Saw a wrecked white 2000L.Talked to the tow truck driver and the accident happened on York Road, dont know the town though, anyway a Lincoln LS rear ended the truck at about 45 MPH,it was a sad site to see the truck like that. Both people in the truck I was told were taken to the hospital. If I can get pics tomorrow I will. This makes me think twice about getting a roll pan.

 

Prime:

I'm not sure that the rollpan would be an factor in a serious rear impact like the one you witnessed.

Certainly, in the event of just being bumped(-30MPH), a rollpan would allow more physical damage to the rear of the vehicle, but I don't think that it would be a significant safety issue in either case.

I guess my point is(yes, there is a point). A rollpan is one of the coolest mods for someone who doesn't tow. I'd hate to see people not do the mod because they think it's unsafe. You'd think I'd be just the opposite, since I'm one of the few that did it already and like the uniqueness of my truck.

Anybody with serious structural or insurance estimation background can correct me if I'm wrong.

Rich

 

I was wondering, cause the tow truck drive actually drove the thing off the flatbed, if the bumper was replaced with a rollpan, would the rear end would have been shoved forward and up into the trans...into the motor ect. I think the damage would have affected the drivetrain. Just looking under the truck I saw the rear angled down but it didnt look like it jammed the driveshaft forward. So I am going to say that the bumper absorbed enough of the impact not to significantly invove the drivetrain. I AM still going to do the rollpan mod, but seeing that scared the hell out of me. People are careless sometimes and I guess seeing this wreck made me realize the reason I hate tailgaters.

 

I hear ya'.

The only advantage I can see with a full bumper in a serious rear-end collision, is that the bumper itself would distribute some of the impact around the frame and not directly up the center of the vehicle.

I don't know about you, but I purposely change lanes if the person behind me makes me uncomfortable or is driving a POS.
Not ragging POS's(some of us drive Mustangs). It's just they seem to come with POS brakes.

Let's just hope the person's involved made it through OK.

Rich

 

I hope so man.

 

Honestly, I'd rather be hit than hit a truck with only a roll pan on it. Those frame rail ends look pretty nasty with no bumper attached.

If you look at the frame around the area wear the rear leaf spring hangers are attached (not the shackles) you will notice that it is bolted together. I think this may be considered a crush zone. Could be wrong, but it sure looks like a weak point in the frame.

 

I got rear ended a couple years ago leaving Florida ( damn Florida drivers ) and the part that saved my bed and tailgate was the bumper. Otherwise the dude in the little Nissan would have ended up inside my bed. None the less, I will have a roll pan shortly on my truck Fashion before function I guess.

 

Man I hate to hear of wrecked L's. Yeah try to post pics Id like to see the damage with a roll pan installed.....

 

Are they going to junk it?

Spare parts guys!

 

I don't see a large change in protection in going from a bumper to a roll-pan.

Most bumpers today are merely plastic filled with styrofoam. The main shock receivers, those two struts, will still be there in a roll pan hookup? Unless you remove more then the bumper when you install a rollpan?

Daniel

 

thepawn: even though the bumper cover is plastic with styrofoam packed in it, there is still a metal bar going across.
if you remember the pic of the lightning that burned, you could see the metal bumper that is under the front bumper cover.

you dont see too many trucks from the factory with rear bumper covers, that is usually on a car. and they also have a metal bar under the cover.

now, if someone comes up with a roll pan with an added metal bar that runs to the frame rails, i'll get one.

hmm.. can i patent that?

brooks

 

Zor,
Did this L happen to have a strip (black or chrome) running the length of the truck? Cause if it did, that truck was for sale for a long time down in Warminster @ Brandow Chrysler Used Car lot.
Hopefully all involved will be okay. Can make a new truck, but not a new person.
Also happened to see a black 99 down in H.V. with chrome wheels and lightning bolts painted all over it (think this was the one that was in FF&MM or whatever mag it was covering E-town). He appears to be getting some work done at a shop. Am hoping that it sits there long enough to get some pix of it.

Steve

 

Steve
The truck is sitting behind Lafferty Chevrolet in a little impound yard that **** n Rips uses. I dont know if this is the same truck you saw earlier but it looked stock. I am almost certain it will be totalled.

 

I gotta think that the bumper a decent job even though they arent designed to take that kind of impact.

 

Well, I can tell you first hand what it is like to get hit with a rollpan

I was in my Dodge Ram cruising on the highway when a bunch of traffic was stopped dead on a hard to see turn. I locked em up hard and a Ford Taurus railed me from behind. Needless to say the airbag deployed, which burned my face and eyes and stumbled out of the truck. I was alright but shaken up a bit and the taurus driver went to the hospital with a broken nose and some facial injuries.Upon inspection, the rollpan was in a billion pieces. The damage was quite sever and it is a wonder it wasn't totaled. The Taurus was actually sitting underneath the truck and was toast.

Damaged bed and tailgate
Bent frame
Bent driveline including transmission....the output shaft and driveshaft were still connected and cracked through the leftside of the case.
mangled exhaust

Miraculously, the spare tire didnt even have a scratch.


I don't think the bumper would have help anything as it was easily bent when some guy backed up into it while parking.....this lead to the install of the rollpan in the first place