Let’s solve the GVWR and payload issue once and for all

[pan-y-cerveza]

I agree with you by in large.

Although this is different. A badlands sits pretty high. We don’t have crash ratings. And there is always somewhat general concern of a rollover given the roof setup. When Ford says they will not sell you a rack for weight reasons, now it’s on your subconscious. Do you go against the engineers and add a rack, attach a 110 loaded cargo box, then strap you kids in with all the gear for a family road trip? You know in the back of your mind that 1. The car is heavy and rides high, 2. It’s not a typical truck with an attached roof, and 3. It has weight issues and you went against the engineers.

if I had an lighter/lower escape, with a metal roof attached to the body, and weight was never highlighted, I would have no hesitation to load it up. But this is different.

Allow myself to quote myself:

Keep your load reasonable. Drive like a reasonable person. Common sense will tell you what reasonable is.

I hear you though.

The roof is the absolute last place I would put anything anyway. It's the last place anyone should put anything with any vehicle. Need more space? I'd use a trailer or hitch cargo rack before I ever put a cargo box on the roof.

I don't know how different the situation is. Roughly the same payload on my Escape even though it's lighter. I'm not a smart man but I'd bet you'd be better off with the heavier Bronco. Doesn't matter that the roof comes off.

You have your reservations. That's a good thing. You're thinking about. That's that common sense coming into play. There are tons of people out there every day that load there vehicles up with all kinds of crap, drive it without a care in the world and are, unfortunately, none the wiser.

Ford's lawyers and engineers assume we have no common sense. Which is fair. I'm on a forum saying go for it when I should be saying the opposite.

That's one of the many reasons I'm not a lawyer.

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[jaruss01]

Allow myself to quote myself:



I hear you though.

The roof is the absolute last place I would put anything anyway. It's the last place anyone should put anything with any vehicle. Need more space? I'd use a trailer or hitch cargo rack before I ever put a cargo box on the roof.

I don't know how different the situation is. Roughly the same payload on my Escape even though it's lighter. I'm not a smart man but I'd bet you'd be better off with the heavier Bronco. Doesn't matter that the roof comes off.

You have your reservations. That's a good thing. You're thinking about. That's that common sense coming into play. There are tons of people out there every day that load there vehicles up with all kinds of crap, drive it without a care in the world and are, unfortunately, none the wiser.

Yup. It doesn’t help that we are the guinea pigs here given this is a unique vehicle with what seems to be a lot of controversy. Worst case is we don’t have GWVR when it comes time to order and we go into this blindly. But if payload is a problem I would HOPE Ford would make a more quantifiable statement before its too late

 

[Pocobronco87]

It will more than like 2 door have 1200 payload you can do many things to lighten bronco remove seats carrry less people soft top instead hard top lighter wheels and tires the key is to make it what you want it to be or don’t buy one

 

[DC9atnight]

Next time we are all allowed to go to a live sporting event or concert, look up at all the lights, truss and chain motors hung above you. All of that gear has at least a 10 times safety rating and in my experience there has never been a rigger that hung that gear and exceeded the stated ratings and said “Heck with the weight ratings. That’s all government, engineering, legal hog wash.”

I personally would like more info from Ford on the specific weight restrictions per build and trim, simply so I can follow the rules. I plan on getting a Bronco with roof rails and hitch and I will stick with Ford’s weight restrictions. If I have to ditch the luggage, bikes, RTT, wife and kid and just take the 12lb dog, that’s fine with me. Just give me the info and I will happily follow it.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

How tough is "fraking tough" and how heavy is "heavy ass"? I think this is the disconnect between everybody here. 3500lb towing and 350lb tongue weight are laughably small, especially for people who have no intention of hitting the "fraking tough" trails. Which, for the record, will end up being the vast majority of Bronco owners. Just ask Jeep...

I'm heartened that you agree on the optional max tow package at the expense of some 'prowess' idea. It would be nice if enough people agreed on that concept to push Ford on it.

Sorry for the typo, I thought "fraking" was Canadian for "fracking" ....which is just a FCC acceptable version of "fucking". ?

Well, the trailer over the 3500lb(1590kgs) limit of both a Bronco and a Jeep could maybe be considered "heavy ass" and would probably get fracking destroyed on what I consider a fracking tough trail. LOL

Now I'm seriously wondering which suspension package would get picked more often, and by how much, if there were a forced choice....IE, Pick your model, next choice "pick "Tow" or "Trail" suspension set up" ...etc etc as you work through the B&P.
Maybe leave that option just for the Four Doors?
What would be a safe towing weight for a short wheel based , 2 door Jeep/Bronco to max out at?

