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Unlike regular car drivers, truck drivers tend to have specific needs that push them to choose a truck. This usually means you have a need to transport oddly shaped or large items, whether for personal or professional use. Many truck drivers tend to lead lifestyles outside normal city bounds, since trucks aren’t exactly the best vehicle for city driving and tight parking spaces. On weekdays, you could be hauling plants for landscaping, while in your free time, there might be surfboards or kayaks strapped down. Either way, this means exposure to the elements, like moisture, dust, and sand, which can lead to issues with your truck.
While some pickup trucks depreciate quickly, one way to keep their value as high as possible is to take proper care of them. To do this, you’ll need to be mindful of a lot of truck-specific maintenance, like keeping the truck bed clean, managing tire pressure as loads change, and making sure you don’t cause any accidents with loose items. Although you can buy standalone tools to do this, you might be able to save time and storage space by checking out what things you can get that work with your existing tool ecosystem. For people who are already invested in Makita battery systems, like the LXT 18V, CXT 12V, and XGT 40V, there are plenty of compatible tools that you can use to keep your truck in top shape. Here are some of them.
Makita Cordless Handheld Leaf Blower
For professional landscapers (or people who need to manage properties), it can be a nightmare to make sure stray leaves, dirt, and other debris don’t end up permanently in your truck. Thankfully, the Makita Cordless Handheld Leaf Blower can help clear the way, making deep cleaning easier. Capable of generating 113 CFM air volume, it uses a variable-speed trigger with three speed settings (low, medium, and high) and a maximum air velocity of 219 mph. Designed for portability, it measures 11 inches by 6.9 inches by 8.5 inches. Apart from being a blower, it can also switch to a vacuum, so it’s useful when you’re packing up and hauling things for transport.
Retailing at just under $80 for the tool-only version, the Makita Cordless Handheld Leaf Blower (DUB185Z) has an average rating of 4.4 stars from 5,600 Amazon users. However, you will need to factor in the cost of the 18V battery if you don’t already own one. Another caveat of this tool is that it can be quite loud, with a noise rating of 94 dB. According to Healthy Hearing, this is already within the range where it recommends using ear protection. After an hour of exposure, it cautions that this isn’t safe for your ears. To mitigate this, you might want to get additional hearing protection earmuffs, which you can also use when operating other noisy tools.
Makita Outdoor Adventure 18V LXT Inflator
Part of the brand’s Outdoor Adventure lineup, Makita’s 18V battery system-compatible inflator tool can be useful for truck drivers who love off-road adventures, where they need to make frequent pressure adjustments. Marketed specifically for owners of off-road vehicles, light trucks, and bikes, it can also work with sports balls and inflatable rafts. It’s capable of generating up to 120 PSI and has features like auto-stop to help prevent accidental overinflation.
Weighing 3.2 lbs, or a little less than a 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro, it measures 9.69 inches by 3.13 inches by 6.88 inches. On Amazon, the Makita Outdoor Adventure 18V LXT Inflator (ADMP180ZX) has generated an impressive 4.7-star average rating from more than 3,200 people. While the Makita cordless inflator is available in a cheaper $114 teal version, the slightly more expensive $129 camo green version might be better for truck drivers who love being outdoors and want it to match the rest of their Makita Outdoor Adventure line.
But if you want something a little more powerful for your truck, there’s also the $163 Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless High-Pressure Inflator (DMP181ZX), which uses the same battery system and delivers up to 160 PSI. Along with a similar auto-stop function, it lets you choose between three speed settings: low, medium, and high. An Amazon Overall Pick product, it has been rated an average of 4.6 stars by more than 790 people.
Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Vacuum
While Makita doesn’t make the cut as one of the best handheld vacuums, the fact that you can use the Makita Cordless Vacuum with your 18V LXT batteries makes it worth considering. With a runtime of 33 minutes on a single 5 Ah LXT battery, it’s more than enough time to clean both the inside of your truck and the leftover debris in the storage area. If you just want to use it as a hand vacuum, it’s only 18-¾ inches long. It uses a bagless filtration system with a 1.3-pint capacity. When you factor in how light it is at 2.7 lbs (without the batteries), it makes for a good compact cleaning tool.
Out of the box, it comes with an extension, floor nozzle, crevice tool, and filters, which give you a lot of flexibility. You can use the crevice tool to remove stuck debris, even in hard-to-reach areas of your truck. Or you can add the extension and floor nozzle to clean the jobsite. Not to mention, it’s a reasonably quiet tool with an estimated noise rating of 71 dB. According to Yale Environmental Health & Safety, this is within a safe range and practically as loud as a normal conversation. Retailing for $110.99 for just the tool, the Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Vacuum (XLC02ZB) has been rated 4.4 stars on average by 1,600 Amazon users and is listed as an Overall Pick.
Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Impact Driver
For truck drivers, there’s actually a lot you can do with impact drivers, whether you’re mounting toolboxes or securing hardware. Because of this, you might benefit from having a Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Impact Driver in your toolkit. Capable of generating up to 1,460 in.-lbs. of torque, it has a variable speed of 0 to 2,900 RPM and 0 to 3,500 IPM. It’s compatible with ¼-inch hex bits, and you can even replace them with one touch. Additionally, it has many features that make it ideal for long-term use. Apart from having a soft grip, it weighs just 2.8 lbs even with the battery. However, you’ll still have to buy it separately. On its longest side, it measures 5-⅜ inches, so it’s quite compact. And if you find yourself needing to use it at night in the middle of a dark highway, it has a built-in LED light too.
An Overall Pick product, the $96 Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Impact Driver (XDT11Z) boasts a 4.7-star average rating from 1,000+ Amazon customers. If it isn’t your cup of tea, there are other highly rated cordless Makita impact drivers. And if you need something with more power and higher torque for managing lug nuts, there’s also the Makita 18V LXT High-Torque ½-inch XWT08Z Impact Wrench, which Car and Driver says is one of the best cordless impact wrenches right now.
Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 10-inch Top Handle Chain Saw
With many truck drivers using their vehicles to lug around a lot of organic material like tree trunks, it can quickly turn into an episode of Final Destination if you don’t secure your loose cargo. While part of this is making sure you invest in things like truck bed covers or straps, you’ll still need a way to make sure everything fits. To do this, you might need a tool like the Makita 10-inch Top Handle Chain Saw to cut through a few trees after a big storm or a landscaping project.
Although Makita offers more compact saw models, the 10-inch Top Handle Chain Saw can handle tree trunks and branches that might need to be cut to fit in your truck bed. When used with a 5 Ah 18V battery, this 3.2 hp chain saw (or 22 cc gas chain saw equivalent) lets you make up to 175 cuts on a 2 x 2 cedar. Priced at $257.01, the Makita 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 10-inch Top Handle Chain Saw (XCU06Z) is an Amazon’s Choice product that has been rated 4.6 stars on average by more than 740 users. But if you tend to cut thicker pieces of wood, there are other Makita top handle chainsaws, like the LXT 12 in. 18V Lithium-Ion Top Handle Chainsaw, XGT 14 in. 40V Top Handle Electric Chainsaw, and XGT 16 in. 40V Top Handle Chainsaw.