Propickup Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/150744
STEP BARS & NERF BARS STEPPIN' UP Nerf bars and steps make any pickup more efficient and safer on the jobsite, so settle on those products that deliver function first and foremost. By Bruce W. Smith & Stuart Bourdon W hen pickups are used day-in and day-out around construction jobsites, especially in road building and site development, accidental encounters with the lower rockers are going to happen. Minor body damage isn't a big deal. But an employee getting hurt getting in and out of the truck is a different matter. A muddy boot or slight misstep on the door sill can lead to bruised shins, muscle pulls, and even sprained or broken ankles. Such slip-and-falls are bad news as they take away from productive time and can have a direct affect on medical claims. But there's a simple pickup upgrade that helps diminish the chances of both types of "body" damage: steps or nerf bars. Steps come in both fixed and retractable versions. Side steps can be a factory option or an aftermarket addition. The retractable versions are electric, automatically opening and retracting upon door opening/closing. Bed steps, which affix to the front and/or rear corners of the body under the bed, are manually retractable, and give a footassist reaching into toolboxes or climbing into the bed. Nerf bars are tubular steel products that typically bolt closer to the lower rockers than the traditional bed step. Their primary purpose is to prevent the rockers from getting "nerfed" by close encounters with rocks and stumps, or any other object the lower pickup body night encounter. The key to which style you need is based on personal 86 PROPICKUP Big Book 2013 ProPickup_2013BB_Step Nerf Bars.indd 86 8/6/13 10:24 AM