The Red "R" . . . and Some Other Small Mods . . . Power Steps!!

[Scoop]

Quick update. I did order and receive the Hot Head Liner with sound deadening. Just haven't had time to install it yet.

My son got me the Mabett Front Door Pockets for Christmas. And I already installed them!

Driver's side.

With door closed.

Passenger's side.

These are very well made and fit perfectly. They take about 5 minutes to install. Each can hold 2 water or soda bottles. I kept the netting in place to help separate flat items. But it's optional - you can remove or keep the nets.

 

[ep67bro]

I installed these on my wifes bronco both in front and rear. I like them but find the ones in the front drives side to stick out a little far and rubs on my leg. But they certainly do help with storage in the truck.

 

[Scoop]

I installed these on my wifes bronco both in front and rear. I like them but find the ones in the front drives side to stick out a little far and rubs on my leg. But they certainly do help with storage in the truck.

Yes, I've noticed a bit of a leg rub but not enough to really bother me. Do the rears install easily? Looks like you have to drill for mounting screws?

 

[Rob1962]

I installed these on my wifes bronco both in front and rear. I like them but find the ones in the front drives side to stick out a little far and rubs on my leg. But they certainly do help with storage in the truck.

Looking at the picture it looked to me like it might be tight on the legs.

 

[ep67bro]

Yes, I've noticed a bit of a leg rub but not enough to really bother me. Do the rears install easily? Looks like you have to drill for mounting screws?

Yes you had to drill. But if you remove the mesh net you could cover up the holes in the future. I found the ones in the back dont stick out as much as the front.

 

[Scoop]

Finally got around to installing the Hot Head Headliner . . .

My BadSquatch did not come with any headliner - just the bare fiberglass of the top. One slight disappointment is the noise on the highway. Our local interstate has a 75 mph speed limit which translates to 80-85 to keep up with traffic. I usually set the cruise at 81-82. Decibel level at that speed is 88-90 dB according to my freebie dB meter app.

Solution was to install Hot Head headliner with Sound Assassin. Install was pretty easy following the very good installation video on the Hot Head website. Hardest parts were removing the top's center section by myself and the upward pressure needed to install the rear headliner piece with the rear top still in place.

First pic is the center section showing the Sound Assassin which goes between the top and the headliner. I had some scraps of Kilzmat (silver) I added in couple areas the Sound Assassin didn't cover.

Here are a few pics of the installed headliner.

A couple pics with the panels in place.

The verdict?? At 81 mph the dB's were lowered by about 2 dB. Not as much as I had hoped, but still an improvement. The actual noticeable difference to the ears was seemed better than what the dB meter would indicate. Although my understanding is the dB scale is exponential so a 2 dB decrease would equate to 20 times less noise? Anybody a sound engineer and can explain this better??

 

[ep67bro]

It looks really clean Gary. Ford should have provided an option like this for the hard tops. Does your Bronco have carpet floors or rubber? The badlands I had for a while was carpet and both my Black diamonds are rubber. The noise was noticeably less with the carpet floors over the rubber. It is a sacrifice because the rubber floors are so much more user friendly!

 

[Scoop]

It looks really clean Gary. Ford should have provided an option like this for the hard tops. Does your Bronco have carpet floors or rubber? The badlands I had for a while was carpet and both my Black diamonds are rubber. The noise was noticeably less with the carpet floors over the rubber. It is a sacrifice because the rubber floors are so much more user friendly!

Just the plastic wash-out floor but I've added Weathertech rubber mats. We live on a dirt road which is either dusty, snowy or muddy! Carpet does not work well here!

 

[Scoop]

I ws able to hook up with member @SevenT for him to do some Forscan programming for me. The double honk is gone! I now have Sport Mode, and he disabled Stop-Start. He was not sure how long the Stop-Start would remain disabled on a 2022, but so far it has stayed disabled on a number of restarts. We will see if it lasts!

The Sport Mode is pretty awesome - seemed to really wake up this Badlands! But not sure how much I'll use it because it does negatively impact mileage. Knowing it's there when I need (want) it is good enough!

Thanks Mike!

