4 DeWalt Tools That Can Come In Handy For Truck Drivers

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As of 2025, the generations-long Ford F-Series and Chevy Silverado are the two best-selling vehicles in America, with the Ram Pickup coming in fifth. In fact, trucks had a higher share of vehicle purchases than passenger cars last year. All this means that truck driving isn’t just common in the U.S.; it’s a point of pride and a defining feature of the nation’s roads. To serve that massive portion of buyers, we’re highlighting a few tools that can prove important for truck drivers. But because of the unique nature of pickup trucks in comparison to cars, these tools can be rather different and more specialized.

Industry giant DeWalt has an enormous array of highly-rated tools in every category, and it can be quite difficult to know what’s best for your vehicle, especially if you’re newer to the world of trucks. So, if you’re looking to update your toolkit as a truck driver, the following popular picks from DeWalt are the perfect place to start. We’ve picked items from a range of different categories that we deem most useful for truck drivers, so that regardless of your budget or specific needs at the moment, there should be something to consider.

That small emergency flashlight that you keep in your glove compartment can be perfectly suitable for illuminating the interior and exterior of your car as needed, but for truck drivers, this can dramatically complicate the work of finding an essential component, securing cargo, completing a routine maintenance job, or inspecting the truck before setting out on a job. Truck drivers, then, will typically appreciate something more heavy-duty.

If you’re a DeWalt customer, there’s one particular item that’s a good fit: The 20V MAX LED handheld area light. As the name suggests, it’s designed not simply to provide a narrow beam of light that the user has to direct by hand, but also to be quickly and temporarily affixed where needed to give broader, hands-free illumination. Its body is shaped with grips that make it more comfortable to hold for longer periods, and it also features a beltloop accessory.

The versatility of DeWalt’s 20V MAX* LED handheld area light extends to its suite of features as well. DeWalt notes that the area light features can be set between 300 and 1000 lumens, with a head that can swivel 140 degrees. Its compatibility with the rest of the range also means that users of other 20V MAX products may already have the battery and charging capacity they need for this model. Being designed for job sites, it can be a truck driver’s stalwart companion. You can currently find it for $55 on Best Buy and $45.10 on Amazon (down from $89), where it boasts an average of 4.8 stars based on over 1,300 reviews.

Pickup trucks are perfect for transporting heavier goods such as construction materials around a job site. However, a trucker needs a convenient, safety-compliant means of lifting them. Larger commercial trucks, of course, are often equipped with tail lifts for exactly this purpose, but another convenient tool for transporting heavy goods and equipment safely is the DeWalt Grabo Suction Lifter. A collaboration between DeWalt and GRABO, this is, according to the brand, “the first professional electric vacuum lifter.” A tool like a vacuum lifter, in some cases, may be the only practical way to move heavy loads with smooth surfaces, such as metal or plastic panels, slabs, and stones.

With a maximum load capacity of 265 lbs, this heavy-duty vacuum lifter is powered by batteries from DeWalt’s 18V or Flexcolt line. It boasts a foam/rubber seal with vital safety measures, including a two-action release and a warning and temporary inoperability state if a worker attempts to use it when its battery is below a certain threshold. As with the other items in the DeWalt range, it was created for versatility, and it is compatible with materials ranging from plywood and glass to MDF and pathing slabs. It will set you back $249 on Amazon, but it’s currently discounted to $189.99.

While trucks with big beds can transport large items — or large quantities of items — that a car owner would be unable to manage, transporting all those goods safely is just as important. This is where a rugged and hard-wearing storage solution you can keep safely in the bed of your truck comes in handy. There are a lot of things to consider before buying a truck bed toolbox, but the DeWalt ToughSystem 2.0 DS450 Mobile storage box could be just the solution for you.

DeWalt’s ToughSystem is a product range created to meet these sorts of needs, to transport both heavy and hard-wearing and more fragile tools without the risk of damage. The DS450 mobile storage box boasts a generous capacity that’s further customizable depending on how the user intends to transport their items. It’s designed to be operated with one hand to be wheeled across a work site on its 8-inch wheels, while its metal two-piece latches on the front keep the tools inside secure.

Because of the range’s modular nature, it can also be used as one important part of an even larger storage system that includes two additional storage boxes as part of the three-piece tower. Couple this with the 250-lb load capacity of the original storage box itself, and it’s clear just how much storage users can have and, of course, how much room they’ll need in a truck bed. The box is available in several stores, including Home Depot, where it’s priced at $125, while all three boxes will set you back $259.97, but are recommended by 82% of the customers.

A lot of trucks have open beds, which is naturally a setup that can leave any cargo prone to shifting around heavily with the motion of the vehicle. For the vital job of securing everything you’re carrying in your truck’s open bed, then, you can consider DeWalt’s Heavy-Duty Ratchet Tie-Down Straps. DeWalt’s ratchet straps are available in several varieties, with two hefty versions being the 1.25-inch-by-16-foot Ratchet Tie Down Straps with 3,000 pounds of break strength and the 2-inch-by-27-foot Heavy-Duty RATCHET Tie-Down Strap with a formidable break strength of 10,000 lbs. 

These straps are created for different weights or quantities of cargo, and while they also have utility for securing loads in other situations such as trailers, they’re primarily useful with trucks rather than smaller cars. They are made from polyester and feature metal ratchets and armored caps, but note that DeWalt specifies they are weather-resistant rather than weatherproof. The clips are designed to be hard-wearing yet quick to attach.

ACME Tools lists the larger and more formidable variety of 10,000-lb break strength straps for $29.99.  Compared to some truck drivers’ essentials, they are far from breaking the bank and can also be easily stored away for convenient access when needed. Though a compact package when not in use, they also have considerable length. Nonetheless, it’s also important to remember that there’s still a limit to these products, and it can be extremely dangerous to exceed it. According to DeWalt, a 10,000-lb break strength translates to a safe working strength of 3,333 lbs, while a 3,000-lb break strength translates to 1,000 lbs.