willoughby

I have need for running boards to assist a senior citizen who is only 4'11" tall. Has anyone out there had any experience with installing the boards we see available through ebay or other web sources? The local Lexus dealer did not want to install for me, not real clear as to why.

BobBass

I don't know what the RX running boards look like, but many people who have them on the Sienna MiniVan say they make access WORSE for people with "limited mobility."

My 86 year-old mother-in-law was having trouble getting in our Sienna for a time and we got a high quality small step stool. It's easy to just plunk down on the ground next to the door opening and once she's in the van, you just pick it up and place it inside until the next time.

Might be worth a try before dropping $ into the running boards.

Here's the one we got:

https://www.safetystep.net/products/commercial.html

silvervett

I do the same step stool thing for my mother

Lil4X

Welcome to CL willoughby!

Moved your thread to the 330/350 forum because this is a body issue rather than a hybrid question. You should get a larger response in this forum.

One problem with running boards for elderly folks, it can be confusing where to put what foot and can lead to a nasty fall. It takes a little extra dexterity to balance oneself and not get your feet tangled up on a narrow running board, and step bars are even worse, since both are tucked in pretty close to the body.

I had them on a Suburban or two and they were not nearly as useful as you might think. You might be better off with a step stool that can be more conveniently positioned.

yummyutoo

http://www.runningboardwarehouse.com...ROD&ProdID=185

These running boards look great and are not overly priced; but their are two downsides to these: 1) They need to be professionally installed, due to not using all factory bolt holes 2) They seem not to support to much weight in certain area's, especially on the outer edges. Overall they look great and are mostly functional as a running board. Hope this helps. Let me know if you want me to post some pics of how they look on mine. RX 400H, 2007!

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Here are the same running boards mentioned above on my RX330. I wouldn't worry about weight support as the aluminum frame rails it sits on should be more than strong enough for at least 200 lbs. Anyway, having them professionally installed is a good option, but the instructions are well enough that if you have the tools and the means, they are actually easy to install. I installed these in my garage in a day by myself. Drilling is required, but if you have good drill bits it is no problem at all. I bought mine from Sewell Lexus though their ebay auction prepainted to my color. Color match was spot on, but I did install these when my car was fairly new so my stock color should have had little to no fading at all.