Hey all,

I finally got my new truck this last weekend, and I'm looking to buy some side steps/nerf bars/running boards - whatever they call them these days. My truck (2015 Big Horn Crew) has 6 holes in the bottom of the rocker panel. I'm assuming that this is at least part of where these things are supposed to bolt on, but it can't be the only part of it. Does anyone here have the Mopar step sides? They're pretty expensive and quality 3rd party bars can be had for a little less, so there probably isn't many with them unless they came on the truck. I'm trying to decide which bars to get and I'd like to see how the OEMs are mounted before I make a decision. I can't find a photo anywhere online. I'd appreciate a photo but an explanation would do also. Thanks!

BTW - I'm considering the OEMs because the step pattern matches the rest of the step areas on the truck, they are Ram branded, and are supposed to be high quality.

 

There are a bunch of threads on this topic. I just did a "search this forum" for rivnuts and got these hits.



https://dodgeforum.com/forum/search....archid=6541409

 

Thanks, Pedro. Yeah, there are quite a few threads about the side tubes, but none of them included any pictures for what I was looking for. But, it doesn't really matter because if I would've been using my brain properly I would have just looked up installation videos and I would have gotten all the answers I needed. So, here's to me for starting another bonehead thread about something that could have been solved by Google. LOL

Thanks for the link. Looking through some of the threads (many of which I had already seen) spurred the idea to search YouTube. Anyway, thanks.

 

don't beat yourself up, this forum is so dead that any new posts help keep it going

about the steps, If it wasn't for my wife and mother I'd take them off my truck. It's a pain not to be able to just slide under the truck (stock 2wd cc) without having to get a jack out.

Another thing I don't like is the rivnut installation to the rocker panel, they flex when you step on them.

 

That's strange. Are you talking about the OEM ones? From what I've been reading about those, they are pretty solid. I'm not sure how they mount on the 2009, but the 2015's have an additional two holes under each mount point, under the rocker where all of the sheet metal is pressed together. Once these two locations are used, there's not really any way that they can move.

So anyhow, once I watched an installation video and figured out how the OEM ones are installed, I decided to crawl under my truck to have a look see. Low and behold, the tape is still over the large oval holes but there are already rivnuts installed. It also looks like some of the holes have been used under the rocker panel. So I guess the dealer had them on there at one point and decided to take them off.

So now I have to figure out if I can even use anything else other than the OEM ones since the rivnuts are already there. I suppose it's just an threaded insert for a bolt, so as long as I use the right bolt it may not matter.

I'm still torn on what to do. I really like the OEM ones, but ~$550.00 - 600.00 is pretty steep when there are so many other options available.

And this is the third thread that I've read today that mentioned that it's been dead around here lately. I'm a member of a LOT of forums, and I remember this one being one of the most busy ones that I went to. Although I haven't spent much time posting here, I've spent hours reading. Where did everyone go in the last five years?

 

people are still here, but by now, most of the early subjects have been discussed. The reality of it is, these trucks are damn good, if there were problems, there would be a bunch of new posts.

Yes, my steps are the OEM and they flex. The rivnuts are attached to nothing solid on my truck. Yes the panels are joined at the bottom but the rivnuts are only catching a small round area of body panel.

 

That doesn't sound like something that I want to do anyway then. I'll just keep looking. Thanks for the info.

 

Ive got the OEM steps on my new '15 Crew, mine dont flex at all, mind you im only 160lbs

They are mounted ALOT more solid then any set I had on my Club Cab Dakota, and I had 3 different sets on it.

 

I have dealer installed factory ones on mine (as a commercial customer I got $500 of dealer installed options, so I applied it to that).

They are very rugged. I'm about 230# and have never noticed them flexing. I'm sure they do a bit, but as I said, it's not noticeable. I have the wheel-to-wheel ones, and love the ability to step up and reach over the edge of the bed for stuff. At 6'2" I don't necessarily need it, but it can be handy. Those more vertically challenged would profit even more.

 

Thanks for the additional info! I still haven't decided yet. But while we are all talking about the subject, I have another quick question.

To those of you who have the OEM bars - will the OEM splash guards install with the bars mounted? Some of the step bars are too long to get splash guards onto the front fenders. That's one of the things I want to do. I installed those guards on my 2001 when I bought it brand new and the bottom of the truck still looks dang good. If they won't fit with the OEM step bars, then I can just cross them off my list and forget about it.