Not So Reliable Trailer Catches Fire and Destroys New Broncos

The saying goes, “when it rains, it pours,” and when it comes to the new Ford Bronco, that couldn’t be any truer. With a scheduled setback due to the pandemic, the Bronco has already seen a slew of issues affecting its release date. Despite the problems, Bronco is getting ready to adhere to a schedule, and the 2021 Bronco has been spotted in the wild in a number of interesting situations.

The Bronco has been tested in some weird ways. We’ve seen odd fastback soft tops and accessory-laden examples, as well as touting its Warthog capabilities. However, we know that despite some setbacks due to the pandemic, its release is imminent.

The most recent capture in the wild was on transport trailers, but we’re here to report some unfortunate news that we’ve learned. Information released by the bronco6g.com forum showed that a few 2-Door 2021 Ford Broncos that were being transported in a truck trailer caught on fire at a rest stop in Greenville, Illinois.

Ironically, the trailer, known as “Reliable Carriers,” is responsible for the incident. While details remain murky, a forum user shared pictures with some text, “this was not caused by the Broncos, for anyone wondering. This was an equipment failure of some kind on the trailer.“

Based on the photos, it looks like the Bronco’s suffered more heat-related damage than burns. They’re covered in debris, and the trailer was hot enough to melt most of the plastic parts, like the front fender flares, mirrors, and grille. The hardtop and tires remain largely untouched.

We can’t definitively say the cause as internet forums aren’t always the most reliable, so we’ll wait until an official report is released by the authorities or those involved. However, the user also mentioned, “I can say with 100 percent certainty, it was either the truck driver running a flat tire too long, or he had a brake hanging up, and it caught fire.“

It’s hard not to see the irony here that the Reliable Carriers brand proved to be the exact opposite of what they claim. They say any publicity is good publicity, but I’m going on record to say that isn’t always the case. With production slowed, losing already produced Bronco’s has got to be a sting for whoever was set to receive them.

The timing couldn’t have been any worse, but hopefully, the trailer company looks into the issue and trains their drivers to avoid these situations in the future. Although insurance will likely cover the incident, it’s still more hassle than somebody wants to go through. Lessons learned.