More than any other, the best reason to buy a pickup truck–whether for professional or personal use–is preparedness. Capability.
But pickup truck accessorizers have an entire subculture to themselves and if you just want to improve your truck for work, you might get lost in all the ideas.
In our first post discussing the best pickup truck accessories for business, we looked at tie downs, bed liners and toolboxes. Here are five more versatile accessories to outfit your pickup truck with, for business.
1. Bed Cover
Perhaps obviously and perhaps not, the first pickup truck accessory to invest in is a bed cover. This is especially true if your truck does not have an extended cab. If it does, you may be able to get away with storing your smaller, more fragile cargo in the back of the cab. But if you have no backseat or need to haul something of medium size, you will quickly find yourself wanting the ability to shelter it from the elements.
It can be soft or hard, high-celinged or flat. It depends on what you need, what you like, and ease of use.
If you choose a full-on, hard or soft canopy, make sure it’s easy to put on and take off. If you choose a flat cover–sometimes called a “tonneau”–, consider getting one that can roll up. This way, you won’t have to always be installing and uninstalling it.
2. Steps
The second basic, nearly-across-the-board accessory to acquire for your pickup truck is a step, or a series of them. It can be running boards along the driver side and passenger side, a tailgate step to help with loading and unloading, or both.
When it comes to running boards, there are two main questions to ask. First, do you, the main driver of this truck, need or want help getting into and out of your truck? If so, there is no reason to forego a driver-side running board. Secondly, how often do you anticipate driving people for business that you want to make a good impression on? These could be prospects, employees, partners… anyone who may like some extra help hoisting themselves into your rig.
Similarly, a tailgate step can make life immensely easier for you or anyone helping you load cargo into your pickup’s bed. It can help maintain good posture and avoid injury; it can also provide extra leverage to set a heavy item down gently.
3. Bed Lights
How often have you been loading or unloading cargo into or out of a pickup truck bed and seen the day get away from you? Whether helping a friend move or transporting inventory from the warehouse, it seems like every time a group of people really put a pickup truck to use, there always comes a moment when everyone asks each other, “Do we have enough daylight for one more run?”
If the truck being used has a set of bed lights, the answer is almost certainly yes. If nothing else, they allow you to see 1) that you’re loading each new item into the right place and 2) that you’ve unloaded everything. In business, those two little questions can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Outfitting Your Pickup Truck for Business
When it comes to selecting your most important pickup truck accessories for business, it can seem like there are thousands to choose from. The way to make sure you’re ready for (almost) everything while keeping your budget under control is to invest in the most versatile pickup truck accessories.
You could still go crazy even after narrowing it down like that, but before you do, make sure you at least have an appropriate pickup bed cover, steps into the cab and/or bed, and bed lights. This will provide a solid place to start and a good foundation on which to add more accessories later.
