Best Winter Side Steps for 2015-2018 Ford F-150: Snow Picks

The best winter side steps for the 2015-2018 Ford F-150 give you a wide, grippy platform to land on when the running board is hidden under snow and your boots are caked in slush. A tall truck plus an icy driveway is how most January ankle rolls happen — and a fixed nerf bar or step bar fixes it for the cost of a set of winter tires. In our Tampa shop we fit these bars on 13th-generation F-150s headed everywhere from the Rockies to the salt belt, and the picks below are the ones that actually earn their keep when the temperature drops.

Why Winter Side Steps Matter on the 2015-2018 F-150

A fixed side step turns the worst part of winter truck ownership — climbing into a lifted cab on ice — into a non-event. The 2015-2020 Ford F-150 (the aluminum-body 13th generation) sits high enough that the factory rocker is a long reach in boots, and a dusting of snow on a smooth OE running board becomes a skating rink. A dedicated winter step bar solves three cold-weather problems at once: a wider, textured landing surface for traction, a lower drop so you step onto the bar before you commit your full weight, and a durable finish that survives months of brine and sand.

There is a second, quieter benefit: rocker protection. The bars below mount to the F-150's body mounts along the pinch weld, so slush spray, parking-lot snowbanks and the occasional curb hit the steel tube instead of your paint. If you want a powered board that retracts out of the way, see our guide to electric running boards for the 2015-2018 F-150 — but for winter the fixed bars here never freeze in the extended position, never fail with a dead motor, and cost a fraction as much. For a head-to-head on the parts that keep salt off your lower body panels, our winter fender flares are a natural companion to a set of steps.

What to Look For in a Winter Step Bar

Not every nerf bar is a good winter nerf bar. After fitting dozens of these to F-150s, four things separate a step you trust on ice from one you regret:

Step-pad width and texture

The single most important winter spec is the stepping surface. A 3-inch round tube with a small pad is fine in July; in January you want a 4-to-5-inch pad with aggressive, slip-resistant molding so a snow-packed boot still bites. The Westin R5 and Lund oval bars give you the full 5-inch landing; N-Fab's die-stamped and drilled step zones trade width for raw grip.

Finish and corrosion resistance

Road salt is the real enemy. A quality multi-stage textured-black powder coat over mild steel is the standard here and holds up for years if you rinse it; polished stainless steel resists brine even better but shows water spots. Avoid cheap single-dip coatings — they chip at the mounting points and rust creeps under the finish by the second winter.

Drop height and clearance

A low-profile drop step like the Go Rhino OE Xtreme sits closer to the ground so you step up onto it before hauling yourself into the cab — ideal for shorter drivers and kids in snow gear. A cab-length hoop step like N-Fab's keeps more ground clearance for deeper snow and light trails. Match the geometry to how you actually use the truck.

No-drill, factory-mount fitment

Every bar in this guide bolts to the 2015-2018 F-150's existing body-mount points with no drilling, which matters double in winter: no drilled holes in the pinch weld means no bare metal for salt to attack. Plan on roughly 45 to 60 minutes per truck with hand tools.

The Best Winter Side Steps for the 2015-2018 Ford F-150

We ranked five fixed step bars that fit the 2015-2018 F-150 SuperCrew, from a sub-$260 value pick to the wide-pad Westin R5. Prices run from around $240 to $655, and each one installs with no drilling.

The Westin R5 is our top winter pick because it nails the two specs that matter most on ice: a full 5-inch injection-molded step pad and a thick, textured-black powder coat that laughs at brine. The one-piece bar runs cab-length under the doors so you get a usable step at both rows, and because it bolts to the factory body mounts it goes on in under an hour with no drilling. A set weighs in the mid-40-pound range, which tells you how much steel is actually under the coating. At around $655 (before the current 15% promo) it is not the cheapest, but it is the one we put on our own trucks.

If the R5's price is more than you want to spend, the Westin E-Series 3 is the value play and our budget pick: a classic 3-inch round steel tube with molded, slip-resistant step pads under each door, finished in the same durable black powder coat. At around $253 before the 15% promo it is the cheapest proven way to get a grippy, no-drill winter step onto a 2015-2018 F-150. The step pads are narrower than the R5's 5-inch landing, so it is the pick for drivers who want a clean OE-style look and solid footing without paying for the widest pad on the market.

The Go Rhino OE Xtreme Low Profile is the pick for anyone who wants an easier first step in deep snow. Its 5-inch step pads sit lower and closer to the rocker than a standard bar, so shorter drivers and kids in bulky snow gear step up onto the bar before committing their weight. The UV-resistant, slip-resistant pads keep their grip in wet and icy conditions, and the textured-black finish and no-drill mounting match the rest of this list. This complete kit includes the side steps and brackets, and its fitment stretches across the full 2015-2020 F-150 run, so it carries over if you upgrade trucks within the generation.

N-Fab trades step-pad width for raw traction and ground clearance. The tubular steel bar uses N-Fab's patented drilled grip-step zones with a no-slip texture, so even a snow-packed boot grabs hold, and the textured-black multi-stage powder coat is built for abuse. Because it is a slimmer cab-length design rather than a wide low-profile board, it keeps more clearance for snowbanks and light off-road use — a good match for an F-150 that actually sees the trail in winter. This part number is cut for the 2015-2017 SuperCrew; confirm your cab and year at checkout. It is the grippiest, most trail-friendly bar on this list for the money.

The Lund 5-inch oval bar is the way to get a wide, 5-inch stepping surface for the least money — around $238 before you factor in the markdown from its $479.99 list. The straight oval steel tube carries molded non-slip step pads and a black powder-coat finish, and like the rest of the group it bolts on with no drilling. It does not have the R5's heft or premium pad, but for a daily-driven 2015-2018 F-150 SuperCrew that just needs a dependable, wide winter step, it is the best dollar-per-inch value here.

2015-2018 F-150 Side Steps Compared

Here is how the five winter step bars stack up on the specs that matter when the driveway freezes. All five mount with no drilling and fit the 2015-2018 F-150.

Installation and Winter Care

Installation on the 2015-2018 F-150 is a no-drill, bolt-on job that takes most people about 45 to 60 minutes with hand tools. Each bar uses the factory body-mount points along the bottom of the cab, so there is nothing to cut or weld. Loosely hang both brackets per side, slip the bar into place, snug everything by hand, then torque in sequence so the bar sits level front to back. Because you never drill the pinch weld, there is no bare steel for salt to find — one of the biggest reasons a no-drill bar outlasts a cheaper drilled design in the salt belt.

Winter care is simple but worth it. Rinse the bars when you rinse the truck — a quick spray after a salted drive keeps brine from sitting in the step pads and mounting hardware. Check the bracket bolts once mid-season; thermal cycling can loosen hardware over a hard winter. If you run a textured-black steel bar, a yearly wipe of the exposed hardware with a corrosion inhibitor keeps rust off the fasteners. Do this and a quality step bar will outlast several sets of winter tires.