AEV Ram!

[ramv]

Hard to beat these PW for bang for the buck. Wouldn't the ride/performance be superior with Thuren/Kings (or Carli ) than the AEV system? $3k or so for suspension, plus 2k for some lower gears(and $1,500 for tires of your choice) , and I would think these trucks would be completely dialed in? Another grand if you wanted the AEV wheels or 2k for real beadlocks.

[MSCH2112]

And this crappy under exposed poorly lit cell phone picture is the best picture I've seen of an AEV Prospector on the net so far, ... because its the one in my garage.



I'll take another picture in the sunlight when I get a chance. Loving the truck so far, the diesel is a beast, suspension rides nice, and the Mega Cab is great. I've got my large tool bag, my large first aid kit, all of my winch recovery gear such as snatch blocks, clevis', gloves, etc, a shovel, an axe, a tow strap, and a tree saver strap, behind the seat in the cab, completely out of sight. And I still have all the room under the seat where I can put things like a small lithium battery powered chain saw, tree branch cutters, etc,. All of that crap used to be on the floor in front of the seat, or on the seat with the seat folded down. Now you open the door and just see the back seat of the truck, and have no clue that all of my stuff is in there, hidden from sight.

so how does the 1 ton ride without a load?

mike

[MoparToYou]

A little slow on the up-take? Took you a month to see it.

I just priced out one for giggles. $26.000 on top of the truck price. My pockets ain't that deep.

You have to pay full price for the base vehicle too.

This is not true at all! Mine had $12K knocked off of the base vehicle price.

[MoparToYou]

And this crappy under exposed poorly lit cell phone picture is the best picture I've seen of an AEV Prospector on the net so far, ... because its the one in my garage.



I'll take another picture in the sunlight when I get a chance. Loving the truck so far, the diesel is a beast, suspension rides nice, and the Mega Cab is great. I've got my large tool bag, my large first aid kit, all of my winch recovery gear such as snatch blocks, clevis', gloves, etc, a shovel, an axe, a tow strap, and a tree saver strap, behind the seat in the cab, completely out of sight. And I still have all the room under the seat where I can put things like a small lithium battery powered chain saw, tree branch cutters, etc,. All of that crap used to be on the floor in front of the seat, or on the seat with the seat folded down. Now you open the door and just see the back seat of the truck, and have no clue that all of my stuff is in there, hidden from sight.

so how does the 1 ton ride without a load?

mike

It actually rides really nice on road. Ride quality on road is right on par with my Power Wagon, probably because the 37" tires at 40 psi improve ride quality compared to 33" tires at 60 psi, as much as the higher payload hurts ride quality compared to the lower payload capacity of the Power Wagon, and the net effect is pretty much even. It rides good on road. Off road ride quality with the tires aired up to 40 psi is quite stiff. Air the tires down to 20 psi, and once again, ride quality is really quite good. No complaints in that regard.

[MoparToYou]

Indeed.


That's just my biggest gripe with the AEV Prospector. I know we're here already, but I personally just don't think the markup is worth the value of what you get in return. You can price out the components yourself, including using their bumper and lift and come up cheaper. Sure you didn't get the decals or the embroidered seats, but come on. And as has been said, you paid all that extra cash for what amounts to a spacer lift. I don't care how well it retains factory ride, whatever that means. There are better systems for half the cost that actually lift and improve performance.

Great looking truck. But ROI just isn't there for me. And believe me, I am find spending money. But you need to get your monies worth. And AEV isn't offering you a good deal or great performance. Just good looks.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't think you're quite seeing the whole picture. There is a big difference between an AEV vehicle, and a vehicle with AEV parts on it. This is my third AEV vehicle, and I have learned that they hold their resale value remarkably well. The first AEV vehicle was a 2000 TJ with an AEV Conversions wheelbase stretch and AEV's custom top, aftermarket bumpers, winch, suspension, lockers, etc. On the phone one day I had mentioned to AEV that I had thought about selling the Jeep and doing a different vehicle build, and they told me they wanted the Jeep back. An AEV employee bought the Jeep back from me, for a very very good price. The second vehicle was a 2012 JK with an AEV Conversions 6.4 Hemi conversion. AEV does their Hemi conversion for $30K, and I had several people tell me they thought that was way too much for a Hemi conversion. But when I sold that Jeep I got exactly $30K more out of it than it would have sold for without the Hemi conversion. The fact that the conversion had been done by AEV greatly increased its resale value relative to a backyard Hemi conversion. The net cost of that Hemi conversion was $0. I don't have any doubt that when the time comes to sell the Prospector, and move on to the next vehicle, that the Prospector will have good resale value. I will recoup a good portion of the initial cost.

[Reloaderguy]

A little slow on the up-take? Took you a month to see it.

I just priced out one for giggles. $26.000 on top of the truck price. My pockets ain't that deep.

You have to pay full price for the base vehicle too.

This is not true at all! Mine had $12K knocked off of the base vehicle price.

I assume this is dealer dependent? I talked to two dealers and they wanted full sticker.

My buddy had a stretched AEV TJ, when it was time to sell it he got more than he originally paid. I have no doubt an AEV conversion holds it's value but I'm not certain that is the same for the Prospector. Time will tell.

[Reloaderguy]

And this crappy under exposed poorly lit cell phone picture is the best picture I've seen of an AEV Prospector on the net so far, ... because its the one in my garage.



