"Koz" wrote in message
...
| Just got an F150 4wd extended cab that is a little higher than what I
| used to drive. I need to add some running boards/steps.
|
| The problem is the "wife to be" has rheumatoid arthritis which makes the
| climb a little difficult at times. Looking around at commercially
| available steps and running boards, it seems that you gain only about 4
| inches in reduced step height. This may be a little too high still on
| the "bad" days.
|
| Anyone know of a brand that hangs a tad bit lower than the others?
| Dropping a good 6 inches would be nice and would still be only slightly
| lower than the frame (I don't intend to need super high clearance for
| off road stuff)
|
| *metalworking content* I could fab my own but I'm not sure it's worth
| the hassle consdering the bolt-ons available (assuming I can find a
| slightly lower set). The other option is modifying a mount spacer to
| make an off the shelf unit sit a little lower. Anyone built their own
| or have any comments on the mount/system to lower the step up? I'd love
| to use a lineal actuator to make a lowering step but I think that's a
| project that would never get past the planning stage due to time. RV
| versions of this tend to be a little spendy and will probably be a bit
| of a hassle to mount.
|
| Koz

Something else to consider. Visit a local shop that sells crane and
rigging supplies. Get a few feet of 1" or so cable that's in decent shape.
The idea is to use the cable for the vertical part of the steps, and you can
make the actual steps out of whatever you like, but it has to clamp to the
cable rather than weld to it (bad.) Suspend it however you see fit, and
now you have fairly stiff steps that will handily bend out of the way and
"spring" back when you need them to. If you mount the top part of the cable
horizontally, the steps will point out some and be less likely to swing your
wife's shins into the door sill, depending on how stiff the cable is. The
shop might help you figure out what a good size or material would be. The
one I saw had the cable loop around and back up at the bottom step, which
reduced snagging possibilities from the rounded surface.
Personally, I never liked attaching anything to the body at the door
sill because of the possibility that whatever you hit will cause whatever
you attached to damage the body, but this idea tends to be a bit more
forgiving, although I'd still rather pick it up at the frame, but it is
farther away.