3rd Gen (eBay Import) Powered Bed Step Install Instructions (Now in English!)

Hello Gents!

On recommendation from fellow Forum'er manih786, I went ahead and ordered the auto bed step kit off of eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/3544806301...=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)

Main complaints with the kit originally were of terrible instructions (can confirm), but I wanted to give it a go and decided to document the parts, install, and quality of the kit.

I ordered mine from the linked seller (haly_auto) and can only speak to the kit I received. It appears that there are multiple vendors selling the same or similar kits so your mileage may vary, but overall I was pleased with it.

Upon recommendation from manih, I went and offered a few low balls, eventually having my offer accepted at $450 shipped and the part arrived DHL to MA in roughly a week give or take.

Packaging was impressive, double boxed in heavy-duty cardboard with corner reinforcements, then taped, strapped, and then taped again for the hell of it. Once the outer shells were removed, familiar Chinese packaging was underneath it all, but at least they tried like hell to keep it nice for the journey over here.



With everything unboxed, the kit seems well put together. Paint or powdercoat on the bracket and step assembly looked good. Motor and step came pre-assembled but looked to have been put together competently.

Now for the installation. You should probably read through before starting your install, but you do you. I would recommend hitting your local Harbor Freight or Home Depot for some zip ties. Some are included with the kit, but no where near enough to do this job correctly in my opinion.

Tools required:
- Sockets and ratchet (mine were 16mm bolts and 17mm nuts, but again your hardware may vary)
- #2 phillips screwdriver
- Straight pick tool or #0 flat head screwdriver for unpinning fuse holder
- Zipties and flush cutters
- wire snake
- wire strippers and crimpers
- properly sized and insulated ring and female spade connectors for power connection
- solder and gun if desired
- quality electrical tape and/or heat shrink and heat gun if desired

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The bracket was designed OK, but execution of its manufacture was a small bit off. Everything went together as it should in the end, but it took a little bit of fidgeting around to get it to where all holes lined up well enough to get the included hardware threaded into the factory nuts on the rear hitch assembly. Hardware on this kit is again, just OK. It is all Grade 8, but the finish on everything seems cheap and I don't have much hope that it will make it too long before corroding. I will likely source the OEM hardware for installing the factory step in the future, but this is good enough to use in the meantime. I would also recommend running the included bolts through the factory nuts before trying to install the bracket to make sure you were given the correct hardware and there is no crap in the threads of the nuts.

Installing this bracket could certainly be done without removing the rear bumper panel, but the extra 5 minutes to remove it out of the way certainly makes the job much easier (no need to get aggravated doing it from underneath, a wise man once said "Work like a gentleman!").
Instructions for removing the bumper panels can be found here.

https://youtu.be/PHc6w9eDPOU

Reaching up to compress the clips holding the bumper tread and pushing upwards slightly should be enough to release the tread from the bumper, don't pry on your shit with a screwdriver if possible. The rest is explained fully in the video.







With the bracket installed and tightened with the patented forearm torque wrench, next came the step and motor assembly to bracket installation. Three carriage bolts with washers and nuts, not brain surgery. All of the holes on my kit seemed to be slotted for a little adjustment, but in my experience they were designed to account for manufacturing tolerances on their end and not necessarily any adjustment by end-user. Thankfully as you'll see in pictures, no adjustment was really necessary as the step tucked neatly (and LEVEL - those manual steps drive my OCD nuts) under the rear bumper.







It was at this point - although it should have been step 1 - that I decided to run the step off of a Power Probe to make sure everything worked as it should. Everything checked out, but if past experiences with off-shore parts is worth anything bench test EVERYTHING before you devote any efforts into disassembly and installation.



Interior disassembly time. Remove the driver's side sill panel (start from the rear, pull up gently and help it unclip from the wire track below) kick panel (single plastic nut by the firewall and pull straight back towards the rear of the cab) and under dash panel (three squeeze clips, two Phillips screws, and unclip the OBD plug and under dash lighting if so equipped. Also, look up and find the main rubber grommet under the dash behind a circular cut out of sound deadening and pull it from the firewall, it will have the hood release cable and main harness going through it but it has plenty of slack for what we're doing.

Running the control wires from the motor back into the cab is certainly self-explanatory for anyone willing to take on this type of installation. Work your way back to front, and be sure to leave yourself a little slack at the motor end to keep the wires from being stressed while bouncing down the road.



