OP- I’m not sure if you’re aware or not cuz it’s only been said 15 times, but you really should remove the snow from your rig before driving it. It’s a literal death sentence.
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I’m hopefully headed up to Tahoe tomorrowNot today, just utilized Slippery mode and locked rear axle 1x. Really pumped about its capabilities
I parked outside in the snow, and I didn’t have any of those issues. That is not to say it won’t happen in the future. All I can say is that so far we have been very happy with the soft top.
Does not. Just standard front windshield and back window defrost with MIC.Any idea if the Bronco has a wiper de-icer ?
How did the soft top windows feel? I remember old plastic convertible windows getting really brittle in winter.We went up to the Sierras for Christmas and got absolutely dumped on, 1-2 feet of snow in 1 night. I didn't quite realize just how much snow we were going to get overnight, and as we were staying at a hotel I had to park outside overnight.
The night before:
The morning after:
I was not prepared at all for this amount of snow, no brush, shovels, anything. But like every good Cali boy, I did have a pair of flip flops in the back that I was able to use to clear my windshield lol
There was also quite the snow berm that had been built up in front of the truck from them plowing the parking lot. Again I didn't have a shovel, so I decided to just yolo it and was able to drive over it pretty easily after putting it into 4H.
A downside of the soft top of course is no re-window defroster, so I had to manually try to scrape the snow off the back plastic.
After clearing enough snow to be in a somewhat drivable state:
In hindsight my big concern would be I don't know how much snow the soft top can actually support. Thankfully the top didn't out right crumble or give out. Sitting inside you can definitely see the top material sagging down inbetween the cross supports. I could also see the top over the rear quarter windows was very strained. After the snow finally melts I'm a little curious to see if there has been any deformation of the top due to the weight, I'll also have to test the functionality to make sure it still folds back easily.
As for the roads and winter conditions we were mostly driving around on snowy roads, sometimes sanded, moving later into the day of slushy and icy roads. This is a stock badlands on 33" K02s and I left it in 4A all day and it was an absolute beast. No slipping or sliding and felt very composed the whole time. I felt very confident, even with seeing at least 5 cars that had slid off the road during the day. Here's some final pictures driving around during the day.
CHIPS really stops people for snow on their vehicle in California? LOL. That's like, a real law?As others have noted the snow on the roof is extremely dangerous to others and even to you if you stop suddenly and are blinded. Since you're in CA you should be aware that it's illegal to drive around like that. CHP can and will stop and cite you for that, you might get lucky with a warning.
BTW, Nice Bronco, hope you enjoy it.
CVC 23114 (a) states, “A vehicle shall not be driven or moved on any highway unless the vehicle is so constructed, covered, or loaded as to prevent any of its contents or load other than clear water or feathers from live birds from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing, spilling, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle.”CHIPS really stops people for snow on their vehicle in California? LOL. That's like, a real law?
hope you enjoyed driving itWe went up to the Sierras for Christmas and got absolutely dumped on, 1-2 feet of snow in 1 night. I didn't quite realize just how much snow we were going to get overnight, and as we were staying at a hotel I had to park outside overnight.
The night before:
The morning after:
I was not prepared at all for this amount of snow, no brush, shovels, anything. But like every good Cali boy, I did have a pair of flip flops in the back that I was able to use to clear my windshield lol
There was also quite the snow berm that had been built up in front of the truck from them plowing the parking lot. Again I didn't have a shovel, so I decided to just yolo it and was able to drive over it pretty easily after putting it into 4H.
A downside of the soft top of course is no re-window defroster, so I had to manually try to scrape the snow off the back plastic.
After clearing enough snow to be in a somewhat drivable state:
In hindsight my big concern would be I don't know how much snow the soft top can actually support. Thankfully the top didn't out right crumble or give out. Sitting inside you can definitely see the top material sagging down inbetween the cross supports. I could also see the top over the rear quarter windows was very strained. After the snow finally melts I'm a little curious to see if there has been any deformation of the top due to the weight, I'll also have to test the functionality to make sure it still folds back easily.
As for the roads and winter conditions we were mostly driving around on snowy roads, sometimes sanded, moving later into the day of slushy and icy roads. This is a stock badlands on 33" K02s and I left it in 4A all day and it was an absolute beast. No slipping or sliding and felt very composed the whole time. I felt very confident, even with seeing at least 5 cars that had slid off the road during the day. Here's some final pictures driving around during the day.
Not to get into a whole thing or be a dick... and tank this thread, but.... You're pulling up a statute that talks about feathers and or live birds. How would you even know this obscure law exists? Is this something in California everyone knows?! Masses of clear water dropping off a vehicle would be just as dangerous as snow. I'm sorry for your experiences with snow and kids. I have some too. This is every day in the winter here. I guess it's different based on driver experience and climate. Literally no one here cleans the top of their car off, or it's half assed. When your car has 5 inches of snow on it, every day in February, you stop caring.CVC 23114 (a) states, “A vehicle shall not be driven or moved on any highway unless the vehicle is so constructed, covered, or loaded as to prevent any of its contents or load other than clear water or feathers from live birds from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing, spilling, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle.”
Since it's not liquid water or feathers it counts as an unsecured load. They've seen far too many accidents and damage caused by large chunks of snow flying off vehicle to ignore it. Just do a Youtube search and you'll see how much damage even a modest chunk of snow hitting a windshield will do at 60 mph. Agree it's a PITA to clear sometimes. I've done it at -20F in Montana and it's brutal but I've also had it come down on my windshield and completely blind my forward vision. Just lucky I was going slow and nothing to hit and nobody behind to hit me while I jumped out to clear the snow. One of those lessons you don't forget with the wife and kids screaming in the car.