- The first Prospector XL Tray Bed was a concept built for AEV’s president.
- AEV is reissuing the Tray Bed variant in limited quantities.
- The HD Ram-based Prospector XL rides on 40-inch tires and packs a Cummins diesel.
We’ve described off-roading outfitter AEV’s Prospector XL as the diesel Power Wagon that Ram won’t build. Now, you can get a version of the Prospector XL that AEV only builds small quantities of—and only occasionally. It’s called the Prospector XL Tray Bed, and it is magnificent.
At the metaphysical heart and physical rear of the XL Prospector Tray Bed is its titular cargo carrier. This aluminum piece has drop-down sides and is supplied by a company appropriately named Ute. It’s affixed to the rear of a Cummins-powered regular-cab Ram 2500; standard Prospector XLs come with four doors and a conventional bed, although AEV will sell you a two-door chassis cab to which you can attach the backpack of your choosing.
AEV has offered the XLPTB in limited quantities before. Originally a pet project and personal vehicle of company president Dave Harriton, the first Tray Bed was shown as a concept at the company’s 2013 SEMA booth. A run of 10 or so was offered in 2017, and now AEV is building a handful based on the latest HD Ram.
The asking price for the conversion is a not-insignificant $32,203 on top of the Ram 2500 donor vehicle, which will run you at least $63K. For that outlay, you get the tray bed, of course, as well as an AEV front bumper with integrated 20k ComeUp winch, a custom rear bumper, the company’s 3-inch DualSport on-road/off-road suspension system, and 40-inch BFGoodrich HD-Terrain tires on AEV Salta XD wheels. The result is a truck that can go just about anywhere and carry just about anything.
AEV says it will only build a very small batch of Tray Bed Rams this time around. Since there’s no telling when or even if they will be offered again, it’s probably best to stock up.
Ever since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
