Best Running Boards for 2016–2023 Toyota Tacoma: 7 Picks for Double Cab and Access Cab

Westin's HDX Stainless Drop is the step to start with on a Double Cab. The listing title names part 56-127752 for the 2005–2023 Tacoma Double Cab in textured black, and Westin's own page gives the same fit line: 2005–2023 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab Pickup. Westin describes a one-piece bar with a hexagon tube shape, made from 401 stainless steel under a textured black powder coat, with stainless steel step pads that it calls rust resistant. The drop plates sit below the bar at each door, and Westin says the step area has over 2 added inches of toe and heel room compared with its competitors.

Stainless under the coating is the reason it leads this page. On a coated carbon steel bar, a stone chip is where rust starts. Here the metal under the chip is stainless. Westin backs that with a 5-year limited warranty against defects in materials, workmanship and finish, against 3 years on its steel XTS and wheel-to-wheel parts. The install is a bolt-on to the rocker panel with a vehicle-specific mount kit and no drilling, per Westin.

Two cautions. Westin lists it at $891.99 a pair, which is roughly twice the Tyger Star Armor. And drop plates are the lowest part of the body side, so a truck that sees rocks is better served by the XTS slider below. Westin publishes no weight rating on the page we read. Access Cab owners need a different part, because this one is cut for the four-door cab.

If you want a flat platform and not a tube, Go Rhino's RB20 is the documented choice. The listing title reads 69442987T RB20 Running Boards with Mounting Brackets Kit, Double Cab Only, for the Toyota 05-23 Tacoma. That is a full kit: the boards plus the Tacoma brackets. RealTruck describes the RB20 line as galvanized 16-gauge, zinc-coated steel with a step that is 7.5 in wide at the front and 6.5 in at the rear, finished in a textured powder coat or a protective bedliner coating.

A board that wide is the easiest step on this page for children and older passengers, because the whole foot lands on it. The galvanized layer under the coating is the second reason to pick it. A chip exposes zinc, not bare steel. RealTruck lists the install as a bolt-on with no drilling, trimming or modifications, and the line carries a limited lifetime structural warranty plus a 5-year finish warranty against red rust, peeling, flaking and cracking.

Some things we could not read. RealTruck's RB20 page gives a line price, from $519.99, with no Tacoma-specific price and no weight rating, and the listing title does not name the finish. Check the listing for all three. A full-width board also puts a wide shelf under the rocker, so it costs more side clearance than a tube. Go Rhino sells the 2024 Tacoma kit under a different number, 69443280, so do not order this one for the newer truck.

This is the one power-retractable board we found whose listing title names this generation: RealTruck Volt Power Running Boards for Toyota Tacoma (2016 - 2023) Double Cab. RealTruck's own store sells its VoltStep Electric Running Boards for the 2016–2023 Tacoma as part 20442987PC, and that page is where the specs below come from. The Amazon title carries no part number, and we could not confirm that the listing is that exact part, so match the part number on the listing before you order.

RealTruck describes a lightweight, high-strength aluminum alloy board with a textured black powder coat, molded nylon end caps and a 6 in wide stepping surface. Each board has dual electric motors. Magnetically actuated door switches deploy the board when a door opens, an interior bypass switch overrides it, and integrated LED lighting lights the step. RealTruck says no drilling is required and includes a vehicle-specific mounting kit, wiring and instructions, but it recommends professional installation. The warranty is a limited 5-year term, and RealTruck lists the part at $1,399.99.

The case for a power board on a Tacoma is clearance. With the doors shut the step is tucked up, so nothing fixed hangs under the rocker on a trail. The costs are the price, the wiring, and motors that a fixed bar does not have. RealTruck's page gives no weight rating in the text we read, and its fit line starts at 2016, so this is not a 2005–2015 part. We found no power board whose title names the Access Cab.

A rock slider is built to protect the rocker panel first and to be a step second. Westin's XTS is the slider on this page with a maker spec sheet behind it. The listing title names part 42-14205 for the 2005–2023 Tacoma Double Cab, and Westin's page repeats that fit line. Westin describes 12-gauge steel channel combined with a round tube of 1-3/4 in diameter and .120 in wall, a custom profile that follows the truck's contour, and a textured black powder coat over an electrostatic base coat.

