Can anyone ID these running boards? They are on my 96 F150. i don't know if they are Ford or aftermarket. No name on them anywhere. The bracket rusted through and I need to find a new one if possible. Thanks

 

they look like factory boards.

 

I'm unaware of any brackets available. Mine rotted out 10 years ago.

 

They are OEM and the OEM bracket was amiss pore design and is no longer available.

BUT I know of a guy who makes MUCH better replacement brackets for about $250. PM me if you are willing to spend thatch and I can put you in touch with him

 

Thanks Brad, but yes, that is more than I want to pay for them. I will probably just leave it off and hope to find one at a swap meet.

 

i can't see where it would be that hard to make a set of mounts yourself.

 

If you are anywhere near the rust belt, GOOD LUCK with that

 

For me it was much easier to work a couple hours of OT than it would of been to spend all day in the garage + metal to make then

 

That's the mentality that makes most sense for a part like this, IMO. Best to recognize what your time is really worth, and being realistic about how long a simple project will actually take to do well.

Are the supports you bought made of stainless?

 

That line of reasoning is BS most of the time. If you're salaried (and not paid on commission) there's no point in putting in 50hr when 40 will do the job. If you're hourly and often put in 42hr/week your boss probably doesn't like it too much. Unless business is so good that there's more work available than there are people to do it your boss would probably would rather assign the work to someone else if it keeps everyone below 40. Not ticking off your boss is probably more important than the difference in your pay rate and the extra money spent not doing it.


Assuming you have a job where you can put in more hours as desired and get more out paying a premium for something doesn't always make sense. If you spend an extra 2hr at work to get the money to buy some steps online you had better be sure that they mount exactly how you want and are finished exactly how you want. If you go to the junkyard, pull a set of steps, build your own mounting brackets and paint them you might be out 6hr but you've got exactly what you want in the end. I totally get that if you can make more money by working more then you can use that money to get more other stuff done or get it done faster/easier but very few people are in a situation where time spent working on personal projects is time that could have been spent earning money and even if it is it might not be the best option if you want things exactly done your way.


This is even more true when you pay other people to do stuff for you (as opposed to just buying something instead of making your own). You pay an exhaust stop to weld up a flanges and they do something like get a flange that's not a tight fit to the pipe and use a massive weld to fill the space or just put three big tacks around the outside if pipe was tight enough that the flange had to be pressed on with a hammer. Either way the final product works just fine but by doing it yourself you can eliminate sloppy craftsmanship like that. Go look at any sort of aftermarket equipment install on vehicles in the junkyard, plows, lift gates, brake controllers, toolboxes, van shelves, etc. On damn near every one of them there's one or two half assed bits that pretty much anyone would take the time to do right on their own vehicle (not painting the bare metal exposed after drilling a hole to run wires, tight bends on plow hydraulics, pretty much anything involving self tapping screws or scotch locks). You get what you pay for and after you've paid someone else's wage, overhead cost, parts markup and profit margin there's not much left to pay for what you actually get back.

 

for me a project like that is put off til winter when i have 3-4 months off, and it gives me something to do in the garage to get out of the house..

 

Not stainless but are CNC plasma cut 3/16" STEEL, not some thin PIPE like Original.
You would be hard pressed to make them yourself for less unless you have a CNC yourself


These will outlast the truck with no doubt
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Yep those look stout. No tube to hold grime & salt should make a big difference in longevity. Guys that want to build their own, more power to you.

It seems like the parts I've built with good steel that I've bolted to my truck's frame resist that characteristic rot of Ford parts like leaf spring hangers, or spring buckets. You guys think it's the flaky paint holding moisture to the parts or just cheap/low quality steel? I have a front recovery point (Canadian steel channel and good plate steel) I made in 05' that has a little surface rust, yet when my truck was only 8 years old it had way more rust/rot penetrating into the steel of Ford parts. Is that intentional, so the replaceable chassis parts rot instead of the frame rails? Or just cost cutting on Ford's part?