Video Review & Installation

What's going on guys? Adam here with AmericanMuscle.com, and today I'm bringing you my detailed review of the Stainless Steel Locker Side Rails fitting all 2015 and newer F-150s. So if you're the owner of a 2015 or newer F-150, you might be using your truck for a daily work truck, lugging equipment to and from your job site, or maybe you're just using it for off-roading and personal use, and need to secure all of your equipment. Either way, the Stainless Steel Locker Side Rails are really what you're looking for. So this particular option from offers open slots in each one of your truck bed's corners, making it extremely convenient and easy for you to tie down your cargo in any position. Now I'll walk through the installation in the video, and it's extremely straightforward, as well as a very reasonable price, which I'll also touch on in a bit. So this option is manufactured right here, in the U.S., out of a never rust stainless steel tubing to ensure durability and rust resistance. A solid die casting allows this rail to hold up to 1,000 pounds in cargo weight at the tie downs. So the one and three-quarters inch tubing and end castings were chromed to a 44 cast standard to ensure extra durability. So not only does the polished finish hold up against the weight of the cargo, but it also looks good doing so. So these particular Locker Side Rails are set apart from the rest because of the open tie down locations, and also the weight it supports. Most of the other options on the site will offer about a 500 pound support weight. This one pretty much doubles that to 1,000, giving you a lot more to work with when it comes to your heavier loads. Price wise, this product comes in at just about $350, making it a very generous price considering the materials and the support it holds. Now, most of the other options range between the 200 mark to the low 400s, so this one, you're really getting a lot of bang for your buck and a very affordable price. Installation wise, this is a pretty straightforward process, if you have the right tools. If you don't have the right tools, there's no shame in handing this one over to the professionals, just to make sure it's done properly. I do want to point out, before we jump into it, that there will be a little bit of drilling required, but you're not drilling into the aluminum bedding, you're just drilling into the plastic covers on the top and sides of the beds. This way, it'll avoid any corrosion with the metals and you don't have to worry about that headache. So the tools you'll need for this installation will vary depending on your bed size. If you're rocking a six and a half foot bed, then you want to have a quarter inch hex wrench, torque wrench, a pocket gap removal tool, and we'd recommend safety glasses just to be safe. Now, if you have a five and a half foot bed, you will require a little bit more work, and you will need a couple extra tools. You want to have all of that, plus a three-eighths router bit, a router tool with base, a quarter inch shank chuck, and a drill with half inch bits, and we'd also recommend some hearing protection, just to be on the safe side. So you guys with the six and a half foot beds, you can skip ahead of the drilling part and go straight for the hardware assembly because the pocket holes on the sides of your bed just have covers on them, whereas the five and a half foot beds need to drill to gain access to them. So for you five and a half foot truck bed guys, you want to start by drilling a hole in the center of the hidden stake pocket, which is four inches down from the front end, and one and a quarter inch from the inside of the truck. So you'll set and tighten the router bit three-eighths of an inch from the router base to the end of the router bit cutter. You'll turn it on and insert it into the half inch hole you've just drilled and slowly guide it down until the bearings touch one of the edges of the pocket hole. So from there, you'll guide it out counterclockwise until the pocket is fully exposed. Now, at this point, you six and a half foot guys can jump back in alongside the five and a half's, because all the rest will be the same. You can start by assembling the black plastic bushings on the end of the locker end rail castings and assemble the hardware onto that in the correct order. So you'll place the washer over the bolt, the bolt through the castings, then through the plastic gasket, and then finally through the capture nut. You'll place this whole assembly into the pocket hole at an angle. So from here, you'll put all the tubing together onto the end castings and place them into the rear pocket hole. You'll want to make sure you pull up on the end castings, that they catch the inner body and don't come out. Rotate the plastic gasket until the arrow is facing toward the front of the truck. From here you can tighten down the bolt on the locker end castings to make it snug against the rail caps. Repeat this process for both sides of the vehicle until everything is in place, and then torque down the bolts to 11 foot pounds. So obviously the install can be a bit tricky and tedious at times, but given the right tools, you can definitely get this done in about an hour or two in your driveway. I give this install a one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter because, if you follow the directions properly, you can have this done in your driveway with no issues at all. So just to quickly wrap things up, guys, if you're looking for a durable and reliable way to tie down all the cargo, up to 1,000 pounds, in your '15 or newer F-150, you might want to check out the Stainless Steel Locker Side Rails right here, at AmericanMuscle.com.