Desert Power Wagons creates modern replicas of the original Dodge Power Wagon, updating everything except its classic styling. A newly completed truck is built on a modern Ram HD platform and even incorporates its contemporary interior. This DPW Ram-based model, along with others, has a starting cost of $425,000. Desert Power Wagons can either build you a custom body on a custom frame or use the same body on top of modern Ram parts to make a 1940s Dodge that looks old but is high-tech. Invoice Pricing senior editor Ezra Dyer was pleased after spending some time with the all-custom option, which drew more attention than some supercars and cost an exotic-rivaling $385,000. We are now looking more closely at the second type of building. It looks just as well put together. DPW recently finished an example with black trim and red paint that was very Power Wagon fitting. The Method Racing wheels are the most obvious sign that this truck is more than just an over-restored army surplus, despite the fact that it appears to be one from the outside. From the center console lid, though, it looks like the builder has carefully placed the inside of a modern heavy-duty Ram 2500—the Limited form. The big touchscreen in the middle especially looks like it was made to fit. The seats have been reupholstered in red-accented black leather with diamond quilting and crocodile-like embellishments, and the doors are finished to match. Dyer made it clear in his article that the old body needs to be put on a new Ram on a shallow bed. The new car is just as cleanly furnished as the one he used to haul kayaks. The black stain on the oak floor makes it match the style of the rest of the truck. A set of 40-inch tires occupy the massive fenders, and a Carli suspension holds everything together and provides 9.5 inches of travel front and rear. With the help of a six-speed automatic transmission, this truck’s 6.7-liter inline-six Cummins diesel engine produces 385 horsepower and 930 pound-feet of torque. The engine is the same as the one Dyer drove; the only difference is that it hasn’t been taken out of its natural home in a Ram frame. Desert Power Wagons can also build you a truck with a Hemi V-8 engine. They have two-door Power Wagons and a wagon-like version of the WC-53 Carryall. The Ram-based Desert Power Wagon costs a lot, just like other modern copies. The fact that this giant took more than 5000 hours to make helps put the $425,000 request into perspective. Mass and sheer size are expensive, as is painstaking attention to detail.
