“I’ve Gotta Know” - How the Truck Nerf Bar was Born
Are you up for a little “Nerf Bar Trivia”?
Some wonder why such a rigid shiny tube on the side of a truck is called a nerf bar. Sometimes people refer to them side steps or chrome tubes because they cant grasp the concept of “Nerf Bar” as being a hard shiny stainless steel object. “Nerf” material, like the material used to make soft footballs, baseballs & frisbees you may have thrown around as a kid, doesn’t really relate to some hard chrome tube you would use to step on to help you step into your truck.
So here it is. The nerf bar was a tubular device that was originally intended to be fitted to the side of a racecar – often single seaters like a midget race car that competes on a race track.
“Nerf” is also a racing term that refers to a small bump (rub) between two vehicles. When one driver bumps the other car in order to pass it, they call it nerfing. Nerf bars protect the sides of the vehicles and keeps their tires from rubbing. Without them, the fast spinning tires can come in contact with each other causing the cars to lose control, or flip. Sometimes having nerf bars on your truck is a good way to help protect your wheels and body kits, however rub a stainless steel nerf bar up against a concrete barrier and you can expect to need to replace it. I’ll have to say sometimes I wish I had the old style nerf bars, because I’d occasionally like to bump into a few people myself on the freeway, but I guess you just cant win.
Tags: chrome accessories, Nerf Bars, truck accessories, truck bed rails, Truck Step Bars, Truck Steps