Running Board Mounting Options

[rikguy33]

I had bought and installed a set of Westin Platinum Oval step bars. They were on the truck for 7 years and now they have rusted pretty badly. They have also caused some rusting on my truck where they mounted to the frame and in the cab corners. I was wondering if all steps/running boards mount the same way or how I can get around this rust issue. I am taking the truck to have the rust fixed and I don't want to have a repeat problem.
I have found out the these steps have an issue that water seeps thru the holes where the rubber step pad attaches and they hold water and rust from the inside out. So most likey I will be looking at a different model to install.

 

[chrisbh17]

Check out Luverne

They make some frame mount running board models, I put them on my 2017 because I was not a fan of the rocker panel mounting for basically every other brand (OEM, GoRhino, etc)

The mounting brackets bolt to the body mounting posts and have studs with a rubber bumper on the end to press up against the frame when someone steps on the running board. Not frame mount, per-say, but a lot more secure bolted to the body mounting positions than to the rocker panels.

 

[RodeoRam]

Chris, I've been thinking about the W2W Luverne 3" nerf bars with the frame body mounts. How do you like your running boards? Luverne is pretty proud of the bars price wise. Also, did you buy direct from Luverne? I've seen them on Amazon, but there are no brick and mortar resellers in my area. Thanks.

 

[chrisbh17]

I had GoRhino RB10s to start with. I liked them, other than the rocker panel mounting (which is not their fault). They did have a slightly better mounting setup than most - unlike the OEM boards, they used THREE bolts per bracket, OEM (and some other brands) use only 2.

I picked up the Luvernes from Amazon because Amazon did their typical strange pricing....they started at 500-something, I added to my RAM 1500 parts list and kept watching. Eventually they got all the way down to $250 (including free prime shipping!) so I had no choice but to order.

I like them...maybe not as much as the GoRhinos (because even though they are 7", they dont stick out as far as the 6" GoRhinos did) but they are definitely nice. I felt like the running board material itself was a little thin, but they are stainless steel so it could just be to cut down on cost. They do not flex at all, though.

My GoRhinos were probably 1/8" thick galvanized steel, covered in something similar to bedliner. But after a year it was starting to flake off on the underside of the boards. No rust because they were galvanized, but disappointing nonetheless.

I do wonder, though, if one could use the Luverne "frame" mounting hardware and adapt it for basically any running board. The boards themselves all mount to brackets in a similar fashion so you could probably take Luvernes brackets and drill (if thats even necessary) new holes for whatever board you want to mount to them. I did just notice Luverne now sells "extensions" that seem to push the board out further from the truck, taking more advantage of the 7" width than it does with the stock setup. of course, they charge extra for them and I dont think they should.

 

[RodeoRam]

Thank you, sir. I guess I'll have to pull the trigger on them. The Luverne site says "While Supplies Last." Guess they won't be making any more.

 

[TatertotScott]

My Tyger 3 tube steps mount on both rocker and pinch weld....have exactly 0 flex under my fat ass (300 lbs on the low side)...have taken a beating as rock sliders more than once....accidentally dropped the truck on one and BARELY dented it (smaller than a quarter dent)....

Very happy with them and less than 1/2 the price of luverne...

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[17crewram]

I had Aries on my '08. They supplied longer bolts as they bolted to the cab mounts. I put Aries again on my '17. They bolt to the inside of my rockers in 3 locations.