The Ford Maverick is a nameplate that was seemingly dead in the US for 44 years, before being revived – not as a compact 2-door coupe, but as a rather good 4-door pickup truck. Strangely, Hyundai released their own Santa Cruz within a few weeks of the Maverick – two vehicles in a segment that hasn’t seen any new models in decades.
The Maverick is only available in the crew cab body style, featuring either a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated hybrid engine – sending 191 hp and 155 lb-ft to the front wheels only via an eCVT, or the optional 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost inline-4, upping the power to 250 hp and 277 lb-ft. The EcoBoost is front-drive as standard, however all-wheel-drive is available as a $2,220 option.
While the Maverick is a pretty great compact pickup truck with excellent practicality, ergonomics, and reliability, there are a few things that Ford cheaped out on, that the aftermarket community has identified. Here are ten of our must-have upgrades to make your Ford Maverick the little truck it should be.
All informational data for the Ford Maverick and its accessories were retrieved from the Ford Motor Company, The Honest Mechanic Colorado, Amazon, Ford Ranger Lifts Kits, and Rough Country.
10 LED Bed Lights
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Adds better illumination to the truck bed.
- Installation Difficulty: Easy. Usually takes about 20 minutes.
- Price Range: $42-$220.
The Ford Maverick does have a bed light, but it doesn’t exactly illuminate much at all. What we like is a full LED strip that runs along the perimeter of the bed and illuminates the whole bed – regardless of the time of day.
Installing such a lighting system is relatively easy as most LED strips come with adhesive on one side, resulting in a sort of tape that just adhere to the inside of the bed. All you need to do is connect it to a power source – the 12V socket for instance – and you’ll never have any issues finding something in your bed again.
9 Bed Cargo Nets
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Keeps smaller materials, equipment, or groceries from rolling about.
- Installation Difficulty: Very easy as Ford already provided mounting points. Takes less than a minute.
- Price Range: $60 from Ford, $20-$50 aftermarket.
While pickup trucks are excellent haulers of materials and equipment, the beds in the back can sometimes be a bit large and offer no clever storage options. Yes, the higher-trim pickups do have special partitions or secret storage spaces in the fenders, but the Maverick doesn’t.
The solution to this is cargo netting. Fitting a cargo net near the tailgate can turn the large bed into a smaller trunk – especially if the Maverick has a tonneau cover. The netting also stops smaller materials and equipment from rolling around in the bed during driving, reducing annoying noises.
8 Adjustable Tonneau Cover
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Makes the bed a more secure storage space, and helps keep larger objects in place.
- Installation Difficulty: Relatively easy; however, an installer would probably do it.
- Price Range: $180-$2,079, depending on the complexity and type of cover.
Tonneau covers are awesome things. Cheaper ones are nothing more than simple canvas covers that just hook on, but some aftermarket ones are super-fancy with automatically retractable covers. Granted these are quite expensive, but they make all the difference.
For instance, imagine transporting some wood beams or metal poles. The wood or poles are forced to go over the roof or over the tailgate, potentially damaging the paint. They can also move about, even after fastened down. An adjustable tonneau cover can solve this by grabbing the wood or metal and keeping it secure. It also negates the annoying task of fastening the cargo with straps of rope or winch straps.
7 Aftermarket All-Weather Floor Mats
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Keeps the floor clean and free from damage.
- Installation Difficulty: Extremely easy, just place it in the spot.
- Price Range: $50-$190, depending on the make.
The Maverick does get floormats or come without them altogether. However, modern vehicles without floormats are a bit silly – especially pickups and off-roading SUVs. Luckily for the muddy boots-inclined owner, there is a whole selection of aftermarket floormats available for whatever the situation calls for.
From simple rubberized mats to soft carpet ones, the market is full of them. You can even get those cool ones that Land Rover is offering in the Defender which are easily cleaned by rinsing or spraying off with water from a hose. And since they are rubber, they dry quickly and can get really dirty without damage.
6 Tailgate Light Bar & Tailgate Assist
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Aids in opening and closing of the tailgate, illuminates the ground for better visibility.
- Installation Difficulty: Easy as Ford already has mounting points for them.
- Price Range: $30 per side, $50 for a pair.
In today’s world of automotive cameras helping the driver to do just about anything, it is amazing that Ford doesn’t offer the Maverick with tailgate assistance. The Maverick is supposed to be a compact working truck, but the tailgate is just suspended with a cable on each side – which flops open when the latch is unhooked.
