Buying aftermarket parts for your truck can save you a bundle over going with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts because they cost a fraction of what you’d pay for OEM parts.

OEM means that the pieces were developed by the car maker–not another company.

 Many times, you can get the same quality for a cheaper price. “ You can get a much better deal on the parts,” said a spokesperson for JC Whitney. “For truck buyers who are on a budget, this becomes important because they want to save money while making improvements to their truck.”

What are some ideas that you might want to add as aftermarket parts for your truck?

Idea #1: Step Bars

Whether you have step bars or running boards, they all serve the same purpose, which is to get you in and out of your truck more easily. Especially if you have an elevated truck, this can eliminate much of the trouble if you’re an older person who needs the extra lift. You can also protect your truck from flying rocks on those gravel roads.

Idea #2: Tonneau Covers

You want to take measures to where you can protect your truck from damage to the truck bed. When you buy it as an aftermarket part, you don’t pay quite as much for the tonneau cover. Another advantage of Tonneau covers is how it hides your valuables, which has especially become the reason that this has become a popular truck accessory with utility workers. It makes it much harder for someone to break into the truck bed to get what’s hidden inside. In addition, tonneau covers have been shown to improve your fuel economy by as much as two percent, which translates to about a one mile per gallon improvement in the performance.

Idea #3: The Air Intakes

Buying air intakes as an aftermarket part can save you a great deal of cash. Sitting at the heart of the engine, the air intakes will help to improve the performance and push your truck to its limits.

Idea #4: Exhaust System

The exhaust system covers the back half of your airflow, and you will see a massive improvement in performance when you upgrade the exhaust system. With this improvement, you can expect to ramp up the horsepower of your truck.

Idea #5: Vent Visors

A small but simple installation for your truck, vent visors prevent water damage because it fits over the window, and it stops the windows from leaking water into the truck. This is the simplest of the DIY installations, but it can have a big impact.

These are five of the ideas that you could buy as aftermarket parts for your truck. Since 1915, JC Whitney has been a retailer of aftermarket parts with a wide range of choices for makes including Ford, Chevrolet, Maserati, BMW, Jaquar, Lexus Studebaker, Jeep and many more. For an e-version of the catalog, click  here.