Newsflash: your new diesel truck doesn’t need you. You need it, but it doesn’t need you. Sad, right? For better or worse—probably the former, considering the shocking prices of today’s trucks—new diesel trucks are good-to-go straight off the showroom floor. They have gobs of horsepower and torque, giant touchscreens, sufficient sound systems, plush interiors, and more technology than we know what to do with. Unlike 30-year-old trucks that were more simple and less equipped, new trucks need less and are harder to modify.

Luckily, there’s still room for some fun. Here are a few budget-friendly bolt-on mods, upgrades, and accessories for your new Power Stroke, Cummins, or Duramax diesel truck. Some may call them boring; we call them practical. In 30 years, unleash the bigger mods.

Leveling Kits

Some trucks sit ass-high straight from the factory; it can look goofy. A leveling kit helps your truck sit more aggressively and can allow for slightly larger tires, improving both looks and off-road capability. If you want to throw on some easy exterior lighting in conjunction with a leveling kit—maybe dust lights, rock lights, lightbars, or pods—nothing but your pocketbook would suffer.

Wheels and Tires

There’s a good chance your new truck’s wheels and tires are perfect. However, if you need a combo that’s more aggressive or modern, this could be a good addition. Make sure you still have lock-to-lock turning clearance. If your tires end up outside the fenders, consider fender flares. Remember that bigger tires will impact your speedometer and could cause other issues, depending on how different they are than factory.

Intake and Exhaust

One of the easiest and most effective upgrades is a cold air intake. By improving airflow to the engine, they help your diesel breathe better, boosting horsepower and torque while also slightly improving fuel efficiency. Kits are usually under $400 and can be installed with basic tools in under an hour. Likewise, upgrading your truck’s exhaust system is a classic mod for both performance and sound. A turbo-back or cat-back exhaust system can improve turbo spool, reduce backpressure, and add that aggressive diesel growl. As always, be sure to check your local emissions laws when it comes to intake and exhaust systems.

Retractable Side Steps and Bed Steps

Retractable side steps that tuck away when not in use require less athleticism when entering and exiting taller trucks. For a simpler option, non-retracting bolt-on running boards also make cab access easier. Off-road trucks could benefit from rock sliders, which add body protection (but aren’t really intended to be used as steps). At the back of the truck, retractable bed steps make getting onto the rear bumper or into the bed easier.

New Diesel Truck Window Tint

In addition to looking cool and taking away that fishbowl feel, window tint offers UV protection and cabin cooling. High-quality tint jobs range in price, depending on truck size. Check your local laws when making tint decisions.

Permanent Phone Charging Cords

This is a silly one, but you’ll thank us next time a cord is readily available to charge your cell phone. Stop transferring cords from one car to another, which inevitably leaves you without charging capability when you need it the most. Source several dedicated cords that will “live” in your truck. Even if your truck has a wireless charging pad, have cords handy.

Bed Protection: Spray-On or Drop-In Bedliners

There’s a good chance your new truck came with some kind of bedliner. If that’s not the case and your truck bed is “naked,” be warned—that pretty painted bed surface is not going to stay pretty long. It’ll show heavy scratch marks after the first item slides around. It’s important to protect your bed from scratches, rust, and impact. Plastic drop-in bed liners are generally cheaper, while spray-on options generally cost more but offer a cleaner, longer-lasting finish. Drop-in liners are also less permanent than spray-on liners. You can coat the bed yourself, but unless you have experience, send it to the professionals. Any liner could impact the fitment of other bed products, so plan accordingly.

Bed Coverage: Tonneau Covers, Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers, Slide-In Campers, and More

Protect stuff in your bed (from weather and thieves, kind of) and boost mpg with a tonneau cover. There are many types—roll-up, tri-fold, and retractable, for example. Tonneau cover prices vary greatly based on materials, features, security, and weatherproofing. Great for tool and toy storage, fiberglass or aluminum truck caps and shells are also viable options. If you’re building an overland truck, the sky is the limit when it comes to the bed: racks, pop-up toppers, slide-in campers, and more. Obviously, you’ll need to cool it on these options if you’re fifth-wheel or gooseneck towing.