To help create a softer and more cushioned experience, there are few gas struts available on the market dampening the tailgate when opened and aid when closing, rather than dumping the whole weight on the person opening it. Some kits also come with a tailgate light bar that illuminates the ground below the tailgate, which helps avoid tripping over anything lying on the ground.
5 Rustproof Undercoating
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Helps stop or resist rust forming on the undercarriage.
- Installation Difficulty: Easy, just spray on the exposed steel areas.
- Price Range: $20 for a spray-paint-sized can.
Interestingly, the Ford Maverick isn’t corrosion-resistant. Many owners have complained to Ford and as well as on forums about the quick onset of rust on their relatively new Mavericks – the truck has only been out now for around two years. It is mostly to do with the rocker panels and places where one piece of metal occasionally rubs another, creating an open spot for oxidation to occur.
As such, many off-roading shops offer rustproof undercoating which helps extend the longevity of the Maverick and stops rust from forming underneath. Most of the Maverick is built from steel, so rust may be more of an issue than if the vehicle were made from aluminum. Many of the important bits like the half-shafts are already showing surface rust.
4 Trailer Hitch
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Able to tow trailers not exceeding 2,000 lbs.
- Installation Difficulty: Medium. It requires a few tools and the removal of a few panels, the exhaust, and some bolts at the rear undercarriage.
- Price Range: $336 from Ford, $318 from E-Trailer.
The Ford Maverick does not come with a trailer hitch as standard and can only get the trailer hitch receiver on the all-wheel-drive EcoBoost trim – which will cost at least $2,220 over the base price of the vehicle.
For those who don’t want to pay more, several aftermarket manufacturers have tow hitches for sale for cheaper than what Ford quotes. While the hitches are mostly the same – to comply with road safety regulations – the non-Ford ones are usually a bit more affordable while retaining the same quality.
3 Tailgate & Rear Fender Decals
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Makes your Maverick look cool.
- Installation Difficulty: Easy, just be sure they are straight.
- Price Range: Depends on the size and design, but costs from $60 to around $200.
While they do not do anything to improve the performance or longevity of the Ford Maverick, decals do work pretty well with the vehicle. Some owners add the F-150’s ‘Raptor’ decals to the rear fenders, while other owners go for the 1970s Ford Bronco-inspired decals to spice up the design a bit.
These decals are easy to fit as most work exactly like vehicle wraps do, using heat to shrink around the space you want to add them in. Adding a darker or lighter – depending on the color of the vehicle – accent to the embossed ‘Maverick’ on the tailgate just distinguishes the model from similar vehicles on the street. Many people even swap the ‘Ford’ badges to matt black ones for added awesomeness.
2 Custom Seat Covers
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Keeps seats from getting dirty or damaged.
- Installation Difficulty: Easy, just pull them over and secure them with a zipper or pull-toggles.
- Price Range: $150-$280, depending on the quality and material.
Like rubberized floormats, getting custom seat covers is a must for work truck-based Mavericks. The special canvas material on more rugged covers is water-resistant and can easily be cleaned off, leaving the original cloth or faux-leather seats underneath clean and fresh.
For those owners who street-tune their Mavericks, there are seat covers in cool and vibrant colors that spice up the interior. Want some red seats in your blue Maverick? Go for it! Want a Shelby-inspired build with twin stripes running down the seat? Why not? Seat covers are also much cheaper than replacing the whole seat, or even just having them reupholstered.
1 Suspension Lift Kit
Upgrade Overview
- Benefits: Gives more ground clearance and makes the Maverick look a bit better.
- Installation Difficulty: Relatively difficult as it requires suspension alteration.
- Price Range: Anywhere between $150 and $700.
The one issue with the Maverick – other than the surprising rust – is the fact that Ford doesn’t yet offer a lifted version of it. Not quite a Maverick Raptor with a full Baja kit, but just a slightly lifted trim that takes advantage of the capability of the vehicle. Sure, Ford released the FX4 and Tremor trims, but it still doesn’t quite scratch the off-roading itch.
Multiple companies offer lift kits for the Maverick, going from a single inch to 2.25 inches – enough to fit 32-inch tires. This opens up the Maverick to some serious off-roading, especially with the 2.0-liter turbocharged model with 250 hp and 277 lb-ft. The 2-inch lift kit also gives the Maverick a better look, transforming it from a street-based pickup that competes with the Hyundai Santa Cruz, to a proper competitor for Ford’s own Ranger.