Hey, guys. Adam here with americantrucks.com
and, in this episode of "The Haul," I'm going over the top five easiest mods
you can do to your Silverado. Whether you're a truck owner who's never turned a
wrench or someone with years' experience modding your Silverado, these five mods are something
anyone can tackle with ease in the driveway at home. I'll be covering some appearance, power,
and maintenance mods that really make an impact on your truck with minimal effort. Now, before we
go into it, subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date on future content, Silverado
news, and product videos. Let's get to it. The first mod I wanna focus on is one
most truck owners do right off the bat, side steps. Now, if your truck didn't come with
side steps, picking up an aftermarket set is almost a must. These are the RB20 Running
Boards in the textured black finish. Now, not only are they gonna make getting in
and out of your truck a whole lot easier, but they play a big part in stepping up
your truck's appearance. There are a ton of different styles and designs out there, going
from running boards like these, side steps, drop steps and more, but they all accomplish
the same task just with different looks. Now, these RB20 Running Boards span the length of
your cab and the entire board can be used as a slip-resistant step. This particular design
even looks like it could have come on the truck from the factory, so it can blend right in. Now,
getting these on your truck is extremely simple. You'll basically bolt a few brackets up to the
underside of your rocker panel and then the side steps themselves will bolt up to the brackets. And
it'll take you about 20 to 30 minutes on each side and you'll be ready to go, which makes these
the first of the five easiest mods on my list. For this next mod, we're heading under the hood.
Now, cold air intakes are known to be some of the easier mods you can do to a vehicle in general.
And the Silverado is no exception. This is the K&N Series 77 Cold Air Intake, a staple in the
intake category. Now, the factory intake uses a dry paper element filter, so switching out to an
oiled cotton gauze filter like this one from K&N can help your engine breathe a lot better and
filter out more particles with a washable and reusable material. Now, the Series 77 tubing is
a solid upgrade over the factory one as well, letting a bit more air volume come through. And
the polished finish looks really good under the hood. Now, a no-tune required intake like this can
still pick up a couple of horsepower and torque, also giving you a more aggressive engine
sound as well. Now, when it comes time for routine maintenance, popping the filter out
for a cleaning, and in this case re-oiling, is extremely simple. With this install
being just a couple of clamps and bolts, a cold air intake under the hood can make
the difference that is easy to accomplish. This next mod might not be the most exciting
or visually impactful, but it's got a ton of function. The JLT V3 Oil Separator can help
prolong the life of your engine by preventing buildup of oil sludge that could bog down your
engine, robbing it of some power and efficiency. Now, oil separators like this do just that.
They filter out the oil through a canister and separate any oil sludge or blow-by, which
is essentially crankcase exhaust gases that make their way back into the engine that could
potentially build up over time. Now the JLT V3 Oil Separator bolts up pretty subtly as you
can see here under the hood and the 3-ounce oil catch can collects all the waste. There's a
filter on the inside to help with that process and it basically just replaces a PCV tube from
under the breather line there under the hood. When it comes time for routine maintenance
you just unscrew the catch can using that knurl texture grip bottom, dispose of the oil,
and put it back. It's as simple as that and it's an effective mod that has all upsides
and really no downside. And it's super easy to install. At this point let's flip the
truck around and talk about our next one. For this next one, we're heading to the rear to
talk about one of the most common truck mods, a tonneau cover. Now a tonneau cover is a
great example of something that has a ton of functionality and also plays a huge part in
appearance as well. This is the BAK Industries BAKFlip MX4 Folding Tonneau Cover and it's one
of my personal favorites. Now, a tonneau cover is the perfect way to protect any cargo you
have in your bed from any weather elements or potential thieves. The hard top adds another
layer of security and it's also easy to use. All you do is pull a cord to unlock it and fold it
back. Now, this BAK Industries one is a bit more of a premium option in the category because
of its extremely high quality folding design and it's easy to use. With a folding cover
like this one you can get access to your bed in sections, which helps depending on the size and
shape of the cargo you're hauling at any given time. This is another category that has a ton
of options, but the install is usually pretty similar across the board for all folding covers
like this one. It's usually a 30-minute process but sometimes even less. And it's something
that most truck owners tackle at some point in their ownership, making it one of the
easiest Silverado mods for any generation. Now, while we're at the back of the truck here,
let's talk about my last mod, tail lights. Now, these are probably the easiest Silverado
mod you can do to your truck. Tail lights are literally just two bolts, and some light bulb
plugs, and that's it. Here we have the Axial Smoked Tail Lights which have a darker lens
to give you a stealthier look at the rear, along with brighter LEDs to light up
the rear a little bit better. Now, the factory tail lights can get a little bland
after a while, so switching them up to a more attractive and modernized LED technology can
make all the difference to appearance. These are really bright red LEDs for your running lights
and they're gonna reuse the factory reverse light in the middle. Now, overall, they're a big
change up over the stock look. And best of all, they only take minutes to install. Once you
drop your tailgate there are just two bolts standing in your way of getting the light
out. From there you just unplug and plug in the new ones. Some lights in the category have
some splicing involved, but these Axials are straight out of the box ready to go, making them
arguably the easiest Silverado mod available. Well, guys, that's gonna wrap up my list for the
top five easiest mods for your Silverado. Now, if you're looking for a couple of really simple
mods to do to your own pick-up to personalize it, then I hope this video helped give
you some ideas. Now, of course, these are just my picks. There are a bunch of
other mods out there that are just as simple, but I personally think these five are a great
place to start. Drop us a comment below, letting me know what other mods you'd add to
the list and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date with future content.
Keep it right here at americantrucks.com.
