Advice on how to screw ... :)

No, no, no...do not use lag bolts! They're a coarse threaded tapering bolt designed to screw into wood. You'll need the correct thread. The first question is have for you is this..Have you tried to screw the bolt in without going through the hole in the step bar bracket? If not, I'd recommend taking one of the bolts that came with your step bars and use it as a kind of tap to clean out the threads. Use some kind of spray lubricant to assist you. Sometimes the holes in the step bars and the threaded hole in the floor of your truck don't line up perfectly, so you might have to use s rat-tailed file to enlarge the holes in the step bars.

Also, Dave, these things bolt onto the floor of the truck, not the frames.

 

Bkill ... Ah ... thank you for the warning ! I will try your approach first. I am fairly certain the bolts are correct -- the running boards.com folks kind of confirmed it. I'll try your approach and if that doesn't work perhaps have a mechanic look at it ... sometimes it is best to consult a true pro -- although I didn't anticipate this would be such a annoying / irritating one hour project.

 

Spray little " liquid wrench " in the receiving nuts in the frame....
Then as others suggested place each screw in the nut without the step bar....
On the first try.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I thought they were going into the frame. I guess I'm confused on what a lag-bolt is, I just meant something that would allow you to pass through the step and into the mount. Thanks for clearing that up man!

 

I would try clearing out the bolt hole threads. They probably have 10 years of corrosion blocking the bolts from threading in.

Don't use grease, get some anti-sieze. It will work much better in helping the bolt thread in. I like to use the copper based stuff as you can also use it for weak electrical connections.

 

You have a good looking truck. I don't have a enough in mine to have a build thread.

That was good advice to try the bolts without the sliders. That should tell you one way or the other if you have the right size bolts. They should thread fairly easily with your fingers (at least the first few turns) if you had the plastic bolts in there prior to installing these.

On the bright side, as far as the threads go, even if those got jacked up, you could always get sliders.

 

Fitz235 ... thanks ... (and thanks to everyone ... I will be back at it in the morning) ... the truck was a crazy purchase. We normally do simple car camping and I decided I wanted to do some truck camping a little more off the beaten path (mostly northeastern Canada). So I started researching and found the truck -- a 2005 with only 39,000+ miles on it. Just had the new frame under warranty and the dealer lifted the truck and put these monster tires on it. Truth is it is a bit much for my needs but I am warming to them. I was only going to do a few modifications and the step bars were the first. And I am stuck. Not much more to do but read through the posts here and see if there are any other modifications I need to make. Next up -- install truck rack and then get a roof top tent.

 

@03f5sp Got it. Will do. Thank you !

 

Don't know what the terrain is like where you go camping, but if it's more than just fire roads, you may want to think about selling the steps, and just getting some sliders. Steps in any type of offroad environment can act as a damage multiplier, sliders will actually protect the bottom side of the truck. They're made to support the weight of the truck, while protecting the under side, and sides Especially the ones with kickouts.

Mine never leaves the road. If I did use it offroad, I would have a set.

 

Fitz235 ... I think you might be right. I was hoping to avoid real sliders to save a few bucks. We go off road but when I say off road that most we encounter is a really bumpy dirt road -- we are not climbing over boulders or crossing streams and that type of stuff. I thought about it a lot and realistically we are more about getting to a remote campsite but still in a park or someplace where the roads are at least dirt.

 

They're gone be at the Holiday Inn Express...

 

For the folks who helped me think through how to solve this problem I wanted to offer an update. There was some really good advice here and it definitely helped. Call me old fashioned but I think when someone offers you advice you owe it to them and the community to provide a wrap up.

First, great advice and great help. What a community of nice folks trying to help people solve problems and reach their goals. Thank you.

So what I did was this:

> I confirmed the size of the bolts that go into the Tacoma body (not the frame) for the step rails. I searched online and here and there were a number of folks who were given free step boards with no bolts so that info was readily available. So I confirmed the size of the bolts.

> Went to the auto parts store and used the bolt selector to determine that the bolts that came with the Ionic step bars were in fact the right size. The good news is that they were -- so the bolts were a match.

> I then bought a wire brush and really cleaned out the holes after removing the plastic screw type plugs. I made the mistake of thinking that since the screw plugs were in those holes there wasn't any rust or debris in there. Boy was I wrong! After a while of cleaning the holes were in good shape.

> Then based on excellent feedback here I put some anti-seize lubricant in the holes -- a fair amount. That really did the trick.

> I slowly inserted the bolts and got them to thread -- some went in easy and some went in tight but they went in.

> One thing I did learn is that the part of the truck you screw into is not a flat surface. You have to angle each bolt to match the contour of the truck bed. That also helped a lot.

> Everything else went in perfect and the steps were on in about 20 minutes.

A few final thoughts and comments for folks here or any other amateur / newbie dealing with this stuff:

1) The Ionic step bars are okay. The price is $123 for the pair. The quality is fine but they are not heavy and don't feel substantial. I think they will serve my purpose as a step in. If we decide to upgrade to more rugged or substantial sliders I will definitely come here for advice.

2) Pretty easy one person job -- as these are not that heavy.

3) Small victory! Folks here could probably do this in their sleep but for us newbies there was definitely a sense of accomplishment.

4) I look forward to more projects -- some within my skill set and some that expand it.

Pictures to follow.

Thanks everyone who gave freely their insight and advice.

 

As promised. Here are pics.

 

Looks great averagejp!

 

Nice. Glad you got it going.

I would have thought the same thing about the plastic bolts. Regardless of age, I would have thought as long as something was threaded into it, rust couldn't set in with the threads.