Suggestions for economical running boards for my LR3

[johnsoax]

They don't show the mounting brackets...

I'll see where they need to be beefed up when they get here early next week.

 

[paula]

I have been thinking of buying this - I thought the hooks look similar to the Genuine, no?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-11-Lan...iter_Display:4.4L&hash=item27fb7016fe&vxp=mtr

I asked the local body shop and he wants to charge me $180 for the install. Sounds too much, no?

 

[tlt]

Those things aren't worth a crap if you ever plan on going off road. Go with the sliders with rails personally, you can't go wrong with them.

This is something a bit in between, but won't be broken easily. Yes it is more money.. but you will only have to buy once.

http://www.lucky8llc.com/Products.aspx?ProductID=7535#prettyPhoto

 

[umbertob]

Check with local dealers to see if any 2015 LR4 buyers had them removed. Every 2015 LR4 comes with them as the factory is trying to get rid if them before the new Discovery comes out. You can probably get a good deal on a set of "take off" running bards.

Turns out the running boards of 2015/16 LR4s are quite a bit more "built" that the OEM dealer installed accessories of previous model years, they aren't just for show and step-up convenience, so I somewhat believe Land Rover's claim that they were installed to offer additional side impacts protection, as they include aluminum crumple zones, chunky stainless steel frames and brackets, and they weigh substantially more than the "vanity" running boards of years past. Don't think they could be retrofitted to earlier model years, and Land Rover dealers have strict instructions not to remove them anyway for safety reasons and Federal regulations (although they can be removed if an owner wants to do so in the privacy of his/her garage.)

More info: www.landroverworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26669

 

[tlt]

That's useful info. The original side protection step tubes I bought were absolute crap, tin can thin, same as the brush bar. What's hilarious is I say one listed on CL the other day advertised as a "bull bar" -- I went through two of them before I finally pulled off the last one and left it at lucky8 for scrap...

 

[johnsoax]

I got my ebay nerf tubes yesterday.

The tubes are a nice strength for steps and the brackets are very stout. The front brackets use one of the body mounting bolts that are on the truck now, but the bolts that it comes with are a bit smaller than I would like..

I got the driver's side installed..... after I broke one of the bolts.. Sheared right off as I was tightening it..

I have an email into the seller now about more and/or stronger bolts..

I will also stop at the hardware store and see if I can get something a little beefier to use on my way home...

I think they look nice, and they do what I want, which is to help my wife and kids get into the vehicle.. I don't do heavy off roading, so I'm not counting on these to be rock sliders, just steps. They take away about 1.5-2" of clearance at the sides...

If we like them and use them maybe I can justify the 10x cost difference to go to the TerraFirma sliders in the future.

 

[johnsoax]

Here is one of the bolts that I broke...

Looking for alternatives tonight..

If I can't find anything, they will be sending me a few more.

 

[paula]

All right - I jumped the gun as well and got mine off eBay and had them shipped to the independent mechanic who does all my bimmer work as well: http://www.ebay.com/itm/171722151678

I asked the seller about longer / additional bolts and he said that he is unable to supply anything else as he is just a reseller.

I will keep you guys posted. The estimate for putting them on has been $200 from pretty much every shop I have asked at. Sounds very high IMHO

 

[johnsoax]

That sounds incredibly expensive. The one side I put on took less than 20 minutes with me laying on the ground.

 

[johnsoax]

I was able to pick up some bolts.. I was able to make them pretty snug, but not super tight.. Hopefully in the future I will get to snug them up a bit.

I used 3/8" bolts, and used a straw and a piece of yarn to thread them through holes in the frame to get to the right holes…

The passenger side is put on with three of my bolts, and the existing body bolt. I switched one of the front bolts on the driver side with one of my bolts, and was able to snug up the 2 bolts that were supplied with the kit a bit more without them breaking. Will try to snug everything up again in a few days.

I am able to bounce on both nerf bars without them flexing too much. I weight 160 lbs, for comparison.