I find that it helps if I keep the wipers at the top of their arc when shutting the truck off. The wipers being vertical and away from the area where snow builds up seems to help a lot.

 

That has actually happened to me on my 1993 Bronco while trying to hold the wiper arm up while at the same time trying to scrape the windshield under it. So, I think that problem is the same regardless of the type of arm.

David, I can modify the ends, I can shorten the length even though it is spring metal and will likely lose some springiness from welding. I think that the limiting factor is the size of the spindle. My 2002 E350's wiper arm spindles are a different size. Let me know if you find any arms with a foldout hinge mechanism with the same size spindles as the 1995 Bronco/F150.

BeholdenZippy: That is brilliant advice! I will try it for now. At least it keeps the wiper out of the washer fluid ice.

 

Even though I live in Arkansas and snow isn't much of a problem ice is our main enemy, my suggestion earlier of a couple pieces of 2 x 4 was what I used while growing up in Northern Michigan and the lake effect snow we got from Lake Michigan. I did the same thing with my '67 F250 (first vehicle I owned) and every vehicle after that.
Another thing I use with regularity is Rain-X as it pours down here in buckets at times for days at a time. It also helps keep the ice problem from being so bad on the windshield and much easier to scrape off.

 

ZombieF150: Are you using a Rain-X in the windshield wiper reservoir instead of regular -32 washer fluid? Or are you applying it when you wash the car to the windshield? And I may have to fall back on the 2x4 idea, so thanks for that.

 

I do both. In the wiper spray reservoir and also apply it by hand about every other month. Have been using Rain-X since it came out and I have been driving. If you do te 2 X 4 route cut a small notch in one end once you get the length you want, the notch is for the wiper arm to rest in and it helps keep the 2 X 4 from kicking out or wiper arm possibly coming off the 2 x 4

The thing that makes the -32 wiper fluid go that low is alcohol and something else. I have added rubbing alcohol (lowest grade I can find) to my reservoir before. It will mix with water , look at the bottle,it's ingredients are alcohol and water, and de ices the windshield pretty quick. I use it mostly when i know we are expecting icing.

 

I actually strongly prefer wipers that don't stay up off the windshield. While driving in snow it's not uncommon for wipers to get fouled with a chunk of snow or ice stuck under the blade, holding it off the windshield. With the wipers on my old Ford pickup I can reach out through the window, lift up the wiper as it reaches the top of it's travel and let it thwack back down, which often gets it to run on the windshield again (for a while at least). On newer cars (at least the ones that don't have the windshield so far away that I can't even reach the wiper) when I've tried that often the wiper ends up staying off the windshield and I need to reach out again to try to knock it back down.

But yes, having them freeze down is a problem. I try to always remember to shut off my wipers when I stop (so they don't start moving as soon as I turn the key) and then lift them off the windshield and get them free of ice before I drive away. Yes, it's a pain. But hey, we Minnesotans pride ourselves on living in a painful place 6 months of the year, so I guess that's a good thing!

 

Please remove post.

 

Well we've made trips to Big Sky, WY, Whistler, BC, Alta, UT and Deer Valley, UT and survived driving in the California Sierras since starting this thread and I have accepted that the Bronco's wipers will always lay down and never pop up, and I am good with that.

The Michelin Stealth wiper blade is a great snow wiper blade by the way...