What Are Side Steps? A Complete Guide to Running Boards, Nerf Bars, and More

Side Step Benefits

While most factory-height pickups, Jeeps®, and SUVs feature a low enough ride height to negate the need for side steps, let's be honest—who leaves their ride stock? 

Even subtle mods like leveling kits and oversized tires can add up to five inches of front ride height and three in the rear. While this discrepancy may not seem substantial, you’ll undoubtedly notice the difference when climbing into your freshly upgraded ride for the first time.

Side steps help to counteract tall ride heights by lowering the entry point into your vehicle’s cab, reducing bodily strain on you and your passengers. Rather than stretching a leg up to your vehicle’s door sill, side steps lower this access point by anywhere from a few inches to an entire foot. Side steps also typically feature wide, non-slip tread, ensuring maximum traction in all weather conditions, even rain and snow. 

Aside from easing entry into your vehicle’s cab, side steps offer striking aesthetics. These accessories come in several eye-catching styles and finishes, including a stealthy powder coat and lustrous chrome. 

Regarding protection, side steps guard your ride’s painted rocker panels against impacts and abrasions. This sheet metal is highly prone to rust from kicked-up rocks or trail obstacles chipping and gouging away protective paint. 

Rather than subjecting your vehicle to unnecessary corrosion, especially if you reside in the salty Northern states, consider installing side steps to absorb rust-inducing impacts and abrasions. Side steps also offer interior protection, allowing you and your passengers to climb into seats rather than exacerbate wear by sliding across them.

Side Step Configurations

Now that you’re familiar with side steps’ numerous benefits, let’s move on to lesson two: side step configurations. This section reviews styles, mounting methods, lengths, and more, highlighting unique characteristics, pros, and cons (if any).

Design: Fixed-Position vs. Retractable (Electric)

Side steps come in two different designs: fixed and retractable.

Fixed-Position

Most side steps feature a fixed mounting location and consist of solid steel brackets and alloy steps. These steps are typically engineered for pleasant aesthetics as much as they are for accessibility, featuring lustrous chrome, polished, or stealthy black finishes. In other words, they’re meant to be seen. 

Retractable (Electric)

On the other hand, power-retractable side steps hide away when not in use, deploying from below the rockers with the doors open and retracting behind the rockers with the doors closed. Power-retractable steps are ideal for those who enjoy the practicality of side steps but dislike their appearance and negative impacts on ground clearance.

Fitment: Cab-Length vs. Wheel-to-Wheel

Side steps come in two popular fitments: cab-length and wheel-to-wheel.

Cab-Length

Cab-length side steps are arguably the more popular of the two fitments, often installed from the factory on higher trim-level pickups. These steps stretch the entire length of the cab, from behind the front tire to the start of the bed. Cab-length steps offer maximum accessibility, allowing easy access from any position. Most feature full-length step pads or a tubular construction with ABS plastic step pads at each door, providing a solid foothold for yourself and all passengers.

Wheel-to-Wheel

Wheel-to-wheel side steps are typically limited to pickups, seeing as most SUVs and Jeeps' cabs stretch from wheel to wheel regardless. On trucks, wheel-to-wheel side steps stretch from behind the front tire to just before the rear tire, including the bedsides. Most wheel-to-wheel steps feature step pads at each door and bedside, easing entry into the cab and bed.

These side steps are ideal for trades workers and those who regularly load and unload their pickup’s beds. They allow easy access to cargo near the bulkhead without climbing in.

Mounting Configuration: Frame-Mount vs. Rocker-Mount

Truck side steps come in two distinct mounting configurations: frame-mount and rocker-mount. Let’s get into the key differences and benefits of each style.

Frame-Mount

As the name suggests, frame-mount steps affix directly to your pickup’s heavy-duty steel frame. Not only does this make for a sturdy installation, but it significantly enhances impact and abrasion resistance. Frame-mount steps can take far more abuse than their rocker-mount counterparts, making them ideal for pickups regularly subjected to dirt roads and tricky off-road trails. In other words, if you frequently bounce your pickup’s rocker panels over hills, boulders, and other obstacles, consider the added strength and durability of frame-mounted steps.

This style does include a downside, however. Frame-mount steps often require labor-intensive installation procedures, including trimming, drilling, and welding. However, once installed, you’ll see nothing but benefits.

