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!

 

I just ordered a new ARE CX Classic last week after not having a cap on a truck for over 25 years so consider me a noob too I ordered my cap with a dome light and 2 LED strips, and a prop switch so the lights turn on when I open the cap. The wiring for that is coming directly from the battery. The 3rd brake light comes from the tail light. You'll need power and a ground. You can either tap the blue wire on the middle OEM harness or buy a connector and avoid the tap: https://fbchs.square.site/product/t...true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=6. I would recommend the latter. Attach the ground to a metal bolt in the tail light well. You can also get a battery powered dome light and avoid needing to power that at all. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks bud! Enjoy your new cap, appreciate the help!

 

Here's a thread to check out:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/camper-shell-wiring-step-by-step-picture-load-warning.279665/

Or you can just do what many do, and buy a trailer wiring harness, snip it in half, wire one side to tail light, other to camper shell brake light. Essentially all you're doing is tapping power/ground from the trucks brake light; its just nice to use some sort of plug for quick disconnect, in the event you want to take the camper shell off.

As for a camper shell dome light, I wouldn't even bother with it. They're nice to have, but only give a stupidly small amount of light. Check into some other bed lighting alternatives like LED light strips.

Drilling and mounting your own rack, I've done that too. If you can stomach the thought of drilling holes in it, you can do it too. Just buy the tracks, tape them down really well, measure 14 times from every angle, drill holes, and bolt them down (plus some silicone/sealant in the holes of course).

 

Thanks man. I definitely need a dome light, I've been looking at a few alternative strip lights to stick to the top of the inside of the rear window. Some are designed for a closet or under cabinets and they angle which is nice, but they clip into a little bracket and supposedly its magnetic. I'd imagine that will fall and smash to pieces though.

 

Just do a search for "tacoma bed light kits" or search the lighting forum here for some alternate ideas. There are plenty of premade kits (for permanent installation/wiring) that go under the bed rails, or lighting strips to attach to the top of the camper shell, and they just simply put out much more light than a standard camper shell dome light, and for the same prices roughly.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/camper-shell-lighting-suggestions.329843/