I suppose there is something to be said about being the guinea pig...lol.. So, let me first start by saying this DIY project wasn't terrible just took 2 times of trying and literally thinking though my options in terms of how to attack it.. So, after literally looking at the parts, then the instructions and finding my own way to do it, it cut the time in half.
First off, do yourself a favor and separate all the parts into piles and count them through. There is a bunch of EVERYTHING, so make sure its all there. Also, I found that to get to the main bolt (that mounts to the frame) a real pain in the ass, so to save time (actually a decent amount) thread the bolt and washer through the bracket to the mounting bracket that does into the frame, then slide it into the frame for tightening...
As a side note, I do think that the brackets in this unit are a little more sturdy than the x5 look a likes bc not only do they mount to the frame with the main bolt (perpendicular to the ground) but they mount on an additional part of the frame (parallel to the ground). Very sturdy. Also, the quality of the boards are solid and heavy too (well made imho).
Now for the funny part; the boards for the different automobile makers are the same width, but not the same length, so, as you can guess, they gave me the boards for an RX350 and not the Jeep (they are going to deliver the right ones to my house and take the wrong ones back). The mounting hardware is for my jeep, but not the most import part. But even with with that issue, the boards mount flush to the brackets where there is no daylight between the brackets and the boards (just slightly different mounting points). They sat on the brackets and the looks of it are great. I have a bunch of pics showing not only the "finished product" but also the separate mounting points and all the hardware. Let me know your thoughts.
Lastly, I might actually plastidip the chrome parts of the board to make them all black.