Heininger 3045 PortablePET Twistep Dog Hitch Step for Pickup Trucks

Just what I needed to assist my dogs into the back of our truck and for me when needing to get in the truck's bed as well. I've already had people ask me about the hitch step and try it out on my truck! This product performs to my expectations.....and they were high expectations!

The media could not be loaded. I am a professional dog handler that takes packs of dogs off leash hiking on trails around Salt Lake City daily. I drive around and pick them up at their homes, take them hiking for a couple hours and drop them back off afterward. I drive a 2021 Tacoma TRD off road and the dogs ride in the back of the pickup. That can be a very high jump for some of my older or smaller dogs, so I bought this to help them get in and out, and to save my back from having lift them!It was VERY easy to install in the trailer hitch of my Tacoma and the instructions were very clear. It's very heavy duty, EXTREMELY sturdy and well made. Once it's swung out and locked into position, it's not going ANYWHERE. It doesn't wiggle or wobble in the least.I will say, some dogs are nervous to use the step at first, but they have all gotten used to it with enough help and practice and now they're mostly all comfortable using it. It has a great grip on the top surface so their paws don't slide around.The only issue(s) I've had with this step are;The first one I got had an issue with the pull pin that holds the step in place. Sometimes the pin would get stuck in the locked position and sometimes it wouldn't go down into place to lock it at all. I sent that one back and the second one I got has been perfect for many months now.The other issue isn't a problem with the step but more just something to be aware of. Even in my off road truck with big tires, I still have to be careful backing out of certain driveways or going over huge dips in the road or the step will bump or scrape against the asphalt. If you drive something shorter than a truck and plan to use this step, you may deal with frequent instances of bottoming out, so fair warning!In summary, because of my job I can't live without this step, but I think any dog owner who takes their dog with them frequently in the car would benefit from it! I highly recommend!I sincerely hope this review has been helpful to someone else! And yes, I paid full price for it. Feel free to ask any questions!

This product was expensive and I read the reviews from too top to bottom. After much deliberation and because there aren’t a lot of options out there, I decided to move forward with it and vowed to take super good care of it for hopes of creating longevity despite some reviews. I wash and lubricate this as advised. Four months into use, the T-bar portion broke. Snapped clean in half. Yikes! I let the company know and they told me I can buy a replacement part. I was a little peeved they didn’t offer to cover that cost because of how soon it broke but bought the park and fixed it. Six months later, the flat swivel function broke. No replacement part for that. Reported it to the company and didn’t even hear back. Spending hundreds of dollars for 10 months of a semi- working product? That’s a no for me. Will be finding another answer.

The platform spins out from under my vehicle easily, but getting it to spin out from under the tailgate is damn near impossible. I have pretty strong hands, and I have to FIGHT every time.

works greateasy to work with the companylooks greathides under truckso out of the waycan adjust for when the tail gate is openholds a lot of weightperfect size

David got back to me. Easy fix, step is back to working great, and best customer service ever. Happy dogs. Happy owner.Exact same issue as the other reviewer: The T-Handle pin no longer catches. Step was working great since we bought it in December, our dogs were actually at the point of preferring it over the leap, but a month ago the pin stopped catching. The first time it didn't catch our Newfie tumbled as the step swerved out from under her and smashed into my shin. I'll spare everybody the gnar photographic proof of the shin incident.David from Heininger, cool to see you got back to the other reviewer. I'll try you on Monday. If I can get a longer T-pin I think the step will be back to working great. Happy to change my stars if so.

It makes for a nice seat and our big dog uses it to get into the truck bed. It works well and does what we need, but we have a few problems with it.1) We had to modify the locking pin because it's not long enough to keep the bar from swinging to the side when weight is applied (the bar drops far enough that the hole is lower than the pin). I almost fell to the ground using it.2) It wobbles from side to side when standing on it. You have to be ready for that when using it or you could lose your balance. It would be very nice if the locking mechanism held it tightly.Fix these problems and I'd give it 5 stars.

Works as advertised. Very solid build quality.