Update: Added live photos from Overland Expo West.

It’s safe to say American Expedition Vehicles knows a thing or two about tweaking the Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison, having upgraded the pickup truck last year with tons of goodies. For this week’s Overland Expo West event in Arizona, AEV kicked things up a notch by turning the versatile overlander into a hardcore workhorse courtesy of a tray bed conversion and a bunch of other bits.

The list of modifications is quite extensive and includes everything from fender flares with real exposed bolts to newly designed bumpers. AEV mentions those chunky 35-inch tires don’t have a negative impact on the truck’s standard suspension geometry and the lift height has not been altered. While it does have a GMPP leveling kit, it was installed only to take some rake out of the Bison’s front end. One other change is the GMPP steel driveshaft, with additional modifications to be made in the near future, but none will involve jacking up the suspension.

Gallery: Chevy Colorado Bison ZR2 Tray Bed by AEV

16 Photos

AEV explains this is officially a prototype for the time being and it hasn’t decided when it will put those fender flares and bumpers for sale or how much they’ll cost. The design is not final, which means some revisions could be made for the production-spec package. The idea behind the project was to gauge consumer interest regarding a possible production version and also to show off a prototype featuring high-clearance fender flares.

The tricked-out Bison will be on display beginning tomorrow until May 19 at the Overland Expo West in AZ. Prior to attending the show, AEV traveled last week to the Altar Desert in Mexico with a fleet of modified vehicles for a three-day expedition with the goal to test upcoming products. The ZR2 was part of the small fleet and AEV mentions the truck “performed flawlessly.”

Source: American Expedition Vehicles

Photos: Scott Brady