- First Name
- Cat
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2020
- Threads
- 13
- Messages
- 3,405
- Reaction score
- 8,056
- Location
- Whidbey Island, WA
- Vehicle(s)
- MB500SL, HD Road King Custom
- Your Bronco Model
- Wildtrak
Your issue was elevated to Ford Execs and added to the OCD.
Sponsored
Felt pads with adhesive back would solve this. Poor design for sure, but easy fix.Hi all,
I just spent the past week down in Joshua Tree breaking in my FR in the desert -it was a great time. The trip revealed a bunch of issues. One of which is particularly maddening.
I picked up the rubber arego area mat before we left, which is generally pretty nice (however why the hell does the customer need to manually cut out the openings for the cargo hooks!?). About 2 days into our trip and after loading sandy gear in and out of the cargo area, I noticed a trail of scratches and serious little wear marks on the inside of the tailgate - many right down and into the bare metal. What happening is that small rocks and sand are sticking to the little flange on the leading edge of the cargo mat. If the cargo mat isnāt slid all the way forward (and thereās nothing to retain it fully forward), and debris thatās stuck to this flange gets closed against the inside of the tailgate and abrades the finish. Also, anything else in the cargo area that makes contact with the inside of the tailgate also scratches up the paint.
This design is bullshit. They didnāt think this design through, and probably didnāt include this mat in their product testing cycles as itās likely the accessories were designed after the rest of the vehicle was baked and by different staff. They could have resolved this by retaining the matbetter so it canāt make contact, or modifying the inside of the tailgate so that this contact area isnāt just painted metal but plastic or rubberized. I wish their design team spent more time working out details like this than writing BS āaccessory readyā all over the truck - actually make the thing accessory ready and think it through!
Anyhow, this is disappointing and Iām going to raise the issue with my dealer - maybe I can get a new tailgate and refund on the mat out of it. Iāll keep you posted, and beware!
Can I ask, as I have one on order, I am going to assume you guys are cutting around the cargo tie downs in a triangle fashion. Can a guy instead of cutting the triangle shape, how about drilling 4 holes and removing the tie downs then put the mat in then bolt the tie downs down, This would prevent the mat from sliding back? . PPF the bottom of the gate.In his defense, I have the OEM cargo mat. It does NOT stay in itās fully seated position, ever. Doesnāt matter if there is cargo or not. I push it back forward every time I open the tailgate. Annoying.
There is no Velcro or anything other than the perimeter shape of the mat that is used to keep it in place.
I didnāt realize it would be causing damage though. Dumb.
Me too, I happen to have some Xpel clear left from doing my door sills and my door edges.Thatās what Iām doing to mine
I will be doing the door jambs too. When I get mine. Do you have any pics on where you started and finished the expel in the jambs?Me too, I happen to have some Xpel clear left from doing my door sills and my door edges.
Yes, here is a picture. Let me explain though , I have no experience in PPF untill I did this. I used Xpel Clear PPF first, then made the carbon graphite over lay out of Vivid carbon graphite vinyl from Amazon . I also did my door edges and I am doing my door handle cups as soon as I figure out how to cut the clear. My problem I am having is I ceramic coated my FE so nothing will stick to it when I am trying to make patterns, like blue painters tape. It turned out good and you really cant see the clear and I only did the door sills where your feet might drag over the paint. My Explorer I had before the Bronco door sills were all scratched up from my wifeās feet dragging over them, she is kinda short so getting in and out is challenging. She actually is having a real hard time getting in the FE. I might have to get the automatic rock sliders but I am hesitate because I like stock. I have some glow in the dark blue vinyl coming today been thinking about inlaying that into the carbon graphite Bronco cutout, but not sure that might make it to gawdy, but I can always remove it.I will be doing the door jambs too. When I get mine. Do you have any pics on where you started and finished the expel in the jambs?
Is that the thick ruber mat with the Bronco on it? And did you cut out the area for the tiedowns?Hi all,
I just spent the past week down in Joshua Tree breaking in my FR in the desert -it was a great time. The trip revealed a bunch of issues. One of which is particularly maddening.
