Anyone fitted after market side steps to their 90?

Here in the U.K. there are about ten companies offering what look like the same product at 1/4
to 1/2 the price of the Land Rover ones.

Most have a much easier fitting, not requiring the sill covers or any other plastic parts
to be removed.

But there are no reviews.

Have a look at sidesteps.co.uk
What do you think of these?

And Powerfuluk.com have several options for less money.

 

Yes all are direct copies of the oem Land Rover defender ones. All will need plastic parts and sill covers and under cover removed to fit and get to the mounting points on the frame. You can get a good idea what will be required watching simons Powerfull UK install videos. I have found the snailfly ones on eBay or others on eBay to be the cheapest. All are the same design except maybe tread plate design. I would bet that they are all built by the same maker that Land Rover used for the oem ones. You will find that many of the oem Land Rover defender accessories have a knock off version that are pretty dang identical as the “real” ones. I bought a set of classic mud flaps off ebay that were identical in every way as the oem ones. Even branded with the Land Rover logo. Same thickness mounting points and hardware.

 

Thank you for the reply.

The ones from "sidesteps.co.uk" don't appear to need any sill covers or trim removal.

You just cut four squares out of the underside plastic trim to mount the brackets.

 

Any thoughts on these?

Do the OE side steps need the underside trim pieces cutting?

 

HI,
I have had bad experience with non-original side steps, which are excessively cheap (250 euros).
the installation following the video of PF's friends is simple, even the cutting of the plastics is easy, they are precisely marked.
my side steps when installed were crooked and misaligned, probably the mounts were badly designed, had to use shims to align, also after 15 days the lower bolts were rusted.....
My advice, buy from a serious seller, like you mentioned, PF definitely has guaranteed products.

marco

 

You are correct

Happy to buy the OEM ones if they are the best.
But they are U.K. £1,000 from Land Rover although that's supply and fit.

£250 sounded better !!

On my old 2005 Land Rover Defender the aftermarket side steps were half the price of OE and just the same mountings.

With the new Defender this doesn't seem to be the case.

 

I have the d90, and wasn't sure if I wanted the side steps, so I got a set from aliexpress. They were about $300.
Next comparable price was just under $600.
There were also some cheap ones that had Robert Rover printed on them, lol.
They look exactly like the factory ones with defender written on the step. Purchase was great, faster than normal shipping, 1.5 weeks, well packaged and bubble wrap.
I am really happy with them, and would do it again, but the reason they were cheap is that I believe they are factory rejects.

I found one threaded hole on one bracket that was slightly cross threaded.
The passenger side step is silver, painted black, drivers side is fully black plastic (I ordered a black set)
And the underside of the drivers side rail has a small dent.
I used locktite on the stripped hole, and couldn't go full torque. This is my only concern, but there are 3 other good sized bolts.
The other issues are not noticeable after mounting.

The set came with 10 clips, but even with the Y shaped trim tool I broke every clip, you will need about 26 clips, 13 per side I think, plus/minus.

 

Lightning
Really what the important thing you found was an install guide with measurements for any aftermarket or oem or oem knockoff defender side step installation. An installation that does not require taking off all the panels and that gives the proper measurements for cutting from the outside. I have linked the guides for the 90 and 110 below

Defender 90 short cut install guide

Defender 110 short cut install guide

 

Those cdn.shopify non-OEM steps seem adequate from the pics, but looking at the brackets which mount the side rail to the rocker panel, they don’t appear to be as sturdy or well designed as the OEM style. I bought mine from PowerfulUK and followed his instructions, both the included written ones and his video. Although it called for the removal of the underside trim pieces, thinking back on the project and viewing the instructions posted with the Shopify version, I’ll bet the job could be completed without removing the trim pieces. The Shopify instructions specify the dimensions and location of the cutout needed, and using an oscillating multi-tool saw or similar, one could theoretically create these mounting access points without removing the underside trim. And spare themselves the mandatory destruction of the trim clips holding the trim pieces in place. That alone would make the job much smoother. If I were doing it all over, I would attempt to go that route before wrenching off the rocker panel covers and underside trim pieces and watch broken clips fly across the garage floor.

 

So what you are saying is, l could buy the OEM side steps and use this guide to cut the holes in the trim, so avoiding having to pull the trim panels off and break all the clips?