just posted in another thread the other day that this whole "removable sunroofs" idea that's been thrown around doesn't quite do it for me and that I would love to see a fully removable top with a cage... and here we are! I really hope this is in the cards for the bronco, because this just gave me some serious reassurance




Since I moved to Texas, it's fairly uncommon to see a jeep WITHOUT it's roof removed. I know when I lived up north it wasn't as common, but down here in the warmer states, people always pull tops and doors off, even in vehicles that aren't SUPPOSED to have them removed! I know the removable top is a selling point for me. If I didn't want that, I'd go buy a 4-runner or a pickup or something like that

I'm a state over and alot of wrangler and bronco owners I know leave the top off permanently (I'm one, sorta), or don't even have one, and just leave it under the carport or in the garage if it is going to rain and take their car to work on those days.

 

[Jake_zx2]

bronco owners I know leave the top off permanently (I'm one, sorta), or don't even have one, and just leave it under the carport or in the garage if it is going to rain and take their car to work on those days.

My neighbor had a nasty 79 FSB, and this is exactly what he did. It tends to get colder during the winters where I am in Texas, so for December-February he would put it back on, but the rest of the year it would stay off and stay under his carport

 

[Toyhoarder]

My neighbor had a nasty 77 FSB

No, no he didn’t.

 

[BroncoBoy22]

Yes it’s an important option for me. I’m super close to multiple beaches

 

[Jake_zx2]

No, no he didn’t.

Shit, meant 79 LMAO

Give me a break, it was late and I was tired haha

 

[Hawk]

Is it possible the full cage is for use when a removable hard top is off and the "removable belt posts" are for use when the hard top is on? That way, when the hard top is on, the interior could feel a little less claustrophobic because the full cage would be out.

If this is is the case, is it possible there could be sensors at certain attachment points for the hard top and full cage that would prohibit the operation of the vehicle when both: a) the hard top is off; and b) the full cage is off?

 

[Tslater1989]

Is it possible the full cage is for use when a removable hard top is off and the "removable belt posts" are for use when the hard top is on? That way, when the hard top is on, the interior could feel a little less claustrophobic because the full cage would be out.

If this is is the case, is it possible there could be sensors at certain attachment points for the hard top and full cage that would prohibit the operation of the vehicle when both: a) the hard top is off; and b) the full cage is off?

I'm sure this is just a provisional patent. Nothing that will make it to production. But they want the rights to it in case somebody else does. I could see wiring for things like lights, and defrosting windows. The other issue you run into is side curtain airbags for safety. How are you supposed to have them if you completely remove the structure?

 

[jimbo92]

You guys are reading way into this. Ford isn’t designing that thing to come out. A jk roll bar unbolts too...they don’t want you removing it. Also convertibles will no longer be exempt to rollover testing, that’s why the JL no longer uses the windshield as a structural element.

Sponsored