No hardtop prep kit

Good question. If it does not have the prep kit you will not have the plumbing and wiring for the hard top as you probably know. It would be a fairly in depth task to add it later the washer fluid hose and wiper/ defrost wiring would need to be run all the way back there and the controls for the defrost and wiper would need to be added.
But if you want a hard top I would not pass this up. You just can’t use all the features the top has. You don’t have any of that now.

I envy you, I want to purchase a hard top so bad… need it for winter.

Jakob1972

Good question. If it does not have the prep kit you will not have the plumbing and wiring for the hard top as you probably know. It would be a fairly in depth task to add it later the washer fluid hose and wiper/ defrost wiring would need to be run all the way back there and the controls for the defrost and wiper would need to be added.
But if you want a hard top I would not pass this up. You just can’t use all the features the top has. You don’t have any of that now.

The wiring & plumbing is down low behind the driver’s side panel in the rear cargo area. I would hope that Ford sells an extension for the wiring harness and the rubber washer hose but as you stated, that’s only 1/2 the solution since you also need the defrost switch & rear wiper functionality to actually use them both too!

Tanner.erikson

My 2021 Outerbanks did not come with the hardtop prep kit and I have a stock hard top available to buy right now. Is there a way to get the hardtop prep kit installed?

At this point no, back when all the issues started there was about 1-2 months of builds where the prep for the HT was not available. None of the hard wires, tubing or controls are in them. You can get the top but there will be no power for rear defrost, wiper or ability to clean.

I don't know, it might be wise to take some panels off and check behind some things. It would seem to me that the stuff might be hidden somewhere. Or it might not be, I hope that you come up with a solution. Happy Trails!

SCBronco1

I don't know, it might be wise to take some panels off and check behind some things. It would seem to me that the stuff might be hidden somewhere. Or it might not be, I hope that you come up with a solution. Happy Trails!

If I remember correctly, Ford specifically said that these builds would not have the infrastructure installed in them. And then after a couple of months of people complaining they changed to the pre wire kit being installed. It is an unfortunate risk that some people were willing to take.

TK1215

If I remember correctly, Ford specifically said that these builds would not have the infrastructure installed in them. And then after a couple of months of people complaining they changed to the pre wire kit being installed. It is an unfortunate risk that some people were willing to take.

You are correct but wasn't that builds after either Aug or Sept 21 that got the prep kits no matter

Tanner.erikson

My 2021 Outerbanks did not come with the hardtop prep kit and I have a stock hard top available to buy right now. Is there a way to get the hardtop prep kit installed?

What month was it built?? You could do it but would be a lot of work to run plumbing, electrical, fuild tank, and then a new control switch/panel.

ResidualGenius

You are correct but wasn't that builds after either Aug or Sept 21 that got the prep kits no matter

I will go back through all of the correspondence I kept and see if I can find it. There were numerous threads way back when.

Tanner.erikson

My 2021 Outerbanks did not come with the hardtop prep kit and I have a stock hard top available to buy right now. Is there a way to get the hardtop prep kit installed?

Maybe an owner with a prep kit and no intention of adding a hardtop will remove and sell you theird. Where are you getting a hardtop? I'd like to get a back up for my 2 door incase something happens to mine.

So I went back through a bunch of old stuff. The early Bronco builds did not have the prep kits. In June of 2021 Ford sent out an email stating that starting with September of 2021 builds of all Bronco’s with soft tops would have the prep kits. So the people who opted to get theirs early, they won’t be able to get it. Not saying it can’t happen, but it won’t be easy to get done.

TK1215

So I went back through a bunch of old stuff. The early soft top Bronco builds did not have the prep kits. In June of 2021 Ford sent out an email stating that starting with September of 2021 builds of all Bronco’s with soft tops would have the prep kits. So the people who opted to get theirs early, they won’t be able to get it. Not saying it can’t happen, but it won’t be easy to get done.

OK, was Sept. And agreed, it would be so many man hours unless you got nothing but time, then I'd say kinda up a creek.

But you would have a hard top, even if you can’t defrost or wipe your rear window. There will be several early 6Gs that don’t have that functionality.
I’d get the hardtop now and worry about the connections later or never.