Entry into the cabin is kind of choose-your-own-adventure as there are a few factory grommets to use to get inside (there are a few that are false passages and are likely leftover drains from when the body was dipped so take care to make sure your path is clear before committing to one). I chose to run up the driver's side frame rail basically the entire way. Under the driver's seat there is a grommet that puts you directly in line with the tensioner/airbag/and audio wires running under the seat. Get yourself a good wire snake (I recommend these HVAC zip ties from Home Depot because they are non-conductive and very flexible, you'll see why that's important later). Remove the grommet and make a slit in the it just big enough to force the plug end and wires through but not so big as to let moisture in. Get the wires into the cab and run them along the factory wiring heading into the kick panel area, this is where the control box will live.



Power for the unit comes from under the hood and instructions recommend going to the battery. A little common sense and the desire to not have wiring running all over the place led me to utilize a factory ground on the fenderwell and heading to the driver's side fuse box for power. In my build (1794, no advanced package, no AVS, etc) there are a multitude of unused J-Case fuse locations that all should be live direct to battery so take care working in here.



I chose to go through an unused spot in the main firewall grommet that was suspiciously sized to perfectly fit the loomed wire of the kit. There is a molded cap on the engine bay side of this grommet that you'll need to snip off to run the wires through if you choose to go my same route. Unpin the fuse holder and begin working it through the grommet about 3-4ft. All our excess wire will be tucked neatly inside so do your best guestimation here to get the power lines into the fuse box with a little to spare. A little glass cleaner or lubricant on the inside of the grommet and on the wire loom will make this much easier to get through the grommet than without.









Lay your power lines under the hood in the way you will run them to make sure you have just enough to get the job done, adjust as necessary and then make sure the grommet is fully seated and installed back into the firewall or musty carpet is in your future!

Cut and terminate the ground wire for the kit, and securely attach to the factory ground on the inner fender.



Run your power line along the harness running towards the front of the truck, keep it tidy and use zip ties to keep it in place. Tape your power line to your fancy, bendy, NON-CONDUCTIVE wire snake. There is an open passage on the front of the box that you can easily fish the power wire through and into an open void on the inside of the box. Once inside, I chose this other empty spot for my fuse holder to live and fishing the wire through was very simple. Reassemble your fuse holder and add a correctly sized insulated female spade connector and bob's your uncle. Leave power disconnected for now.







Back indoors, we focus our attention to the last two connections in the driver's kick area. Instructions from the manufacturer were hazy at best, but the connector we're looking for here is a White 22pin plug tucked closer to the firewall side of this wire distribution area.





Counting from the top left we are looking for pin 5 (blue) and pin 16 (white). These are CAN network wires and while they can be tested with a digital multimeter, I'm not getting into that here for liability reasons. MANY things live on this particular CAN bus so take your time working here. The wires in the kit come terminated with fancy Scotch-Lock type connectors, but if you are comfortable soldering, I HIGHLY recommend not using any style of connector that has a great potential for breaking copper strands inside the wire and certainly would recommend against using them on CAN bus and data lines in general. Either way Purple/Orange from the kit goes to Blue (pin 5) and Gray/Orange to White (pin 16). Connect and insulate how you wish and you're all set. Be sure to neaten up your excess wires and secure the control box somewhere in this area. Be sure to make this secure, rattles suck.







At this point with all connectors plugged into the main control box you can connect power under the hood.



To test, you will likely have to 'wake up' the CAN bus by now so simply close your door. At this point if everything was followed correctly (and the control box is not DOA) you should have a fully functional OEM action bed step that will function via the tailgate trigger circuit. Key fob, tail light button, tailgate handle, etc. If it opens the tailgate, the step will lower and then retract as soon as the tailgate is closed.





Grab a beer and enjoy your new-found utility being able to actually climb into the bed of your $60,000 truck without looking like a 5 year old!

Please let me know if anyone has any questions.

Cheers!

 

Wait so it doesn’t drop down it just slide out?

 

It does not drop like panties do when they see the Tundra.

 

It is kind of like a down and forward type motion.

 

Did you remove your front seat to access the grommet? Did you run the wires from the step through the inside of the frame rail or alongside it? If inside, is it also a grommet to access?

 

Along side the frame rail. There is a factory harness or evap lines running in the same fashion so they are already tucked up and out of the way. I have power seats so I was able to maneuver the seat all the way forward and as high as it goes and had plenty of room to work, even around the JBL amp.

 

Just got the same unit and installed it on my 25' Platinum Hybrid tonight. Price went up a bit on fleebay, was able to find it for $499 shipped on Slamazon.

I ran the power direct to the battery under the rear bench seat and had previously installed the AMP Powersteps, so had the canbus wires already tapped. Install took about an hour. Gotta say, this step is awesome! I 100% agree with your OCD comment about how the step sits when stowed...I wouldn't be able to deal with that being so out of level. This stows away almost perfectly...just wish it followed the same exact contour as the rear bumper like the OEM step does. 9/10