Every pickup truck owner knows the frustration. You slam the tailgate, drive to your destination, and open it up only to find your groceries, tools, or cooler have slid all the way to the front of the cab wall. Getting them out means stretching, straining your back, or awkwardly scrambling over the tailgate.
This guide covers the best tools, preventative habits, and DIY hacks to keep your cargo within arm’s reach at all times.
Best Tools to Retrieve Out-of-Reach Cargo
If items do manage to slide out of reach, a dedicated retrieval tool saves you from climbing into the box. The market offers several excellent commercial solutions tailored to different budgets.
1. TruckStick™ Pro
For a highly versatile tool, the TruckStick Pro Cargo Retrieval Tool is trusted by 1,000's of Pickup Truck owners across the USA. Well reviewed for its build quality, this tool features an aerospace-grade aluminium telescoping pole and a stainless steel hook, with a rubber coated tip. It extends up to 6 feet, and retracts to a compact 30 inches. It mounts out of the way inside your bed liner and installs in less than 5 minutes, with no drilling required.
2. Sliding Bed Trays
With a sliding truck bed tray, the entire platform slides out towards you, bringing heavy or awkward items within easy reach.
Unlike storage drawers, a sliding tray keeps your full cargo area open, making it ideal for oversized loads that won't fit inside compartments. The trade-off is weight and cost, but for contractors, hunters and overlanders who frequently load bulky equipment, it's one of the most convenient truck bed upgrades available.
The Truck Trolley is a lightweight roller tray system, which is available at Tractor Supply.
3. Roll-Out Storage Drawers
For professionals or overlanders who carry heavy gear, a roll-out storage drawer is the ultimate upgrade. These systems install onto the floor of your truck bed, allowing you to pull the entire truck floor outward like a massive filing cabinet drawer. While expensive and heavy, they offer complete, uncompromized access to 100% of your gear.
if you're looking for a substantial setup, The DECKED roll out system is an excellent choice.
4. Tire Steps
A portable tire step hooks securely over your rear wheel, giving you an instant 12–18 inch height boost to comfortably reach over the side of your truck bed. It's especially useful for washing your truck, securing cargo near the cab, adjusting roof racks, or loading items into a tonneau-covered bed—without climbing onto your tires or bumper. The downside is you have to fit it every time you need it.
CAT make a 350 lb. Truck and SUV Tire Step which is available at Costco. Tractor Supply also offer the HitchMate, which is equally well reviewed.
5. Tailgate Ladders
A retractable tailgate ladder makes climbing into your truck bed much safer and easier, particularly on lifted trucks or when you're carrying tools, coolers or other bulky gear. Mounted directly to the inside of the tailgate, the ladder folds out in seconds to provide a stable step up into the bed.
Unlike a tire step, which helps you reach over the bed rails, a tailgate ladder is designed for getting in and out of the truck bed itself. The trade-off is that it requires a permanent installation and only provides access from the rear.
Tractor Supply offer the Great Day Truck'N Buddy Steps, which open out when you need them and close up when you're done.
6. Cargo Bars
These are adjustable metal bars that use a tension mechanism to lock tightly against the sides of your truck bed. Positioned right at the wheel wells, a cargo bar is ideal for pinning heavy objects like toolboxes, fuel cans, or propane tanks tightly in place. The downside is you still need to climb in to adjust them.
The Erickson Ratcheting Cargo Bar is well reviewed.
You can read the full breakdown of owner experiences in this Reddit Truck Cargo Management Thread.
7. Ratcheting Cargo Straps
These are adjustable metal bars that use a tension mechanism to lock tightly against the sides of your truck bed. Positioned right at the wheel wells, a cargo bar is ideal for pinning heavy objects like toolboxes, fuel cans, or propane tanks tightly in place. The downside is you still need to climb in to adjust them.
Cabelas offers their own brand Ratchet Transom Tie Down model alongside the well reviewed Nite Ize CamJam system.
8. Cargo Nets
Usually made of flexible nylon or latex bungee material, cargo nets are designed to clip onto factory tie-down points. They are perfect for lightweight, loose items (like plastic grocery bags or tarps) that might otherwise tip over or blow away at highway speeds. The trade-off is you still need to climb in and spend time hooking up all of the points.
Walmart offer the Hyper Tough Bungee Truck Cargo Net, which has 22 hook pints and is well reviewed.