OEM Side Steps - Rust

[TheWidup]

First true winter of having the '13 LR4. It came with the OEM steps (which I like regardless of what others think or feel) and I'm noticing a lot of rust lines appearing on the garage floor. I'm also seeing hints of rust near the plastic step edges. Is this normal or a cause for concern?

 

[cperez]

Is this normal or a cause for concern?

The fact that it's a Land Rover means that the answer to both questions is most likely "Yes."

 

[TheWidup]

Haha! Guess I should phrase the question differently. Is it worth the time to pull them off and try to remediate this or should I simply start planning on the death of these boards and investigate some Rhino Steps/Sliders or something? The steps are a requirement as the family likes them too much to give them up.

 

[avslash]

Krylon?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

That is what I do to my sliders when the rust pops up.

Could be non plated brackets on the underside that are rusting?

 

[Quijote]

I bought voyager steps and they rusted to a truly comical degree within 2-3 years. I got rid of them. Problem was, it started to affect my frame even under painted areas. So I taped and sanded it all away and primed it with an Easton 2-part epoxy primer (serious stuff) and then coated it with undercarriage coating and put the plastic covers back on. I'm happy the steps are gone.

 

[ktm525]

The steps on my 2010 (dealer option at the time but look identical to the latter ones) corroded badly to the point of having no structure. I pulled them in 2016 and tossed them. If you live in an area with road salt yours are probably terminal.

 

[TheWidup]

Yeah...stupid road salt...hate the stuff. It's been a rough winter on the roads up this area and salt has been generously applied constantly. I had the same thing with the steps on my F150 where they started rusting. I guess I'll just let them go and get some step/slider combo when these get to the point of being dangerous to use.