I'll take another picture in the sunlight when I get a chance. Loving the truck so far, the diesel is a beast, suspension rides nice, and the Mega Cab is great. I've got my large tool bag, my large first aid kit, all of my winch recovery gear such as snatch blocks, clevis', gloves, etc, a shovel, an axe, a tow strap, and a tree saver strap, behind the seat in the cab, completely out of sight. And I still have all the room under the seat where I can put things like a small lithium battery powered chain saw, tree branch cutters, etc,. All of that crap used to be on the floor in front of the seat, or on the seat with the seat folded down. Now you open the door and just see the back seat of the truck, and have no clue that all of my stuff is in there, hidden from sight.

so how does the 1 ton ride without a load?

mike

It actually rides really nice on road. Ride quality on road is right on par with my Power Wagon, probably because the 37" tires at 40 psi improve ride quality compared to 33" tires at 60 psi, as much as the higher payload hurts ride quality compared to the lower payload capacity of the Power Wagon, and the net effect is pretty much even. It rides good on road. Off road ride quality with the tires aired up to 40 psi is quite stiff. Air the tires down to 20 psi, and once again, ride quality is really quite good. No complaints in that regard.

I think for a Cummins 3500 the Prospector makes a lot of sense (maybe not the price though). Not so much for the PW. Damn nice looking truck and the 1" stretch really shows in this picture.

[ramv]

Also resale is meaningless for people who drive their vehicle into the ground. I am 3k miles/month. I do better on sport bikes on retaining value (got 50% of the original price on my Honda with 40k miles and 70% on my Ducati with 28k miles) than trucks. I doubt anyone would pay $26k more for a 200k truck regardless of lift company.

[TwinStick]

So, what about the brand new ones with the newer AAM 14 bolt 9.25" front & the new rear AAM 14 bolt 11.5 rear, are ARB lockers avail for them ? Does AEV have them yet ?

[Juday]

I got to stop by the AEV tent at the Indianapolis 4 Wheel Jamboree yesterday and see this beast in person! WOW...........I was impressed! Also, I asked about the possibility of rock sliders and a rear bumper and he said "they're in the works" So, good news! If they develop a bumper that looks like the one on the back of the Brute, I'll be the first in line to get one....

[OffroadTreks]

Anyone have pictures of an AEV Ram on 35's?

[TwinStick]

So, what about the brand new ones with the newer AAM 14 bolt 9.25" front & the new rear AAM 14 bolt 11.5 rear, are ARB lockers avail for them ? Does AEV have them yet ?

I went to their site & could not find lockers listed for the brand new AAM's, is why I ask.

[TwinStick]

This is the response I got directly from AEV, on a different forum:

"We are investigating whether we will offer lockers as an option on our turnkey Prospectors."

Does that make any sense to you guys ? It sure doesn't to me. Lockers are THE single best mod IMHO. A lift ain't worth shit if your tire just spins cause you got 1 wheel peel. Kinda like puttin' a hog in a sexy dress............she is still gonna be a hog---all day long.

I'm just sayin'.



does NOT approve of no lockers on a lifted truck on 40's, sportin all the other off road goodies like bumpers, winch, snorkel, etc. .

[Reloaderguy]

I want to like AEV, I really do...

[TwinStick]

I am trying to as well.

My conclusion: 1) I should NOT be looking at them at all.....unless i am dreaming. 2) I am NOT the client base they are trying to reach.....unless i am dreaming........or just won the lottery.

I am trying hard to "get it", i really am. I just keep thinking if i spent 65k on a new truck & added another 10-25k+ in accessories, then drove into my backyard in the springtime & got stuck because my 40's were connected to 1 wheel peel axles, I would NOT be a happy camper. Someone with more interweb skills than me should make a meme of that. Just sayin'. Maybe with a subaru impreza next to him asking "You stuck bro" ?

[MSCH2112]

Anyone have pictures of an AEV Ram on 35's?

nobody has pics of this setup. i've been asking on the aev forum publicly and through private messaging along with email to aev.

aev did email me chains would fit the rear 37's but not the front 37's.

mike

[Low_Sky]

It's weird seeing the wrong words printed around our locker and swaybar switches

[TwinStick]

No lockers. So, calling it a POSER truck is perfectly acceptable. It just happens to be one of the best damn looking. Also explains why they only did the easiest flattest trails in Moab. Look at our awesome PICTURES, we're SO HARD CORE. Give me a break.

---

Yea, needing chains is keeping me away from 37's at the moment. But I have been tempted to raise the truck just a little bit more.

[TwinStick]

Speaking of, check out this one for sale:



Don't see a G56 too often.

http://forum.aev-conversions.com/showthread.php?t=11418

Yeah, that is the ONE reason I would buy one if i had the money. I would just have to hope that lockers will come along, someday, for it. But then again, if you get the diesel w 950 lb ft of torque, there is no need for a manual shift, it just becomes a want thing. I needed the G-56 in my truck to do what I wanted to do with the gas engine.I am happy with the choice I made.

When we travel more after wife retires too, maybe I will bump into some of you guys...........at the gas stations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TwinStick]

What exactly is the "Ram 2500 differential gear upgrade" & "Ram 3500 differential gear upgrade" ??????????

[Reloaderguy]

I wonder how long the G-56 clutch lasts with 950lbft of torque and 40" tires? I'm sure AEV upgrades the clutch...right?

[TwinStick]

I'm sure you know this, but when you get the G-56 in the diesel, it is detuned to 660 lb ft. Wonder how the drivetrain on a diesel would hold up to 40" tires, lockers & 950 lb ft of torque ? And by actually drive on something other than flat bumpy ground ?

[Reloaderguy]

I'm aware. Nostalgia comes at the cost of performance.

[Z's2016PW]

My guess is that 33% of all new Power Wagons would have the G56 if it was offered. Probably a similar ratio or less for the CTD crowd. Ram has nothing to lose on this. Anyway, just to make a quick correction the newer trucks have a 34.96 to 1 crawl ratio.

Zane

[OffroadTreks]

I'm sure AEV upgrades the clutch...right?

You're such a comedian. Oh man, had me rolling for hours.