Introduction

Purchasing side steps was one of the first cosmetic/functional upgrades I was going to have to do on my JL as I have 2 little kids who would struggle to get into and out of the jeep.   Being as the JL is already a year old there were lots of options available and at a wide range of cost and function.   Luckily since I needed them to have a good STEP my choices sort of narrowed a bit. The next option was did I want Body Mounted Side Steps or Frame Mounted Sidesteps. I don’t anticipate every do extreme Rock crawling but I did want the ability to have better protection in case I ever did.  Last but not least was price.  I couldn’t justify paying more than 500.00 for side steps.  I was on a tight budget and that left me with a smaller range of choices.  Ultimately I settled on the WESTIN TRIPLE TUBE Side Steps.  They are a very reputable company, have a good warranty and their range of products is quite good.

FEATURES

1. Frame Mounted – One of the reasons I liked these is they are frame mounted.  They mount to the 2 bolts surrounding the body mount bolt.  I hears stories of people breaking the body mounting bold when installing some other brands of rock sliders and I didn’t want to take that chance
2. Textured Step – Compared to some of the other Rock Sliders which claim to be used a step but aren’t really an actual step these are great.  The plate that is screwed to the top has a nice rough texture to prevent slipping.  Like I said earlier, I have little ones and this was crucial.  I didn’t want kids slipping and hurting themselves when getting out of the jeep.
3. Price – I was able to get these just shy under 400.00.   I believe they may be upping the price pretty soon as their popularity increases.

INSTALLATION

Packaging was very well done. I live in Texas and it shipped from Dallas, so it was pretty much free overnight for me regardless.

Since the Front BODY Mounts (closest to front tire) don’t have the 2 BOLTS around the body mount Bolt they require you to use this type of setup to secure them to the frame.  Its not difficult at all and holds them pretty well.

This is how it looks when its installed.  Very Secure.

Once its all setup and mounted, you can TORQ to Specifications provided in the Install Instructions.

Below are just some pictures of how it came out.  My only gripe is I wish they actually sat a tide bit higher to cover that pinch weld seam.  Its very obvious and I think I’m going to fabricate or purchase a Pinch Seam Cover.