Product Reviews : A.R.E. Truck Caps and Tonneau Covers

This is a long term review of the ARE Z series cap that I purchased new for my new 2014 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew cab with the 6.4’ bed. Vehicle and cap are 6 years old, 74,000 miles on the clock. Most driving was city/freeway with some light offload driving, maybe 5 %. I special ordered a Ram 1500 Laramie with 4x4, Crew cab and 6.4’ bed. Received the truck in November of 2013. The Z series cap was installed with C clamps instead of drilling into the bed rails of the truck. The good: Z series cap is well built with no paint issues or structural problems after 6 years. The truck and shell have spent a good bit of time in the outdoors in the Phoenix area (high heat and sun in summer). The truck paint is Western Brown metallic, code PEP. The shell was painted to match the truck by the ARE factory. Paint was only a shade or two off from the truck color. The PEP color has iridescent metallic that I call “Root beer on Steroids” Cap had metal flake like the truck, but not quite as vibrant. Still, I consider the cap paint very good. This is a tough color to match. Z series side windows have the screens and crank out windows for ventilation. These functioned well, but were not used very often. No leaks. I ordered the lighting package which supplies to strips of LED lights. these may be referred to as rope lights. that run the length of the cap. Lighting in the darkest nights is very good. These attach with two way tape to the roof of the cap. The 3M tape worked well holding the LED strips to the inside roof of the cap. Also ordered was the automatic locking feature that works with the key fob for open and lock. This feature has been flawless in its operation. Front window latches to open for cleaning. Great feature. Bottom hinged with two latches up top. Middle LED center brake light functions flawlessly. Areas that need improvement: Shock struts needed to be replaced after 5 years, no biggie, about $40 for the two and ten minutes of my labor time. In cold weather, the door would not stay up. LED strip lights started to burn out in sections of 6 or so after 4 years. I replaced both with Amazon replacement parts. inexpensive and 20 minutes later, completed. The opening handle broke two times. Both covered under warranty. First time was about 2-2 1/2 years into ownership. Next was a year or so later. Even when the handle was broken, it still functioned to open the back window hatch. This is a known issue. There was and upgrade to the handle internals. Apparently there is a metal spring inside that is stopped by a plastic tab. The tab breaks and the handle gets floppy, still functions but floppy. Wondering if my first replacement was an upgraded part? Some leaking around the rear window seal during washing or rain storms. Not bad, but have items that you want to keep dry place them further into the bed near the front. There is a plastic 55” long cover that hides the cables to open the back hatch. This was attached with only two 1/4’ sheet metal screws. After several years of driving and vibration, the plastic cracked on each side of the sheet left metal screw. My suggestion is to use four sheet metal screws for attachment of this plastic cover and use larger head sheet metal screws to increase the surface area of the holding of the plastic. I have added screws to support this cover. The light switch near the back door on top fell out of its housing. Switch still worked, I used duct tape to keep the switch in its holder. Would I purchase this cap again? Definitely yes. a few minor annoyances that I took care of. The Z series has increased in price by about $700 since my purchase.