J&J Millenium Running Boards

[KHogan]

I bought a gorgeous set of J&J Millenium boards (front and rear... two pieces for LWB... fits wheel to wheel). I waited a month to get 'em, but I did get a nice deal (including delivery to my door gratis). They are certainly top shelf... polished S/S, hand-welded, built-to-order, yada, yada. They are also unbelievably horrendous to install. While I'm sure J&J dealers that move a lot of product and install them for a living curse J&J, they have figured-out the idiosynchrasies of installation. As a former Class-A Mechanic (alright, it was almost twenty years ago in my past life) for about five years (I'm also a degreed engineer), I knew they weren't going to be easy to install, but I figured I could handle it. I didn't expect the harsh reality of the situation. I busted my A** for four hours yesterday putting on the front boards (cab section). The instructions were minimal and barely useful. I saved the best for last... I knew the rear boards (bed section) were gonna be fun, but I had no idea what I was in for. I wasted three hours today trying to put them in and then gave up. The instructions for the rears made the ones for the front boards look like "Running Board Install For Dummies". Better still, the instructions refer you to figures that just don't exist (they must have forgot to include them... I hope). I'm going to call J&J tomorrow when they open to (hopefully) get the "missing instructions" and to vent my liver a little. I'll give it one more try after that with my buddy who's also no stranger to tools (and is a Mech Engineer), having built several from scratch race cars (road race and drag). After that, I'm going to the local J&J dealer and will bite the bullet (and swallow my pride) and pay to have them finish the install.



Caveat Emptor... if you buy J&J, don't be an idiot and try to save money like the foolish your's truly... pay and let them curse, get covered in shavings and get cut to high heaven.

 

[Cryppie]

Been there, done that, got the scars

I've given up TWICE now attempting my J&J boards. First was with the cab boards, and now I'll be taking it back to my local dealer to finish the bed boards. True, their instructions leave much to be desired, and bed hardware is mostly incorrect, BUT the quality of the boards IS top notch! J&J makes a great running board, but, and it's been said before, their R&D section needs to take another look at hardware for our trucks. BTW, I got the lighted boards, WAAAY cool, I'll post pics when I get the install finished. The wife really likes the white lites below the doors at night.

 

[KHogan]

Cryppie: Well, at least I'm not alone. If the hardware was at least correct, I wouldn't need instructions. As stated above, I'm no stranger to tools, but I felt like a real moron trying in vain to put those boards on. Before turning pro (and ever since as well) I've been a backyard mechanic (since age 14. . now I'm 41)). I spent two years in high school in the Vocational Auto Shop Program (more than a half-day each day for two years), am a Lincoln Tech. Institute grad (two-year cert in Heavy-Duty Diesel and Automotive), plus countless hours in GM's Training Schools (was Chevy and Olds Certified). I may end-up having to fab my own brackets for the damn things. At least I have acess to an air-conditioned shop with air, lift, MIG/TIG/PLASMA, my full set of tools, plus my buddys stuff. I'll get it eventually, even if it kills me, LOL! THere's NO REASON why these things should be so dificult to install. SHAME on you, J&J!

 

[yycguy]

KHogan



Sorry to here that your install isn't going well. I have the J&J boards as well and the dealer did mention that they where a _itch to install, so I let them do it. They are great looking board. Hope the reat of the install goes better for you.

yycguy

 

[DocDetonancour]

I installed my MAAP and they were very easy. Don't see why the J & J can't build harware similiar. No holes to drill and are very stout. Good luck, Doc

 

[KHogan]

Doc; I hear ya. I spent a fortune on this truck, so I figured I'd go for the "best" this time: no run-of-the-mill mail order nerf bars for me, LOL! If I had bought Westin chrome S/S nerfs they'd have gone on with no drilling in less than an hour. I got the front boards on, and they do look super nice, but I look like I had been in a war: I was covered in metal shavings, grease, dirt and I am super stiff and cut up (it's a B****h gettin' old, LOL!) Seriously, there's no reason why they have to be this hard to install. I could understand if they were cheap multi-fit items. These are supposed to be hand-made, custom-fit/custom-order and are VERY expensive ($1100MSRP for four boards w/ plain steel hardware!). They should be properly engineered for minimum drilling and should fit like a glove: they aren't. The instructions are abysmal and the parts fit like a square peg in a round hole. This is inexcusable at this price level and J&J supposed "leader" in afdtermarket dress-up items.

