Installed used cap on 2014 Silverado

Dallas2 · June 17, 2015

Hi All,

I picked up a used A.R.E. truck cap this last weekend. I have a few over night excursions, I'd like to attend and finding a decent motel with vacancies has been a problem. So, I decided to see what was available in the truck cap department.

Of course finding a "cheap" used cap for a 2014 doesn't work. But, I did find a 2000 - 2006 era, A.R.E., 6.5', fiberglass cap of the right color on Craig's List. The caps seem to run from 2000/2006, 2007/2013 and 2014/2015. So, I wasn't optimistic about it fitting or not looking totally out of place. I don't know what the cost of a new cap is, but have heard, $1100 and up. My little beauty was settled on, at $275. I don't intend to keep it on, when I'm not needing it, so my next project will be a hoist to hang it in the barn.

I've learned, the new tailgate shape is referred to, as a "whale tail". The cap door for the straight tailgates closed against the back of the tailgate. I believe, the new ones close to seal, on the top of the tailgate. So I cut the bottom of the aluminum off, below the handle, reversed the rubber seal and remounted the "sweep", up about 1" higher. Replaced the window screening and wired the third brake light ... Chevy makes that pretty easy, as the proper wire is in the rear by the spare tire.

You can see, in the last picture, that the back door isn't closing properly ... that was before the modification.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Dallas2

Dallas2 · July 1, 2015

Hi again,

I've made some progress on the cap, etc., since my last post.

The cap had 2 heavily oxidized rear corners on the bottom. I found that those were available in plastic, now, so ordered them. In the meantime, I was thinking about and working on a lift system for the cap. I knew I wanted to replace the bed rail seals, as well as these corners, so that meant "off the truck". Slipping straps or boards underneath, seemed a little cumbersome, by yourself and maybe often. So, I decided to put a stainless steel ring in the center of the cap roof. By the fiberglass, it appeared, that there could be a piece of plywood in the roof center, which would help with "strength". .... not so! It had an area of cardboard embedded at that point.

So, let's start with the pictures:

These pix are the stainless ring on roof and reinforcement on inside. I cut out a 4"x4" area of the inside F/G, epoxied a piece of 1/2" plywood inside and them added a 6"x6" piece of steel inside.

Next is the hoist system, using a manual winch, pulleys and hook. .. all supported by a 3"x11" timber i had in the barn. The last pix of this group has 2 55 gallon drums underneath, as a safety measure, while I'm working on it.

More pix, next post.