Rocker-Mount

Alternatively, we also offer traditional rocker-mount side steps, which, as you may imagine, mount to your pickup’s rocker panels. While sturdy enough for daily use, rocker-mount steps aren’t nearly as durable as frame-mount options. Rather than bolting or welding to thick C-channel/boxed steel, rocker mount steps utilize pre-drilled/threaded holes in your pickup’s sheet-metal rockers.  

Though rocker-mount steps hold up well to street use, any harsh impacts or abrasions on the trail can bend and distort your pickup’s rocker panels, causing extensive damage to the cab. In other words, if your pickup rarely sees terrain that is more aggressive than highway expansion joints, rocker-mounts steps should serve it just fine.

Side Step Styles

Side steps come in several shapes and sizes, ranging from full-length running boards to small, single-hoop steps. Let’s review our most popular side-step styles to determine which best suits your pickup.

Running Boards

Running boards focus on accessibility and style, namely OE-inspired styling. These wide, flat steps offer a massive, non-slip, board-length step tread that significantly eases entry into your vehicle’s cab. These steps also offer excellent rocker protection against mild impacts and abrasions from stones and road debris but don’t hit the Rubicon anticipating rock-slider-levels of protection.

Nerf Bars

Nerf bars feature a classic tubular design that runs either the length of the cab or from wheel to wheel. Most feature oval or round tube construction and include molded or composite step pads for exceptional grip, regardless of weather conditions.

Hoop Steps

Hoop steps offer rugged, off-road-inspired aesthetics via a main tube tucked tightly against the rocker panel and strategically placed drop steps at each door. These steps feature a high-clearance design that perfectly complements off-road builds. Though nerf bars and hoop steps are commonly mistaken for one another, we differentiate the two styles by whether or not they feature integrated drop steps.

Truck Steps

Truck steps are similar to hoop steps, though without the main tube running the length of the cab. Instead of mounting to a structural tube, truck steps mount directly to your vehicle’s rocker panels for a sleek, minimalist design.

Sliders

Just as running boards emphasize accessibility, sliders emphasize protection. These durable steps mount tightly against your vehicle’s rocker panels, guarding the delicate sheet metal against impacts and abrasions on the trail. Sliders typically feature a main tube tucked tightly against the rocker panel and two supporting tubes mounted outboard and below for added protection.

Bed Steps

Bed steps offer easy access to cargo in your pickup’s bed. These steps come in retractable and fixed-position designs. Depending on the model, they mount to the front bedside or beside the rear bumper.

Side Step Materials

Nearly every pair of side steps feature a metallic construction, ensuring a solid and reliable product that, in most cases, withstands upwards of 300–400 pounds. While most manufacturers supply carbon steel brackets, the physical steps employ one of three popular base materials.

Carbon Steel

Carbon steel is a popular choice for manufacturing side steps due to its immense strength and cost-effectiveness—however, these benefits come at a price. Carbon steel, while strong, is highly corrosion-prone, especially in extreme weather conditions. For this reason, steel requires durable corrosion-resistant coatings, like chrome, powder coat, E-Coat, or heavy-duty epoxy paint. Without a durable coating, carbon steel steps rapidly rust. 

Additionally, carbon steel is heavy. If the overall weight is a concern, you may want to consider a lighter option.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel, like your refrigerator and dishwasher, is another popular nerf bar and running board material, offering the strength of carbon steel without its propensity to rust. Stainless steel features a high chromium (chrome) content, which limits oxidation. Due to the alloy's corrosion-resistant properties, it’s often left in a raw polished or brushed finish—however, painted or powder-coated stainless steel side steps are available. 

While sturdy and corrosion-resistant, stainless steel is heavier than even carbon steel. It also has a lower strength–weight ratio than aluminum or carbon steel—but it’s still plenty durable for truck steps.

Aluminum

Finally, we have aluminum, a popular alloy known for its impressive strength-to-weight ratio. While aluminum side steps may require a thicker gauge material to match the strength of steel or stainless steel, the final product is only approximately half the weight. 

This alloy is also relatively corrosion-resistant, considering it doesn’t rust like steel and iron. While surface oxidation is common, aluminum is still corrosion-resistant enough for manufacturers to leave it in a raw-polished or brushed finish. Alternatively, aluminum running boards are often clear-coated or painted to reduce maintenance.

