To celebrate its partnership, RacingJunk has teamed up with aftermarket e-commerce retailer Turn5 to give away a $500 gift card, redeemable at any of Turn5’s three enthusiast properties: American Trucks, American Muscle and Extreme Terrain.
Each property specializes in aftermarket equipment designed to supplement and enhance the specific type of vehicle. In the case of American Trucks, that means cool stuff for pickups. Stuff like suspension and performance mods, truck covers, roll bars, tool cases, lights, and pretty much everything that makes truck-owning fun.
RacingJunk sat down with Adam Maqboul, the host of American Trucks’ many how-to and adventure videos, to talk product, modding and making the most out of your pickup truck.
RacingJunk: So, you buy an F-150. What’s the first mod you make to it?
Adam Maqboul/American Trucks: Definitely the first mod is a tonneau cover. It’s the first thing I did to my Ranger, and it’ll be the first thing I do to my imaginary F-150! Too many time’s I’ve been caught needing a covered truck bed for my cargo. It’s a must for new truck owners, in my opinion.
RacingJunk: American Trucks offers videos to help truck owners install product and improve their vehicles. Where would a new owner start?
Adam Maqboul/American Trucks: Hey, we have a video series for that! Our “First 5 Mods” videos would be great for a new truck owner looking to dip their toes into the aftermarket world. Typically the first few mods include a tonneau cover, side steps, leveling kit, maybe wheels and tire and even things like a cold air intake. I would also start off by figuring out what you plan on using your truck for. Work truck owners may want to go a slightly different route for their first few mods than a typical daily driver/commuter (i.e. storage solutions for the work truck guys vs. appearance & convenience mods for the commuter).
RacingJunk: With the advent of the electric vehicle, particularly in the light-duty market, what types of after market options will stay, and which ones do you see evolving in the future.
Adam Maqboul/American Trucks: This is a great question. I definitely foresee the “staples” staying – electric trucks are still trucks! Tonneau covers and side steps are here forever. But without a gas engine, things like cold air intakes and catback exhausts won’t be in the conversation anymore. I think the throttle controller category will evolve a bit for EV’s. Right now they control the ECU communication with the throttle body, but what if they could mimic something like Tesla’s Ludicrous mode, but for F-150’s?
Additionally, maybe we’ll see some battery-focused mods to help guys on the worksite take further advantage of the battery power they’ll have on hand. I’m excited to see the EV market grow so we can watch the aftermarket evolve and adapt.
RacingJunk: What’s one product you offer that’s a stealth star for the truck owner?
Adam Maqboul/American Trucks: Definitely one of the most impactful “stealth” mods, in my opinion, would be a set of smoked headlights. You may not realize it because of how used to OEM designs we all are, but factory headlights are all chrome. They’re flashy, traditional, reflective… outdated. A set of smoked headlights, especially LED/Projector’s with DRL’s, can completely change the front end and make it a lot stealthier.
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Want to enter the giveaway for the gift card? Go here: https://www.racingjunk.com/contest_giveaway/95
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