Toyota Step Bumper

A step or rear step bumper (since it's usually found at the rear of your vehicle) is a kind of bumper that you can step on like a ladder in order to have easier access of the box or bed of your Toyota pickup truck (over the tailgate) or the trunk and roof-mount of your van. It turns an ordinary bumper into a one-step ladder, in short. On top of serving as a built-in ladder of sorts that can double as a bumper (other bumpers get damaged when you step on them and use them as your foot stool), this component also offers every benefit you'd expect from quality bumper. With that said, here's how you should go about maintaining it.

Beware of the costs of auto detailing.

You're likelier to keep your step bumper clean and well-inspected for corrosion and damage if you're aware of how expensive it is to repair or replace it. Body shops tend to charge through the nose because they have to utilize different multiple jobs just to fix a dent or paint over chipping paint. You'll have to pay for services like hail damage, complete auto detailing, paintless dent repair, alignment, and many other labor-intensive offerings. You could end up spending upwards to thousands of dollars just to make your damaged automobile look like new.

Watch your step when using the step bumper.

Like with "real" ladders, this built-in ladder or step stool also has certain limits. Even though it is better at supporting the weight of yourself as you step on it to gain access to your pickup's truck bed or van's roof mount, it will buckle and crash when too much weight is placed on it. If you weigh over 300 pounds or if you're carrying something particularly heavy when you step on the step bumper, it might give in to the excess load. Your user manual should be able to indicate the weight limits that your bumper could take, but you should also consider the fact that a compromised or corroded step bumper can collapse under the weight of something or someone it could normally support.

Wash your car and clean up your step bumper.

Regular cleanup is a maintenance requirement of not only your step bumper, but also your front bumper, car windows, windshield, roof, doors, chassis, headlights, taillights, and everything else on your Toyota vehicle. You can go to a car wash to do it for you or do it yourself with a bottle of car detergent, a bucket of water, a hose, a foam applicator, and a microfiber cloth or chamois. It takes at most 30 minutes a day to clean up your car (maybe a bit longer for a van or a pickup truck).

Prevent damage to your step bumper by parking in the shade.

Just because you have a "rugged" or "off-road" Toyota vehicle, it doesn't excuse user abuse. It's already dealing with a lot of pressures from regular use, so don't test its limits by abusing its supposed toughness. With that said, you can keep the finish of your rear step bumper from getting ruined by sun damage or ultraviolet radiation and parking at the shade. What's more, by keeping your vehicle in safe places like a parking lot or the driveway of your garage, you can keep ne'er-do-wells from attempting to steal your beloved Toyota vehicle. Look for a nice tree to park under to limit inclement weather damage as well.