Creative Truck Bed Accessories to Suit Every Lifestyle
There are few vehicles out there as versatile as the pickup truck. Whether you use your truck for work, play, off-grid living, family hauling, or some combo of all of the above, one thing is certain: you can’t argue with the virtually unlimited potential of that vast open space in the back. In fact, it’s probably the main reason you bought a truck in the first place.
The drawback to all that open bed space is that it can be tough to use it to its maximum potential. Luckily, the aftermarket industry is currently crushing it with innovative, customizable, and affordable organization, storage, and cargo management solutions.
Work Solutions
For the hard-working truck that regularly transports cargo, the options for safely stowing, organizing, and protecting your gear and equipment are practically limitless. Here are some top picks to help you get the job done with ease.
Truck Bed Protection
More than just covering up cargo, protective truck bed accessories help keep the vehicle itself in tip-top shape, preserving its service life and your resale value.
Tonneau Covers
One of the best places to start (and most common protective accessories for your truck bed) is a tonneau cover. While construction and functionality may differ, all tonneau covers have the same basic goal: to keep both the truck bed and its cargo safe from destructive weather and prying eyes.
Most tonneau covers use heavy-duty materials to ensure a long product life, and nearly all feature some sort of secure locking mechanism for reliable security. From there, it’s really just a matter of matching a product to your lifestyle and budget. For example, some tonneau options offer multiple riding positions to accommodate awkward or bulky cargo, while others come equipped with their own racking systems to carry adventure gear on top. Some can even be color-matched to your truck, making for the ultimate styling accessory.
From one piece to tri-folding, rolling to retractable, there are an almost overwhelming number of tonneau styles and brands to choose from. Check out our list of top picks to help narrow things down.
Bed Liners
The tonneau cover offers protection from above, but what about from below? A truck bed liner is the best choice here. Available as a drop-in insert or as a spray-on coating, truck bed liners help protect that prime real estate out back from being destroyed by chips, nicks, dings and dents.
Spray-on liners, much like their name suggests, are applied like paint. They are a permanent application that stands up to all kinds of abrasive elements, from bad weather to chemical spills. Drop-in liners, meanwhile, are heavy-duty thermoplastic inserts customized to fit your exact model’s truck bed. They’re easier to install and less expensive than spray-ons, and if you invest in a quality option – like DuraLiner – you’ll gain 7x more impact resistance.
Work Truck With BedRug
Caption: Not quite a drop-in liner, but definitely not a spray-on, BedRug is in a league of its own. Made of 100% polypropylene, these model-specific liners look a bit like carpeting but offer rugged protection – as well as some cushioning when you’re crawling around for equipment in the truck bed.
Bed Mats
Truck bed liners cover the floor and sides of the truck bed, as well as the tailgate. But what if you don’t really require that much coverage? Then a bed mat might be for you.
Acting a bit like a heavy-duty area rug for your truck bed, a bed mat covers the bed floor to ward off any scrapes and scratches from sliding cargo. They are usually made of a thick, rubberized material, and have the added benefit of doubling up as an impromptu garage mat -- since installation requires little more than picking it up and moving it.
Truck Bed Utility
What good is protecting all that cargo if you can’t safely access it? When it comes to the truck bed, ergonomics and organization cannot be overstated.
Slides and Drawers
Companies like BEDSLIDE are making waves by turning the truck bed into what is essentially one big giant sliding kitchen drawer, letting you effortlessly and easily access anything in your truck bed without having to climb up in it. Make life even easier by accessorizing that giant drawer with netting, bins, dividers, and some handy bottle openers.
DECKED ups the ante even more by offering multiple level drawers and cargo sliders, along with some mind-blowing organizational strategies and accessories that will make your truck bed look like it was organized by Marie Kondo. You can save tons of time not having to rifle through your supplies every time you need a certain tool that’s rolled to the back of the truck bed and gotten wedged behind your tool box. Now that sparks joy.
Tool Boxes
Speaking of tool boxes, there are some pretty cool truck bed-mounted solutions worth considering if enhanced styling, security, and organization are on your mind.
