ARE Cap Questions

Just purchased a CX series ARE cap secondhand. The guy never hooked up the 3rd brake light, he also didn't have the pig tail so there's just a wire hanging inside, the cap also does not have an interior light. Do you guys know of a solution that solves for wiring the 3rd brake light as well as interior light in one - if that exists?

Also, has anyone ever drilled and mounted their own rack rails on the top?

I'm a complete noob with caps, any and all info is greatly appreciated. TIA!

 

my ARE dealer installed a battery-operated light in my ARE CX, it takes 4 AAA batteries. i wasn't aware ahead of time the cap did not come with a light that was connected to the truck battery, or that it was an option. i figured it was standard and was surprised to find out afterwards.

as far as the pigtail for the 3rd brake light, i am not sure but would suggest contacting an ARE dealer. i would think they could set you up. i do know it is easy to wire. just take off the lens (2-3 screws if if recall) for the brake light and the wires are easily accessible and spliced.

 

Apologies, moving this to the sub forum for caps etc.

 

Cool, thanks!

 

Just curious, are you sure there's not a light on the backside of the brake light? That's where mine is, and honestly I think I've only used it 2x in 5 yrs. As for the rails, its simple, lay them out, mark the holes to be drilled, remember to drill thru painters tape, and use some silicon under the rails at each hole.

 

Yes, Im sure theres no light there. And as for the rails, thanks that's what I figured, thank you

 

There’s brake light plug and play harnesses that you can use.

https://fbchs.square.site/shop/taillight/6

 

I did a roof rack on an ARE cap on my old Dakota. It was a pain in the rear to keep sealed and keep it strong. The ARE caps are VERY well made, and are double layer fiberglass with an air layer in between. So when drilling for the rack you have 2 independent layers of fiberglass to go through. Then you need to find a way to stiffen the 2 layers so the bolts don't squeeze them together and weaken them. I have an ARE cap on my new to me 21 Taco TRD OR. I'd love to put a rack on it, but I won't. ARE sells them with racks from the factory for a reason. The layers have standoffs set in place where the rack bolts on to strengthen the cap. I'm sure its do-able. When I did it before it was on a used craigslist cap I paid $300 for. This was over 10 years ago now. I wouldn't dare do it on a brand new $3000 cap. Anyways, I ended up fabbing up some standoffs, did a bunch of fiberglass work inside the cap, filled the holes surrounding the bolts with silicon, and still fought with it after each winter during the freeze thaw cycles. I finally coated the upper outside of the bolt holes with EPDM roof sealer. Never leaked again after that.