Running Boards - DeeZee and Others

[smithj33]

I haven't installed mine yet because I am still waiting on the replacement boards, but holding the brackets up underneath, it appears there should be enough room on level ground. Here are a couple pics of the brackets.

 

[brianp]

Ok, so they are powder coated as well. Great news. I'm looking forward to picking them up and installing the kit (my wife is a tiny 5', so this will be a big help to her getting in and out of her Ex).

Brian.

 

[smithj33]

New boards showed today.....in worse condition that the first set. Every single rivet was sheared off and each board was in two pieces. DeeZee puts no packing inside the box or on the ends of the box and the ends of the boards are sharp, so they end up tearing through. Now I have 4 broken running boards. What does 44lbs of aluminum get me at the scrap yard?

 

[VinceL]

Okay, so I emailed DeeZee yesterday evening and got this response this afternoon:

Dee Zee has taken steps to fix the problems you have mentioned. We have taken the aluminum rivets out of the board and replaced them with a hardened Stainless steel rivet. We also are changing the size of the box to allow us to add foam to these boards to reduce the incidence of damage to the running boards. We are continuing to monitor the results of these improvements and will make every effort to make more adjustments if we see additional issues in the future.

Sincerely,

Dave Edwards
Dee Zee, Inc.


So, at least it looks like they are fixing the problems. I also give them kudos for responding so quickly. I will keep them in mind when the time comes around...

 

[HopefulEx]

I received my boards on Monday and the ends of the box did indeed have foam padding. They need to better tape the box ends though, because the one end of my box was still ruptured. There was some minor scraping on the ends of the boards on the ruptured end of the box. The rivets also look like they might be steel as opposed to aluminum as well.

smithj33, for $25 you can get a rivet gun and pack of steel rivets from HomeDepot. If you have to drill out the old rivets it might be a little more to get a drill as well But you could have 2 pair of fixed boards and sell the second set at a discount to recoup your costs.

 

[VinceL]

I received my boards on Monday and the ends of the box did indeed have foam padding. They need to better tape the box ends though, because the one end of my box was still ruptured. There was some minor scraping on the ends of the boards on the ruptured end of the box.

That's great. Looks like they are making improvements, but still have a little bit to go.

If you could, use this LINK to let DeeZee know of your experience with the lack of secure taping and box rupture. That would give them the chance to make things right with your damaged boards.

The company seems to be making changes, so with some more feedback, they should be able to get things working perfectly.

If you don't get a response using their contact page, let me know and I will pass along the email address of the fellow that responded to my inquiry.

Happy driving

 

[smithj33]

Glad they fixed it but I am not sure steel rivets in aluminum was a good idea. It will corrode in wet conditions. I could get a rivet gun but self-taping screws will be cheaper. They are refunding my money so I will try to put one good set together from the four boards I have. Very disappointed that they even thought it was okay to ship the boards loose in a box with no padding. Says a lot about the company.

 

[jlrohio]

Well, my brackets showed up today but the boards did not.
I'm on hold with AutoAnything right now, as they listed both the boards and brackets as being shipped under the same tracking number.

Speaking of issues with items shipped from DeeZee, the box I got was NOT even taped. It was one of those boxes with ears that go in the side to hold it closed but yet there was not one piece of tape on it to fully secure it!

What was even more disappointing, was the fact that there was absolutely no package material of any type in the box...so you essentially have 25lbs worth of brackets, that were powder coated in black paint, all banging around in there...which now means I have dinged up brackets (can someone say rust starting point!).

I can only imagine what the box will look like and how they are packed when the boards finally show up. Pics to follow!

 

[jlrohio]

Glad they fixed it but I am not sure steel rivets in aluminum was a good idea. It will corrode in wet conditions.

I thought about your statement and found another thread about aluminum and stainless corrosion. If you look down to the post on April 2010, a PE stated:

...if the area of the aluminum is greater than the area of the stainless steel (stainless fasteners on aluminum architectural features usually aren't a significant problem, but aluminum pop rivets on stainless steel sheets would be).

So hopefully it should be safe...otherwise someone will write about it in a couple of years on here!

 

[Kvasilion]

I like the look of these and want to order them but I am concerned about you receiving two sets of dented ones. Was your issue resolved?

 

[Kvasilion]

Ford Installed Running Board 2013 Explorer?

I spoke with my Ford dealer and they said that they are able to install running boards on the 2013 Ford Explorer (even power ones). Has anyone had these installed?

 

[smithj33]

No but apparently they have changed their packaging which should solve the issue. Autoaccessoriesgarage.com has been great through my issues so if you buy, go with a company that will back you up.

I like the look of these and want to order them but I am concerned about you receiving two sets of dented ones. Was your issue resolved?

 

[VinceL]

Power ones? Cool. Are they an official Ford accessory, or are they aftermarket?

 

[VinceL]

Are you going to try to get a new set of undamaged boards smithj33?

 

[HopefulEx]

Well I have installed them. It is about 20 minutes to install the brackets, and then about an hour or so adjusting them so that the boards mount evenly and symmetrically with the body. But I got it done, and it looks good!

 

[jlrohio]

Power ones? Cool. Are they an official Ford accessory, or are they aftermarket?

I have seen powered running boards on the the Ford F-150 Platinum Edition, that deploy when the doors are opened or even I believe when the key FOB is used to unlock the doors. They then automatically hide when the doors are closed. I believe they come from the factory like that.

Here's some video's of them in action.





I wonder why Ford has elected to NOT even offer running boards on this Explorer. Maybe there is an aerodynamic reason or they were trying to reduce weight to stay under some level...or a dozen other reasons (ex. cost cutting).

 

[bluelion]

If power running boards were an official part they could install...id be all over that

 

[jcerrion]

Friend has a platinum. they are pretty cool feature. They drop a pretty significant height when you open the door.

In my opinion theyd be pointless on an explorer since its so low already... then again i am 6'5 so maybe thats just me.

 

[Spengracin]

I'm on it also, can u confirm?

 

[jnbhobe]

I installed Dee Zee stainless on the wifes limited this morning.