The American auto industry has been redesigning and improving the pickup truck for 100 years. Over that century, this class of vehicle has evolved into more than a good-looking and reliable means of transportation--it has muscled into a powerful and versatile workhorse that proves its pedigree in work and play. By meeting owner's needs with a few additional accessories, automotive manufacturers have expanded the concept of "truck as tool," taking the vehicle from cargo hauler to handsome sports vehicle and beyond to office on wheels. Here are just a few of the steps to make your truck both tool and transport.

Step
1

Add a Roof Rack
Carry milled lumber, piping, ladders, rebars, tent poles, surf fishing rods, or any overly-long cargo by adding a roof rack. If the cargo is light enough to lift up to the rack, it's a great accessory for freeing the rest of the truck bed for other heavier objects.

Step
2

Install a Bed-extender
Add a bed-extender when you regularly carry longer-than-usual loads such as lawn mowers, motorcycles, or your grandmother's Victorian armoire. Some bed-extenders flip back into the truck to stop cargo from sliding around as well as flipping outwards to incorporate the tail gate as part of the cargo bed. In either case, the lightweight frame will help hold your cargo secure.

Step
3

Add Tie-down Hooks and Snap on a Cargo Net
Install tie-down hooks and snap on a cargo net to prevent lighter weight cargo like fiber-glass insulation, bales of pine straw, or the lifejackets and skies from your lake outing from flying out of the truck bed during highway driving or on windy days.

Step
4

Drop in a Lockable Tool Box
Secure your electrical and hand tools in convenient and lockable drop-in tool boxes. On vacation, use them for luggage, camping gear, holding an ice chest full of rainbow trout from that cold mountain stream. Be inventive to get the most out of your truck and its accessories.

Step
5

Choose the Extended Cab Modil with Four Doors
Haul your entire work crew to the site in an extended cab with four doors. On the other hand, you can also take the crew to lunch--with lunch on the boss, of course! The truck serves just as well to haul your family off to the picnic at your cousin's farm or the theme park.

Step
6

Engage 4WD
Engage the 4-wheel drive to slog through mud or plow through snow. Beat the weather for fun or do it because you have to haul firewood up the mountain. Add a rolling bed liner to move that weighty load of mulch or gravel out of the truck bed and onto the ground without straining your back.

Step
7

Hook Up a Trailer Hitch and Tow for Fun and Profit
Hook up a trailer hitch to tow a utility trailer, a small horse trailer, or a boat. For that matter, start a small delivery business and start towing for fun and profit!

Step
8

Sit Comfortably in Your Truck and Use It as a Mobile Office
Sit comfortably in your truck with your laptop computer and cell phone, your work orders and invoice pad, your real estate signs and printer that plugs into the cigarette lighter, or your digital camera and press card. Nothing says that the cargo you haul cannot be yourself and the less rugged tools of your trade. A quiet air-conditioned and comfortable truck makes a great office on wheels.