I picked up the rubber arego area mat before we left, which is generally pretty nice (however why the hell does the customer need to manually cut out the openings for the cargo hooks!?). About 2 days into our trip and after loading sandy gear in and out of the cargo area, I noticed a trail of scratches and serious little wear marks on the inside of the tailgate - many right down and into the bare metal. What happening is that small rocks and sand are sticking to the little flange on the leading edge of the cargo mat. If the cargo mat isnāt slid all the way forward (and thereās nothing to retain it fully forward), and debris thatās stuck to this flange gets closed against the inside of the tailgate and abrades the finish. Also, anything else in the cargo area that makes contact with the inside of the tailgate also scratches up the paint.
This design is bullshit. They didnāt think this design through, and probably didnāt include this mat in their product testing cycles as itās likely the accessories were designed after the rest of the vehicle was baked and by different staff. They could have resolved this by retaining the matbetter so it canāt make contact, or modifying the inside of the tailgate so that this contact area isnāt just painted metal but plastic or rubberized. I wish their design team spent more time working out details like this than writing BS āaccessory readyā all over the truck - actually make the thing accessory ready and think it through!
Anyhow, this is disappointing and Iām going to raise the issue with my dealer - maybe I can get a new tailgate and refund on the mat out of it. Iāll keep you posted, and beware!
Yes, itās the OEM cargo mat with the big bronco logo. I did cut out the tie down areas (No sure why Ford didnāt just mold in these openings and make a little dam around the perimeter so that water/debris has a harder time passing through them.) When you cut them out Iād suggest cutting about 5mm inboard of the trim markings because I found that they werenāt registered perfectly with the position of the hooks in the cargo area. If you cut them undersized you can open them up a little more where/as needed.Is that the thick ruber mat with the Bronco on it? And did you cut out the area for the tiedowns?
Don't think that would work out to well. The tie downs are recessed into the floor, so if you tried to bolt through the rubber mat, it will suck it down into that pocket and cause it to flex/buldge and I don't think it would look good. But you could try this method first, and if looks like it's not going to work, just cut out the openings.Can I ask, as I have one on order, I am going to assume you guys are cutting around the cargo tie downs in a triangle fashion. Can a guy instead of cutting the triangle shape, how about drilling 4 holes and removing the tie downs then put the mat in then bolt the tie downs down, This would prevent the mat from sliding back? . PPF the bottom of the gate.
Yeah I was hoping they would have done a tiedown cutout similar to what Huskey did with the weatherbeater cargo mat. It has a raised lip to keep spilled liquids from getting to the carpet through the slot. The reason i'm not doing the husky is that they seem to be made of a slippery plastic material and cargo would slide around.Yes, itās the OEM cargo mat with the big bronco logo. I did cut out the tie down areas (No sure why Ford didnāt just mold in these openings and make a little dam around the perimeter so that water/debris has a harder time passing through them.) When you cut them out Iād suggest cutting about 5mm inboard of the trim markings because I found that they werenāt registered perfectly with the position of the hooks in the cargo area. If you cut them undersized you can open them up a little more where/as needed.
Hey, I never thought of applying PPF to the tailgate! I just applied PPF to the door sills, since it's awkward getting out with the OEM running board, which are not wide enough to plant your heel to step out with hitting the door sill! Thanks for the idea for the tailgate! I too have the Ford cargo mat, so I better protect it!I would ppf at least the bottom if not all the tailgate.
One more thing to note is that the OEM mat has that huge Bronco logo, which looks good but protrudes quite a bit. Iāve found that larger flat items I put in the back (Frontrunner Wolfpack containers) interfere with it and wobble around, get hung up when sliding in/out, etc. Again, they needed to think through this mat a little moreā¦Yeah I was hoping they would have done a tiedown cutout similar to what Huskey did with the weatherbeater cargo mat. It has a raised lip to keep spilled liquids from getting to the carpet through the slot. The reason i'm not doing the husky is that they seem to be made of a slippery plastic material and cargo would slide around.
I'd be kinda pissed myself Mark. As you say the mat should be designed better even if it means shortening it a few mm's to help with the slipping. I don't think you're gonna get a new tailgate from the Ford, or the dealer though. They've got a lot of wiggle room when it comes to stuff like that. Like others have said maybe get that lower portion, or the entire inside of the tailgate sprayed lined. That will fix the scratches now, and stop anymore from showing up.I have the official OEM trunk mat, supposedly designed by Ford.
The issue is that thereās no means to hold it securely in place and if it slides towards the gate even a few MM (which happens very easily) it will abrade the tailgate.