Syv's build thread

Ok, here's my attempt at a "build" thread - not so much a build (not planning on doing a lift or anything like that in the near future) but just a bunch of bolt-on stuff to start with. Friday afternoon I opted to get the side steps installed first - I bought the Body Armor 4x4 side steps. Since getting the truck, my wife and daughter have had problems getting in and out, so it was logical to do this first.
I had heard some folks have nightmarish experiences installing these, so I read as much information as I could (this site, reviews on Amazon and other places). After gathering as many recommendations as I could, I went ahead and did the install. Turned out to be pretty easy - I started at 4:45 PM and had both sides installed by 6:15. Only took one beer and that also included snapping photos along the way. So here goes.

BODY ARMOR 4x4 "ROCK STEP" INSTALL

Required tools - 13mm sockets, ratchets (I used a 3/8 drive to tighten the bolts securing the brackets to the truck and a 1/4 drive to tighten the bolts securing the brackets to the steps), an extension isn't necessary but makes the tightening a bit more comfortable, and a hammer.
The factory threaded holes on my truck had some rust - I had a couple of bolts that got REALLY tight really fast, so I put a little 3-in-1 oil on the threads of the screws that were difficult.
One thing I will say - the packaging wasn't exactly what I would call sufficient. These steps are HEAVY and they were packaged in a box with only one layer of bubble wrap around them. One of the corners of the box had some damage and one of the steps had some scrapes. It wasn't horrible, easy to touch up and was on the side that isn't visible anyway:

The first thing I did was inventory the hardware, I poured the bag of screws and washers into my magnetic tray and almost immediately was disappointed thinking I was short one washer. Turns out I was just clumsy:


Most of my research resulted in people recommending that you completely ignore the instructions, and I fully concur. The instructions are vague at best, basically they say "take them out of the box and put them on the truck". I noticed two different lengths of screws were included - I opted to use the shorter ones to secure the brackets to the steps and the longer ones to secure the brackets to the truck.


After getting the hardware sorted and ready, I went ahead and followed the advice of a lot of others who had performed this install - I went ahead and put the brackets on the steps first, I didn't torque the bolts down all the way, just tight enough so they didn't need much more to completely tighten them. I used a hammer to adjust the positioning under the truck. The brackets and steps come wrapped in different colored packaging - green and clear. The green had the driver side items and the clear had the passenger side. The brackets are also stamped with a "D" and a "P" :


I used my 5-gallon tool bucket to hold the rear up while I bolted up the front. My advice is to start at the front and work backwards - I tried to work from the back to the front on the passenger side and ended up having a hard time getting things to line up. Front to back went much more easily.

You can see how the 5-gallon bucket is just about the perfect height.
I should now recommend that you wear gloves. It didn't take long for this job to draw blood:

Tiny scratch but it bled like a stuffed pig for about 5 minutes.

Easily tapped each bracket with a hammer to line them up to the threaded holes in the truck. The front bracket will only have one screw securing the steps to the truck:
No matter - I jumped up and down on the steps after the install and they felt very secure. The bolts that secure the brackets to the steps are the challenging ones to tighten - but with them being mostly tight they only needed to be turned about another 3/4 to 1 full turn to get them completely torqued. I used a six point 13mm socket and a 1/4 ratchet to achieve this. Some reviewers said they couldn't get a tool on those bolts because they were too close together, but I didn't experience this. I have just standard Craftsman sockets - nothing fancy or thin-walled, so maybe this is an issue that has been corrected by the manufacturer - not sure. EDIT: After they were installed for a few days I went under the truck to re-torque all the bolts and found that I was unable to get my socket on a few of the bolts that secure the brackets to the steps. Not sure if it was the AZ heat, or just shifting around, but whatever the case, I can say that I also experienced the issue of bolts too close together. I guess I'll be shaving down a cheap 13mm socket.
I do see how awful this installation would be if you put the brackets on the truck first, though (that's one thing the instructions DO tell you to do - trust me, don't do it).


