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Review on Bushwacker 48502 Ultimate BedRail Caps - SmoothBack W/O Stake Holes 2-Piece Set, Black, Smooth Finish For 2001-2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500/2500HD/3500 (Excludes Flareside) by Alejandro Labustin

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Good quality and appearance. Very challenging installation.

The quality and appearance are great. It takes care to get the cap on straight and centered, but it looks sharp if you measure it out, take your time, and do it well. I'm satisfied with this product, and it looks really sharp. You cannot tell by looking it wasn't professionally installed.However, I can't give it five stars. Here's why: First, it doesn't come down quite far enough to cover the holes in the tailgate for the OEM cap easily. If you get this cap on just right and press down incredibly hard, it will cover them--but just barely. There is ZERO allowance for error. I thought my cap was on perfectly, but I noticed too late that if viewed from below (like, put your head on the bumper) one of the holes was not quite sealed. Some black RTV silicone gasket-maker (mask the paint first) and a bit of patience fixed the problem. The repair is absolutely invisible. But, really? The tiniest amount of extra depth--even an eighth of an inch--would have avoided that problem entirely. I shouldn't have to make up for oversights in design.Secondly, the cap is affixed to the tailgate with 3M double-faced tape. The instructions say to start pulling the protective backing down to where it can be reached, then press the cap on while slowly pulling the rest of the backing off. Problem: tape has seams. The cap manufacturer made a trivial attempt to address that, but it does not work. I mean, it was a total failure. It was crazy hard to restart the peeling of the protective backing after crossing the tape seam. Think of two people working, MAXIMUM muscular effort to open up room to work, a high intensity light, and picking at the backing with a pair of tweezers. Yes, we got it restarted. Yes, the cap is attached firmly and I don't anticipate any problems with it. BUT that was massively frustrating.In summary, if the cap came down the outside of the tailgate just a little further, and avoiding seams in the attaching tape would take this product from good to excellent, and transform the very challenging installation to almost routine.

Pros
  • DEPENDABLE MATERIAL | Made from exclusive Dura-Flex 2000 material that is designed to absorb impact and resist warping. Built-in sun protection filters out damaging rays and stops chalking in its tracks.
Cons
  • The product might not be suitable for off-road applications due to its lack of stake holes