I'm researching step bars for my '05 Screw. Westin seems to be a generally respected brand. Their platinum series is chrome plated stainless steel. Bully brand is roughly $100 cheaper, and is polished stainless steel.

Any pros & cons of one over the other?

On another note, I like the look of the wheel to wheel steps (which cost even more) but is there really much benefit of these on a SCrew? All the pics I see are on Scabs - there really isn't much bed between the back door and the wheel on the Screw, so I'm not sure the extra cost provides much.

 

tpetty,

The following is from information about Westin step bars that is on the accessconnect.com web site.

I bought a pair of the Platinum CPS chrome plated stainless steel Step Bars from accessconnect about 1 1/2 years ago. They look just as good today as the day I installed them. Price competive and at the time free shipping. Product arrived in less than a week. Took me maybe 1 1/2 hours to install the first one and 40 minutes to install the 2nd one once I got the hang of it.

Hope this helps. A pic of my F150 2003 is below.

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After analyzing the stainless market, Westin found that most products had a dull, yellowish tint right out of the box. Salt spray testing also revealed that unplated stainless does in fact rust. Although the rust doesn't occur in the traditional way, the finish becomes chalky and pitted. Once tarnished, the consumer can never bring it back to its original luster. In keeping with Westin tradition of industry leadership, their engineers developed the "Platinum CPS chrome plated stainless steel" Step Bar which offers the durability of stainless with the lifetime brilliance of chrome. Black powder coat over stainless steel also available.

Westin feels their surface preparation and plating expertise will move their step bar product significantly beyond conventional unplated stainless nerf bars, both in appearance and durability. These new step bars will offer 100% rust-free performance, and the chrome finish will retain its brilliance. Another plus, the chrome finish will match their other non-stainless products, so the look of their products on vehicles will be consistent.

F150 2003

 

I have the powercoated (black) aluminum Weston oval step rails on my 04 Screw 4X4. I figured the aluminum will not rust and as long as I can keep the finish on them they will look nice for a long time. Since I live in Northern Ohio where the road crews use way too much salt this was my best option. So far this has been a wise choice... I have seen a lot of trucks with the stainless bars that are rusting. BTW, the oval Westin powercoated aluminum bars were roughly 300 dead presidents with the mounting kit.

 

I have the chromed plated stainless steel step bars from Westin.

I live in Nebraska and have had them for 1 year. They look as good as they did when I put them on. That's even after all of the salt from the winter roads.

They also have a lifetime warranty!!!