The clearance needed for the driven front axle and the greater height of this engine required a much higher bonnet line and cab. The weight of the front axle dispensed with the need for additional ballast weights at the front. The body and cab on the Explorer were very similar to those on the Pioneer, but the body side access was repositioned. The jib winch was powered instead of manually operated and a spare wheel carrier at the rear was an original design feature. Later in their lives most Explorers were fitted with additional small lockers on each side of the spare wheel.
Minor variants exist of the basic design of recovery vehicle.
Early ones have the front mounted towing hook fixed to a leaf spring whereas others have it bolted to a solid cross member. Some vehicles were fitted with extra cab insulation and one, now in the Museum's collection, had been used in East Africa and was fitted with an air intakes on the cab roof to improve cooling. Another export version of the recovery vehicle was fitted with the more streamlined cab of the Scammell Constructor. Scammell Explorers remained in service into the 1980s, the last ones with TA units. The intended replacement, the AEC Recovery Vehicle Medium , was itself eclipsed soon afterwards.