WARNING - Instructions say to use either a #5 or 9/64" bit. Don't use a #5!! That's what I used and ended up with holes I couldn't do anything with. I ended up using a #28 bit which is the actual equivalent of a 9/64".

Pros -
quick and effortless to deploy. I could do it with a pinky
worked rather well even on unlevel ground
easy to install

Cons -
Bottom edge of ladder is a thin bar which quickly carved into the soft ground/lawn. Best to keep off lawn
May rub against your bumper scuffing it up. I don't care but you might.

Bedliner pointers - Installation is more involved if you have a plastic bedliner section screwed to the tailgate. I was still able to do a good job of installing. I first set the plate on top to mark and drill the holes in the valley of the plastic ridges. Then I cut a rectangle out of the liner with a razor just big enough to slip the mounting bracket into/under the plastic liner so that only the edge with the mounting nubs are exposed. This looked and worked much better than trying to mount it over the top of it's deep plastic ridges.

I bought this primarily for my mom (she likes it) so she can access the back of my dad's truck, but I like it well enough that I may buy one for myself now.

Once I FIXED everything, the ladder is a worthwhile investment of money ($42.53) and time (3+ hours to install, fix, and re-install).

I don't see how it could be done drilling through a liner - my Dodge RAM 3500 has a sprayed-on bed liner so it was possible to properly position the mounting plate for flat support AND clearance underneath the tonneau cover. I still had to move it at least 3 times, covering up the mis-drilled holes with black RTV.

And what is not clear in the instructions is that to properly "use" the ladder, you have to have "peak" the Rocker Arms - which is NOT safe at all until the bolts are changed!. When you "peak" the hinge bars, they then clear the tailgate support cable.

A. Instructions say to "Uuse a #5 (9/64") drill bit". WRONG! The #5 drill bit (with .2055" diameter) would work fine, but NOT the 9/64" drill (which only has .1406" diameter). The smaller drill "might" work with a single layer of sheet metal and the short screws, but NOT the longer screws!

B. The list of tools state using a 1/2" or 13mm wrench. WRONG! The supplied bolts are 6mm Metric allen-head cap screws and nuts. These require a 10mm wrench and hex wrench.

CRITICAL FLAW. The holes in the Rocker Arms and Climbing Section appear to be sized per original spec - which I'm guessing was for a 5/16" bolt (thus the 1/2" wrench). The holes in the risers on the Mounting Plate and the Straight Tube and the Offset tube are sized for a 6mm bolt. So what you get is an EXTREMELY wobbly assembly if you use the provided fasteners.

THE FIX. I drilled everything out to 5/16" diameter. Where bolts went, I used 5/16-18 x 1-1/2" Grade 5 bolts and Nylok non-loosening nuts (4 bolts, 4 nuts). I also used 5/16" SAE Flat Washers (4) to take up slack at the hinge points. I snugged the pivot bolts together enough to allow movement, but not free play. The two bolts connecting the climbing section were made tight.

For the removable pins, I used 5/16" diameter x 2" Overall Length Steel Locking Pins (2) instead of the much, much smaller 6mm ones from the Chinese kit.

Once these changes were made, the ladder pivoted very easily into position, was very stable going up or down, and was very secure once strapped to the tailgate.

The ladder design claims to be patented, I bet if you check the patent it calls for 5/16" bolts. Good luck!

26-Sep-2017. Now that I've used the ladder for a while, I upgraded my rating from 3 stars to 5 stars. The last 2 stars I credit me with though. The ladder REALLY has made a difference in accessibility to the truck bed, especially since I've had both knees replaced.

Fairly easy install, but screws supplied strip really easily. Would have been nice if it came with self tapping metal screws.

I weigh 195lbs, and I have used the ladder about four or times now with no issues.

Folds up easily for storage and can be removed easily as well.

Reason for 4 vice 5 stars is the screws that come with it. If it came with self tapping metal screws and a hex wrench (like some build it yourself furniture does) I might have gone with 5 stars.

Bought this because recently had neck surgery and can no longer jump in and out of truck bed. Product works good but crappy materials were used. Metal started rusting immediately. I then sprayed the ladder and install plate with bed liner spray. Even after coating the items with bed liner spray the inside continued to rust leaving rust stains all down my truck bed. Within 2 weeks the plastic connecter broke, splitting in two all by itself while connected therefore releasing the ladder to swing inside the truck bed. Like I said, functionally it is a good idea, but extremely disappointed in materials & craftsmanship.

If you own a newer model pickup truck, something like this is almost an absolute necessity - unless you're either under 25 years old, an athlete, or over 6' 6" tall... or all three. However, there are a few design flaws with this particular model. Also worth noting: if your tailgate has a liner on it, I recommend removing the liner first to find the optimum locations for the screws. Otherwise you may find yourself trying to drill into an angled piece of metal, and that doesn't usually work out very well.

1. Not really a design flaw, but annoying nonetheless - the first package I received was missing all the hardware and the tie-down strap, and the instructions. I contacted Amazon and had a replacement unit in less than a week, but it still shouldn't have happened, and from some other reviews, I know I'm not the only one it's happened to. The package had still been sealed, so it seems to be a quality control issue at the factory.

2. The mounting screws feel very lightweight, and they didn't all match (which I again blame on QC). I'm guessing the screws are aluminum, which doesn't play nice with a steel tailgate. Aluminum is also very soft. I plan on replacing them with stainless steel screws. Also, because of the design of the tailgate on my F-150, it isn't practical to install 6 screws as the instructions specify. When I get the stainless screws, I'll get a couple that are longer than the ones that came with the ladder, so I can put in all 6 of them.

3. The pivot brackets have enough play in them that even with the tie-down strap cinched down on the ladder, the pivot points rattle quite a bit. I will also be installing some nylon washers (at the circled locations in the photo), so I can tighten the bolts down to eliminate the rattle, while still maintaining movability in the joints.

4. The hitch pins (used for removing the ladder from the tailgate) are difficult to open, even for me, and I have strong hands. I have already replaced them with some different hitch pins, but I will probably just replace them with stainless steel bolts when I add the nylon washers, since I don't plan on removing the ladder anyway. Tightening the bolts will also eliminate much of the wobble that the ladder has when I'm climbing it.

5. It would have been nice if the stand-offs (the vertical pieces of tubing welded to the mounting plate) were long enough so the plate could be mounted UNDER the tailgate liner. It would be more secure than mounting it on top of the liner (and it would have a cleaner look, especially if you have the ladder removed from the mounting plate). But the contoured plastic liner on my truck (and on a lot of newer trucks) is around 3/4" thick, and the stand-offs are only long enough to make that possible if the liner were no more than 1/2" thick, and even then you would have to remove the rubber bumpers from the pivot brackets. If I get really ambitious, I may decide to add longer stand-offs and re-mount the plate under the liner, but it's not currently in my plans.

All in all, the ladder has a very good design, but some shoddy workmanship and implementation. The few minor improvements I've outlined here would easily make this a five-star product, and would have very little impact on the overall cost of the item, since the manufacturer buys all its parts in bulk. I'll be buying only a few of each screw, washer, etc., so it will probably cost me around $10-15 to make the changes - that's adding 25 to 40 percent to what I paid for the ladder in the first place.