What the HELL is a UNIMOG......AWESOME!!

DOGMAN · October 13, 2003

I just got back from a hunting trip to South Dakota & I stopped at Cabelas on the way there. While there I saw what is the Ultimate Off Road /Hunting vehicle that I had ever seen...it was called a UNIMOG by Mercedes. What & where did this thing come from? I want one. Can someone tell me about this TANK of a truck? How come they never hit big over in the USA? What kind of engine & are they reliable & bulletproof?

mjsmith1223 · October 13, 2003

I've seen them on the Speed Channel in the Paris Dakkar rally so they must be somewhat durable. Look to be primarlily a diesel engined, all-wheel drive medium duty truck. They are a part of the Freightliner group of DCX. Not sure about bulletproof, but they are used by many militaries throughout the world Probably not huge here because Daimler has only begun selling them here in the last few years and they are in the Hummer (real one, not H2) price class.

Check out these sites for more info:

http://www.unimogusa.com/

http://www.unimogmagazine.com/

http://www.freightliner.com/brands/unimog.asp

http://www.unimogtrucks.com/

http://www.unimogsales.com/index.html (used Unimogs priced in Euros, but there is a link to a currency converter)

Mike

Grand Haven, MI

General Lee 01 · October 28, 2003

Mercedes started building Unimogs in Germany back in the 60s exclusively fr the German Military, also for German Fire Departments and ambulance services as a all-terrain emergency vehicle. They are awesome machines but the old ones will barely go over 40MPH.

The Unimog got a major facelift in 2000 or so. And they are now going on the block for 115k or so. (which mightexplain the un-popularity)

LarryE · October 28, 2003

Alot of cities use them for their weed cutters and such

Jpshostr · October 28, 2003

Kinda tough to tell just who they are marketing them too. In Europe they are marketed to farmers as a do-it all vehicle. They can be equipped with a drawbar, 3pt hitch, PTO, and hydraulics to do the work of a tractor, and transport at the speed of a truck. With the various laws over there, trucks are not nearly as popular as they are on this side of the pond, so a tractor with fast transport speeds is desired. Their ability to carry, as well as pull is also desired.

bummed-n-Md · October 29, 2003

They've actually been in the USfor a while. In the early 80's W.Va had a few of them for the state highway dept.

The Gov caugth a LOT of FLACK from the citizens for "not buying american". The ones they owned had plow blades on the front, a back hoe on the back and there was something else. They had a short wheel base, 4x4, and high ground clearance. When the state folks were challanged on it, they said it was a simply a money issue. They saved the state money by getting 1 vehicle that could do the job of 3 and it was unbelievablely reliable.

A guy I knew at the highwy dept told me those things never broke down, no matter how hard they were worked. All they had to do was regluar maintenance on them.

He did complain about starting them on cold morings, but it was no dfferent than any other diesel.