Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder Review For the 5th Gen 4Runner
Wescott Designs, a new and upcoming aftermarket fabrication company out of Phoenix, AZ, is looking to make a splash in the offroading and overlanding market. With years of experience in the automotive industry, Jeff Westcott looks to improve upon some issues that he has seen within the products offered in these markets.
Jeff Westcott has become famous, some would say, for his TRD Pro lift kit. This allows any TRD Pro to add lift using the existing Bilstein or Fox suspension that comes from the factory. This, however, is not a spacer lift, so don’t cringe. Check out that lift kit if you are looking for more information on how to lift your YRD Pro – whether it’s for Tacoma, 4Runner, or Tundra – they have you covered.
But we aren’t here to talk about lifts, we are here to talk about the Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder for the 5th Gen 4Runner. This hatch ladder comes assembled and ready to install.
Find it online:
- Wescott Designs Hatch Ladder: Check Price
Design
The Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder is made out of all aluminum in order to keep the weight low (they don’t list whether it’s 6061 or 5052). The uprights on the ladder are made out of double-layered 1/4 aluminum to keep their rigidity. The Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder addresses one major problem that some of the ladders on the market today face, tiny little steps.
I don’t know about you, but when I am climbing any ladder, I don’t want some small rounded-off tube to step on, I want a thick step. The Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder has steps that measure 1″ by 2″ ensuring good and solid foot placement. Which let’s be real, when you are in the mountains and get your boots covered in mud, you are going to want that nice thick step to climb up onto.
All the steps are a Hon step system which gives you the ability to mount basically anything using the T slots. In my opinion, this is the best ladder for mounting attachments that I know of on the market next to the C4 Fabrication’s ladder with a similar design.
The top step is robotically welded by Westcott Designs robotic welder “Roberta” and laser cut to absolute perfection. This top plate is also used as a step when getting onto the roof.
This hatch ladder can be drilled or use 3M double-sided adhesive tape that comes with the ladder. This is a nice touch for me as I was not wanting to drill anything in my almost 50k truck, so I went with using the tape like the Gobi ladders.
Built-In Bottle Opener
Who doesn’t loves to crack a cold one on the trail after seeing all those beautiful sights?
You get to camp all excited for that ice-cold beer, you pull it out and forget you don’t have a bottle opener. What do you do? Use your teeth? God no, your mother would kill you with how much money your parents spent on braces. So what do you do? I’ll tell you what you’re going to do…
You’re going to remember that every Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder and Roof Rack (see my post about that roof rack here) comes with a signature Westcott Designs bottle opener. Not only does it look absolutely awesome, but it also provides functionality while also boasting the company logo.
Customer Service
Let’s be honest, customer service is a big part of any buying decision you make.
You want to know that if you have any questions, concerns, or problems that they will be addressed quickly and as painlessly as possible. Jeff Westcott has personally answered many of my questions about the Hatch Ladder and Roof Rack quickly and always treated me with the utmost respect and importance.
To him, it didn’t matter that I didn’t have 25,000 followers on Instagram, he serves his customers like family, and honestly, that went a long way for me. As an owner of a family business myself, that’s how we strive to treat our customers and it really made an impression.
Pricing
The Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder isn’t the cheapest on the market and it isn’t the most expensive. Coming in at $450, edging out C4 Fabrication’s Summit Hatch Ladder by a measly $4. But, hey, 4 bucks is 4 bucks.
Now go take those $4 you saved and get yourself a triple cold foam macchiato from Starbucks. There is the Echotechne hatch ladder that comes in at a whopping $550.
Final Thoughts
As far as ladders go, the Westcott Designs Hatch Ladder is on the more expensive side in comparison to other ladders. This ladder is one of, if not the most durable and well-built ladders on the market today.
Like the design, but just like roof rack cross bars, those steps will only hold water and eventually cause discoloration and flaking of the powder coat after a few good uses. Not to mention, after a good rain and muddy shoes you’ve not got a nice dirt collection in all the foot slots. My experience is less dirt getting trapped in any small space limits the wear and tear on any product.
I’ve gotta say… I’ve been on a TEAR lately with installs for my rig, but the install process for the Westcott ladder has been the worst so far. It seems that there are misalignments for the ladder spacing and the bottom bolt holes of the ladder (for the last 4 screws to mount to the bottom of the lift gate). I looked up the solution and this was what I found (from Westcott): https://youtu.be/941hrgMUE50.
This is NOT a solution, it’s a call to action for Westcott to make some adjustments in the design process.
I was able to install the ladder just fine about a month ago. I didn’t tighten any of the bolts til the very end and that made it a lot easier.
I have the same issue. I cannot get the last four side screws into the last step. Also i tried doing the bottom first and trying to pry the ladder over the top plate. No luck. How did you finally do it? I’ve watched all videos they made as well as taco twonz