As if the newly announced 2024 Jeep Gladiator wasn’t off-roady enough, American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) is already raising the bar with their upfit packages for the American all-terrain icon. Three packages are available for order at Jeep dealerships. Still, the company hasn’t yet revealed the prices for each Gladiator-dedicated product.
When Jeep finally gave its star-spangled-banner-blooded loyalists the Wrangler-based pickup truck – aptly named the Gladiator – AEV didn’t waste any time and promptly came up with a set of hard-core hardware for the rowdy machine.
As customary, with the introduction of the latest 2024 Gladiator at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, AEV brought an extra shot of adrenaline and muscle to the table. Already physics-bending-capable in the harshest terrains, the AEV-upfitted Jeep Gladiator will cross deeper rivers, crawl over bigger rocks, and tackle steeper slopes than its regular stock Mopar inceptor.
Oddly appealing – and definitively unmatched for the brand’s purists – the Gladiator offers customers the functionality, versatility, and utility of a pickup truck dressed in the lumberjack fashion of the all-terrain Jeep Wrangler. Whether for an all-season adventure through the desert, forest, or mountains or simply plain daily commuting, the AEV Gladiator is always ready.
Photo: Stellantis
American Expeditionary Vehicles caught shape three decades ago when a University of Montana student took a standard TJ Wrangler and stretched it a bit. The young man is AEV’s founder and President Dave Harriton, and his 1990s Jeep creation soon caught attention.
From a one-room, dirt-floor garage shop in Missoula, Montana, AEV evolved into a Chrysler Design Excellence Awards winner at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show. The rest is history – one that continues today with the latest Gladiator (but the company also offers gear for General Motors, Ford, or Toyota vehicles). Play the video to learn more about the after-market off-road tuner from the man who started it all.
As usual, the Upfit by AEV Packages available for the 2024 model of the Jeep pickup truck are Upcountry, Upcountry+, and Level II. The first two packages can be installed on Gladiator Sport, Willys, Mojave, and Rubicon.
Photo: Stellantis
The Level II is Rubicon-dedicated, putting the rugged pickup head and shoulders above the rest of its family. With the AEV augmentation, a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon sits 4.4 inches (118 mm) taller than the standard version, with a total ground clearance of 16 inches (406 mm).
The AEV 2.5-inch (63.5 mm) DualSport suspension with Bilstein 5100 shocks and the 37-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires can ford a 36-inch (914 mm) depth of water, tackle a 57-degree ramp or drive off a 34-degree slope without a scratching its nose or tail bumpers. The breakover angle is 26 degrees due to the Jeep’s wheelbase of 137.3 inches (3,487 mm).
If the above specs don’t make much impression, compare them to the factory-built 2024 Jeep Gladiator: ground clearance – 11.6 inches (295 mm); approach/departure/breakover angles – 44.7, 26, and 20.9 degrees; water fording - 31.5 inches (800 mm).
Photo: Stellantis
The Upcountry and Upcountry+ packages from American Expedition Vehicles offer slightly lower specs than the Level II. However, the performance is still to be appreciated. Ride height and water crossing maximum depth are one inch less than the top-of-the-range upfit offer – 15 inches (381 mm) of ground clearance and 35 inches of water fording (889). The unscathed-bumper ability is 47-degree approach angle, 25-degree breakover angle, and 33-degree departure angle.
The complete list of equipment for each AEV upfittings for the new 2024 Jeep Gladiator models is attached at the end of this story. Customers can order their choices for the American Expedition Vehicles upfits at the Jeep dealerships. The vehicles will be rerouted directly from Jeep’s Toledo Assembly Complex to AEV’s facilities and then to the customer’s preferred dealership.
Oddly enough, the off-road hardware manufacturer didn’t specify the prices for the packages. Still, they would be close to those for the Jeep Wrangler announced a little under a month ago. The Upcountry costs $7,476, the middle-of-the-road Upcountry+ sits at $11,599, while the all-you-can-buy Level II is a staggering $22,099 (if it includes the $2,050 option for a 4.56:1 gear upgrade, although no mention about this alternative is made in Gladiator’s case).
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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