Bronco Badlands, as a purpose built utility vehicle

[NCR]

Good Evening


(throwaway because this feels a little bit stupid)


I'm trying to turn a four-door Bronco Badlands into a work vehicle in lieu of a Ford Ranger-style pickup.


l've taken heavy inspiration from the Wildlands-style Broncos / different fire department uses of Broncos.


What they have created is essentially what I'm trying to create.


My work requires me to occasionally use a truck, but l would massively prefer to build out a Bronco Badlands to fit what I'm looking for.


On the regular, 1 carry a handful of large Pelican cases / pack-out cases (see attached image). I currently use a Bronco Raptor for a lot of my day to day, but I'm currently building that out to be a Baja 250/500/1000 pre-runner and can no longer use it for work-related purposes.


The most extreme items that I semi-regularly haul are large 55g drums of oil, Challenger 607-style PTO pumps, and other medium to small industrial pieces of equipment (my job is more of a technical/supervisor role, but I occasionally have to run an errand related to the items mentioned previously).


My plan currently is to either remove the rear seats entirely and use the rear deck as a cargo bay (similar to the Bronco Filson X Wildlands) or retain the rear seats for the occasional passenger (something akin to the Chevrolet Avalanche).


I don't particularly mind doing everything myself, but if there are any sort of products that can assist with what I'm trying to do, recommendations would be greatly appreciated

(EDIT: the 55-gallon drum comment wasn’t a metric for anything that I’m actively trying to accomplish; it was more of a one-time thing that I was using as an example.)

I massively agree; using a trailer would be a far better approach for that sort of thing.

My typical load would just be the Pelican cases / occasional trash pump.)

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[Brian_B]

A couple of notes:

Bronco doesn't have the weight capacity of a pickup truck. Yes, you can manage all sorts of clever storage and organizational tools in here to make it manageable, but weight is one thing you absolutely should not just gloss over.

Throwing 500 lbs of gear full time in a Bronco is a totally different animal than doing the same thing on a leaf-spring pickup truck. You will need to compensate. The drive train is totally capable, no matter what trim you get - but also, no matter what trim you get, the suspension is going to be soft enough that it ~will~ alter the handling and off road characteristics. Best case, you get a case of the South Carolina Squat going on. And you definitely don't want to stack weight up high if you can help it.

Now, you probably know all of this already, since you already have a Raptor. Just saying for the rest of the crowd that will read this thread 4 years from now and totally miss this, which is, I think, a fairly important point.

I'm a fan of molle panels and soft packs - but if you are already in pelican cases, you probably want slide outs.

There are slide out cargo trays, and that's probably most inline with what you already have (and what's in the pictures you show). Goose Gear is the one I see the best reviews of, but I don't have any personal experience.

 

[HighVelocity]

As someone who's done support work for logging crews, hauling 55 gallon drums full of bar oil and hydraulic fluid is best left to the 'real' trucks. I haven't measured, but I don't think you'd be able to get a drum inside a Bronco anyway, most certainly with a pump on it.

We used F550s and those things would get beat to hell driving loaded up on logging roads every day. There's no way I would subject my personal vehicle to that kind of abuse.

You might get away with using it to haul random stuff in your cases though.

I have a Wicked Relics packhorse slide-out tray in my Bronco. I think he makes them for the station wagons too. It's very well built and would make getting your Pelican cases and such a breeze for access and packing ease. https://www.wickedrelicsoffroad.com/

 

[dpAtlanta]

Sell the Bronco and buy a Ranger Raptor.

 

[Montana Bronco]

I use my 2-door Bronco commercially for my fly fishing business here in Montana. I took the back seat out, very simple, took under 10 minutes. Threw a rubber horse stall mat back there.

 

[Smocaine]

Is a trailer realistic for your use case? For stuff that big, I'd rather tow it. There are a lot of ready-made "rugged" trailers out there now, or you could DIY with a surplus military unit. Something with a long and low tongue might even let you get in the back door still.

 

[Roger123]

You may want to ring up this guy, @BigMeatsBronco

 

[Loeb]

I'm looking into something similar. Need a roof rack that can carry sheets of plywood and/or ladders occasionally. It's a simple task for most vehicles with some crossbar and some unistrut. The way racks mount to the Bronco complicates the task. I'm not a fan of all the racks that are made with sheet metal bolted together. Gobi Racks is the only product I have found that seems up to the task.

 

[NCR]

As someone who's done support work for logging crews, hauling 55 gallon drums full of bar oil and hydraulic fluid is best left to the 'real' trucks. I haven't measured, but I don't think you'd be able to get a drum inside a Bronco anyway, most certainly with a pump on it.

We used F550s and those things would get beat to hell driving loaded up on logging roads every day. There's no way I would subject my personal vehicle to that kind of abuse.

You might get away with using it to haul random stuff in your cases though.

I have a Wicked Relics packhorse slide-out tray in my Bronco. I think he makes them for the station wagons too. It's very well built and would make getting your Pelican cases and such a breeze for access and packing ease. https://www.wickedrelicsoffroad.com/

Peep the post edit

The vehicle will be primarily used for work I have no plans to use this this Personal vehicle.

 

[BigMeatsBronco]

Sell the Bronco and buy a Ranger Raptor.

Keep the Braptor and DO buy a Ranger Raptor.

I have a Ranger Raptor on 37s as well as 2021 Bronco FE half cab on 41" tires, and use both for logging support/timber cruiser vehicles. While I prefer the V8 swapped Bronco over the RRaptor most of the time, I do use the Ranger alot more for hauling the heavy stuff. The bed is the perfect size! And towing capacity is 1000 lbs more than the Braptor. If you like yer Braptor , then pretty sure you will be even more impressed with the Ranger Raptor as a work truck.

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