How to Remove Running Boards and What to Do With the Factory Holes

A running board is a step mounted below a truck's doors that makes it easier to climb in and out. Taking one off is mostly a socket-and-helper job, but say this up front: none of the maker sheets we read includes a removal procedure. They only cover going on. So we are working from how those sheets say the parts go together, and your own sheet beats anything here. Nobody on this site has pulled these off a truck. We give no time, because no sheet gives one for removal.

What to have on hand

• Your install sheet. Get the sheet for your part number, or the closest one the maker has. How to install running boards shows what those sheets look like.
• Sockets to match the hardware. Most of the Tyger hardware we read is 8mm. Check yours.
• A helper. Tyger's sheets say assistance is recommended for putting a board on. It weighs the same coming off.
• Eye protection. Westin's sheet says to always wear safety glasses or goggles, and AMP's tool list starts with safety goggles.
• A bag for hardware, if the board might go back on or get sold.

Taking it off

1. Get the sheet and a helper

   Read your sheet from the last step to the first. That is your order of work. Have your helper take the weight of the board before any bolt comes out.

2. Cut power on a power step

   Skip this on a fixed board. On a power step, RealTruck's guides have you remove the fuse from the step's wire harness during the install, so pull it first. Then undo what the guide added: the battery leads, the OBD II plug, the wire taps and the motor connections.

3. Take the board off the brackets

   On the Tyger sheets, 8mm combo bolts hold the sidebar to each bracket. Take them out and lower the board straight down. Tyger warns against twisting or sliding the bar on the brackets, or the finish may suffer, so do not drag it off.

4. Unbolt the brackets

   How they come off depends on the mount. On TG-SS2D35098, each bracket sits on 3 factory studs with nylon lock nuts and flat washers. On TG-SS2C35068, each has hex bolts into threaded holes in the body.

5. Deal with what is left

   Work through the table below, one mount at a time.

6. Repeat and inspect

   Do the other side. Then look over the rocker and the pinch weld while you can still see them clearly.

Removing a factory board? We read no Ford, GM or Ram removal procedure, so ask your dealer or get the factory service manual. Westin's sheet for its 2023-up Ford side bed step does have a remove-the-OEM-step line, followed by the factory bolts, but it covers that step and nothing else.

What to do with the factory holes

This is what most people are really asking. It depends on what your kit used.

We found no maker instructions for filling a drilled hole, so we will not give you a recipe. If you want a hole gone rather than sealed, that is a question for a body shop. Show them the sheet so they know what was drilled and where. Can you install running boards without drilling? shows which kits drill in the first place.

If the part is going back on, or to someone else

• Going back on. Treat it like a new install, with the same torque values. RealTruck's warning says to re-check that the product is properly installed "after installing or reinstalling".
• Going to someone else. RealTruck's AMP warranty applies to the original purchaser only, so do not sell it as coming with one. Pass on the sheet, the hardware and any retainers.
• Being replaced. A new part has its own sheet, and it may not use the same mounts. Read that sheet before you take off the old one. Running board brackets covers the hardware side, and best running boards is where we compare what to replace it with.

Warranty

Ford says an aftermarket product "will not necessarily void" its warranty, but repairs are not covered if the product fails or causes another part to fail. So if you find damage when the board comes off, take photos before anyone fixes it. Do running boards void your warranty has more, and none of it is legal advice.

Other trucks and their parts are listed under all trucks, and how we read every sheet is on how we verify fitment.