Tailgate wire FAIL (Edit - or maybe not?)

[Mountain Goat]

EDIT: A few good points others have raised - (1) pre-production vehicle, maybe it changes. (2) good to have it accessible in case you want to fish additional wires for accessories from the interior to the exterior, e.g. rear lighting, and (3) apparently the Wrangler is the same way, so perhaps this is to be expected. But still ... seems dumb. Just one man's perspective.

Said halfway tongue in cheek, but is this REALLY how these are going to roll of the production line? They couldn't make the wire (presumably for backup camera) come out behind the spare tire carrier? And then Bronco Nation thought this was a cool enough "feature" to capture it in the photos released yesterday? Did the guy behind the lens simply have no clue what he was looking at and guessed that it was nifty? Or is Ford teasing us to see if it causes an outrage?

I was hoping to find other pictures where the tailgate was not this way, but the latest photos from the assembly plant are the same.

Seems like a disappointing afterthought. Is there any rational reason it should be this way?

*takes chill pill*

I am telling myself this is pre-production. I cannot believe any manufacturer is rolling out a clean slate design in 2021+ with exposed wiring on the exterior of the vehicle.

View attachment 45861

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[FourHorses]

I was trying to stay optimistic about this hole, thinking maybe it was a grommeted hole for other accessories, or something to flow through as well.

 

[BroncoKong Jr.]

I'm sure the wiring will look better on production vehicles. Looks like friction tape wrapped around wires. But I'm not seeing an issue with the hole. That's basically what I expected.

 

[ZackDanger]

Maybe I'm just numb to it, but here's my JK...

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[AZHUND]

With that sweet bokeh - how could you not like this picture of a random wire thing?

Maybe in an earlier design phase they had the spare tire offset to the side instead of dead center like the 'classic' broncos. But then 500 meetings happened by committee they decided to go with a boring copy-cat put in dead center approach instead but forgot the wire hole was still off to the side.

 

[brrke]

Said halfway tongue in cheek, but is this REALLY how these are going to roll of the production line? They couldn't make the wire (presumably for backup camera) come out behind the spare tire carrier? And then Bronco Nation thought this was a cool enough "feature" to capture it in the photos released yesterday? Did the guy behind the lens simply have no clue what he was looking at and guessed that it was nifty? Or is Ford teasing us to see if it causes an outrage?

I was hoping to find other pictures where the tailgate was not this way, but the latest photos from the assembly plant are the same.

Seems like a disappointing afterthought. Is there any rational reason it should be this way?

*takes chill pill*

I am telling myself this is pre-production. I cannot believe any manufacturer is rolling out a clean slate design in 2021+ with exposed wiring on the exterior of the vehicle.

View attachment 45861

Cost saving for preproduction, most of these will probably be crashed for testing...

 

[Mountain Goat]

I was trying to stay optimistic about this hole, thinking maybe it was a grommeted hole for other accessories, or something to flow through as well.

Auxiliary overflow drain for when you have 16" + of water in your interior and your washout floor drains are clogged

 

[BroncoKong Jr.]

Maybe I'm just numb to it, but here's my JK...

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Exactly. Not sure why people were expecting anything different.

 

[ZackDanger]

Said halfway tongue in cheek, but is this REALLY how these are going to roll of the production line? They couldn't make the wire (presumably for backup camera) come out behind the spare tire carrier? And then Bronco Nation thought this was a cool enough "feature" to capture it in the photos released yesterday? Did the guy behind the lens simply have no clue what he was looking at and guessed that it was nifty? Or is Ford teasing us to see if it causes an outrage?

I was hoping to find other pictures where the tailgate was not this way, but the latest photos from the assembly plant are the same.

Seems like a disappointing afterthought. Is there any rational reason it should be this way?

*takes chill pill*

I am telling myself this is pre-production. I cannot believe any manufacturer is rolling out a clean slate design in 2021+ with exposed wiring on the exterior of the vehicle.

View attachment 45861

Counterpoint:

By leaving that grommet in an exposed area, it allows you to add items (lighting) more easily, without having to unbolt and remove the tire carrier.

 

[DontGetBucked]

Good spot to run wires for rear lighting if that’s your thing.

 

[Apples]

If it does stay that way, I'll turn lemons to lemonade. With the wire setup like that, there should be plenty of lead to relocate the back up camera to somewhere else, allowing for all sorts of accessories that rely on running through the center of the spare. Also tire covers ....

 

[LandCruiser]

I crawled around on the floor under my other 4x4s and that's what the wiring to the trailer hitch, brakes, and other electronic components looks like. This isn't really shocking--especially for this kind of vehicle.

Remember the fit and finish will be appropriate for the cheapest model, and in this case that's sub 30k.

I wouldn't give it a second thought since it seems properly wrapped and not prone to rubbing and I have similar wires on my undercarriage that have seen almost a decade of salt.

 

[aplm7]

I actually like it being that accessible. People are going to need an easy way to re-route the rear camera if they put a trasharoo or tire cover on the spare

 

[hammerdown]

Ford: Pay no attention to the man behind the.... errrr... wire behind the tire!!! ???

??

 

[broadicustomworks]

Could always replace it with Rigid Galvanized Conduit or M/C cable...

Joking. Seriously, I'm joking.
It would look better hidden more but overall doesn't bother me, still gonna buy one and rock it.

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