A few months ago I bought this '06 Ford F250 Super Duty.
It is a former DOT truck that was hit in the rear bumper. I have 'not much money" into the whole truck and I want to keep it that way. The trucks purpose will be function over fashion. This is actually the first pickup truck I have ever owned.
The truck is 2wd and rides on 245-75/15 tires. I am 6'1" tall with a 32" inseam but even at that height, the actual seat of the truck is higher than my belt buckle. I think I want to ad some side steps / running boards to improve entry and exit from the truck. As I shop these, I see there are a lot of choices. What I am most amazed by is the prices. Cheap for boards is $250 for a set and prices can go toward $500 easy. That's $125-$250 per side!!!! That seems high to me. I have done some search of CL and other used but prices are not that much cheaper there. Add to that the fact I live in the rust belt and my bet is that I don't want anything used that is more than 4 years old.
For boards, my leading choice is ARIES 2055522 RidgeStep Commercial Running Boards w/Mounting Brackets https://www.amazon.com/2055522-RidgeStep-Commercial-Running-Brackets/dp/B01D83HNXW Via RockAuto and GRM discount I can get them shipped for $249. (still $125 each!!) No chrome, no plastic, no flash and look properly industrial.
Or, for $40 per set of 2 ($20 each), I can get a "Side Steps" like these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0062IJOJ2/ref=twister_B07BTY7FZW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 The $40 version is through Advance Auto Parts with some Perks and discounts applied.
$20 each is a lot cheaper than $125 each but of those who know better than me, will I dislike the side steps?
What would GRM do?
Grizz
UberDork
4/12/18 11:44 a.m.
How much is getting plate and stuff and just making your own?
Time vs money 
And don't forget to budget the cost of powdercoat.
I have a set of tubular ones that run the length of the cab and are side steps. I don't recall the price, it was 8 years ago. But Autoanything.com always seems to have the best prices on this stuff. The actual rubber step degraded and fell apart several years later, and the manufacturer sent me replacements.
Looked them up, I have 3" Steelcraft Round Step Nerf Bars. Looks like they were $162 shipped.
Just checked AutoAnything. $135 shipped for your truck.
Id' get the longer ones.. that way you can use them get extra reach into the cab end of hte bed should you need to grab somethign.
The real answer is lower the truck
You didn't lower the truck, you moved the driveway up. That seems impractical.
Lowered truck looks good but remember, I too once helped ruin an otherwise good truck in a Florida hotel parking lot.
In reply to John Welsh :
Step-1: Buy similar rust-free truck from the south that already has running boards & have it shipped up.
Step-2: Remove running boards from southern truck & install on yours.
Step-3: Sell southern truck for profit!
Yeah, you’d spend $5k+ to save a couple hundred bucks up front, but if you play your cards right you could pocket a couple grand when you’re done.
John Welsh said:
Lowered truck looks good but remember, I too once helped ruin an otherwise good truck in a parking lot.
The difference is, you wouldn't have to do such a half-assed job since you'd have more time and with air bags the load capacity wouldn't be as negatively impacted. :)
Looking at the results from its resurrection thread, I'd also say you had the deck stacked against you with a bent rear axle. Without that bent axle, the result would have been more positive in its outcome.
There is a guy at my office that replaced his rusted out Explorer running boards with wood. They don't look too good, but based on his girth, I'd say they can support 325 pounds.
Keith Tanner said:
You didn't lower the truck, you moved the driveway up. That seems impractical.
in truth i did actually moved the truck down, along with the cars behind it, the house and all surround trees, and the entire atmosphere as well. which is more impractical, but you know kids these days, form over function
iboard. Like iphone but running boards. Sub $200, and aluminum so they won’t rot. I have the 4” wide ones on the ram. They attached to factory running board holes with no drilling.
Try Bay of E. Picked up a pair for my Buick Rainier, a few years ago, under $150. Aluminum, easy install, held up well. Variety of types for your perusal.
My inner-cheap-berkeley was still enticed by the thought of a $40/pair solution so I bought the Bully Steps from Advance Auto (and have since returned them.)
Upon actually digging into the instructions, I later realized that these are so "universal" that the only way to mount them to a Ford is to drill your own mounting holes into the body rocker panel from the inner/under side. I decided that here in the rust belt it was not logical to "make your own holes" when other solutions would use the factory mounting holes that already exist.
Now I am seeking out some 3" round black steel like Keith recommended which can be gotten as low as $100/pair or maybe splurge for the more resistant and longer lasting $200/pair aluminum that Pat recommended.
When actually reading the box on these Bully Brand steps, I discover that the real parent company is Pilot Automotive, purveyors of lots of crappy auto accessories. It's not that the steps were poorly made, just poorly executed if so "universal".
Don't do the small steps. They mount to the rockers and are not as stable. Get the boards that mount to the frame. You'll be better for it.
I put a pair of Smittybuilt suresteps on my truck in 1995. Passenger side has had ugly rust for the past 3 years or so but still functions as it should.
Since you are buying these to actually use these as steps and not a bro truck accessory, get the wide flat style. The little steps (aka the Bully Steps) suck as actual steps. You want a wide, flat area so your foot has as much purchase as possible. Doubly so when your shoes are muddy or wet.
Also, I'd look into "wheel to wheel" boards which make grabbing something out of the bed so much easier. They are a bit more but give you a lot more function.
if you attach to the frame, you should be good. If you attach to the body, movement between the cab and bed will break them. Friend of mine made that mistake a couple of trucks ago
I bought ones like these for my 2014 GMC and they were bolt on with no drilling. There's a bit of flex when I use them to step up into the truck, but they're still holding up just fine after 4 years of use.
Personally, I like the look of the bars over actual steps. I've never really had an issue with them being slippery, but I live in Texas and don't see the same weather others do. However, some black grip tape would take care of that pretty easily.
-Rob
Bringing this back up to.
Pat recommended iBoards and aluminum sounded better that steel in this rusty climate.
Cheap steel boards like 3" round start at $100. Pat recommended 4" iBoards which are about $175. The iBoards is also available in 5" and 6".
The other day, while shopping these again,Amazon had 1 remaining in stock of 6" iBoards for $153.08. As soon as I placed my order for these the pricing went back up to $255.60.
So, I'm getting the fattest aluminum board for cheaper that the narrowest board. Will they be toooo wide, maybe but they should execute the desired look of function over fashion
Although it is too late you could always check craigslist - a guy had the GM tubes for my Silverado for $140 and GM wanted $525. I tried to negotiate the price down but he told me it was a good deal. He was right and I bought them. These GM versions mount to the body - not the frame though.
I never saw this, I have a set of the diamond plate boards in my barn that I took off the 2500 that you could have had.
