Running boards / change ride

Kays Supply · Jan 15, 2012

I am looking for my camera. It is one of those small ones and I have let it get under something in my truck. I'll be working on the rear board this week and hope to get some pictures then.

dodge man · Jan 16, 2012

I just put nerf bars on my Dodge, I don't see any way it would alter the stifness of the frame or truck in any way. I don't know the weight of mine, but both sides total has to be about 60 pounds or less. On a heavy vehicle, I don't see that making much difference.

jeffsw6 · Jan 16, 2012

It can change the way road vibrations are conducted from one end of the vehicle to the other. The body mounts are like a vibration filter and the smart automotive engineers who design the vehicle spend lots of time figuring out the best way to eliminate unpleasant road vibrations.

My gut says it is fixable by changing the mounts or making the running board and mounts discrete parts that fit together like a tube with bolts, and fill the vehicle side of the tube (or both) with rubber or something.

If you have ever played drums you may know that really nice drum kits have expensive hardware for holding the drums off the ground, which are basically over-priced metal tubes. The nice ones have vibration-damping plastic parts inside of the tubes, and this actually makes a huge difference in getting rid of unwanted resonances from the kit hardware. The concept here is the same, those running boards are probably making low-frequency vibration that is not filtered out by the body mounts, but it can probably be eliminated.

RobertN · Jan 17, 2012

You mean like these guys?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncRgAnwDkn8]Animal/Buddy Rich Drum Battle - YouTube[/ame]

jeffsw6 said:
If you have ever played drums you may know that really nice drum kits have expensive hardware for holding the drums off the ground, which are basically over-priced metal tubes. The nice ones have vibration-damping plastic parts inside of the tubes, and this actually makes a huge difference in getting rid of unwanted resonances from the kit hardware.