Tyres

Tyres play an important role on any vehicle, but especially a truck. From the factory, a lot of truck manufacturers will put street tires on their vehicles to save on costs as well as the fact that they understand that their vehicles will spend the majority of their life on the tarmac. Whilst this makes your truck composed on the road, as soon as you do any real off-roading you’re going to encounter some issues. The mild tread will struggle to give you much grip in wet mud or on smooth rocks as well as the sidewalls of the tires will be susceptible to being punctured by foreign objects like sticks and stones. The best advice is to buy appropriate tyres for 95% of your usage. Unless all your work is offroad, there is no need to go crazy with the tread pattern and size, but buying the correct tyres for your truck is one of the best mods you can do.

Performance Exhaust

From the factory, most trucks will have a very restrictive, very quiet exhaust fitted. This is designed with the average consumer in mind, who wants a quiet and refined driving experience. The problem with these stock exhausts is that they can rob power by choking your engine. By fitting an aftermarket system, mostly Cat-back jobs, you will likely free up some extra horsepower and torque figures from your powerplant. When the exhaust gasses have less resistance, it becomes easier to push them out to the back of the truck and gain a little extra pulling power. Some people fit catless systems, but this can often result in too much noise and is illegal in some areas. As well as a little more power, a new exhaust will give your truck a much-improved sound and you will enjoy the driving experience even more than before.

Remap

Most trucks these days have turbodiesel units under the hood. This is good news for those looking to extract a little extra power from their engines. Tuners can increase the boost to a level that is deemed safe for the truck. Results vary of course, but some results can be astounding, freeing up a lot more horsepower and torque, often even increasing fuel economy from the factory. This mod will give you the extra grunt you might need to pull large loads, ascend steep hills or get better fuel economy on the highway. Some naturally aspirated trucks can see small gains from a remap, but most of the time you will be only looking at 10 – 15 horsepower.

Lighting

Whether you are going off-roading every weekend or simply want some extra glow for your truck, lighting is a great mod you can do. Sure, the two candles on the front will do fine in the city or on the highway at night, however as soon as you get off the beaten track poor lighting can mean the difference between moving forward or going home. The problem with the stock headlights is that you only get forward-facing illumination. Aftermarket options mean you can see everything that is going on around your truck including the sides. Often when off-roading, the weak plastic headlight housing can get smashed and put out a bulb. Having a backup if this happens is a worthy addition to your vehicle.

Locking differentials

Multiple locking diffs are one of the most important mods to make to your truck if you don’t have them from the factory. People often underestimate the value of the locking differential, or simply don’t realise what they are for. With an open diff, you could have 1 wheel in the air and one on the grippiest bit of rock available, yet as long as one wheel is air in all the power will go through the path of least resistance, leaving you stuck. By having a diff lock, preferably front, mid and rear locks, it allows you to distribute your power evenly on slippery surfaces, meaning that even if only one wheel has traction, you will keep moving. ARB diff locks are well known for making the best. This mod will make a huge difference if you are off-roading on a regular basis.