That changes things a bit, a couple of inches may make all the difference in the world for your wife's ingress into the vehicle. There was a thread on this forum that had some decent-looking running boards in it. These had an almost factory look to them. They'd accomplish your needs plus you'd never have to worry about rust or need to repaint the nerfs or glue the foot pads back on and they look more like they belong to a street sporting vehicle.
I do see merit in the trailer hitch bump bar, that said, I couldn't make myself do it.