Three things in American life are inevitable: death, taxes, and our love of Chevy trucks. Whether you want to take your Chevy to the levy or get mud on the tires, your ride is immortalized in song…more than a hundred songs, in fact. (We don’t hear many songs ‘bout Titans or Tundras, do we?)
What makes our favorite artists so enamored with the Chevrolet Truck that they just have to write a song about it? Maybe it’s the classic lines or the reliable durability, or maybe it’s a combination of style and comfort. Whatever it is, we’re keeping the faith that after you fall in love with a Chevy, you’ll never go back.
Once you settle into that smooth ride, you’re going to want to trick out your truck, and there are a million ways to make it more comfortable, more useful, more organized, safer, and likely more badass. Here’s the rundown on the most useful OEM and aftermarket Chevy Silverado accessories on the market. We break it down to:
- Chevy Truck Bed Accessories
- Chevy Interior Accessories
- Chevy Exterior Accessories
- Chevy Performance Accessories
Chevy Truck Bed Accessories
You depend on your truck bed. If you didn’t need to haul stuff, you’d probably have bought a minivan or something, right? But your truck bed doesn’t have to be just a basic truck bed. Oh, no. You can do way better than basic.
Tonneau Covers
Tonneau covers fit over your truck bed like a roof, covering everything inside. They come in a variety of styles, with varying levels of functionality. Here are just a few different types:
- Soft roll-up covers: Inexpensive, easy to break into, and not fully weatherproof, but these will keep your groceries dry most of the time.
- Hard roll-up tonneau covers: Vinyl cover over metal slats make these tonneau covers a better security option than a soft-roll up. This type of tonneau makes your tie-downs inaccessible and blocks rear-window vision when rolled up.
- Retractable tonneau covers: With the easy convenience of a soft cover and the added security of a hard cover, retractable covers are cool, but, they cost an arm and a leg and reduce your bed area when retracted.
- Hard-shell tonneau covers: These metal tops match your truck’s paint job and look awesome. They lock securely with the tailgate closed but are difficult to get into and greatly reduce the functionality of your pickup truck. There’s no way you’re getting 4-wheelers or your girlfriend’s couch under a hard top, even if you leave it open.
Which one is right for you? Here’s our handy guide to the best tonneau covers to help you decide.
Truck caps AKA Camper Shells or Toppers
Into camping? Need to sleep it off in the parking lot after a hard night of “Cotton-eyed Joe” in your favorite roadhouse? Turning your truck bed into a living space is relatively easy. There is a wide range of tents that mount on top of your truck and keep your feet dry and snakes out of your sleeping bag (unless you’re into that kind of thing…).
Bed Mats or Bed Liners
If you’re springing for a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 or a new Colorado, you want to protect your investment. You can get a bed mat or a full bed liner to cover the bottom and sides. It won’t add functionality, but it will keep your truck bed free of scratches and dents (unless, of course, you like wrestling grizzlies as much as we do).
TRUCK BED LIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS, AND TOP LIGHTS
The huge range of truck accessories available includes kits to light up every part of your truck, including truck bed lights. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Light up the inside of the truck bed, and you can see what the heck you’re doing, even if you’re way off-road. Pretty handy when you’re camping or using your truck bed as a workstation.
Of course, if you have the DECKED Drawer System, you don’t need a bed liner. It can support a 2,000 lb payload (maybe that Grizzly were talking about earlier) and is heavy-duty enough to take a lot of punishment. Your glorious Chevy truck is protected, and your tools and gear are secure. And our limited lifetime warranty adds an extra layer of protection for your wallet.
DECKED Drawer System
If you plan on using your truck as more than a pavement princess, we recommend taking a look at the DECKED Drawer System . It gets you organized and keeps your tools and gear secure, safe, organized, and weatherproof. DECKED’s obsession with modular storage means you can use Crossboxes, D-Boxes, Drawerganizers, and dividers to sort your stuff, and swap it out quickly. Plus, if you use your truck for more than one purpose, like construction during the week and hunting on the weekends, you can switch out one set of boxes for another and be ready for the next thing in minutes.
So, how does it create more space? Easy. DECKED Drawers have a durable top that supports up to 2,000 pounds, and it covers your wheel wells to give you a bigger load surface. With our drawers installed, you still have full use of your truck bed with all your stuff locked up underneath. It doesn’t get any better than that.
DECKED Tool Box
Need even more space? Check out our brand-spankin’ new Tool Box designed with working men and women in mind. Like all our products, it’s built right here in the United States and made to last. Its revolutionary design includes a built-in ladder, so you can reach the contents even if your name isn’t LeBron James. It’s only compatible with some Drawer Systems right now, but if you need an indestructible DECKED Tool Box so secure it’ll make a grown thief cry, this one’s for you. (Sly nod to Budweiser!)
