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Need some help from fellow 5th gen owners please

ForkliftFranky12

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So I have installed some westin hdx step bars on my crew cab laramie. The drivers side front studs (located by drivers door) are either incorrect or the bracket from westin is incorrect. I am asking for my fellow 5th gen owners to take a picture for me please to compare so I can rule out the Ram did not mess up some how. I have pictures of mine posted below for refference. Please help me out. Thank you.

The bracket that I am holding is supposedly the correct one from Westin but as you can see it is not this is why I am coming to you guys seeking help in the situation. Thank you.
 

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MrPooch

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So I have installed some westin hdx step bars on my crew cab laramie. The drivers side front studs (located by drivers door) are either incorrect or the bracket from westin is incorrect. I am asking for my fellow 5th gen owners to take a picture for me please to compare so I can rule out the Ram did not mess up some how. I have pictures of mine posted below for refference. Please help me out. Thank you.

The bracket that I am holding is supposedly the correct one from Westin but as you can see it is not this is why I am coming to you guys seeking help in the situation. Thank you.

I have not seen these particular step bars. But the bracket pictured looks like it may be for the other side of the truck? I am only guessing because it simply looks backwards, is the other bracket bent the opposite way? If so swap them?
 

Neurobit

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So I have installed some westin hdx step bars on my crew cab laramie. The drivers side front studs (located by drivers door) are either incorrect or the bracket from westin is incorrect. I am asking for my fellow 5th gen owners to take a picture for me please to compare so I can rule out the Ram did not mess up some how. I have pictures of mine posted below for refference. Please help me out. Thank you.

The bracket that I am holding is supposedly the correct one from Westin but as you can see it is not this is why I am coming to you guys seeking help in the situation. Thank you.
Looks like they've sent you the wrong part from just seeing that the bracket is on the opposite side.
 

ForkliftFranky12

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tried that with no luck. I contacted Westin and told them I had a wrong bracket. The one that I am physically holding is supposedly the correct one they sent me. Im beginning to think my truck either has a stud missing from factory or the stud is in the wrong spot. What are the chances I get 2 wrong brackets. Something is not adding up here. Im going to stop by my local Ram dealership after work and look under a 5th gen like mine and see if there is a difference.
 

Lights_out

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I ran into the exact same problem with my Westin Pro Traxx 4 bars. They mount the same, brackets look the same. I emailed Westin customer service through their website, and got this reply:

Hello;
Yes indeed, Ram changed that mounting point after our initial mock ups and fabrication of brackets. We have made a bracket that fixes this particular issue. If you could please provide us your shipping address we can gladly ship you out a free bracket. Thank you

I replied with my address and they shipped me the correct bracket.
 

ForkliftFranky12

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I ran into the exact same problem with my Westin Pro Traxx 4 bars. They mount the same, brackets look the same. I emailed Westin customer service through their website, and got this reply:

Hello;
Yes indeed, Ram changed that mounting point after our initial mock ups and fabrication of brackets. We have made a bracket that fixes this particular issue. If you could please provide us your shipping address we can gladly ship you out a free bracket. Thank you

I replied with my address and they shipped me the correct bracket.
I have done this as well and after contacting them through facebook messenger I FINALLY got a reply through my email that I sent 2 weeks prior stating they had a new bracket they would send out if I provided my address which I did and the one where I am physically holding the bracket is the new one they sent me which is incorrect. I have sent another email yesterday with no response. I stopped by my local ram dealership and had taken a couple pictures of stud locations on 3 different trucks and here is what I found......
the 1st picture was from an either limited or laramie with painted bumpers (Sport package?)
the 2nd and 3rd pictures were from big horn editions with chrome bumpers and this is the stud pattern I have.
 

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czerpx62

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So I have installed some westin hdx step bars on my crew cab laramie. The drivers side front studs (located by drivers door) are either incorrect or the bracket from westin is incorrect. I am asking for my fellow 5th gen owners to take a picture for me please to compare so I can rule out the Ram did not mess up some how. I have pictures of mine posted below for refference. Please help me out. Thank you.

The bracket that I am holding is supposedly the correct one from Westin but as you can see it is not this is why I am coming to you guys seeking help in the situation. Thank you.



I had the same situation when installing my Westin Pro Traxx 4 bars. I contacted Westin Customer Service. They said it was a RAM decision to change the positioning of the screws - but the screw locations on the driver side mirrors the passenger side so not sure what RAM could/would have changed. I suspect it was an error on Westin's part and they're wanting to save face. In any event, Westin had me email them my proof of purchase, then overnighted the correct bracket.
 

