One F-150 Hybrid in the Ford booth built by Hypertech even leveraged the truck’s optional 7.2Kw onboard generator to power a plumbed washer-and-dryer combo. Truck-bed setups seen at the show included outdoor air conditioning, home-theater-grade A/V, elaborately-integrated holders for bikes and gear, and entire functioning chefs’ kitchens complete with cooktops, refrigeration, ice-makers, and microwaves. But between the pandemic-fueled acceleration in camping and Rivian launching its R1T pickup with an entire optional built-in kitchen, truck outfitters are now scrambling to outdo each other in take-it-all-with-you roadtrip opulence.

The overlanding craze has been a fixture at SEMA since at least 2016, but this year’s show dove deeper than ever into this hot trend.

Built by BTR Customs, this 2021 Ford F-150 Tremor is equipped with an ARB fridge with freezer, roof-mounted tent, PullKitchen pull-out truck-bed kitchen system, ZeroBreeze portable A/C units, a projector and screen, as well as a host of Ford dealer accessories designed specifically for the truck by Yakima, including a roof rack-mounted portable shower. We walked the show to take stock of the top current and upcoming trends in the truck sector, and here’s what stood out. Accordingly, what emerged at SEMA this year was an array of fresh approaches to the old pickup as the aftermarket trains its focus on overlanders, campers and a new breed of rugged EV haulers. One thing this year’s show wasn’t short on? Trucks.Ī lot has happened since the last in-person SEMA show in 2019, including newly popular modes of family travel, a surge in motorsports interest, and the debuts of the first production EV pickups. With many of the familiar pandemic-era struggles persisting and dampening the usual exuberance, the show had about 1,400 exhibitors this year, down from as many as 2,100 in previous years. This year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show certainly felt quieter than usual.

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