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ARE Truck CapsARE truck caps are manufactured at two plants in Ohio. One plant, in Massillon, makes fiberglass pickup truck caps, while the Mt. Eaton facility turns out aluminum ARE truck caps and custom fiberglass products.
A.R.E. (named after the first initials of the founder, Sal Gatti's , 3 children; Anne Marie, Ralph and Elizabeth) started out as a child in 1969 manufacturing aluminum truck caps and storage buildings. The company quickly progressed through wood framed caps, commercial aluminum caps and finally to custom fiberglass pickup truck caps. They are now one of the big kids on the block with an extensive dealer network(over 600 dealers for ARE truck caps in North America) and brand name recognition. You may also recognize the
tonneau cover
which bears the A.R.E. name. Anyway, let's look at the 2 major styles of truck toppers that A.R.E. manufactures.
ARE Truck Caps - AluminumA.R.E.s Classic Aluminum and Commercial Series truck caps are intended for your personal use and enjoyment but are made with commercial strength ingredients in case you need to use them on the job. Baserails are made of .080" T6 aluminum with MIG welded corners, while the structural tubing of the body frame is .050" T6 aluminum with TIG welded joints. The exterior skin is a textured .019" aluminum or .035" in the commercial version. Door frames are made of the same .050" tubing as the body frame. The Classic Aluminum Cap and Commercial caps come in 4 standard height plus 3 wedge heights. These caps are lightweight and easy to remove as far as truck caps go, but you really need two or three people to do the job. A Deluxe Commercial Unit (DCU) is available from A.R.E. and adds a bunch of different cap size and dimension options along with things like security screens, commercial ladder racks, hatchback lift door and interior metal skin.Aluminum ARE Truck Caps Options Fiberglass Pickup Truck CapsThe first ARE truck caps made of fiberglass came off the line in 1982. In 1992 A.R.E. began offering an automotive quality paint finish as a standard feature. Since then the product has done nothing but get better. All the hardware is 500 hour salt spray tested, so you know it doesn't corrode easily. The roof is made of a 1/2" honeycomb reinforced, high fiberglass content material that really paints up nice. Add a coat of clearcoat and you've got a truck canopy that looks like it came with your pickup. Once you add the 3 year warranty on locks and brake lights, the 5 year warranty on gas props and the limited lifetime warranty on paint, you're looking at a great deal on a truck cap.The fiberglass version of ARE truck caps come in 5 models. They are available to fit full size, mid size, short mini and extra short mini pickup truck beds. They range in weight from approx. 200 lbs for the full size to approx 120 lbs for the extra short mini. Here's some detail on each model.
Z-Series
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