 

[SevenT]

I ws able to hook up with member @SevenT for him to do some Forscan programming for me. The double honk is gone! I now have Sport Mode, and he disabled Stop-Start. He was not sure how long the Stop-Start would remain disabled on a 2022, but so far it has stayed disabled on a number of restarts. We will see if it lasts!

The Sport Mode is pretty awesome - seemed to really wake up this Badlands! But not sure how much I'll use it because it does negatively impact mileage. Knowing it's there when I need (want) it is good enough!

Thanks Mike!

Gary,
My pleasure. I like giving Bronco owners capabilities that Ford should have from the factory. After doing about 200 Broncos in the past 2 years, I can almost do all of the mods without looking at the cut sheet. Enjoy.
Mike

 

[Scoop]

Gary,
My pleasure. I like giving Bronco owners capabilities that Ford should have from the factory. After doing about 200 Broncos in the past 2 years, I can almost do all of the mods without looking at the cut sheet. Enjoy.
Mike

Overall Ford did a fantastic job with the new Bronco. If I have any criticism, it is that Ford went way overboard with complicating the models and options. Basically all the features are there in the software but Ford chose to turn them on or off according to the model! Kind of a cool idea but very confusing to the consumer. Too many different models. And the sway bar disconnect should be included with the Sasquatch package on every model.

 

[ep67bro]

Gary
It was strange that there was no sport mode on the Badlands I had. And after I drove my Black diamond with sport mode I was shocked by how much it woke up the rig. I dont drive around in sport mode but when I want to pass a line of traffic or feel like playing it sure is fun!

I agree that there were too many models for the bronco and I agree that they did a pretty good job with them over all. One complaint I have is the fuel tank is too small. I feel like I am constantly putting fuel in mine. I can only get about 275-300 miles out of a tank. Guess I am spoiled by my Superduty tank that I can get almost 600 miles out of!

 

[sprdv1]

This Bronco is my daily driver so I'm not going to do a lot mods to it but I will be doing a few small ones that I'll document in this thread. It already had the Raptor lights when I got but I changed them to 3 lights from the 5 the PO installed. He also installed the carbon fiber-look bug deflector which I like and will keep. I have some LED fog/driving lights I'll be installing someday but not sure how or where I want them mounted. I'm not that wild about ditch lights. The PO had also installed stick-on door sill protectors but yhey were already coming up along the edges. I pulled them off and cleaned up the residua; glue.

That brings me to a couple of mods I'm working on: Rear cup holders and a roof half-rack. My Badlands marine vinyl interior back seat did not come with a drop down armrest with cup holders. I ordered the one from Mabett. I think this same one is marketed under several different names?? It arrived and seems to be pretty well built. I looked at several roof half-racks and choose the one from Hooke Road. It too looks to be very well built.

View attachment 913821

View attachment 913822

More pics after I install them!

Great rig buddy.. Love it

 

[sprdv1]

I'm finding the Badlands interior with no headliner on the hard top and no carpeting is a bit louder at highway speeds than I like. So I ordered a headliner kit with sound deadening from Hothead to take advantage of their 10% off Black Friday Sale. HOTHEAD

Anybody have any experience with Hothead?

Great info.. we do like it quiet on the hwys and byways

 

[Scoop]

Another small mod - the Warhorse Tailgate Limiter. I'm planning on mounting some RotoPax gas and water cans on my spare tire and to keep from breaking the passenger side taillight the opening of the tailgate needs to be restricted. This is a much cheaper solution than buying flush mounted taillights!

 

[Scoop]

RotoPax installed!

 

[Rob1962]

Those are cool.

 

[Rob1962]

I saw a new Bronco on the freeway the other day with much better looking/more low profile fender flares painted the same color as the body. Think they could have been fiberglass instead of the original plastic. Looked much better than the oversized black plastic flares in my opinion. Wish I had taken a picture because I have not been able to find them online.

 

[Scoop]

Installed a tailgate table today. It's the JROAD Double Layer table. Seems to be well made and very sturdy. Easy to install - just a bit tedious. The supplied "installation manual" (1 sheet of paper printed both sides) was not real helpful, but their installation video was very good.

I'll have to get some Molle pouches to attach to the Molle panel!

 

[ep67bro]

Looks good. Does it rattle or squeak? I have thought about adding something like that but dont want to add any more rattles to the tail gate area.