This replacement ladder works really well and is much more stable for our little ones in the pool! The instructions were a bit frustrating/hard to follow, but the ladder itself is very good once it's together!

All good latter has more screws to hold together

First let me say... I DO NOT work for Main Access nor do I have any affiliation with them. Now that's out of the way, on with my review.

We really like these steps. They are much sturdier than our previous ladder system and make getting in/out of the pool much easier. Now just to be fair... we aren't using the outside ladder. We have a deck and I had to cut down the support tubes in order to "sit" on the decking surface (see pictures). Here's a few tips I wanted to share from my assembly and installation experience:

1) Go to the Main Access web site and watch the videos for assembly. This will give you a good idea of what you're up against. Many people say the instructions are poor... just go to their website and save yourself the trouble. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to assemble (and I took my time). You will need a rubber mallet, no hammers.

2) I didn't use the straps to secure the top platform to the top rail of the pool. The top platform has 2 - 3/8" holes in roughly the same location as my previous ladder system so I just reused my 3/8" bolts. If you don't have any you can get them at your local hardware store. You need (qty:2) ~2.5" long 3/8" bolts along with 2 matching nuts and 4 matching washers. The length you require may vary... 2.5" works for me.

3) You will probably need a saw to cut the support tubes and possibly the support feet. It's just plastic so a jig saw or even a true hand saw would work. I used my power miter saw which made it real easy.

4) You absolutely need to put weight under the stairs. I can unequivocally say that it won't work without it. I used 100lbs. Yes you read that right. I purchased (2) Main Access "The Anchor" systems Anchor Universal Pool Step Weight, which are just big plastic jugs that hold about 50 lbs (1 bag) of sand or gravel. I used Pea Gravel... much cleaner to work with than sand. The stairs do come with three large Zip-Loc type bags. These are for putting a complete bag of sand (or gravel) in to use as weights instead, but I think the "Anchor" containers make more sense when trying to install them.

5) My install went like this... ( I pre-assembled the stairs ahead of time)
a) Mount top plate
b) Cut support tubes and install on the outside (again I was installing on a deck so my tubes were cut real short). You may need to loosen the top plate to get the tubes in.
c) Fill your "Anchor" containers with pea gravel
d) Get in pool and have someone on the outside hand you the pea gravel containers
e) Open the caps on the pea gravel contains to let the air out, re-secure the caps
f) Have the person on the outside hand you the stairs
g) While the person on the outside holds the stairs (they will try to float), place the (2) pea gravel containers on the "ballast tray" under the stairs. BTW... this is not easy to do. The benefit to the "Anchor" system Main Access sells is that the containers have handles on them... makes them much easier to install, but still not easy. I can't imagine trying to put floppy bags of sand/gravel under there.
h) Once the pea gravel is in place (100 lbs.), the stairs will stand upright (almost like magic). It's perfectly balanced now.
i) Carefully position the stairs under the "support feet". These feet are adjustable, however they may need to be cut down. There are 7 different positions but only about 3 are accessible until you cut them down.
j) I adjusted my support feet so that they were applying pressure on the stairs against the bottom of the pool and at the same time were pushing the support tubes (on the outside) against my deck. When you go to do it, you'll know what I mean. You could call it a "tight fit" as I didn't want any slop in the stairs moving back and forth. If you get a little motion, just use a different hole on the support feet to tighten it up. It really wasn't as hard as it may sound. Once you have the support feet the way you want it, finish you install per the instructions.

I've included some photos of our installation to give you a better idea of what it looks like installed. And I can't stress this enough, go the Main Access Website and watch the videos of the assembly. I found it really helpful. Also... they sell spare parts there should you need them. I bought a socket cap to fill the unused hole in the top stair (not sure why it wasn't included, but no biggie).

Hopefully my review will help people decide if these are right for them. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me.

love that the steps are wide which makes me feel safer getting into and out of the pool. would recommend this ladder to anyone who has a fear of falling off the little ladders that comes with the above ground pools.

Nice set of stairs. Instructions are a little vague. But they are do able.