Has anyone fabricated their own nerf bars?

I am looking at the N-fab bars and may just buy them. However, I work in a welding/manufacturing shop with access to lazer cut parts and plenty of scrap steel. Has anyone fabricated their own nerf bars with steps? Looking for some ideas particularly with square tubing.

Something like the ICI Magnum RT is what I'm shooting for.

 

Lots of people roll their own but it's mostly sliders. If you do some searching using that word I'm sure you'll find lots of threads on how people go about that. I haven't seen too many make their own steps though as there are some pretty affordable options out there. I'm personally looking into combing a couple of them myself. There's a nice low-profile step that claims to be capable of being used as a slider as well but it bolts to the same point that step bars do rather than the frame. I'd like to modify it to bolt to the frame if possible because I like the look of the step/slide portion. Anyway, you're best doing some searching and then deciding if it's something you will want to tackle since you'll be mostly on your own so it's not a task for those who aren't good at building things.

 

What brand are the ones that you're looking at?

I just need some inspiration. Being a design engineer I have access to all the tools I would need to make it happen.

 

I'm really digging on the look/style of the Body Armor Steel RockStep Side Rail. I've seen a member or two talk about making them bolt or weld directly to the frame but I haven't seen any finished results yet.

 

If you've got access to materials and a fabricator i'd go that route. Really not difficult to make some sweet looking steps. If you want to use steel i'd go 1.5" .065 wall square tubing. Light weight plenty strong, or if you wanted lighter 1.5" x .125 wall aluminum square tube would do the trick.

Or if just buying a bolt on kit is the cheaper route do that. Nfab makes some good stuff.

 

Those RockSteps are pretty awesome. They dont make them for an AC though. Wonder if I can get ahold of their specs to build my own.

 

They don't make them to bolt right up to the AC but it's going to be the same length as a double cab so all you need to do is drill two holes at the rear since the 3rd bolt location is between the 2nd one and where the 3rd one is on the DC if that makes sense. A simple mount up with the first two locations and then bolting the bracket to the 3rd, marking the two holes on the step thingy and then drilling/tapping would be the solution. If one wanted to weld them directly to the frame this would be a non-issue anyway.

 

Wouldn't the rear step be slightly out of place in that case? Probably way towards the back of the AC door. Not that it really matters too much.

 

Not really, no. The floor area is just behind the front seats in either location.

 

Waiting for someone to pipe in with pictures saying theyve done it.......

 

Done what? Put double cab steps on an access cab?

 

Yes.

 

If you mean those steps specifically you won't find much. They're kind of an anomaly since they don't bolt to the frame so they can't be used as sliders and are from a company that has a bad rep here and other Tacoma communities because of other products. There's just not a whole lot out there on them in any fashion let alone people modifying them or using them for applications other than intended.

If you mean DC steps on an AC my truck is an AC and I'm running N-Fab steps made for a double cab. At least that's what I thought they were for when I was searching for some. I read that they were all the same basically save for the DCLB wheel to wheel ones because those were too long for the AC or DCSB. Now I'm reading that these steps I posted about have different hole locations so I'm confused. From what I've gathered, they're the same overall length as something that would be made for the AC it's just that that 3rd bolt location doesn't line up. Easy fix if you wish to use the included brackets to mount. If you planned to mount to the frame via custom welding & supports the only thing that really matters is the length of the whole unit and there's no reason it shouldn't fit since my DCSB N-Fabs fit my AC just fine.

Does that all make sense?

 

So your DCSB steps didn't require any modifications to fit your AC? Did you buy them used or do you have the p/n to confirm that?

 

No, none. I bought them used and they were on a DC Tacoma. I wasn't even aware there was different mount locations until I started researching why those steps I linked above were only made for the DCSB. I assumed they would mount to the AC just like my N-Fabs but I finally discovered that the rear most location is further back on the DCSB. It seems to me that they could easily market this step to both the DC and AC by drilling/tapping two more holes on each step further forward where the AC mounts are and then just rubber/plastic plug them and have the end-user remove the plugs clearly labeled for DCSB or AC.