How We Verify Fitment: What We Read, What We Print and What We Leave Out

A wrong year or cab means a board that does not bolt on and a return you did not need. So the rule on this site is short: we repeat what the source states, we name the source, and we do not fill gaps with a guess.

The fit line on every product

Every product box has a line that starts "Fits, according to the listing". The words after it come from the Amazon listing title as we read it on the date shown. If a maker sheet also backs up the part, the line says so.

The fit finder on the home page works the same way. It holds no compatibility logic of its own. It shows a part when that part's stored statement names your truck, your year block and your cab. If the statement leaves the year or the cab open, the finder puts the part in a separate group and tells you to confirm it first. It never works out a fit from the year range.

What we read

• Amazon listing titles. They give the years, the cab and often the exclusions, such as a title that rules out the Ram 1500 Classic.
• Maker instruction sheets. These tie a part number to brackets, tools and any drilling step. We read Tyger Auto sheets, mostly hosted by the retailer CARiD, and RealTruck guides for AMP Research parts, among them the XL guides IM77141, IM77151, IM77138, IM77236 and IM77338. Those XL guides state no load and no drop.
• Maker pages. Westin's Pro-e page states its load rating and install type directly. ARIES publishes a table of cab names by truck. A maker's own store page for that exact part counts as a maker document, and we attribute the figure and say so when the basis is not stated.
• Public bodies. The warranty section relies on an FTC press release from April 2018.

What we could not read

Some sources refused automated reads when this site was built. We did not route around that. Tyger Auto's own site, RealTruck's product pages and Rough Country's site were blocked or came back empty. So did some Tyger sheets for the Access and Trax lines. Copies of LanderX manuals on ManualsLib are named as such where we use them.

The consequence is visible on the page. A product without a readable maker document carries the note "Listing data only". It can appear as an option, but it does not get the words "our pick". That is why the Tacoma and Tundra pages start with a "start here" part instead. A title with no part number can tie to a maker document only by truck, years and cab, and we say so on the page.

What we refuse to print

A fit statement can still be wrong

A listing title is a seller's statement. It can be out of date or too broad. Trim, bed length, factory options and body changes during a model year can all matter. Our data does not cover all of them, so the last check belongs on the listing itself, against your own year and cab. If you are unsure, ask the seller before you order.

How this site makes money

The site earns a commission through Amazon links, and the price stays the same for you. Links are marked with an asterisk and labeled "Ad". The commission does not decide which part gets named. Details are in the affiliate disclosure.

Found a mistake?

If a listing has changed or a fit line is wrong, contact details are in the imprint. We correct the page and update its date. More about the editorial team is under about us, and the fit data sorted by truck starts at all trucks.