Available in a variety of materials (such as steel, aluminum and heavy-duty plastic) in a wide range of configurations (like crossover, underbody, saddle box, and wheel well), the options are nearly endless.
Start by considering how you plan to use the truck and what you’ll need to stow away in the tool box. That will help you determine which tool box features are the most essential, such as drill-resistant locks or single-handed operation.
Truck With Kayak
Caption: Looking for a solid bed-mounted truck toolbox? You can’t go wrong with quality names like Better Built, WEATHER GUARD, Dee Zee and TrailFX – all of which you can shop right here on Parts Via.
Racks
Roof racks, ladder racks, and headache racks add a lot of cargo management options to your already hard-working truck. Companies like TrailFX and BACKRACK have multiple configurations to suit a variety of tasks and purposes when it comes to adding usable space vertically, or offering more anchoring options to keep gear from smashing through your back window.
Play Solutions
Now that the responsible accessories are out of the way, it’s time to focus on the ways you can max out your truck bed for some real fun.
Level up your truck’s versatile cargo-carrying capacity with an elevated truck bed platform.
If you’re chasing adventure (especially off-grid), leaving gear behind can be frustrating and in some cases, even dangerous. Truck bed decks and platforms maximize your cargo-carrying space while also providing a sturdy base for an elevated tent.
RhinoRack offers the easy-to-install and super rugged Reconn-Deck, which anchors to your truck bed rail to basically create an elevated “shelf” that you can use to stack extra gear on, like truck tents and cargo bags. It keeps the actual bed of your truck open for all the other cargo, practically doubling your truck bed’s usable space.
Turning the truck bed into comfy sleeping quarters.
The truck tent is a niche that has made massive strides in recent years. These clever accessories run from bulkhead to tailgate, covering the truck bed and turning any location into a quick campsite.
Some truck tents, like those by Rightline Gear, feature a floorless design, so you don’t need to remove your gear to set up camp. Integrated pockets make it easy to keep nearby essentials safe and secure, while a large sky-view vent opens the tent to light, air, or star-gazing.
If you’d prefer something with a full tent floor and a few more bells and whistles, Napier Outdoors offers a variety of tent sizes and configurations (not to mention fun colors and patterns). The brand also offers awnings to protect you from rain, as well as a game-changing, attachable Sportz Link -- a completely separate tent that sets up on the ground, but attaches to your truck bed-mounted tent to almost double your living space.
Truck With Napier Truck Bed Tent
Of course, you can make sleeping in your truck even more fun by adding in a smartly designed truck air mattress like the AirBedz by Pittman Outdoors -- the original truck air mattress manufacturer.
Protection meets cargo-carrying capability in one sturdy accessory.
Truck caps are nothing new, and have long been a favorite among truck owners who need a little more coverage than the average tonneau can offer. But for those with an eye toward adventure, we recommend checking out some of the new designs hitting the market.
Forged in Africa, RSI’s SmartCap is the world’s first modular truck cap design. Its 5-piece canopy structure is fully customizable and sports features like double-walled gull-wing doors and interior MOLLE panels to suit your specific truck and cargo-carrying needs.
Part modular truck cap and part truck rack, the “Knockdown” from A.R.E. offers similar accessibility and customization. Fiberglass canopy pieces attach to the front, back and sides of a steel overland rack that sits above the truck bed. The rack features bolt-on accessory panels for configurable gear mounting, while also serving as a sturdy platform for a rooftop tent or cargo baskets.
Redefining what it means to eat on the go.
For the diehard off-grid explorer, there is the pricey (but insanely cool) truck bed kitchen to consider.
Usually constructed of aircraft grade aluminum and operating on a slide-out drawer, these kitchen solutions come outfitted with some impressive conveniences, like stainless steel prep areas, miniature gas-powered stoves, and utility storage. Some are integrated into larger truck bed systems, like SmartCap’s camp kitchen insert to its modular cap. All of them allow you to craft meals that are much more satisfying than the dusty granola bar sitting in the back of your glovebox.
Whether you use your truck for work, play, or some hybrid of both, it’s clear there have never been more options for you to max out your truck’s open bed space to make it the most efficient, fun, and talked-about feat