8 Ways to Customize Your Truck & Make It Unique

How to Trick Your Truck

Customizing or “tricking” your pickup truck has become all the rage. There are all types of modifications you can do to make your truck unique and fit your personality. The best way is to start a list of how you want to change your truck’s look. Searching websites to get an idea what’s out there is also a good idea.

We enlisted the help of an expert in making our own list of ways to customize a truck. We avoided extremely expensive items such as Lambo doors (gull wings) and enclosed audio beds. The following is our list of some of the best ways to trick your truck.

#1 Paint Your Wagon
One of the best ways to make your truck to “stand out” is to customize your truck’s paint job. Customization can be as simple as adding a custom pin stripe. A custom design or a graphic like body flames will cost more. Introducing a new color scheme with designs, a mural, or an elaborate, eye-catching body wrap will make your truck get noticed.

“A simple pin stripe can be done in about an hour and will cost as little as $50,” states Rusty Martindale of Total Trucks. “A nice graphic like flames will cost about $500. If you go into a full body wrap, from bumper-to-bumper, it can be pretty expensive.

“In the old days, it was all air brushed by a talented artist. Now, you just look at a catalog and choose from various designs. You find what you want, and it’s printed on vinyl by the manufacturer and shipped, but you can save half of what it will cost at a body shop.”

#2 Make Your Grille Grin
The grille of your truck is the focal point of those you meet on the road. You can replace the grille that comes from the factory with a variety of patterns. The most popular ones include mesh, billet, stainless steel, tubular, and chrome.

“In the old days, we just cut around the grille, which was plastic,” explains Martindale. “Nowadays, it’s considered a sin to cut a new vehicle, so we have bolt-overs or clamp-overs, grille inserts. Basically, we leave the integrity of the vehicle the way it comes from the factory and we just insert it over the original.”

Most custom grille replacements are made specifically for that vehicle. Catalogs or brochures, and designs from various manufacturers, are also available online.

#3 Shine On
Lighting is one of the more affordable ways to make your truck stand out.  A lot of the newer vehicles come with new high-intensity (HID) headlights, but you can give your truck a new look with HID headlights.

Installing running lights, fog lights (either on the front bumper or on a roll bar), and new taillights can add a distinctive look. Running lights can be added to the cab, running boards, or tailgate. Fog lights can be chrome, plain painted ones, or have fancy covers. Taillights can be replaced with chrome ones that enhance the look of your vehicle from the back.

Under glow or low lighting is very popular right now, but it is also illegal to run on the road. It’s a federal law. You are only allowed to have those on your vehicle for show purposes and it must be parked.

#4 Cover Up
Whether you call them camper shells, Tunneau covers, or caps, bed covers are important to your vehicle. They cover the back of your truck for security reasons, will dress up the vehicle, and also give better fuel economy.

Aerodynamically speaking, wind flows over the top of your vehicle and will create a whirlwind effect, and drag the vehicle. With a cap you can get up to 12 percent increase in fuel economy.

#5 Wear Shades
“In the old days, the reason for tinting was just to darken the windows,” says Martindale, “but today’s windows keep the interior from becoming faded. They also have a reflection effect that reduces heat inside the vehicle and you don’t need to use your AC as much.”

You can declare your patriotism or express your team spirit with a display on the back window of your truck for about $100. Window graphics are easy to mount and offer shade and privacy while giving your truck that special look

#6 Keep Rolling In Style
One area that will really hit you in the pocketbook is with custom tires and rims. There is such a wide variety that it would take a much larger article to cover even a fraction of what is available. The selection of wheel options will boggle your mind but, as a rule, it is cheaper to purchase tires and wheels at a tire shop than ordering them from a dealership.

#7 Step On Up
“Steps and running boards are an important part of customizing your truck,” Martindale says. “I’d say it’s about a third of my business. A pair of simple steps we call horseshoe steps, like 10-inch size, you can get for $100 installed. Running boards are more expensive.

“A set of pipes will range between $400 and $500,” continues Martindale. “The old style chrome running boards range between $600 and $800. It makes more sense to go to an after-market place like mine than to have it done at a dealership. You can save half the cost.”

#8 Keep Them In Suspense
Whether you prefer to lift your truck with large tires and a high profile, or hug the ground with low-profile tires and rims, when it comes to suspension, it’s hard to do-it-yourself. Once again, the best place to have the work done is at a tire shop that specializes in suspension.

Factory-installed sensors on the front and back of the vehicle send a message to the onboard computer if you start modifying the vehicle’s suspension. That will probably create a problem for you. Tire shops with ASC certified mechanics will do that for you.

Copyright 2012 by S. R. Morris