Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was looking for a better way to get up into the bed of my truck with the tailgate open. Well I have a bad back and have a very hard time getting in and out of the truck bed. I use to carry a 2 step, step stool which slid around in the bed, but this is attached to the tailgate and stays in place. It also mounts on either side of the tailgate and doesn't interfere with my trailer like some others which come off the back of the tailgate. I can use the bed side as a handle for balance. Girlfriend likes it also, so good by step stool. In my search I found the add on steps would cost up to $200, so I kept looking and ran across this step ladder. I weigh 250# and it supports my weight and the tubular steel frame seams fairly substantial for being 2 steps. It sits on the ground, so it doesn't need to be made of heavy steel. It does make the tailgate heaver to close and is the only drawback so far. I mounted the steel plate drilling the holes with a 9/32" drill bit and being careful used the supplied screws (caution the screw heads strip easily). I put some grease on the sheet metal screws so they can thread into the tailgate easy and maybe help to keep them from rusting. I than put together the steel ladder with the supplied 3/8" bolts and locks nuts. The length of the ladder is adjustable so you can set the height of the ladder to your truck's tailgate. I purchased some ¾" Velcro tie down straps and used a flat washer with a screw to make my own tie down strap. I made up 2 straps to hold the ladder in place. The ladder is held on with 2 hitch pins and comes off easily if you need to remove it. What I found were, the paint on the steel parts is thin and my rust in an open truck bed, the screw heads would strip out easily, and the supplied tie down strap was short. I had no problem with the ladder supporting my weight and was stable on asphalt. When it comes to truck accessorizes, I buy what I think will work for my situation and budget. I was really surprised how well built and thought out this is for the price. If it gets rusty I can always sand blast it and repaint it. Aside from the above shortcomings I think the tailgate step ladder from TraXion was a good buy and a easy install. TraXion Model # 5-100 [...] Greg