New Predator Side Steps Rusting

I bought my Taco last November and installed the predator side steps in December. Just washed my truck today and noticed small rusts spots all over the step tubes. Anyone else seen anything like this before?

 

Are these OEM Predator Steps or steel nfabs or something like that?

 

I bought my steps used almost a year ago and haven't had any problems. I actually got the Predator steps because the Go Rhino steps that came on the truck were rusting.

How bad is the rust? Got any pics?

Edit: Just remembered these are aluminum. So there shouldn't be any rust...

 

Factory predator steps shouldn’t be rusting. They’re aluminum.

 

They are OEM. It kind of looks like the rail dust you’d see on vehicles that get shipped via train. I’ll try to get some pictures a little later.

 

Rail is not just from shipping on trains. Also happens from debris on the roads.

 

Yep, i recently removed mine, they had some surface rust in places that the cosmoline i sprayed on the underneath and sides had rubbed off. Imo, truck looks better without them anyways. I may put them back on in the future. Right now thinking about powder coating them.

 

Mine are definitely steel. Told the dealer i wanted predator bars....now i wonder if they installed aftermarkets.

 

OEM Predator steps are definitely aluminum. They hardly weigh anything when you remove them. If yours are steel then you were sold something else.

 

Take a magnet to them.

 

I found something on my invoice that might be them says magnum rt side step bars $400...guessing thats them.

 

I would buy some rail dust remover, let it do it's thing, wash the steps, call it a day.

 

Yeah they are something like $700ish MSRP.

 

I used to to have steel step bars on my truck and started to rust at the welds only a month in. Got rid of them for aluminum ones.

 

I guess i wasn't clear enough to the salesman that i wanted the exact predator bars or he didn't understand taking them as a general set they carry. At any rate now i know they are not the real thing. Probably explains why they ice up with slush and snow in the winter making them not much fun to stop on.

 

As someone with real Predators, I don't think you're missing much in this regard lol.

 

X2..mine are aluminum.

 

Predators are aluminum. I loved mine until I went off-road.