Boards that don’t fold up will protect your rear fenders too. There’s a lot of folks with really bad damage on their rear fender flares from rocks and cinders kicking back and chipping the paint on gravel roads and winter treatments. Some guys are posting trucks a few weeks old showing major chipping and damage.
That's exactly why I went with a fixed board vs retracting. I liked the look of the truck when I got it. It had a nice clean look to it. I was planning to get the OEM retractable boards installed to maintain that look.
After driving on the snow and slush the first time, I knew I had to buy mudflaps. I went with WeatherTech because they appeared to be the least obtrusive. I installed them and was happy with how they didn't really take away from that look.
The first time in the snow after installing the flaps I noticed there was still a lot of slush building up on the truck. More than I'd ever had on a vehicle without mudflaps. A few days later I saw the post about the stone chips on the rear fender flares and conceded to installing a set of step boards.
I went with the Louvered Side Steps from DeeZee (my wife works there, so my options were limited
). Pretty nice boards with really heavy mounting brackets (the bracket kit also came with a thread die to clean the paint off the studs). I installed them yesterday and I'm pretty happy with the look. I also the wife can get in the truck a lot easier (okay, so can I). I may have them coated with spray bedliner material (they are textured powder coat), but I'm a little concerned with how easily they'll clean up if I do.
All in all, It's not what I planned, but I do like the result. A bedrug and Lomax cover and I'll be good for a while...... maybe
.