Running boards and AMP Research power steps, installed in Arvada

The right step depends on the truck and the people climbing into it. We ask about ride height first: stock, leveled or lifted, and whether a lift or leveling kit is coming. Then who rides in it, whether it is a work truck, whether you reach into the bed from the side, and whether it sits outside all winter.

A daily driver that carries kids or older passengers usually wants a wide board. A lifted truck needs a lower step than a fixed board gives, because, as Rough Country puts it, fixed steps rise with the vehicle. A work truck loaded from the side gets the most from a wheel-to-wheel step.

If your factory running boards already do the job, we'll say so. Replacing them is worth it for a lower step, a wider one, power operation or a step at the bed.

Every inch of lift is an inch more to climb, and a fixed board rises with the truck. Two kinds of step bring it back down. A drop step hangs a step below its rail at each door; Rough Country's SRL2 and SRX2 let you move the step pads to where they suit the doors. AMP Research's PowerStep XL deploys up to 3 inches lower than the standard PowerStep, and AMP builds it for lifted trucks. AMP Research is our first choice for a powered step, and Go Rhino and Rough Country make them too. For a lot of owners the look is the main reason to choose one: the step tucks out of sight when the doors close, which matters most on a lifted truck.

Choose the step for the finished ride height. If a lift or leveling kit is planned, tell us when you ask about steps, and we quote the two together so the step suits the truck after the lift.

PowerSteps connect one of two ways. Plug-N-Play versions plug into the truck's OBD II port under the dash and take power and the door signals from there, with no cut wires. Hardwired versions are spliced into the wiring under the dash, which RealTruck says typically needs a professional, and AMP sells a kit that converts a hardwired set to Plug-N-Play.

The brackets bolt to the rocker panels, on many trucks through existing holes, and some applications need drilling. AMP recommends professional installation for every PowerStep. Fixed boards and nerf bars are simpler: Westin says its steps bolt on with no cutting or drilling. In our shop, fixed running boards and side steps take about 2 to 3 hours, and an AMP Research PowerStep, a PowerStep XL or another powered step about 4 to 5.

Mag chloride, road grit and packed snow collect in the step linkages through a Colorado winter. AMP's care instructions are to pressure wash the front and rear linkages, the four hinge points, while keeping the spray off the motors, then lubricate the linkage arms and pivot pins with dry-film silicone spray only. AMP rules out grease, oil, WD-40 and penetrants, and says no silicone, wax or protectants such as Armor All go on the step itself.

AMP gives no fixed interval. It says to clean periodically, or when mud, dirt or salt gets trapped in the mechanism, which on a Front Range truck means after snowstorms. If a step stops deploying, one of AMP's checks is for binding: move the step by hand through its full travel. We don't see winter failures as a common Front Range problem, but road grime and ice can make a step bind when the moving parts aren't kept clean, so follow AMP's care steps above.

The rockers and lower doors sit right behind the front tires, so they take gravel, tire spray and mag chloride all year. Paint protection film on the rockers and the bottom of the doors, applied before the steps go on, takes the chips instead of the paint. We install Autobahn self-healing film.

A ceramic coating on the lower paint makes road film and mag chloride easier to rinse off. Keep it off the step tread, since AMP says no wax or protectants go on the running board.