ACCESORISE IT: MUST-HAVE ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR TRUCK

There are few sources of pride as potent as a truck, hard earned and paid for with your own sweat and tears. As it sits in the driveway, drawing the jealous glances of neighbours and your own wistful sighs, it can be easy to get carried away with the idea of throwing every accessory under the sun at your new love. But should you? Better known as ‘fruit’, add-ons to trucks have been around for as long as people have wanted their vehicles to stand out from the crowd. As such, a thriving industry was created with every bell, whistle and winch under the sun. With stricter limits coming in on how much weight a loaded vehicle can carry, it’s more important than ever to prioritise what you add to your trusty work horse.

BULL BARS

A bull bar is a simple but extremely effective addition to the front of your vehicle that can provide protection against logs, banks, debris, animals and other obstacles when driving on or off-road. When designing a bull bar, manufacturers must take into account vehicle shape, approach angle, air bag compatibility, weight, strength and more. When purchasing one you need to consider a similar laundry list of attributes and ensure you’ve chosen a compliant fit for your vehicle. It goes without saying that you should try to match your bull bar to your brand as often as possible in order to gain all the benefits available. A Genuine Isuzu Bull Bar, for example, is custom manufactured to the brand’s stringent quality standards with the intention of having safe, practical, not to mention good looking protection for the front end of your truck. For any truck owner, it only makes sense to accessorise using genuine add-ons that are specifically crafted to be compatible with your particular model.

TYRES

Tyres are another case where its best to follow manufacturers’ protocol. All truck wheels are calibrated to compensate for tyre performance and so changing brands from the one fitted to your truck at purchase can have surprising consequences. Steer performs differently between tyre brands, mostly owing to variations in road grip. This means that if your truck is adjusted to use, for example, Michelin tyres, but you end up fitting a different brand, the yaw rate can be affected. For example, if you have a newer truck, a change in yaw can trigger the brake sensors causing your truck to slow during turning. For best results and less downtime, the lesson here is to stick to the tyre brands that came standard with your truck.

TOWBARS

A decent towbar can change the efficiency of your operation for the better. The ute versus truck debate that many tradies and business owners find themselves having will often come down to towing and payload capabilities. When pondering the addition of a towbar, it’s important to consider a product that is industry specific and fit-for-purpose for the task at hand. 65 per cent of those in Isuzu’s Future of Trucking report believed it critical to their businesses to have access to application-centric, turn-key solutions. Having a factory-backed towbar solution is another evolution of this emerging demand. The critical issue when it comes to towing is compliance and safety. Factory-backed tow kits are put through a rigorous dynamic, static and chain-pull testing regime, all components are fully validated to Australian Design Rules (ADR) standards, ticking off any compliance or Chain of Responsibility (CoR) concerns and providing extra peace of mind.

LIGHT BARS

Australia is a wild place, and the animals don’t have a lot of respect for the rules of the road. If you plan to drive your truck anywhere rural at night, additional lighting is an absolute must. As an addition to standard factory headlights, many truck owners opt for an aftermarket light bar on roof mounts or across the radiator grille. It should be noted however that light bars are not for everyday road use as they are very likely to blind oncoming drivers. If you’re the kind of person who finds themselves alone at night in remote areas, having additional visibility can make all the difference in a tricky situation. There are a number of options on the market, so when purchasing or fitting a light bar, consider what situations you’ll be operating in and whether this will be hazardous to anyone sharing your road.

THE LONG GAME

Accessorising your truck is for many people half functionality and half fashion. Modifying and building out your truck is as much about looking good as performing well and this can pay dividends if you ever choose to sell your vehicle. Those who do their research and put the effort and attention into making the most of their vehicles usually end up on the better end of the “whole of life cost” spectrum. When you do your research, maintain what you have and show your vehicle some love, you’ll usually end up with a healthier truck with a long, happy life. If you’re interested in the technology in the cab of a truck, look no further