Newbie with running board question

[brianr8011]

Greetings all.

I just purchased my first 4Runner (a black SR5 with tan leather) on Saturday (July 9th) and have been actively searching through these forums and online part stores ever since. I have to say that I haven't been this excited about a new car in a long time.

Keeping in mind that this is my first 4Runner, I have a question about purchasing aftermarket running boards or nerf bars.

I keep seeing that the ones available for the SR5 and Limited say that they will not fit with mud flaps. Since Mud flaps is one of the next upgrades I plan on, is there a way around this? Since the Trail edition comes with mud flaps, can I buy boards/bars for the TE and put them on my SR5 (are the mounting brackets/ mounting locations the same)?

Any while I'm at it, please vote in my poll as to which you think looks better- Running Boards or Nerf Bars.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Brian

 

[4-Ripcord]

You forgot sliders.

But for your poll, i choose nerf bars. More specifically N-fab nerf bars.

After that would be nothing. Rnnings boards are the last thing I would do.

 

[WIT4R]

Congrats on the new ride.

With regards to factory running boards and factory mud flaps, that info can be found here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/80684-2010-11-factory-mud-flaps.html

To save you some time, you CAN use the factory mud flaps with the factory running boards.

For some reason the dealers have info in their system that you cannot use the front mud flaps with the running boards. But you can, just slack the mounting nuts and slide the running board back.

There are pics in that post showing the finished product.

Good luck

 

[scottybinwv]

I bought some Toyota running boards from a dealer on ebay, my wife is the one who needs them.

From experience on my Chevy Tahoe, lifted 6.5" with 35"s, the running boards keep a lot of road crap off the sides of the vehicle, especially in winter. I do a lot of skiing. Another plus is if you use roof racks, ie Yakima/Thule, for items like kayaks, you appreciate being able to step on on the boards for loading and unloading.

 

[brianr8011]

Thanks for the responses.

Does anyone have any experience installing nerf bars with mud flaps?

I've looked through the link WIT4R provided and see that the OEM running boards can be adjusted from front to back, can any aftermarket boards or nerf bars do the same?

 

[Skrimz]

congrads on the new ride. I would say go with the running boards. I am not a fan at all of Nerf bars. running boards or sliders I think is the way to go.

 

[Ramzey28]

You forgot sliders.

But for your poll, i choose nerf bars. More specifically N-fab nerf bars.

After that would be nothing. Rnnings boards are the last thing I would do.

+1 :guitar3:

 

[Keemonrunnin]

This is what i did. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attac...-up-running-boards-trail-edition-dscn0533.jpg
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attac...-up-running-boards-trail-edition-dscn0534.jpg

 

[96743runner]

I think that sliders would look best.

With that said, I'd choose Nerf Bars over running boards any day IMHO.

 

[brianr8011]

Everyone, thanks for the feedback. I'll have to admit that I didn't know what sliders were when I opened this thread and created the poll. This is really the first truck or SUV I've had that I will do anything to and was only familiar with the two options I listed.

I've had a Nissan Xterra that came with nerf bars; a Honda Ridgeline that I always planed on putting bars on but never got around to it; a Chevy Traverse which is obviously low enough to not need any steps; and now this Beast.

I have a two wheel drive 4R and don't plan on ever taking it off road. My wife is the one who "needs" the steps, so I showed her a bunch of pictures from the picture thread of all the possibilities. She said she liked the running boards better, so I ordered the OEM one from trdparts4u.com. I could go either way; in all honesty, I probably would prefer nerf bars, but in theory "happy wife, happy life". Worst case scenario- the running boards will be for sale on here in the future because I will have ordered nerf bars to replace them with.

:thanks:
Brian

 

[chetJ]

BRIAN- I like how the Dee Zee running boards look on my Limited. Plus they fit with the mudflaps on. Check out my thread on the running boards that I installed (once again they went on with mudflaps-no issues)!

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/87565-running-board-question-finally-solved.html

 

[fasterdammit]

If by 'nerf bars' you mean rock rails/sliders, then that's my vote because that's the route I'm going. But at the moment, I don't have anything on my '00, and I like the clean look without 'em together ...

 

[brianr8011]

BRIAN- I like how the Dee Zee running boards look on my Limited. Plus they fit with the mudflaps on. Check out my thread on the running boards that I installed (once again they went on with mudflaps-no issues)!

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/87565-running-board-question-finally-solved.html

Chet. Thanks for the link. If I don't like the oem ones or can't get them to fit correctly, I really like how yours look and will probably order them.... Or black steel craft nerf bars.

 

[chetJ]

You are welcome Brian. I actually had ordered the black SteelCraft nerf bars for my Limited. My subjective feeling when I looked at the nerf bars on the limited (had my buddy hold them in position under the truck) was that they did not look as 'refined' as the rest of the truck. That is when I decided to return them (lost $70 there -damn!) and ordered these.

 

[brianr8011]

Ok, I finally had time to install the running boards and mud flaps yesterday. I'm pretty happy with them so far.

One question I have is on the OEM Running Boards, should it have come with a rubber 'shield' (for lack of a better word) that hides the brackets? You can kind of see in the picture that there is a small gap between the truck and the steps where the brackets are visible. I looked at another Gen5 4R in the parking lot at work and their brackets are not visible.

I looked at the parts diagram on sparks, and I don't see anything other than the parts I got. It doesn't really bother me, I just want to make sure I got all the parts I paid for.

An issue that I ended up having though was that I evidently stripped one of the mounting holes (specifically, the bottom hole on the drivers side front-most bracket). This causes the running board to wobble if I put weight to far to the front. This isn't really an issue for me since I don't need them to get in, I really got them for my short lady. Is it possible to have the hole re-threaded though so that it is properly secured and I won't feel like I'm going to break it if I step on it?

Thanks,
Brian