Truck accessory
Encyclopedia
A Truck accessory is an aftermarket
Aftermarket (automotive)
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, tools, equipment and accessories for light and heavy vehicles, after the sale of the...

 part that is used to enhance the style or function of the original OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...

 pickup truck
Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...

. Truck accessories are differentiated from other parts, typically referred to as "hard parts" or "cores" that include distributor
Distributor
A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order. The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. and introduced in the...

s, water pump
Water Pump
Water Pump is one of the neighbourhoods of Gulberg Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is near main Water Pump that supplies fresh water to the city of Karachi....

s, radiator
Radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics...

s and the like. Some of the more popular accessories for light-duty trucks include tubular products such as nerf bar
Nerf bar
A nerf bar is a tubular device fitted to the side of a racecar, typically single-seat race cars that compete on asphalt or dirt oval tracks. A "nerf" is a small, sometimes intentional, collision between two cars in which one driver bumps the other to facilitate a successful pass. The nerf bar...

s, grille guards, tonneau covers, truck tool boxes, autocarts, hard top and bed extenders.

History

Truck accessories to change the look of the vehicles did not become popular until the 1990s. Products in this industry include performance and racing components, cosmetic and functional accessories, wheels and tires, mobile electronics, safety products, restoration parts, handling equipment, drivetrain parts, grille guards, bumper replacements, steps, nerf bars and more. Previously, domestic U.S. manufacturers including General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

, Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

, Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

, and American Motors
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...

 considered their light-duty trucks (Chevrolet
Chevrolet pickup truck
Chevrolet has produced full sized pickup trucks under many nameplates and platforms:* Chevrolet Advance Design 1947-1955* Chevrolet Task Force 1955-59: There were actually two Chevy pickups in 1955...

, Ford
Ford F-Series
The F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company which has been sold continuously for over six decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150...

, Dodge
Dodge D Series
The D Series was a line of pickup trucks sold by the Dodge division of American automaker Chrysler from 1961-1980. After 1980, the trucks were renamed the Dodge Ram and the same basic design was retained until the 1994 introduction of a completely redesigned Ram...

, and Jeep
Jeep Gladiator
The Jeep Gladiator is a full-size pickup truck based on the large SJ platform that was built under varying marques from 1962 to 1988. The Jeep pickup design was noteworthy for being in production for more than 26 years with only minor mechanical changes...

) as work vehicles and often did little to accommodate appearance accessories. Aftermarket suppliers were often focused on specialty work-enhancing accessories such as snowplow
Snowplow
A snowplow is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes...

s, spreaders, and lift gates.
However, the market segment
Market segment
Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function...

s expanded as manufacturers offered a wide variety of pick-up truck types and sizes. With the dawn of the extended cab, trucks began taking on a more urban appeal and were being purchased for their style as well as their utility. This new audience of truck owner began to demand more than a simple tool box to adorn their trucks. They began developing an appetite for accessories that would complement the look of their truck and manufacturers began to accommodate their desires with products like billet grilles, chrome
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...

 fender trim, nerf bar
Nerf bar
A nerf bar is a tubular device fitted to the side of a racecar, typically single-seat race cars that compete on asphalt or dirt oval tracks. A "nerf" is a small, sometimes intentional, collision between two cars in which one driver bumps the other to facilitate a successful pass. The nerf bar...

s and hood deflectors. In addition, truck manufacturers began collaborating with and designing their vehicles to easily accommodate these accessories with bolt-on ease.

Manufacturers and Trade associations

There are numerous manufactures of accessories. The primary trade association that represents truck accessory manufacturers is SEMA
SEMA
Specialty Equipment Market Association of the automobile aftermarket was formed in 1963 by Roy Richter, Ed Iskenderian, Willie Garner, Bob Hedman, John Bartlett, Phil Weiand, Jr., Al Segal, Dean Moon, and Vic Edelbrock, Jr...

 (Specialty Equipment Market Association). The largest of the SEMA events is held annually in late October or early November in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 in conjunction with the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week. As part of this event, SEMA and other automotive aftermarket trade groups make-up one of the single largest events on the Las Vegas calendar. Some of the most popular aftermarket truck accessories include: Custom Wheels, custom grills, truck bed liners, as well as engine performance parts.
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