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Your Guide to Putco Side Bed Rails

by: JasonLancaster
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Pickup trucks are typically very practical vehicles, especially for hauling cargo. However, some drivers often need to carry bulkier gear like furniture, motorcycles, or pallets of wood, which don't fit snugly within the walls of the truck's box. These items could possibly be damaged by too much side-to-side movements. Newer pickups are often fitted with cut-outs and tie-downs which ropes and chains can attach to, but these are usually at very fixed locations, and aren't always easy or convenient to access.

Putco has come up with a solution that is both stylish and useful. They offer a line of side rails that are designed to stretch the length of your truck bed. These rails are simple to install and come in a variety of designs. Made out of chromed stainless steel, they are not only strong but they look great too.

The rails are designed to anchor into your truck's current tie-down cutouts, and they can easily be installed with simple hand tools. There are three main pieces - the two curved anchors and the long steel bar. Once these parts have been joined together, you simply place the anchors on top of the cutouts, and then use an Allan key to tighten the mounting bar from the top. There are no visible clamps, and a rubber gasket goes between the rail and your paint to make sure there is no scuffing or scratching.

The basic Putco locker side rails have a simple steel tube which has a cutout at each anchor end for more involved tying. They can hold up to 1000 pounds, which is more than enough for most hauling. You can also upgrade to 2.5 inch tubing with the same design if you feel you need a heftier look, but these 'Boss' railings, as Putco calls them, only hold 500 pounds.

Putco's Pop Up Lockers are a great option if you need to have more tie-downs, but don't want to clutter your truck's bed rails. These lockers have 4 hidden tie-downs rated at 500 pounds along the railing, which can be "popped" up to use, but otherwise appears solid, without the openings at the anchor points like on the standard version.

Putco SSR Lockers are perfect for those who want a good chrome accessory for their truck bed, but don't necessarily need to have the option of tie-down. These lockers add shine to your truck without competing for attention with the rest of your truck, which some accessories may do. Chrome wheel well flares, for example, compete with your truck's wheels because of their proximity to each other. Adding a chrome accessory in an area which doesn't already have a lot of shine will be more appealing to the eye.

If you find yourself frequently climbing in and out of your truck bed, especially in wet conditions when bed liners or bare steel are extra slippery, you might get a lot of benefit out of adding bed side rails, which make excelling hand grips. They're also useful for leverage when reaching over the side of the truck bed to the cargo floor. Their main disadvantage is that they make it impossible to use a tonneau cover. However, that may not have been an option anyways, if you're used to hauling large gear. Putco side rails are fairly inexpensive, with a going rate of about $200. They're a great way to jazz up your truck's look, and offer a practical edge too.

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About the Author

The author Jason Lancaster operates TundraHeadquarters.com, a website with information, news, and reviews of Toyota Tundra accessories and Tundra parts.  

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