POWER STEP

www.amp-research.com

  The SUV and large truck craze has been running rampant in North America and it has opened doors to some very cool new product areas.  Amp research has always been know for thinking about what people need and building the product, while caring about the quality of what they produce.

It was just instinct that we look to AMP research to help us with our issue of getting into our lifted F250.  Our truck had the factory plastic step, that worked alright at factory level, if you are tall.  With out lift and tires the factory step was a long 24" step.  This was a jump for even myself at 6'3".  Also, this big black plastic step was not very eye appealing as you can see by pictures 1 to 3.

We started by removing the factory running boards that were held in place by about 12 bolts on each side.  The boards were off, and we just stopped and looked.  Those big boards really hurt the image of the truck.  The difference reminded us of the day we lifted it, and how much different the truck looked.

The Amp Research steps were unboxed and laid out to get a feel for the project.  The steps, motors, control box, and hangers looked straight forward, but in the back of our minds, the diodes and wiring was worrying us.  As we came to find out it was all for nothing.  They are truly simple to hook up!

You start by putting the motors on the step arms and bolting them to the truck without the step attached.  As the instructions state, some trucks have to have the bracket for the arms shaved a little, so out came the grinder for a minute.  In 15 minutes we have the assembly together and bolted on.  Simple and straight forward!

The controller box came with a bracket and instruction to mount it to the fender on the passenger side.  The wires were run to the motors and tied up just as the instructions stated.  Then we started to get into the door wiring.  On our truck, we only had to remove the drivers door panel, the other wires could be connected in the cab.  The instructions told us the wires to tap and connect to the purple wire we ran in the cab.  But on our vehicle there were three of the same color wires in the bundle.  After testing, we found the right one, and moved on.  The rest of the wiring was straight forward, with no confusion at all.

Within another 30 minutes from bolting on the steps, we were ready to connect the power to this and test them out.  What we were worried about was nothing more than 4 wire connections and a little digging to find the right color.  Once we connected the battery, we tested all 4 doors, and the steps worked flawlessly!

With the new steps, our large 24" step was lessened to 18" and getting in and out of the truck is much more smooth.  It feels right, not like you have to get momentum to get in.  also, these steps are not visible at all from the side, so the cool look of the truck has been retained.  Along with the look, we have noticed a lot of people watching us get in and out of the truck.  Most people have seen nothing like this, and it has been a conversation started to say the least!