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About the Running Board.

2025-04-25

Trucks and SUVs are the largest they’ve ever been, growing almost 25% between 1989 and 2019. That makes it increasingly hard just to get in your door if your vehicle didn’t come from the factory with Running Boards. It’s particularly hard for smaller people, children, and older adults, so much so that according to the most recent data from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), falling while entering or exiting a vehicle is the #1 cause of non-crash injuries. An estimated 146,000 people a year require a trip to the hospital or or a visit from an EMT for injuries caused by getting into and out of vehicles. That’s 400 people a day, every single day. Anything you can do to make that safer, especially installing side steps or running boards, won’t just make your life easier, it could save you a trip to the hospital.

Many trucks and larger vehicles already have specified mounting points in the frame to which to bolt aftermarket running boards. That means you probably won’t have to modify your vehicle to attach them, it’s a project you can do at home. You can still install a set if you don’t have the right holes, but you’ll need to do some drilling, and maybe tap threads into a new hole. Your running boards will have instructions, and sometimes some of the tools, but it is a larger project. Bolt-on aftermarket running boards also won’t void your vehicle’s warranty (see Table of Contents), as long as they don’t cause any damage.

There are three different choices when you want to add running boards: side steps, running boards, and nerf bars. Side steps are a square or U-shaped bracket that bolts on, either under a door, or to give you better access to a truck bed. A running board is longer, often running the length of your truck’s cab, and is there to act as a long step or platform. Nerf bars are usually the length of your cabin, and are intended to protect against damage when offroading. Many also include cutout steps.

For more information about which ones to choose, see our next article, we will answer for you.

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