Bed Organization: Bed Extenders, Bed Dividers, Tie-Down Rails, Drawers, Storage Boxes, and other Bed Storage Systems

There is no shortage of ways to secure and organize the stuff in your truck bed. From a-la-carte bed products to whole-scale bed storage systems to everything in between, it’s your truck, so you get to do it your way. It’s very possible you’ll have multiple setups; every setup has advantages and disadvantages.

Modular storage boxes and slide-out drawer systems that mount directly into your bed are great for organizing, protecting, accessing anything that fits in the drawers. However, these systems reduce your bed depth. Swing-out storage boxes occupy the dead space behind the wheel well, swinging toward the tailgate for easy access. They’re lockable, weather-resistant, and super handy for keeping smaller gear out of the cab. However, they need room to swing. Bed extenders and dividers help secure loads better and make full use of the truck bed. Bolt-on or clamp-on bedrail tie-down systems add additional tie-down points along the sides of your bed. Don’t forget about the usefulness of traditional tool boxes.

New Diesel Truck Floor Mats

It’s important to protect your new diesel truck interior. All-weather, custom-fit floor mats help preserve resale value and clean up easily after a muddy day. Remove them for a quick shake or a full cleaning with water and car wash product. Don’t shine ’em up too much, as you don’t want slippery mats. Once you see how much abuse they take, you’ll be glad to have them.

Seat Covers and Protectors

New diesel trucks generally don’t need seat covers; even lower trims generally use materials that don’t need immediate upgrading. However, there are some classy seat cover options that’ll get you into new color palettes or premium materials. Seat covers are also a good idea if you carry dogs or use your truck for dirty work. If you have kids in car seats, consider car seat protectors. As implied, these mats act as buffers between car seats and the truck’s seats. They catch tons of crumbs and prevent premature seat chaffing.

Apple AirTag

Your new truck may have a great security system, but a little redundancy never hurts. Hide an Apple AirTag somewhere in your truck so you can track it using the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad. If you have a camper, rooftop tent, or other valuable accessory that can be detached from your truck, throw an AirTag in it, too. Hopefully you’ll never have to rely on an AirTag to locate your truck.

Monitors and Gauges

For those towing or running performance tunes, installing pillar-mounted gauges is not only functional but adds a race-ready aesthetic to your cabin. Track vital engine metrics like boost, EGT, and transmission temps with these pillar-mounted or digital multi-gauge setups.

Plug-and-Play Tuners

Performance tuners offer instant gains in horsepower, torque, and throttle response—often for less than $500. These tuners are easy to install (typically plugging into the OBD-II port) and many come with pre-set tunes optimized for towing, economy, or performance. They’re one of the best bang-for-your-buck upgrades in the diesel world.

Paint Protection Film

For rock chip and scratch defense, paint protection film (PPF) kits for high-impact areas like hoods, bumpers, fender lips, door edges, rockers, and mirror caps are subtle but effective upgrades. If you’re in a region plagued by insects, bug and hood deflectors that add front-end protection are good additions. Fender flares (if you’re running aftermarket wheels and tires) and heavy-duty mud flaps also protect against rocks and debris.

Hitch

If you’re going to be towing, invest in the right hitch and associated towing accessories. It’s always safer to buy “more” hitch than you need; don’t skimp when it comes to towing safety.

Finally, Take Your Time

Upgrading your new truck doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. Whatever improvement you’re chasing—more power, better fuel economy, improved looks, off-road performance, or just a more comfortable ride—there are plenty of bolt-on mods that offer big value for relatively little money. In closing, here’s one final reminder: since your new diesel truck doesn’t need anything, it’s perfectly acceptable to rock it in bone-stock, factory form for the duration of its life. If in doubt, hold off on questionable mods until you’re convinced they’re necessary, the truck’s paid off, or the warranty has expired. After all, these aren’t the trucks of 30 years ago.