Accountant

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My bolt pattern is the same as the Laramie you took a pic of.

First time I’ve heard they used a different pattern.
 

Lights_out

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So holy crap, looks like the Laramie and Big Horn have different bolt patterns. That makes zero sense. That also means that Westin can't be the only running board manufacturer with this issue. What a mess.
 

ForkliftFranky12

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Agreed. Ive recieved a new bracket from Westin today and it appears to be the correct one. I will be attempting to install it this weekend when I have time. Thanks guys.
 

Kidder

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I had the same issue with my Pro Traxx 5 install. The interesting thing is the directions were wrong as to which "letter" bracket went on the driver side front. They had actually sent the correct brackets and I didn't realize this immediately.
 

Billet1500 4x4

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So holy crap, looks like the Laramie and Big Horn have different bolt patterns. That makes zero sense. That also means that Westin can't be the only running board manufacturer with this issue. What a mess.
This probably explains the delay for the AMP power step release.
 

Billet1500 4x4

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I have done this as well and after contacting them through facebook messenger I FINALLY got a reply through my email that I sent 2 weeks prior stating they had a new bracket they would send out if I provided my address which I did and the one where I am physically holding the bracket is the new one they sent me which is incorrect. I have sent another email yesterday with no response. I stopped by my local ram dealership and had taken a couple pictures of stud locations on 3 different trucks and here is what I found......
the 1st picture was from an either limited or laramie with painted bumpers (Sport package?)
the 2nd and 3rd pictures were from big horn editions with chrome bumpers and this is the stud pattern I have.
Interesting, I have a Laramie chrome bumpers, Matches pics 2 and 3 a little washed out from the sun but you can see them in the pic.
 

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NeedMo$

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So I have installed some westin hdx step bars on my crew cab laramie. The drivers side front studs (located by drivers door) are either incorrect or the bracket from westin is incorrect. I am asking for my fellow 5th gen owners to take a picture for me please to compare so I can rule out the Ram did not mess up some how. I have pictures of mine posted below for refference. Please help me out. Thank you.

The bracket that I am holding is supposedly the correct one from Westin but as you can see it is not this is why I am coming to you guys seeking help in the situation. Thank you.

I have the Westin HDX drop steps on mine and installed about 6 weeks ago. I did not run into any issues however figuring out the correct bracket placement ahead of time was key. It is possible they sent you 2 of the same and your missing one.
 

Lights_out

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Interesting, I have a Laramie chrome bumpers, Matches pics 2 and 3 a little washed out from the sun but you can see them in the pic.

Interesting. I have a Big Horn, but with the black package so painted bumpers, and my bolt pattern was same as your Laramie with chrome.

Maybe it's not related to trim level or bumpers and and just depends on the build date of your truck? Maybe the early trucks were wrong then FCA realized and corrected it? My build date is 03-2018 for reference so I'm a pretty early one.

Who knows. First year model issues, gotta love em.
 
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Billet1500 4x4

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Interesting. I have a Big Horn, but with the black package so painted bumpers, and my bolt pattern was same as your Laramie with chrome.

Maybe it's not related to trim level or bumpers and and just depends on the build date of your truck? Maybe the early trucks were wrong then FCA realized and corrected it? My build date is 03-2018 for reference so I'm a pretty early one.

Who knows. First year model issues, gotta love em.
Yup, I have a truck built February 21st so really early. Maybe the pic with the studs reversed is off of a limited... or maybe a couple trucks got the studs put in the wrong place at the factory its like the passenger side stud pattern got installed on the drivers side. There has been some interesting things posted of trucks leaving the factory with mismatched window trim, mismatched seats, I just can't imagine a stud getting put in the reverse location but anythings possible like the robot building the drivers side sheet metal had the tooling and program for the passenger side. I've worked as a mechanical engineer in manufacturing all my life and I have seen some crazy things and they all come back to human error, machines do what you tell them garbage in = garbage out.
 

ForkliftFranky12

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got the correct bracket finally and installed it last night successfully so it was correct. Thanks for the help everyone now onto the next issue involving the bed but thats a new post.
 

Akpilot

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Just installed the Westin pro traxx 5. Fit perfectly. Brackets were correct. The nuts wouldn’t thread on with the paint from factory but just used a dremmel with a sandpaper attachment and sanded the paint off real quick. Took a minute or so each bolt. Fwi all the brackets are the same except for the passenger side front which is reversed. Highly recommend and for $350 it’s a good deal.
 

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