 

[Lakelife36]

Sorry for the typo, I thought "fraking" was Canadian for "fracking" ....which is just a FCC acceptable version of "fucking". ?

Well, the trailer over the 3500lb(1590kgs) limit of both a Bronco and a Jeep could maybe be considered "heavy ass" and would probably get fracking destroyed on what I consider a fracking tough trail. LOL

Now I'm seriously wondering which suspension package would get picked more often, and by how much, if there were a forced choice....IE, Pick your model, next choice "pick "Tow" or "Trail" suspension set up" ...etc etc as you work through the B&P.
Maybe leave that option just for the Four Doors?
What would be a safe towing weight for a short wheel based , 2 door Jeep/Bronco to max out at?

And here I thought it was just American for f*cking. I guess we all learn something new every day. ?

My thoughts on the suspension question was that a max tow package would only be available with the base suspension - so not available on Badlands or with Sasquatch (therefore also unavailable on Wildtrak and FE). Picking your suspension is an interesting thought though. Perhaps that's a question for Yet Another Poll? And yes only four door models. Ford doesn't allow even the regular tow package on Base trim, so that leaves BB, OBX, and BD non-sasqued 4-doors as candidates. Personally I think that this falls in line pretty well with what the actual usages of the vehicle will likely be.

As for actual safe towing weight I'm not a mechanic engineer and all I can do is look at comparable vehicles. Check out the list in my post from earlier today. For the two-door 3500lbs certainly seems generous, especially on a Sasquatch! I would think that a 4-door could likely do closer to 5000lbs though. Say 4500?

 

[RiverRat001]

in the end it doesn’t really matter. You can still do whatever you want. Ford can’t install a hitch on the FE but that doesn’t mean you can’t.

You can also speed, do cocaine and murder people. Doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences if/when you are caught.

 

[frinesi2]

Almost 10 pages and over 120 posts that I don't have time to read so can somebody give me the executive summary please? Have we finally solved this GVWR and payload issue or is more discussion needed? Thanks in advance

 

[RiverRat001]

Almost 10 pages and over 120 posts that I don't have time to read so can somebody give me the executive summary please? Have we finally solved this GVWR and payload issue or is more discussion needed? Thanks in advance

First page has the info that matters. Assuming all models have the same GVWR, the payload will vary significantly. No one knows anything for sure because model/trim-specific weights and GVWRs haven’t been released. The rest of the thread is folks getting triggered over what the Bronco should be used for, or potentially be useful for.

 

[Skeletor]

Almost 10 pages and over 120 posts that I don't have time to read so can somebody give me the executive summary please? Have we finally solved this GVWR and payload issue or is more discussion needed? Thanks in advance

There is no answer to what the GVWR and payload will be at this time.

 

[j_marinelli]

Not alot of info yet. I'm mainly following the thread as I want to see what Ford says is different between model years that allows the roof rock on sasquatch '22 year.

 

[North7]

Almost 10 pages and over 120 posts that I don't have time to read so can somebody give me the executive summary please? Have we finally solved this GVWR and payload issue or is more discussion needed? Thanks in advance

Ford Engineering seems to be setting up limitations on GVWR, So maybe you can take a load of people, camping gear or a trailer, pick one, any one, that's all you can take.

(Pending Ford releasing technical details to prove or disprove the current working theory being discussed.)

 

[Hawk64]

Why does it seem that every other day there is another issue with the Bronco? Why can't Ford get their act together and get us a B&P that actually works properly? I've been waiting for the Bronco for years but the thought of paying $60K+ for the decked out Badlands I want without being able to see it or test drive it prior to ordering is borderline asinine. This GVWR issue is a big one and really makes one wonder what Ford was thinking? I live in Colorado and will be carrying gear, possibly 4-5 people and a dog and also the possibility of a small off-road camper every so often. Something so simple as a roof rack shouldn't be an issue.
I'm sticking with my Bronco (for now) but come on Ford... get us what we need to feel good about our purchase. We need a B&P that works and doesn't appear to be designed by a High School kid, we need real info such as GVWR, we need some actual EPA numbers (low on my list but still necessary) and we need to be able to see what were paying for. Some blurry pictures of interior options doesn't cut it... doesn't Ford realize that the Bronco isn't the only great off-road vehicle available on the market and that they pissing off even some diehard fans??

 

[jaruss01]

This thread link was tweeted to Jim Farley. He acknowledged and responded “Thanks!”. Better than no response.

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