My plan is to turn off the drop-down steps on the truck when I am wheeling in questionable terrain. Of course, this only helps to prevent damage to the step itself should I open the door and not the rocker panels. I would like some actual true rock sliders for these trucks and if/when someone builds/sells a decent one then I will look into buying some. Until then I plan to keep the truck out of the gnarly stuff in order to avoid that type of damage.
On a side note, my other half is really into the truck so far and is considering getting another new Superduty over the Landcruiser she initially wanted. If that's the case, I might end up giving her the current one and building myself a proper Overlander out of a new XL or XLT base optioned F-350 truck, possibly even with a utility or flat bed for a slide-in camper.