Running boards + extra step

Thks all for your responses.
Plastic stool on a rope.... been there, done that. We were hoping for something a little more permanent.
Also we priced out the folding running board option, eeeeek very pricey may be the only alternative.
Good feedback on the frame holes and integrity of the frame especially when under load.
So seems to be a common problem with no out of the box solution.
Still looking into it.

Amp Research power folding steps as mentioned by a previous poster does make an extended version as well as their normal version that does drop lower by 3 inches compared to the regular ones.

https://www.amp-research.com/powerstep-xl-running-board

When I take certain people in the truck I throw a small rubber maid stool in the truck to give them a second step.

I got rid of the factory tube steps as soon as I got the truck home and installed DeeZee diamond plate full length running boards. Reasons being: better rocker panel protection, wider and much longer area to step onto, sit a little lower than tube steps, better traction (but guess one could debate that). They were easy to install and still have the factory ones in shed..

trailernovice wrote:
...this solution would also avoid making any modifications that the next owner of your truck may not want

Don't know about others, but I bought mine for the wife and my use, not for the next owners.

If she's having difficulty then I modify. "A happy wife is a happy life"

something maybe like this:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermaid-Ultra-Non-Slip-Plastic-Step-Stool/122897833

Or, there's even folding ones out there...
just my two cents...for what it's worth

this solution would also avoid making any modifications that the next owner of your truck may not want

An out of the box solution...and might look kinda odd in use...but wouldn't it be simpler and a whole lot cheaper just to get a 12-in-high plastic 'step-on' platform and toss it into the cab when not in use? I'm talking about the sort of thing women like my wife use to reach tall kitchen cabinets...minimal expense, with no welding or bolting or anything

I have seen pictures of a truck that had an electric step that operated like the Class A motorhomes. It was a single step. Do not know the source or name.

I installed running boards on my F350 dually and there are extra mounting holes under the truck that one could fashion hangers to add a single stationary step that was lower than the running board if they desired. Or weld extensions to the factory brackets to extend down for another lower step. I fabricate step hangers for steps behind my running boards that I used to mount a single step to be able to stand on and access my bed tool box.

Just takes a ;little engineering and fabrication and it is very possible.

AMP power steps drop lower than typical running boards or nerf bars.
Bout double, maybe 8” drop?
Idk if that would be enough and they’re expensive to just try out.