#Parts-Accessories

Want to join the growing ranks of overland campers? Here are 10 items you’re going to need from Autoguide.com.

Over the past few years, we’ve tested every possible configuration of the best car phone mounts: CD slot (remember those?), cupholder, dash mount, windshield mount, and vent mount, with clamps, suction cups, magnets, and even elastic.

Between the invention of the self starter and the end of the 20th Century, the best portable car jump starters weren’t something you carried with you. They were heavy lead-acid automotive batteries that only garages and tow truck drivers used. Everyone else carried (and still should) jumper cables, which require two cars and enough knowledge not to short them out. If you had a dead or weak battery and you were on your own, you had to get to a phone or flag down another motorist to have a chance of getting going again.

If you own a trailer, the first accessory you want to invest in is a quality trailer hitch lock. Unfortunately, trailers are often sought out by thieves since they’re relatively straightforward to steal and easy to sell once stolen. In addition, stolen trailers have a low rate of being recovered. Even if they are found, there’s a good chance all the stuff stored inside is gone. A trailer lock is a small investment that could potentially save you a lot of headaches and heartache down the road. After all, the money spent on a trailer lock will be less than the cost of replacing a whole trailer.

Road trips are a blast…for a while. Amping up your in-car entertainment options will help stave off the inevitable cries of “are we there yet,” and might preserve a shred of your sanity in the process. 

Gas and diesel engines still power most vehicles and look poised to be with us for some time to come, even if their dominance is waning. Any engine that develops its power from burning fuel depends on vast amounts of air for the combustion process and efficient operation.

With more and more drivers choosing to buy SUVs and pickup trucks for family duty, trailers of all types are becoming a more common sight on our roads. Deploying this newfound hauling prowess is one thing—but deploying it safely? That’s quite another.

The carpet in your car has to endure a lot. It’s not just getting in and out, and everything you track in with you, but most of the wear and tear comes from shifting around as you drive. The abrasive grit in dust and dirt actually damages nylon fibers and makes it wear out faster, so installing a set of the best floor mats will also preserve the appearance and resale value of your car.

Trucks and SUVs are the largest they’ve ever been, growing almost 25% between 1989 and 2019. That makes it increasingly hard just to get in your door if your vehicle didn’t come from the factory with running boards. It’s particularly hard for smaller people, children, and older adults, so much so that according to the most recent data from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), falling while entering or exiting a vehicle is the #1 cause of non-crash injuries. An estimated 146,000 people a year require a trip to the hospital or or a visit from an EMT for injuries caused by getting into and out of vehicles. That’s 400 people a day, every single day. Anything you can do to make that safer, especially installing side steps or running boards, won’t just make your life easier, it could save you a trip to the hospital.

It’s hard to think of a more important automotive component than brakes. The ability to stop your car quickly, consistently, and repeatedly without losing control is crucial to keeping you and others safe out on the road. If your braking system isn’t well maintained, your chance of being involved in something “unfortunate” increases significantly.

If you have a heavy trailer to tow with your truck or SUV, you probably already have a Class III, IV or V receiver and hitch. But what you need to go with the receiver is a weight distribution hitch to level your rig and prevent sway.

After years of delay and hundreds of avoidable deaths, all cars sold from the 2018 model year onward in the US and Canada were required to have a backup camera (the EU is phasing them in during 2022, and the UK is discussing them). But while this important safety feature is now standard across the board, most cars on the roads today are not equipped with a reverse camera. That’s where an aftermarket backup camera comes in. We’ve combed through the top-rated models across styles and price points to bring you what we think are the best choices for different needs.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of accessories for trailering, but nothing makes a bigger difference than the best trailer brake controller. Especially when towing heavy loads, towing at higher speeds, or on difficult road conditions, an electronic brake controller can make the difference between stopping safely and having a trailer fishtail out of control. They add brains to your trailer brakes, rather than the simple on-off you might have with basic trailer wiring.

If you tow with your vehicle, you will need a trailer ball mount, which is also known as a hitch ball mount, or simply a ball mount. But it’s not as simple as just picking one that looks nice – there are a lot of considerations to make when buying a ball mount for your towing vehicle. Ball mounts vary in terms of size, type, weight capacity, price, features, vehicle compatibility, and so much more.

If you’re going to be storing a car for a long time, going on a long holiday, or don’t drive your car in the winter (or summer), then using one of the best trickle chargers to maintain your battery is vital. Without a car battery charger, you’re likely to come back to a dead battery when it’s time to put your ride back on the road.