Chevy Interior Accessories
After you’re lit up, protected, and organized, let’s look at your cab. These newfangled luxury rides are absolutely nothing like the mangy rustbuckets we drove 30 years ago. Remember hard vinyl bench seats, clunky transmissions, and hit-or-miss air conditioning? Those days are long gone. Today, you can be looking at a Bose sound system and heated (and cooled!) seats that adjust six ways to Sunday.
The downside to such a sweet ride is that now you really have to take care of your truck. After all, your truck could still be on the road 200,000 miles down the line. If you’re still driving the same truck in 15 years (up to 7.6% of us do!), you want it to look great, right? That means keeping the wear and tear on everything minimal. Yes, this includes your seats, floor, steering wheel…the whole shebang.
Here are some interior accessories to consider:
- Floor liners or floor mats: For heavy-duty use, you probably want to check out WeatherTech. They carry a full line of floor protectors, and while you’re there, you can buy a WeatherTech CupFone (or even… an overpriced feeding system for your dog?). Another good source for perfectly fitted floor liners made specifically for your truck is, well, Chevy Accessories .
- Seat covers: Covering your seats is just common sense. Seats get a lot of wear and tear. What you cover them with is largely a matter of taste, and the options are absolutely endless. Consider these high-end Browning camo car seat covers , sporty leathers from Aierxuan , or maybe Motor Trend’s AquaShield waterproof neoprene covers.
Tactical gear storage options: If you carry, you need to safely store your guns . Look for center-console or under-seat options to keep your sidearms out of sight. Unless you have DECKED Drawers, which is the perfect answer to traveling with guns .
Chevy Exterior Accessories
Your truck interior is all about you, but the exterior is what turns heads when you drive by. If you want your truck to make a statement, here’s how to make your ride stand out.
- Running boards/step bars: Running boards do more than just look cool, they give you a leg-up (literally). And that’s easier on your joints. You’ll appreciate that when you hit 50 or so. Those joints really start to feel that daily wear and tear.
- Chrome trims: We prefer hard work and outdoor recreation to flash, but if you’re into that kind of thing, here are some options for you. You can find rocker panels, window trims, side mirror covers, molding, grill guards, and other fancy doodads. That’s right. Doodads.
- Fender flares: Again, this isn’t exactly our style, but in the (hopefully small) chance you are into these things, check out these fender flares from Rough Country . They provide extra protection for oversized tires and help you meet vehicle codes, even with mud-bog worthy tires.
- Grilles: You can style up or protect your front end with a grille guard or bull bar .
-
Lights:
If you want to blind every raccoon within a quarter-mile, here are some products for you.
- Tail lights: Things happen. And when something happens to your tail lights, you can get replacements and crank up the style at the same time. Check out these Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Altezza chrome tail lights or the PRO-Series LED tail lights for a really distinctive look.
- Tailgate lights: This strip of LED lights by Partsam fits under the tailgate to light up your intentions for turning or backing up.
- Grille lights: The iJDMTOY Behind Grille Mount 30-Inch LED Light Bar fits behind the grille and under the iron cross to add extra bright visibility to get you through the darkest nights.
- Emblem logo lamp kit: This one is just for fun. The light kit fits on the bottom of your door, and every time you open it, it shines the distinctive Chevy bowtie on the ground underneath.
And of course, there are all kinds of decals and bumper stickers if you want to make a more personal statement about who you are or what you think about…things.
Chevy Performance Accessories
Finally, you might be interested in customizing the performance of your truck. Here are a few accessories to add some more functionality.
- Splash guards or mud flaps: More than just decorative, splash guards keep the mudslinging to a minimum.
- Winches: You don’t need them often, but when you do, you really do. At some point, you’re going to find yourself clearing a road or towing a friend out of the mud. It’s just bound to happen.
- Performance wheels: Regular tires are fine and all, but a lot of truck owners crave adventure. If you’re going off-grid, you might need to invest in some high-performance all-terrain tires, like these popular trail-eaters from Falken .
- Exhaust tips or some fancy exhaust system: Don’t be that guy. Or do.
If you’re a real truck guy, your truck is part of your charm (maybe even ALL of your charm?). It’s your domain and probably where you spend a lot of your time. Chevy trucks are in it for the long haul, so you might be together for a long, long time. You want a ride that’s comfortable, functional, organized, and personal. You want the perfect accessories for all your automotive needs.
Show your Chevy you care by giving her what she deserves. Yup, that definitely means DECK-ing it out and hitting that checkout button. You know you want to.
