Looking down on the rest of the world from the bucket seat of your freshly lifted rig is a powerful drug. You feel invincible from your perch as you scan the horizon for quick routes around upcoming traffic jams and open spaces in the crowded mall parking lot. That feeling of power fades quickly though when it comes time to jump down from your steed. Even a 6-inch lift kit can make exiting your sport truck feel like a gymnastics exercise without some assistance. Enter AMP Research, a company that's figured out a fantastic way to add that assistance without obtrusion into the fresh restyling of your ride that you worked hard to achieve.
The Power Step is a retractable electric step that is barely noticeable when in the closed position. In the open position, it offers ample room to easily get in and out of your lifted sport truck. The steps are made of extruded aluminum, bolt-in completely in most applications, and automatically open and close with any door of your truck. We added them to our '07 Tundra project, which has a 6-inch lift, and we're glad we did.
We also bolted on another new AMP Research product: the BedStep. The BedStep bolts in place along the rear framehorns using the existing bumper hardware. It's not a powered unit, but it does retract manually in the same fashion as the Power Step and makes retrieving stuff from the bed much easier. Let's take a look at the install.
What's In The Box?
Power Steps are application-specific, so the hardware and wiring harness are designed especially for your ride. You just need the tools to do the job.
1.Our Tundra is one of the...
1.Our Tundra is one of the lucky ones that has factory bolt holes already in place to bolt the electric motors and pivot mechanisms to. Other trucks will need a few holes drilled to mount everything up.
2.Once the motors and hinges...
2.Once the motors and hinges are in place, the extruded-aluminum steps are bolted up. The steps are cycled up and down by hand, and the brackets are adjusted to ensure nothing binds up.
3.Power for the steps comes...
3.Power for the steps comes via this relay box, which is secured in the engine compartment and wired directly to the battery through fused 12-gauge power and ground leads.
4.The wiring harness plugs...
4.The wiring harness plugs directly into the back of each step's motor. The trigger wires that tell the steps to open and retract are then routed through the cab floor via an existing rubber grommet.
5a.After pulling the doorsill...
5a.After pulling the doorsill plates and kick panels up, the factory door trigger wires are located using the instructions and a digital multimeter.
5b.The wires are tapped into...
5b.The wires are tapped into using the provided plastic wire taps. After the trigger wires are hooked up, the steps are tested by opening and closing all four doors. That's all there is to it. This install took less than two hours to complete.
6.Although it comes unassembled,...
6.Although it comes unassembled, the BedStep required even less time and fewer tools to install.
7.The BedStep bolts right...
7.The BedStep bolts right into the factory rear framehorns using the provided hardware. This is a manual step that pulls open by hand and requires no electronics. We had it in place in under ten minutes.
The Final Word
There are quite a few options for adding steps to your truck. The AMP steps function nicely and really don't detract from the looks of our Tundra. We've put a pair of 200-pound grown men on each step without breaking them, so we're pretty sure they'll last awhile. This is an install you can perform at home.