The step is a bolt-on plate with a polyurea texture-coated grip surface, so you still get a place to put a boot. Westin says the slider protects the rocker panels from potential damage, is reinforced for strength, and installs as a bolt-on with no drilling, with hardware and mounting brackets included. It is designed and engineered in San Dimas, California, and carries a 3-year warranty. Westin lists it at $1,034.99.

What Westin's page does not give, in the text we read, is a weight rating, the product weight, or whether the brackets bolt to the frame or to the body. That matters, because a slider is only as strong as its mounts. Read the instructions before you rely on it on rocks, and do not treat it as a jacking point unless Westin says so. Cali Raised also sells bolt-on Trail Edition rock sliders listed for the 2005–2023 Tacoma. That listing is in our product list, but we could not read its specs.

Tyger's Star Armor is the pick for a Double Cab owner who wants a sturdy step with published numbers for about half the price of the Westin. The listing title reads Tyger Auto Star Armor Compatible with 2005-2023 Toyota Tacoma and names no cab. The listing we found carries Tyger part number TG-AM2T20048 in its web address, and Tyger's own page for that part says it only fits the Double Cab with four full-size doors, not the Access Cab. Confirm the part number on the listing before ordering.

Tyger describes 2 in diameter carbon steel formed into a tri-tube structure, with a dual-stage E-coat and textured black powder finish and metal step pads at each door. It is the only pick here with a published capacity: Tyger quotes 500 lb per side. The kit includes both bars with pre-welded brackets and the hardware to mount to the rocker panel. Tyger says it bolts on with no drilling in about 20 minutes, which is the maker's figure, and lists the weight at 78.2 lb.

Tyger lists it at $455 with a 3-year warranty for US customers against manufacturing defects. The trade-offs are carbon steel, where the coating is the only rust protection, and a triple-tube shape that not every owner will like the look of. The step pads are also smaller than a flat board. For a truck that gets rinsed after winter drives, it is the value pick on this page.

Most Tacoma step listings are Double Cab parts, so the Access Cab owner has fewer to choose from. This one names the cab in its title: TAC Side Steps Running Boards Compatible with 2005-2023 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab, 4.25 in, texture black, two pieces. TAC's own store page for the same product repeats the 2005–2023 Access Cab fit and asks buyers to contact TAC to confirm fitment before ordering, which is worth doing.

TAC describes heavy-duty mild steel with an E-coating and a heavy-texture black powder coat, in a 4.25 in oval bend tube with UV-resistant non-slip step pads. It is a bolt-on, and TAC says all mounting hardware and instructions are included. TAC's page states a one-year warranty against rust. It does not publish a weight rating in the text we read, so ask the seller if you need a number.

TAC lists it at $199.49, marked down from $219.99, which makes it the lowest-priced pick on this page. At that price you are buying a coated mild steel bar, so rinse the brackets after salty drives and touch up chips. An oval tube of this width is a comfortable step for adults and sits closer to the body than a drop step. TAC also sells a 4 in oval bar for the Access Cab, and TrailFX sells its A1512B nerf bar for the 2005–2023 Access Cab. Both are in our product list.

A wheel-to-wheel bar runs past the cab to the rear wheel, which adds a step beside the bed. On this truck that makes bed length part of the fit, and Westin's listing shows it: 56-534185 HDX Drop Wheel to Wheel Nerf Bars, fits 2016-2023 Tacoma Double Cab 6 ft Bed, textured black. Westin's page gives the fit as the 2016–2023 Tacoma Double Cab Pickup with the 73.7 in bed. That is the optional long bed, not the 60.5 in bed that is standard on the Double Cab, so measure before ordering.

Westin describes solid one-piece steel construction with a hexagon tube shape and a textured black powder coat, die-stamped step areas for traction, removable step plates and a third step for truck bed access. An isolator bracket supports the bar past the cab. It mounts to the rocker panel with the included mount kit, and Westin says bolt-on installation with no drilling required on most applications. The warranty is 3 years, and Westin lists it at $1,028.99.

The third step is the reason to buy it. Reaching a toolbox, a rack or a cover latch is easier from a step than from the top of the tire. The costs are the price, a long bar with drop plates along more of the truck's side, and steel under powder coat where the cab-length HDX above has stainless. The fit line starts at 2016, unlike Westin's cab-length parts, and we did not find a wheel-to-wheel listing for the short bed or the Access Cab.