Side Step Finishes

Next, we have finishes, which determine the step's appearance and overall corrosion resistance, aside from those utilizing corrosion-resistant base metals like stainless steel. Finishes are the specific coatings, platings, or treatments atop the base metal, including:

Powder Coated

Powder coating is a highly durable finish often used in commercial applications, auto parts, and heavy machinery. This process involves applying an electrically charged polymer pigment powder to an alloy product and then curing it using UV exposure or high heat, typically the latter. The resulting finish is highly durable, withstanding chips, abrasions, oil, chemicals, and UV exposure for a long-lasting appearance.

Painted

This finish is similar to any other painted component on your vehicle. The process involves applying a liquid, solvent, or water-based paint to the side steps before shipping. While this produces a uniform appearance, it isn’t nearly as durable as powder coating. For this reason, we wouldn’t recommend traditional painted carbon steel steps for vehicles that regularly encounter salted roads.

Polished

Polished side steps refer to aluminum or stainless steel products that are sanded smooth and polished to a lustrous, mirror-like finish. While most polished stainless steel steps ship without a top coating, polished aluminum steps often receive a clear coating to prevent oxidation and fogging.

Chrome Plated

While chrome plating is often mistaken for polished aluminum or stainless steel, the two finishes couldn't be more different. Chrome-plating involves electroplating another alloy with a thin layer of chromium, or chrome. This thin plating produces a smooth, high-shine finish that doubles as corrosion protection, keeping the underlying steel from rusting. While not as corrosion-resistant as stainless steel, chrome-plated steel offers outstanding protection suited for all conditions.

Side Step Considerations | Which Product is Right for You?

Now that we’ve covered side-step benefits and variations, it’s time to discuss considerations. When shopping for side steps for your ride, select a product that suits your needs and preferences, ensuring the proper blend of protection, accessibility, and rugged styling. In this section, we’re covering the primary factors you should consider when purchasing.

Consider Your Vehicle’s Use

When considering side steps, factor in your vehicle’s primary use. Is it a daily-driven family rig, work truck, or avid off-roader? Depending on your answer, we’d recommend different step styles. For instance, avid off-roaders will benefit from the durable protection of sliders, whereas work rigs will benefit from wheel-to-wheel nerf bars or running boards for improved bed access.

Consider Your Climate

Climate directly reflects the choice of material and finish, considering that specific alloys are better suited for specific climates due to natural corrosion resistance. For instance, carbon steel may be durable, though it’s prone to rust and corrosion unless properly treated. As a result, we’d recommend this alloy for mild, dry climates.

 Alternatively, aluminum and stainless steel won’t oxidize nearly as quickly as steel, and any oxidation that does form is exclusively surface-level. For this reason, we’ll always recommend stainless steel or aluminum in wet, snowy climates, especially in areas that treat icy roads with corrosive salt.

Consider Your Preferred Styling

Which of the various step styles outlined above, including Running Boards, Nerf Bars, Hoop Steps, Truck Steps, and Sliders, offers your favorite aesthetics? Side steps are just as much aesthetic as they are functional, and depending on your preferred aesthetics—whether subtle or stand-out—you’ll likely prefer one style and finish over the other. 

For example, we’d recommend retractable running boards, like the AMP Research PowerStep™, for those preferring a subtle, minimalist appearance. Alternatively, a polished nerf bar, like the Go Rhino® 4000 Series, offers striking aesthetics designed to stand out.

Consider the Product’s Installation Difficulty

If you’re a DIY enthusiast, you’ll need to consider the product’s installation difficulty. While most side steps feature simple bolt-on installations, others require more intensive installation procedures, including wiring, drilling, and other modifications. When browsing side steps, scroll down to the ‘Installation’ section for an overview of the product’s installation difficulty.

Consider Your Budget

Lastly, consider your budget. While some live by the old “Buy once, cry once” adage, most survive on a particular budget. Fortunately, we offer quality side steps at all price points, ranging from just over $100 to well over $1,000.

Side Step FAQs

Q: What are the differences between nerf bars and running boards? 

A: Nerf bars and running boards are two different side-step styles. While often used interchangeably, we differentiate between the two based on design traits. For example, running boards are traditionally wide and flat with step-length tread, whereas nerf bars feature tubular designs with step pads only where necessary, like below each door. 

Q: What are the differences between cab-length and wheel-to-wheel side steps? 

A: Cab-length side steps extend only the length of the cab, whereas wheel-to-wheel steps extend the cab’s length and the front section of the bed before the rear tire. 

Q: Which side steps does RealTruck recommend? 

A: While we stand by all products on our site, we've published several buyer’s guides on RealSource, including our overall top recommendations and top vehicle-specific products, like the Jeep Gladiator, Ford Bronco, and more.