Amp research availability

Has anyone heard anything about when the power running boards might be available for our trucks (22+)?

 

"Soon". LOL. These guys are a mess IMO.

 

Whatever... they seem to be operating from the Toyota communications playbook to provide zero useful information as to when these might come available. Just "soon" and "check back". A guy made a video in another thread where he was adding fixed steps in the to use interim and said the Amp motor boards should be available by summer. Except that was posted LAST April or May and he meant LAST summer. My bet is that we won't even see them THIS summer. Maybe next. Maybe.

 

I bought the OEM TRD fixed boards to use until "that day". I recommend you do the same since it's "something" to tide you over and you can always sell them later if/ when the Amp Research ones appear.

 

Is it a general agreement that Amp is that much better than other brands like Go Rhino? I believe there was another brand someone mentioned that makes power running boards as well but I’m forgetting at the moment…

 

I think the benefit with amp is definitely the quality but also the ease of installation. It plugs directly into the obd port. The go rhino requires a more intricate install

 

Not sure about quality as I've had neither of these. But a couple of differences.

1. The Rhinos have 2 motors per board vs 1 for the Amps and three attachment points instead of 2. But I don't believe they are rated for more weight. Maybe having a redundant motor they would keep working if 1 failed? IDK.

2. On the Rhinos you have the main harness run from the engine compartment to one side and connect the two sides together by running a harness across the underside of the truck. Whereas Amp have 2 separate runs of harness from the engine bay, one to each side. To me that is neater and avoids having to route wires across the driveshaft and exhaust.

3. As noted above, the Rhinos use magnetic contacts on each door to trigger them. They work fine, but the installation will be a little tedious to line them up and tuck the wires. Whereas Amp is neater. In the past they have had 2 options... plug and play into the OBD port -or- direct connections to the door trigger wires. The P&P versions were about $100 more. If you get the Amp P&P version you really need to also get their OBD expander cable to have an open OBD port for code readers ScanGauges or whatever. That's another $100.

4. I am exploring the possibility of wiring the Rhinos like the hardwire version of the AMPs. All the mag contacts do is connect the board trigger wire to ground when the contacts open (I believe these will be normally shut contacts, need to check). If so, we probably could connect the board trigger wires to the truck's door trigger wires like the hard wired AMP version. Anyone who has ever worked on car stereos or alarms would not find this difficult... once we know where the wires are located and what colors they are. If Amp offers that option their installation instructions will have that information. And I am also trying to find it at the 12Volt.com.

5. The Rhinos are available. Amps not, and no telling when they will be.

 

I’m interested if your idea would work in regards to eliminating the door mag switch and going to the door pin switch.

 

The only way to know for sure is to get the hardware in hand and try it. But I wouldn't even think of doing that unless and until I can identify the correct door wires... without going in and doing an easter egg hunt. I am hoping the12Volt or some other installation site will post the alarm/remote start wire list for our 2022+ Tundras before too long.

 

Aftermarket RS/alarm wiring info is already available. Check out First tech. Per Amp, they said they were not the suppliers to Toyota. At least what they told me when I inquired about steps last year. That being said, I have bought ALL the OEM parts that comprise the OEM steps , minus a wiring harness. I've had them 7+months and still haven't got around to installing them. I thought about installing them in the down position until I got around to making the harness. But haven't. It erks me when people slide off the side of the seat to get out.

 

Not finding any 2022+ Tundra alarm/rs wiring diagrams at FirstTech... I am sure they have that info if only to train their dealers, but I see nothing on their web site, nor anywhere else. Still looking though. And on the Compustar link at FirstTech, if you go to remote starters they don't list any products for 2022+ Tundra. Our trucks are not even available in the Toyota drop down menu.

 

I had to go back and check for myself. Maybe they took it all down. I dunno. What I do know is I printed off info for a 22' Tundra for myself. If I can locate it. I'll share.

 

I found it. I've scanned a couple of pages. If you search RSA-TL12, it will bring it up but the info is scrubbed. I saved it as a PDF so here's a screenshot of the front page.

 

Just a side note on Amp steps:
I had a lot fewer parking lot door dents on my 2014 with the standard tube steps than the Amp folding steps.
I park away from everyone else, but there is always that careless a-hole that will park next to me and drive their door into the side of my truck.
If I had it to do over again, I would purchase a nicer set of stationary steps and skip the folding Amps...

Good luck..

 

Something also to know... Aftermarket boards are instant open and close whereas the factory ones have a delay to close.

What does that mean you may ask? Well, I use my truck as a daily and have a laptop that I have with me everywhere that goes in and out of the backseat. The power board stays down after I close the front door and open the backdoor for a few seconds which I very much prefer.

 

A guy at my work leaves them in the down position on his RAM when he parks in a parking lot. I thought at first they were broken, but he told me he leaves them down just for this reason.

 

The retract steps get down to a more useful position than most of the fixed boards I have tried. With most of those you are stepping up pretty much to the door sill which seems awkward. There are some that have the little step downs that work better, but I don't care for that look.

 

From 2014 to 2022 , I put Amp steps on my truck. They were not instant up or down. There is a delay.

Ya, stationary boards are almost a waist in my opinion. Especially on a small lifted truck.

 

That's a great idea! May help with door dings as well.

 

This is all I can find searching RSA-TL12. It is firmware for various devices listed here, none of which fit 2022+ Tundra. The CM-DC3 remote start listed on what you posted does not seem to exist, at leat not on FirsTech website. Maybe that was a draft or they pulled the device off the market for some reason? The only similar they have now is FT-DC3 and of course does not work with 2022+ Tundra.

iDatalink - Products

 

That is the only reason I bought them, for my 5' wife to get in and out.
I don't step on them when I get in and out..

 

Compustar is owned by Firstech.

 

Yes, I know. But they still don't list an application or have installation instructions or wiring diagrams for 2022+ Tundra. This is a waste of time.

 

While it is not out there to find, I HAVE their instructions . I've not attempted to install anything because I don't have the time. Kinda glad I haven't because they're probably a good reason they took it down.

 

These guys like to hold that stuff close in order to force you to go to a dealer. If you do indeed have them, PM me a copy of the pdf.

 

Interesting... Because a week or 2 ago I asked RealTruck when they expected to get the Amp boards and their reply was phrased as if they were the mfg, not just a reseller. It's almost like "who's on first".

 

So Realtruck is the parent company for a lot of brands including Lund and AMP. While we are all under the same umbrella, these individual companies have their own locations for R&D but sometimes also make parts for some of our other brands.

AMP recently came in and the timeline we received was that we should see part numbers for the new Tundra roll out by Summer and an official release looking at early Fall.

 

Would the steps be similar to the OEM steps? I have everything except a harness. I bought all new parts from a Toyota dealer. Even got OEM connectors.

 

Amp does not make any of the factory steps so I honestly couldn't say how similar they are going to be.

 

Saw this today

https://www.amp-research.com/powerstep-xl-running-board/2023/toyota/tundra