New to truck ownership? Here are some essential accessories for first-time pickup owners.
So you got your first pickup. Maybe it’s a hand-me-down from your parents, an older model that you picked up used, or your blessed with an amazing job that lets you drop 40 grand on a brand new truck. However you managed it, congratulations! You have entered into the exclusive club of pickup truck owners.
Now that you’re here, there are a few things you need to grab to complete your new ride’s setup. Nobody buys a pickup truck and leaves it precisely as is, and while you don’t need to go crazy with suspension lifts and custom mufflers right off the bat, there are still a few essential upgrades that every truck owner should grab as soon as possible.
We’ll go over a few of those here. Starting with…
Tonneau Bed Cover
SEE IT NOW: $238.65 to $289.99
Trucks are known for their reliability and ruggedness, but that doesn’t mean you need to expose your pickup to more elements than it has to. A tonneau bed cover is an essential tool to keep your pickup’s bed clean and rust free while also ensuring whatever cargo you’re carrying remains inside and doesn’t get flung overboard just because you hit a pothole a little too fast.
There are plenty of tonneau covers to choose from, but each essentially does the same thing: cover your bed. This is supremely important if your bed didn’t come with a spray-in bed liner as it prevents excessive moisture from seeping in and corroding the metal. Plus, it also marginally improves your pickups airflow and thus improves fuel economy. It’s usually not enough to show up on an EPA test, but every little bit helps, right?
Tonno Pro offers three different tonneau covers that can be installed on almost any make or model of pickup without risky drilling or welding. Whether you get the triple-hinged hardcover or the vinyl roll-up cover is a matter of personal preference, but trust us when we say your pickup will thank you in the long run.
Better Floor Mats
SEE IT NOW: $219.50
Most people expect to use their pickups in some pretty harsh environments. Mud, dirt, sand, snow, and worse can often be tracked in on your steel-toed booties and make a mess of your truck’s interior.
The best way to protect your truck and make cleaning up even easier is to get some aftermarket floor mats. These mats from WeatherTech are made of "a high-density tri-extruded (HDTE) material,” which is probably just fancy talk for rugged rubber. The important thing here is that it's tough, has holes for your truck’s floor mat hooks, and it has nooks and crannies to let liquids and detritus collect for easy removal. Just take the mat out, spray it down with a garden hose, and let it dry.
Tie-Downs
SEE IT NOW: $34.99
While a tonneau cover can keep lighter loads from getting lost to the wind, larger items will need something a little more substantial to keep them in place.
Enter the tie-down.
Tie-downs are essential for keeping a payload securely stowed in your truck’s bed. They’re typically made of high-strength industrial fabrics and are attached to specific tie-down hooks located inside the pickup bed. Ratchets on the straps allow the tie-down to be tightened and ensures that your payload remains safe and secure during your travels.
When selecting a tie-down, be sure to check the break strength of the material. While a pickup can often carry anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 lbs in the bed, some tie-downs are only rated up to 500 lbs. The set we recommend here should be more than enough to accommodate even the heaviest of cargoes.
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