To a truck nut, there is no thrill like driving his pickup right after it’s been lifted. No pun intended, but a lifted truck just seems to bring a guy up in the world. Unfortunately, the thrill is gone as soon as his lady gripes about her struggle to get in it. Such was the case when Carl Vanicky’s ’04 Tundra came up a few inches thanks to the installation of a Revtek lift kit. The truck looked, rode and felt just as Carl had hoped it would, but Linda could no longer make a graceful, lady-like entrance into the cab. He quickly vetoed the ideas of (1)hauling an ol’ milk crate around to serve as a step; (2)lifting his lady into the cab every time they went somewhere; (3)installing a set of running boards or step bars that would destroy the gained ground clearance and/or (4)none of the above. He then discovered Kodiak retractable steps.

            Kodiak retractable steps are operated by the vehicle’s electricity and can be installed at every door. Each Kodiak step is wired to the truck’s power source and is activated by a hidden pin switch that triggers the step when the door is partially opened. Let’s run through that again. Each step is engineered so that, when the door is opened, it folds down to receive the foot of the entering occupant and, when the door is closed, the step folds up into the stowed position. The good news is that each Sidewinder step operates smoothly and folds down when the door is opened to put the step in position to assist the entering passenger. The other good news is that the step folds neatly to the up position and out of the way when the door is closed. Generally speaking, there is only one bit of bad news. According to well-experienced Kodiak step users, the only time a step is in jeopardy of failing is when weight is put on it in the folded-up position. This practice reeks havoc on the gears and screws up the works.

 In any event, installing Kodiak steps proved to be not nearly as much fun as watching them work.

Carl made a deal with his friend Alan Stilabower, owner of Smitty’s Auto Center in Los Osos, CA, to install the steps. Fortunately, one of Alan’s mechanics, Tory Lepp, is the former owner of his own shop and a very experienced installer of Kodiak retractable steps. The accompanying photos show the highlights of the installation of four Kodiak steps, one at each door of Carl Vanicky’s crew cab Tundra. Check them out.