What do you think of these running boards?

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sbarron

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From Wiki: A "nerf" is a small, sometimes intentional, collision between two cars in which one driver bumps the other to facilitate a successful pass. The nerf bar protects the sides of the vehicles and also keeps their tires from becoming entangled." From dirt track racing.

As for my opinion of those particular bars... nothing special. Price is ok, just.
 

Jmhm17

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These are Nerf Bars, like Sbarron said its to keep open wheel race cars from rubbing tires as they flip when they do. Although it does not protect them 100% it does helps..
2011_NWMT_Feature_Bryon_Chew_car_700.jpg


The term used for side steps is more slang than anything to make them sound cool.. As you can see real nerf bars make it very difficult to get in and out of the racecar (i know from experience - it sucks!) instead of aiding like side steps, so its kind of funny if you think about it.

Aso for the ones in that link, you get what you pay for, if you live in the salt belt I would not expect those to last very long "stainless steel" basicaly means nickel plated, and im sure its not the best plating at that price. Also I would check to see how they bolt up. I had some cheap ones on my Ranger and they would flex alot.
 
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maillemaker

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"stainless steel" basicaly means nickel plated

304L Stainless Steel is not in any way shape or form nickel plated. 300 series stainless steel is an alloy that contains nickel, but it is not nickel plated.

I have ordered the pair and will do a write-up when they arrive.

Steve
 
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maillemaker

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OP the link you posted, they sell the same ones on ebay for 120

Bummer! Well, I overpaid by about $60.

Still, if they come in by this weekend, I will do a write-up on the installation.
 
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maillemaker

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Wow. I may have overpaid, but you can't beat the service. I ordered these Tuesday morning, and they arrived Wednesday evening. I guess the extra price covered the "free" overnight shipping. :)

I hope to install them this weekend.

Steve
 
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maillemaker

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OK, I installed the nerf bars this weekend.

When I unboxed them, I noticed that the passenger side rail had 3 small dings along the inside of the rail, and a larger one on the bottom of the rail. I emailed the vendor to let them know, but since these dings are not visible after installation, I went ahead and installed them. You'd literally have to lay on the ground to see them. However, it pays to inspect the items when you unbox them because if it had been something visible you'd want to return them.

The install probably took me a couple of hours. I probably spent an hour on the first one, including taking pictures, but installed the second one in 20 minutes or so.

The only "trick" here is that some of the washers are very similar in appearance, and I did not realize until the last bolt that in fact some of them have a slightly larger inner diameter than others. The last washer would not fit on its bolt. Rather than disassemble everything, I just drilled it out.

Installation is a direct bolt-on and is easy. They support my weight of 250 pounds with no problem. There is a very slight but noticeable deflection as you step on them. The front bracket includes a cross-piece that ties the main bracket to the truck body fender, but the rear bracket does not, even though there is a similar truck body fender nearby. I think they should include a cross-bracket for the rear also, but it's OK.

All in all I'm pleased for $188 including shipping. As was pointed out above, you can find these a little cheaper if you shop around.

Pictures of the complete install here:

Click here for complete Nerf Bar Install Photo Album

6hrhgUk.jpg

hEOPVpj.jpg
 

wildkarde

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this happened today as a result of i guess me being 250pds and poor craftsmanship... :banghead:

maybe these you posted mount better
 

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