In the above photo, you can see the two bolts on the bottom - those are where the bracket is secured to the step itself. Not much room to work in there, so tighten them as much as possible before installing on the truck, leaving them just loose enough to adjust with a hammer.

Some folks used floor jacks to move the steps around to install, I opted to just go ahead and go hulk on it (well, as "hulk" as I can - I'm not exactly a bodybuilder). I was able to hold the steps up by hand while tightening the bolts up. Did everything by myself, so if I can do it, anyone can do it.

The finished product:


Body armor includes a little metal laser-cut decal for you to help advertise for them. I was satisfied with the steps and the ease of installation enough to go ahead and put one on my truck:


Notice how beat up my rear bumper is - I think I may very well give these guys more business and go with their rear bumper as well. I want to get something black and if it matches the steps perfectly that's just an added bonus.

So that's about it - good steps, good price ($275 on Amazon, after tax and free prime shipping just a touch over $300). Yeah, you can get cheaper steps or nerf bars, but the biggest thing I liked about these is that they cover up the spot-welded portion of the body like the factory steps do, but at a lower cost than a set of factory steps.
Some other observations - I don't believe these are sliders. They're very heavy duty (I believe 3/16" steel) but because they attach to the factory points on the truck, I fear you'd really mess up your rocker panels if you put the weight of the truck on them.
They are functional steps, but keep in mind that because they install higher than nerf bars, you get steps that are only about 3-4 inches lower than the bottom of the door opening. It's enough though - my wife and daughter can now easily get in and out.

Body Armor offers a set of plastic pads and LED lights for these steps, I opted not to get either. The plastic pads are just too much for what they are (in my opinion). I think I might try to make up some diamond-plate pads with some nonstick paint - not sure. As for the lighting, I think I'd like to try and drill/tap some holes and just install some amber running lights above each step. They can turn on with the parking lights and the interior dome lights and I'd just isolate each circuit using diodes. Not sure if/when I'll be doing this - just sorta thinking out loud.

Next in the build will be installation of some lights - I have a 30" LED bar and a few small square lights - trying to decide where to put all these, I'm leaning towards brackets for ditch lights at the rear of the hood. I'd also like a supplemental reverse light. I wanted to install the light bar where the lower grille is, but it looks to me like that grille is not removable - just part of the molded bumper, and I don't want to cut it up... Maybe some of you can recommend a good location.
Other things in the future will be CB and FRS radios, cab lights, a rear replacement bumper, and maybe a rear AAL (dealer currently has my TSB leafs on order - seems like a lot of folks get their trucks back sitting much lower in the rear after getting these, so AALs will probably be necessary). I also have to replace the front struts since the factory ones are leaking - I am going to just replace them with KYB gas-a-just replacements. Don't need a lift at this point.
More to come....

 

Truck looks good, nice install. What wheel and tire are you running?

 

Thanks! Lots to come, but unfortunately a lot of it will have to be done in this AZ heat.
MB Wheels - I believe it's called the "TKO" wheel. They work with TMPS, but require an adapter for fitment ($12 ea).
Tires are Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac LT265/75R16. A little noisy but not awful.
Wheels and tires came with the truck when purchased.

One thing I noticed is that even though the steps are considered to be done in a matte finish and the wheels are supposed to be done in a matte finish, it looks like the wheels are a tad bit "glossier" than the steps. Not a huge deal, but some folks might be put off by the difference.

 

After some further reading on this site, it seems the opinions on the Body Armor products are split almost 50-50. I guess I'm going to have to just be thankful that my experience with the steps wasn't awful, but I also now am a little gun-shy about going with their rear bumper. The problem is, flyboy.co2 isn't mass-producing his really sexy bumpers yet (see this post here), and the other ones that I find really attractive run twice the cost of the Body Armor bumper. I guess you can call me cheap...