Well I don't know what the term for the below things in the pictures are but I want to remove them... Are they drilled onto the truck or just stuck on with some thick double-sided tape? Can I pull them off after applying a heat gun like you would with other sticky things?

 

What are we looking at?

 

It looks like that is the side molding on your 2001 truck. Others have taken them off with a heat gun and fishing line. It seems they are held on with just double sided adhesive. Good luck...

 

They come off pretty easy. The help of a 3M adhesive remover wheel will make it very easy to clean up. I have heard of people using elbow grease and a day of work. Mine took about 10 minutes to get off and about 20 minutes with the 3M wheel. the rest was polishing the doors out.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-4-Stripe-Off-Fine-Grade-Wheel-Car-Auto-Detail-07499/140982023234?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D16098%26meid%3D8266894783300666491%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D7683%26rk%3D5%26sd%3D300902507037%26

 

I actually took a part of mine off today to install my fender flares and surprisingly, they came off easily. Mine are actually made of rubber that look like a piece of chrome molding. I trimmed them with a flat blade (again, surprisingly easy) to fit and clear the new flares, pried up the end piece with a small nylon pry bar and just gave it a little tug to get started and they peeled right off....... Now the truck had been parked, baking in the sun for a while down here in Texas and it was only a mild 96 degrees; so perhaps the heat gun was not needed in my case but even the adhesive left came right off with soapy water. I can not say for sure that yours are the same, but that is my two cents on the situation.