Bronco As A 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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[dangerfoot]

Goose gear platform or DIY. Now, fitting 2 x 55g drums and the logistics of loading...that's a different story.

 

[zuke]

I just don't see this happening without serious compromises to other uses of the vehicle.

Depending on the trim, two 55 gallon drums is gonna put you close too or over the GVWR with two passegers or any amount of gear, You'd probably really want to beef up the rear suspension with at least heavier spings.

Fitting a barrel into the back under the roll bar is gonna be really tight, I'd say impossible if you were going to load with a fork lift... and that's also assuming you take the factory speakers off the rollbar..

The Pelican case stuff is gonna work fine, and you could consider a tray or drawer system to help with loading and unloading the cases.

 

[Jakob1972]

Is a trailer an option? Seems that would be the easier solution for carrying two 55g drums once in a while. But I get it would not be convenient to carry an empty trailer all the time if you need to hotshot something to a job site.

 

[NCR]

Is a trailer an option? Seems that would be the easier solution for carrying two 55g drums once in a while. But I get it would not be convenient to carry an empty trailer all the time if you need to hotshot something to a job site.

Trailer is indeed an option looking at this from more of a “in a pinch” sort of angle

 

[Weegie]

For what it helps I have a 2025 2 door base that we took the rear seats out of and I put down a heavy rubber mat from Tractor Supply since I'm hauling rounds of firewood and at times trash cans with mulch or compost, it works okay for me but it's not as much stuff as you are hauling but maybe the rubber mat would help you?

Good luck with your project!

 

[Red2000]

Sounds cool! I've found that a swing out tailgate is not super ideal versus a drop down tailgate for loading stuff... harder to load with a fork truck etc.. the cargo area is more for soft goods and stuff, not like pallets or drums like you'd get in a truck box but maybe you can find solutions for your use. And that cross beam in the back limits the height of goods loaded. I think there is definitely utility there though! Seems like broncos of past had more truck inspired rear designs.

Maybe check out some of the overseas builds with the toyota 70 series, those are work utility suvs maybe you can get some inspiration from. Just a thought. Good luck!

 

[VirginiaHeritage]

I’ll be blunt. You will probably regret doing this. The Bronco is a great vehicle for having fun in, but it is no work truck. It will underperform in the role you want to use it for, and you will probably break shit.

Source: former work truck fleet maintainer, 20 yrs.

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