After weeks of searching and help from TS postings (thanks, 96T100) I finally bought some wheel-to-wheel step bars for my DCab Longbed made by N-Fab out of Houston. I am more than delighted with them and have never had a set of bars install on a pickup so quick and easy. First, a pic of the end result, followed by step by step description of the install with photos:
After finding that N-Fab had tubes for all the new Tundra Models I contacted Missy at N-Fab and she knew exactly what I needed and assured me they would fit fine on my longbed. She gave me a 5% discount and truck freighted them to my door (one day service with her freight forwarder). They were very well packaged with a hardware kit and the tubes wrapped in bubble wrap. Here's the N-Fab url showing same bars in silver:
N-Fab: Manufacturers of Nerfsteps, Prerunners, Harley Bars & Truck Accessories
There is no set-up or assembly required as these tubes are ready to mount. Here's my shop set-up view:
Toyota has pre-installed running board mount bolt locations under the vehicle and this is a real time saver. There are four brackets per side on the new tubes and they match the Toyota mount points exactly. The first step is to remove the Toyota OEM bolts from the original locations. These are to be replaced with the new hardware shipped with the the tubes. Here is a photo of the original bolts in the factory location before removal, photo taken looking up at underside of rocker panel:
Here is a photo of the two bolts. Original Toyota on the left side, new N-Fab on the right side:
So it was simply a matter of lifting the tubes into place and installing the new bolts through the side step brackets (I knew those Harbor Freight ATV lifts would come in handy sooner or later):
Then the bolts were installed through the step brackets into the factory mount holes. I used a dab of blue Locktite (chapstick container version) on each bolt for peace of mind. Here is the "standard" brackets mounted into factory holes, 3 brackets per side:
Here is a front bracket, one per side:
And that's really about it. The whole wheel-to-wheel side step is a one-piece welded assembly with no adjustments or the dreaded bracket beef-up effectively required on other mass-produced step tubes like Westins.
The steps have a fantastic finish and they can come in stock black color, aluminum satin powdercoat, or may be made in any color to match your vehicle (about a $95 upcharge). I like black and wanted them so went with stock color. The steps are solid feeling with no flexure and I can now get into the bed behind the cab and can reach the bottom of the bed to pick things up. Makes me consider a toolbox, but I've already installed Geneva side truck drawers in preparation for a solid bed cover.
The cost was around $502 for the steps and $75 truck freight. While more expensive than other tubes I've bought in the past the quality and beefy mounts have to be seen to be appreciated.
Here is another shot of the final result near one of our pecan orchards:
