5 Reasons Cargo Managers Are Great Truck Bed Accessories To Have

The bed of a quality pickup truck is a good way to haul large items short distances, offering a convenient middle point between storage capacity and reasonable size. The only real problem with a truck bed is that, depending on the size of your cargo, there's a distinct chance things will get jostled around in a way you're unhappy with.

If there's too much empty space, small objects get thrown around. If there isn't enough, large objects get squished. If you want to ensure that everything you're hauling in your truck bed stays exactly where it's supposed to be, you need a particular accessory to keep things in check: a cargo manager. No, not a guy with a clipboard who sits in the cabin with you, but a sturdy dividing wall designed to sit comfortably in your bed. If you're not sure you could benefit from such a thing, we can give you five good reasons to consider it.

The first and foremost reason to get a cargo manager is to divide up the space in your truck bed. If you don't need as much space to haul a particular object and want to cordon off some room for something else, a cargo manager can keep your various items firmly separated from one another. This way, you won't need to worry about smaller objects getting crushed or cracked by larger cargo, while the large stuff won't have as much room to move around and shake the truck as you drive. 

Plus, since cargo managers are designed to be easily moved along the surface of your truck bed, you can designate more space in the front or back of the bed as you need. Dividing the bed can also be helpful if you're hauling things you'd rather not make contact with each other. For example, if you were hauling a big box of snacks and a big bag of kitty litter, a cargo manager would ensure that these two items wouldn't cross-contaminate.

It's nice if your items are just large enough to fit snugly against your cargo manager, but if they're not, there's still a way to keep them tied down. Most cargo manager installation kits come with bungee cords and tie-downs, which you can use to secure loose items to the manager itself. Even if cords aren't included, cargo managers often have points on which you can latch your cords and ties, whether they be interlocked fence links or designated hooks.

Using cords and ties, you can tie items large and small to the manager. Since the manager is locked onto your truck bed, as long as it's steady itself, anything you tie to it will remain steady as well. By adding additional cords, you can create a secured spider web of cargo in your truck bed, with each item tied to the manager in the center.

Obviously, there's no such thing as one-size-fits-all when it comes to truck beds. Everyone uses their truck for different kinds of jobs and to haul different kinds of cargo, so a uniform format for a cargo manager wouldn't work. Luckily cargo managers are designed to be adjustable to your needs and preferences.

Cargo managers have two primary points of articulation. Firstly, rather than sitting at a static point in your truck bed, managers are mounted to your truck bed via a sliding rail. By unlocking the manager's springs, you can slide it across the rail, then lock it back into place at three-inch intervals, giving you fine control over where the wall rests. Additionally, cargo managers can flip up and rest horizontally. This works both to allow smaller objects through while still securing large ones and to hold down longer, flatter objects like lumber or small furniture.

If you have a rolling cover sheet on your truck bed already, you might think you don't need a cargo manager. After all, the whole point of a cover is to keep objects from flying out of the bed while you're driving. But even if your cargo can't fly out of the top of the bed, that doesn't mean it can't get jostled beneath it. If you hit some bumpy terrain, don't be surprised if you uncover your truck bed to find a bunch of smashed and cracked possessions.

Combining a truck bed cover with a cargo manager allows you to create the ultimate cargo security system. The manager separates objects and ties them down, while the cover shields them from the elements and prevents any errant bouncing. Putting these two devices together effectively transforms your truck bed into a traditional car trunk, albeit much larger and heartier.

Modularity is the name of the game when it comes to cargo managers, which is why they're equally easy to install and remove. Assembling the cargo manager takes only a few steps while installing or removing it is even faster, more so after you've already done it at least once. Installing a cargo manager on your truck bed only requires a screwdriver to mount the rails in place; afterward, the divider slides right onto the rails and snaps into place.

If you ever get tired of your cargo manager or just need a little extra space in the bed, you can easily remove the divider by hand and leave the mounting rails. If you want to put it back, just snap it right back on. Since cargo managers are designed to perfectly fit certain models of trucks, you can store the divider in your truck cabin or even in the bed itself when you're not using it.