Bumper Or A Roll Pan – What Is A Better Idea?

Not everybody fancies a regular, standard step-on bumper on their pickup trucks – for this exact reason, roll pans are here in this world.

Their popularity seems to decrease each year, but I definitely see them still being put on them older body style trucks, even on the modern.

The perks of the roll pans

Great look

This is certainly more of a personal opinion than anything, but come on… don’t they look amazing?

The sleek and even transition from way down up to the top of the tailgate really makes the ride stand out, specially as it can fully match the overall body color.

Less expensive

I can’t really specify the exact price difference you should expect, but believe me, you can save a lot of money by buying a new roll pan compared to a bumper.

The perks of the bumpers

Simply more durable

The main advantage of a proper rear bumper compared to a roll pan is its strength.

If you get rear ended while having a bumper on, chances are you’re going to get away with less damage – the same certainly cannot be said about the former.

The fact that a roll pan doesn’t have that much structural support means that any energy it absorbs will go straight to the bed, only increasing the overall repair cost, so there’s that.

Then what is better?

Let me put it this way – if you use your truck like it’s supposed to, in this case I mean for daily use, a standard, regular bumper will always work better, as it can stand more abuse.

In case you’re looking to make your pickup stand out, or simply save more if you don’t have anything back there in the first place, well, going for a roll pan definitely doesn’t sound bad.

And yes, there are enthusiasts who state that you can only install a roll pan on a lowered pickup truck, but guess what – I’ve seen it done vise versa, and it did end up looking very good, in my eyes.

This kind of reminds me about the whole “you should not lift a two-wheel drive truck!!!” ideology.