N-Fab Nerf Steps and RKR Rails: Line-Up, Finish and Fit Checks

A running board is a step mounted below a truck's doors that makes it easier to climb in and out. N-Fab's take on it is a tube, and the shape is the point: instead of one long tread, its Nerf Step drops down to an entry step at each door.

Who is behind N-Fab

A Truck Hero SEC filing from 2015 describes N-FAB as "a manufacturer of tubular accessories for pickup trucks and SUVs" and says it "is located in Houston, Texas", with a purchase agreement signed October 29, 2015. A SEMA release calls N-FAB "a Truck Hero Inc. company". Today RealTruck lists N-FAB among its family of brands, and n-fab.com redirects to RealTruck.

The install sheets print a Houston address, and one carries a 2018 N-FAB, Inc. copyright. Another credits patents licensed to N-Fab by Fichter Designs. We did not check those patents, and we could not confirm where each product is made today. RealTruck's N-Fab pages came back empty to our reader, so we could not read its line-up or warranty text directly. Retailer titles and search excerpts fill the gaps below, and we mark them.

The line-up

Retail titles describe the Nerf Step as a 3-inch tube and RKR rails as 1.75-inch, and those are seller wording. A dealer page for the Growler on the 2022-2026 Tundra CrewMax describes a 7-inch aluminum board on 1.75-inch steel tube, though the same page borrows RKR text, so treat it with care.

N-Fab's own sheets mix the names. Part 114417512 is headed "HOOP STEP" and step 5 of the same sheet says "Install the Nerf Step". So a search for N-Fab hoop steps and one for N-Fab nerf bars can land on the same part. The words on a title are no build guarantee. See hoop steps and nerf bars vs running boards for what the shapes do.

Finish and warranty

Retail titles show gloss black and textured black, with a TX suffix on textured black part numbers at RealTruck. One retailer describes Podium steps in high polish or textured black powder coat.

We could not read N-Fab's own warranty. RealTruck listings, seen only as search excerpts, describe a limited lifetime warranty on the structure and 5 years on powder coat, and one adds a lifetime finish warranty on polished stainless. The wording on what "lifetime" covers changes between listings. Get the current text from RealTruck before you rely on it. And no finish is corrosion-proof, as our rust page explains.

What the install sheets say

We read six. Here they are, in N-Fab's own words for the truck. We state no fit from them.

So the pattern is clear, and so is the limit. Six sheets are not the whole catalog. None gives an install time, so we print none, and none gives a load rating. They do give torque: 15-20 ft-lb on the Nerf Step sheets, and 40 ft-lb on the detachable steps. If you drive a truck where the clips apply, you pull a plastic body plug with a screwdriver and fit the clip behind it. How to install running boards covers the general job.

Fit checks before you order

Four things to run down, all from the paperwork:

1. Do not trust a sheet header alone

   The C194RKRCC and D204RKR sheets print "2017-18 F-250, f-350" under a Chevy and a Ram heading. That line looks like a leftover. Confirm the part number for your truck with the seller.

2. Name your cab in the maker's words

   The 2007-2013 sheet writes "quad/extended cab" for GM trucks and uses different hardware for crew and extended. ARIES files GM's Double in the extended group, so shop those words together. See double cab vs crew cab.

3. Know your bed on wheel-to-wheel

   RealTruck titles, seen as search excerpts, tie bed-access parts to a box, such as a 6'4" bed for a 2015-2018 Ram 1500 and 2019-2024 Classic. Bed and cab fitment explains why.

4. Check the year range against the sheet

   The RKR sheet for the Ram says 19-20. Newer truck years may have newer parts or sheets, so ask rather than assume.

Are RKR rails rock sliders?

People search for N-Fab rock sliders, and RealTruck's listing names say rock rails. The two RKR sheets that describe the mounting use holes under the body, including pinch weld holes on the Ram. Neither mentions the frame. We found no N-Fab rating for what the rails can bear. If you need real rock protection, start with what makes a rock slider and look for a frame mount named in the maker's own documents.

Who it suits, and the alternatives

N-Fab fits you if you want the tube-and-drop look with a step at each door, or a wheel-to-wheel step tied to your bed. It fits you less well if you want a wide flat tread, or want to buy through a listing we can read for you. For a linked part with a sheet behind it, start with our nerf bars page, compare Westin and Tyger, or go by truck from the home page. The rules behind each fit line are on how we verify fitment.