A.R.E. Caps - Look here for all info!

[canuck37]

Does anyone know if these guys are still making the full on bed cap for the Baja? No local dealer here and the web still has it listed....just curious, would like to find a used one.

Are there any other manufacturers that make/made this type of cover? I have a hard cover, but am getting a dog that is too big for inside.....

Thanks,

[Evanism]

See of this gets you anywhere:

http://www.4are.com/product/baja/

Evan

[davecoon13]

I ordered one last week from an area dealer. He says they will probably still make it for another year or so. I will let you know how I like it once I get it installed. It takes 2 weeks to come in.

[davecoon13]

I got a call late yesterday that the cap was in, and I had it installed first thing this morning. It does look a little strange, but it is wonderful! The 2 side windows vent open with a windowscreen. The interior of the cap is carpeted. It has hydraulic cylinders to open, locks wonderfully, and the best part is that it only needs 4 screws using existing screws of the Baja bedliner. It was raining pretty hard this afternoon and it is water-tight unlike the Ozzbros cover it replaced.

I will post pix when I get a chance, maybe tomorrow.

The dealers don't list this item because it has to be especially ordered and manufactured specifically to match your Baja's factory paint code. It took exactly 2 weeks to the day to come in.

[corgimas]

Hey Dave
any chance of some interior pics of your cap??? just got a line on one of these...and at the price i might have to grab it....but on ARE's website there is no installation instructions for us...
so...how does the darn thing attach???
i am also wondering about the feasibility of having an Ozz bro's AND the ARE on at the same time? be able to split the bed into two sections.... any thoughts on that???

thansk
rob

[davecoon13]

Hey Dave
any chance of some interior pics of your cap??? just got a line on one of these...and at the price i might have to grab it....but on ARE's website there is no installation instructions for us...
so...how does the darn thing attach???

After work I will try to photograph it. My wife drove the Baja today, so when she gets home I will try to photograph it.


It only uses 4 #6 Hex head Bolts into existing bed holes. There is capreting on the inside. The hardest parts of installing the ARE yourself would be that you have to do the foam weatherstripping and wiring for the third brake light. Also, they cut a 2x4 the width of the cap and laid it across horizontally (at the front of the cap from side to side), then used ratchet tie down straps to tightly ratchet the 2x4 to the bed D-hooks tight enough to pull down the cap far enogh so that they could insert the bolts into the existing holes in the bed. The first time they did this it snapped the 2x4. The second time it worked OK.Then they released the ratchets and removed the 2x4. The quick disconnect for the brake light that came with the ARE was very poor, and in fact shorted out and blew my brake lights fuse. So, I installed another style of quick connector.

i am also wondering about the feasibility of having an Ozz bro's AND the ARE on at the same time? be able to split the bed into two sections.... any thoughts on that???

The Ozzbros defintely would not fit at the same time, because the Ozzbros is so tight that there is not sufficient clearance around the edges for the cap to stick down below where the Ozzbros would sit.

thansk
rob[/quote]

[corgimas]

ahh...thanks...pix will be enlightening....
is it an easy on/off? 2 person dealio? or a on for a long time?
was thinking it would be great for winter.....

thanks
r

[davecoon13]

Two really small skinny guys lifted it for the install, I think it weighs about 150# or so.

I read online that someone in a chat forum (maybe in the NASIOC Baja Forum or here), reported that his skinny wife and he were able to remove and re-install no problem. Search the Baja forum and here and maybe you can find the post. If you do find it, let me see the link because I should re-read it now that I have an ARE cap. The dude said he put it on and off all the time. I am kinda afraid to remove it myself for right now, but maybe I will if I need to transport my Wife's scooter.

[davecoon13]

Here are Pix from the NASIOC BAJA FORUM that somebody posted:
http://www.wgz.org/bmeyer/pic/Subaru/baja/cap/cap.htm

[MKopack]

I kinda like the cap, and it would make the bed a lot more useful (at least to me), a ballpark figure on what it cost you?

Mike

[davecoon13]

$1400 total. I didn't get the option for keyless entry. The cap is made in Ohio, so the closer you are to the plant, probably the cheaper it is, and vice versa given your distance from Ohio. It is worth every penny!

I actually had to remove the cap to transport my wife's 150cc Scoooter this week, and it was suprisingly easy, just 4 bolts hold it on, and she and I were able to lift it (proably less than 120# total).

I did change the quick-disconnect for the third brake light since the one that came with my cap melted and then shorted out the brake light fuse.

[GR82B4E]

After getting quotes from the 3 ARE retailers in Maine and a few nearby out of state, it seems as though people are just making up prices. I finally settled with $1600 delivered with keyless entry. One quote I received was for $2400!!! Another ARE retailer told me that they would not order it because they heard it was not water tight.
I even tried calling the ARE factory for an MSRP....no luck.
Anyway, after reading all the posts from several forums, I think $1400-$1800 is the ballpark price. And for all the folks who think it will take away from the "look" of the Baja, it wasn't the look that sold me (I don't think I've ever purchased a car based on looks.) It's the versatility. Having a removable cap will most certainly add to that.
Cheers!

[GR82B4E]

I'd like to get some feedback regarding the installation of the ARE cap. I recently ordered one from a not-so-local retailer (2 hours away) and I think it may be easier to have them install it. I was quoted $70 per hour, which seems very reasonable. But the manager said it will take 2-3 hours to install. Does this seem right to anyone? From what I have been reading, it involves 4 bolts and the light connection.
As a worker was poking and proding at my poor Baja, he grabbed the rear sport bars and said "we may have to remove these." Noooooo! The shop also informed me that the cap is not waterproof, which is contradictory to what I've been reading.
Thanks in advance for any info!

[YBajaSteve]

well i dont own one, and im sure some people that do will post up, but Id say you should be able to install it yourself, there cant be anything THAT technical about it. i installed the stock bed cover, which ive been told is the hardest/worse type of cover to install and it took me a couple hours start to finish, but it wasnt bad, just a little time consuming. Dont pay 70 an hour. also, the sports bars definatly fit INSIDE the cap, Ive seen pics with the cap on, the bars are inside, not bothering anything. Ive installed and removed regular truck bed covers, and those are super easy, i dont think ARE would differ that much with our vehicles. Good luck!!

EDIT - I think Davecoon13 JUST got an ARE cover and judging by his post about it, he says its really nice and watertight. also says it only takes 4 exsisting bed screws to install.

[davecoon13]

I have had my ARE cap now for a few months and removed (and reinstalled) it twice. I never have been able to get it to seal water tight between the back window of the main cabin and the front of the ARE cap. When I purchased the cap, they installed it by stretching a 2" x 4" across the inside lip and using ratchet tiedowns hooked to the bed tiedown rings to ratchet it down. When I tried this, I broke my 2x4 (as they did with theirs on the first try). Is there a secret to get the cap to reseat properly to seal tightly against the roof of the main vehicle?

Overall, the leakage is very very minimal even without doing the 2x4 rachet tiedown method and I couldn't be happier with my removable cap.