 

[Fireman]

:-laf :-laf can't help but laugh, sorry. I did mine, it wasn't easy, but I did it.



Endevor to persevere !



Fireman

 

[JWChessell]

I installed a set of four in 12 hours, not including wiring the lights, on my 2003 QC LWB SRW. There were NO directions for the rear boards -- just go a little bit at a time and figure it out yourself. Before installing a set of these, make sure you have, or can borrow, a right-angle drill or drill head, a bench vise, hacksaw and a bench or hand grinder, in addition to the usual set of wrenches, etc. 10 or 12 scrap pieces of 2X4 about 1 foot long are also very handy for setting them in place if you're doing the job by yourself.



BTW, J&J is about 20 miles from my house. I saved more than $200 by buying them in another state on a trip, rather than buying them at the factory. Go figure.

 

[PPeters]

I considered J&J's, but didn't buy for the reasons above. Bought Stull EZE 2. 25" stainless cab and bed boards. Sweet, and what an easy install. Start to finish, about 2 hours, taking my time. All hardware that was supposed to be in the kit was, and the instructions were complete (just poorly photo copied). Leave your drill and saw on the bench, all you need is a socket wrench.



I really liked the looks of the J&J boards, just heard enough about install to scare me away.



Pat

 

[KHogan]

Fireman, JWChessel: How about some pix of the install (brackets, etc. ), especially the rear boards. Help a bro out, LOL!

 

[JWChessell]

KHogan:



I don't have a digital camera. I'll have to see if I can get a decent picture(s) with a Polaroid and then scan them into the computer. My truck is white, and I'll bet there will be too much reflection under the truck when the flash goes off -- but I'll give it a try. This may take a while, though.

 

[Fireman]

Mine is a dually, and the bed boards came with some pretty good instructions and illustrations. If I can find them I'd be happy to fax them.



Fireman

 

[Casey Balvert]

I added brackets to the dually box boards. Not sure if that helps or not but it should work for the regular box as well. This is one of the first boards made for the third gen trucks so they may have made some changes since then. The extra brackets were made of plain flat stock. These are the Classic boards but the Millenium boards should be the same idea. Hope it helps.



Casey



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[JWChessell]

I crawled under the truck with my Polaroid and took about 10 pictures. It's going to take me a little time to get them organized, and I also have to figure out how to post them to a reply, which I've never done before.

 

[KHogan]

Thanks for all the help. Any pix anyone can post will definitely help. I hope to tackle them again this Sat.



BTW, I called J&J today and they were clueless" gee, we never had a complaint about installation before" "No, even though the instructions refer to figures # 2 through #5, they don't exist" "I guess we need to look at a current Ram HD and do more R&D, but we won't be getting one in the shop anytime soon, sorry""

 

[Casey Balvert]

Nice product but the service does leave something to be desired. I would buy them again as they look great on the truck.



Casey

 

[KHogan]

No doubt J&J is the best in my mind. My buddy has a set of lighted tapered tube boards on his F-350 Dually CrewCab 4X4 Powerscrote that look awesome with their (Alcoa) wheel-to-wheel coverage. That's what sold me on their product. The millenium boards are hotrod tapered fat (3" dia. ) nerfs with a running board top. They are gorgeous and I haven't seen another truck with them in the Garbage, er Garden State yet. They really need to get their act together as far as R&D goes. It isn't rocket science to develop these products, yet it appears you need to be a rocket scientist to install them.



BTW, OK Tire and 4WD in Stewartsville, NJ did an awesome job on the Ford dually J&J board install, but the amount of brackets needed makes the Dodge kit look like a beginner's erector set.

 

[JWChessell]

KHogan:



I've finished the install instructions for the front J&J running boards, and have started to work on the instructions for the rear boards, which will take longer as there are more pictures. However, the instructions are too long to post on the TDR website. If you'll PM me your e-mail address, I'll send you what I've finished so far.

 

[KHogan]

JW: thanks. It's really appreciated. ck your pm.

 

[KHogan]

JW: Thanks. I could really use pix of the bed board install.