Because we added larger tires to our van, the spare tire will not fit under the van where the current factory tire typically resides. So, we needed a rear door tire mount. We also plan to add a solar panel to the roof, and if you have read our earlier posts and videos, you will note that we have a roof A/C and fan that we would like to be able to access as well. Thus, we needed a ladder to be able to climb on top.
We also wanted a step-up into the van and opted to add an aftermarket nerf bar as well. All of these items were purchased from Aluminess. The black aluminum compliments nicely our black wheels and trim and will also match well with the roof rack that had to be added later (and getting that on the roof is a whole other post!)
FIRST UP: Ladder & Tire Mount
Adding the read ladder and the tire mount was pretty straightforward. Aluminess provides clear film to put over the bracket attachment points so the aluminum attachments don't scratch our nice new paint finish. The biggest challenge we ran into here was getting the hinge adjusted so that the door would latch properly. That was definitely a two-man job, as I had to hold the door up while Ryan loosened the bolts on the driver's rear door so that he could gently hit it with a rubber mallet to move it a few millimeters. It took us about 3 tries to get it right, but we were finally able to find the sweet spot. And thank goodness for that because I was getting tired of holding the door up!
Once the ladder and frame were on the door, the tire mount was quite easy. Ryan added the two cross bars that hold the tire, and then adjusted fit of the middle bracket to be able to screw in the center bracket.
NEXT UP: Nerf bars
The Nerf bars took a little more work for Ryan to install and meant that he spent a considerable amount of time on his back underneath the van!
Do you know why these are called Nerf bars? I had no idea and had to do some googling to find out. We had been calling these "running boards" and "nerf bars" interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Running boards provide a flat step-up surface that runs the entire length of the board, thus the name. However, nerf bars only have the step-up where it is needed--aligned to the driver's door, passenger door and slider door. Technically speaking, nerf bars are bars typically found on race cars. It allows drivers to "bump" the other driving while passing but adds a few inches of protection to keep the passing car from getting too close and bumping into the tires and cause an accident. Now you know!
This installation required Ryan to have to tap and thread 6 holes that were already pre-cut in our van on the passenger side. Once that was done, screwing in the nerf bars was pretty easy, with the most important things to check was that it was level, the gap between the bar and van was even along the length of the bar and that you don't overtighten the bolts. The addition of the nerf bars look great! I was very happy to have these step ups added. That step up into the van is higher than you think when you have to step in and out of the van about a hundred times a day while working in it.
Two more things to check off our to-do list!
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