5 Smart Upgrades for a 2026 Ford F350 XL STX: Tires, Bed Cover, and More

Introduction

The 2026 Ford F350 XL STX is a lot of truck for the money, but it also comes with compromises. Ford will not sell you a Super Cab or regular cab in any trim above XLT, which means you can’t get an XLT Premium. If you want the LED front lights and the nicer exterior look, the STX package locks you into an XL with a long list of limits.

The good news: those limits are mostly easy to work around. Here are five upgrades that take a bottom-of-the-barrel F350 XL STX, used as a plow truck and tow vehicle, and bring it to the next level without spending a fortune on a mid-$55,000 truck.

1. Toyo Open Country RT Trail Tires

Out of the factory, this truck came with Bridgestone Dueler A/Ts that look like street tires. For a plow truck and tow vehicle that also goes off-road a fair amount, that isn’t the right rubber. The fix: Toyo Open Country RT Trail tires in 295/65-20.

These are a true 35.1 inches tall and about 11 inches wide, with tread width measuring around 10 inches. Compared with how the truck looked on the factory tires, the difference is night and day.

2. Retrax Retractable Bed Cover

A bed cover changes the look of a truck almost as much as new tires, and Retrax is a favorite here. This is the first plastic Retrax cover in a fleet that otherwise runs two aluminum ones, and the function is the same: a simple push-button latch, super easy sliding open, and a locked position wherever you stop it.

The real advantage of a retractable design is flexibility. Lumber can sit out the back with the cover locked at any position, so whatever is underneath stays secure and doesn’t blow out. The integrated tracks also accept different clamps for mounting things on top, including a clamp that pushes against the bed to keep a load level or tilted slightly, which locks up far better than a standard clamp alone.

If plastic isn’t your preference, the aluminum versions slide just as easily and lock the same way, though they can be a bit more difficult to deal with in winter. And if you hate losing bed space, some Retrax covers are fully removable: pins and clips hold the canister, the handles slide up in the rails, and the whole unit slides forward and comes right out.

3. The Free Mod: Trimming the Front Air Dam

This one costs nothing. Stock trucks carry a huge front air dam, roughly seven inches tall, while a Tremor only gets a two-inch dam. Since this is a plow truck with Western plow mounts underneath, the dam had to be cut anyway.

The approach was simple: cut it back with a multi-tool, go over it with a sander, then take small pieces off with an X-Acto knife. Take your time and clean it up, and you cannot tell the difference from a factory Tremor. The rough guide is two inches down at the edge, then an inch and three-quarters down as you come to the point in the bumper, straight across the center section.

If the DIY route goes wrong, a replacement dam costs about $99 and a pile of screws to swap. But done carefully, this free mod changes the look of the truck completely and gives it a proper off-road feel.

4. Upgrading to a 12-Inch Screen

XL and XLT trucks, unless you go XLT Premium, come with an 8-inch screen and a cubby below it. That screen is small, especially with the 360 camera package, which adds a second small screen and splits your attention.

Swapping in the 12-inch system, available through OEM upgrade sellers, is not super expensive and not hard to install. It changes the whole interior: the backup camera and camera views come up full-screen, and everything just feels like a higher-end truck. On trucks with manual climate controls, the 12-inch display also gives you a visible temperature readout, so you can set 67 degrees and adjust fan speed instead of swinging from full cold to full hot by feel. To many owners, this single change makes the truck feel dramatically better than a standard XL.

5. Husky Floor Mats for Winter and Mud

The STX comes with carpet underneath, so floor mats are mandatory. The problem is that Ford’s own all-weather mats don’t list a fit for this specific Super Cab, apart from front-only mats for regular cabs.

Husky mats solve that. They fit 10 times better than the Ford mats, go up underneath the pedal area where the Ford all-weather mat leaves carpet exposed, and cover more of the rear footwell. The raised edge holds water and keeps it away from the carpet, which matters in winter and mud. For a Super Cab, they fit perfectly in the back too.

Buying Advice

On this truck, the tires are the single biggest visual and functional change, closely followed by the Retrax cover. The screen upgrade transforms the interior from bare-bones to genuinely pleasant, and the Husky mats are cheap insurance for a plow truck that sees slush and mud. The air dam trim is free and requires only patience.

Conclusion

None of these upgrades is expensive on its own, especially next to a mid-$55,000 truck, but together they take an XL STX from basic to genuinely dialed-in. Match the parts to how you actually use the truck, and each one pays you back every time you drive it.