Aluminum vs steel
Aluminum vs steel truck tool boxes
What actually differs between the two metals over ten years, and the one case where it genuinely settles the decision.
Updated October 2026
Guides
Work truck guides and comparisons
Thirty-four pages that answer a specific question rather than selling you something. Grouped by the decision they help you make.
Everything here is written for the contractor, tradesman or rural owner outfitting a working pickup. If you are starting from nothing, begin with contractor truck setup — it sets out the whole build in the order that keeps your options open. If you have one specific question, it is probably in one of the groups below.
Tool boxes
Which shape, which metal, how to measure, and how to keep it secure.
Tool box vs drawer system
Tool box or drawer system?
What each format solves, what each costs you, and the honest answer for a truck that needs some of both.
Updated October 2026
Tool box vs tonneau cover
Tool box or tonneau cover?
Why the two formats fight, which problem each actually solves, and the slimline route that gets you both.
Updated October 2026
How to measure
How to measure a truck bed for a tool box
The four measurements in order, what each one decides, and why the box is longer than your bed is wide.
Updated October 2026
Install without drilling
How to install a truck tool box without drilling
The clamp hardware, the eight steps, and the one bed design where you genuinely have to drill.
Updated October 2026
Tool box security
Truck tool box security
How boxes actually get opened, the lock tiers that resist it, and the practical measures that beat hardware.
Updated October 2026
Are they waterproof?
Are truck tool boxes waterproof?
What weather-resistant means in practice, the mechanism behind a box that leaks in year three, and how to keep one dry.
Updated October 2026
Weight capacity
How much weight can a truck tool box hold?
What lid ratings mean, what boxes weigh empty, and why the door-jamb sticker decides this more than the box does.
Updated October 2026
Replace the lock
Replacing a truck tool box lock
Non-destructive options first, then the lock swap, then the honest point at which replacing the box is the better call.
Updated October 2026
Bed storage
Drawers, slides, securement and the order to buy in.
DECKED vs BedSlide
DECKED vs BedSlide
The decision table, the published capacities, and an honest statement of which problem each one actually solves.
Updated October 2026
DECKED vs Weather Guard
DECKED vs Weather Guard
Drawers against a fleet-grade box: what each costs you, which one keeps the bed usable, and who should buy which.
Updated October 2026
DECKED alternatives
Cheaper DECKED alternatives that actually work
Four cheaper routes to organized reachable bed storage, each with a plain statement of what it gives up.
Updated October 2026
Secure tools in the bed
How to secure tools in a truck bed
What break strength and working load limit actually mean, where to put anchors, and the order to secure a bed in.
Updated October 2026
Prevent tool theft
How to keep tools from being stolen out of a truck
The measures that actually work, ranked by effectiveness, plus what to do before and after a theft.
Updated October 2026
Organize a truck bed
How to organize a truck bed
The order of operations that actually works, from a thirty-dollar bar to a drawer system, with the reasoning for the sequence.
Updated October 2026
Bed storage ideas
Work truck bed storage ideas that hold up
Eight real bed storage ideas from nearly free to a full build, each with what it gives up stated plainly.
Updated October 2026
Covers, liners and racks
What protects a bed, what a cover actually does, and what a rack costs.
Soft vs hard cover
Soft vs hard tonneau cover
What each material survives, what fails first on both, and why the real question is folding versus rolling.
Updated October 2026
Covers and gas mileage
Does a tonneau cover improve gas mileage?
Why the standard claim is contested, what the variables actually are, and the honest reason to buy a cover.
Updated October 2026
Box under a cover
Does a tool box fit under a tonneau cover?
The three box formats that coexist with a cover, the clearances to measure, and the combinations to avoid.
Updated October 2026
Spray-in vs drop-in
Spray-in vs drop-in bed liner
The grit problem, the resale argument, the roll-on middle ground, and which cargo each one actually suits.
Updated October 2026
Rack with a cover
Can you put a ladder rack on a tonneau cover?
Why you cannot load a cover, the rail-mounted arrangement that works, and the four checks before you buy either half.
Updated October 2026
Rack weight limits
How much weight can a truck ladder rack hold?
What the published ratings describe, the three limits between them and reality, and how a high rack changes handling.
Updated October 2026
What a rack costs
What a ladder rack actually costs
The four price brackets, what the premium actually buys, and the three costs people forget.
Updated October 2026
The cab
Seat covers, airbags and floor liners.
Seat covers and airbags
Do seat covers affect airbags?
Where side airbags sit, what compatible covers do differently, and exactly what to check before you buy one.
Updated October 2026
Custom vs universal covers
Custom vs universal truck seat covers
Why a universal cover on a bolstered seat does damage, where universal is genuinely fine, and the airbag difference between the two.
Updated October 2026
Are seat covers worth it?
Are truck seat covers worth it?
What covers actually protect against, the custom-versus-universal calculation, and the cases where you should skip them.
Updated October 2026
Cleaning seat covers
How to clean truck seat covers
The routine per fabric, what shrinks a custom pattern permanently, and why removal matters more than washing.
Updated October 2026
WeatherTech vs Husky
WeatherTech vs Husky floor liners
The sill wall difference, the compound difference, and an honest statement of when the premium is wasted.
Updated October 2026
Are floor liners worth it?
Are floor liners worth it?
What water in the carpet actually does, what liners return at resale, and the one place not to buy cheap.
Updated October 2026
Mats vs liners
Floor mats vs floor liners
Where the mess actually lands, what each format catches, and the one genuine case for a flat mat.
Updated October 2026
Cleaning floor liners
How to clean truck floor liners
The routine, why the carpet underneath matters more than the liner, and how to deal with road salt before it reaches the floor pan.
Updated October 2026
Setting a truck up, and gifts
The whole build in order, plus what to buy for somebody else's truck.
Contractor truck setup
Contractor truck setup, in the right order
The seven-step build order for a work truck, the decisions that exclude each other, and the payload check to do before step five.
Updated October 2026
Gifts for truck owners
Best gifts for someone who runs a work truck
Six gifts that fit any pickup, chosen because they do not depend on knowing the bed length or the model year.
Updated October 2026
Gifts under $100
Truck gifts for contractors under $100
Six universal-fit work truck gifts in the under-$100 bracket, with live prices so the bracket is real.
Updated October 2026