Unimogs

[nsmilligan]

I see that Freightliner will be bring in Unimogs to the US and I hope Canada. We bought one new in 1972 a 421. Had a 10' blade 8' blower and PTO spreader on the rear. When it reached the end of it's usful life in 1994, we couldn't replace it because they were no longer available in Canada.
It had 20 forward speeds and 16 reverse, front anf rear PTO's (2 speed), 3 point hitch with down pressure, 3 way tipping box. Anything that would fit a farm tractor it would run, and do 45 MPH on the highway ( slowest speed WIDE OPEN was 60 feet per hour, BIG snow drifts).
Anyway you people who plow snow, and do lawn stuff instead of fishing should look into it. I think they will be in the $80k US range plus options. Our's cost 13K when 4X4's were $6500, but it worked for 20 years when we were hard pressed to get 4 years out of a 4x4 plowing.

Bill

 

[DYNA PLOW]

what did you do with the unimog? was the body rusted out or what was the reason you say it outlived it's usfulness?
dan

 

[Mike Nelson]

Our town had one,but the problem was trying to get parts.It took a long time and cost a lot of money.

When I was getting out of the Army,they were just coming in.Seems like a great truck if you can fit in it.

 

[nsmilligan]

That's what happened Dyna Plow, it kinda rusted away, and was getting just plain worn out. Parts were also a big problem when Mercedes dropped the line, you didn't know if it would be down a week or months. Sold it to a guy who had a house on a lake on a private road, and he was going to use it to plow. I think it's growing flowers at the back of his lot.
Anyway if Freightliner takes over the distribution and parts supply it should be great, they are one adaptable vehicle, from back-hoes & front end loaders to plows and blowers, mowers etc.

Bill

 

[DYNA PLOW]

you may want to consider buying it back from the fella you sold it to. there are people in the 4wheeling community that will pay good money for a mog. and they also seem to have a parts source for them. i have read alot of articles on the mog, there are even unimog clubs in the states, i beleive mostly out west. if i may ask...how much did you sell it for?
dan

 

[skyphoto]

Does a hummer even come close to one of these mogs? They seem to both be bad boys.

Peace!

 

[plowking35]

Sky
The hummer is tough vs a standard pick up. The hummer was designed for the miltary, for their applications, outside of that,they are not very suitable for much else.
Think of the uni mog as a farm tractor that can go 45 mph. Its not pretty, but it can work like crazy, plus all the attachments make it very usefull.
Dino

 

[BushHogBoy]

I saw a show on TV the other day (taped it offa TLC channel actually) and they did some stuff on the Hummer- it can submerse to 5 ft. deep and has a life expectancy of 14yrs, in the military. It probably wouldn't last much longer than that for a plower though. I think they cost something like 80k or something.... maybe not, that's just what i'm thinking. I've never heard of a Unimog, but it sounds terribly wicked! sounds like a dream for all of the plowers and landscapers and grounds maintenance guys!!!
Mike: excuse me for my ignorance, but what do you mean "if you could fit in one" ? I've never seen one, so i don't know the size of it, is it small?
Eric

 

[75]

Hi Eric - the Unimog itself isn't that small, what Mike was referring to was the size (or lack thereof ) of the cab, especially for a long-legged person.

 

[nsmilligan]

Comparing the Unimog to a Hummer is like apples and oranges, they're both 4X4's, but total different designs.
The Unimog has some military applications, but is really a workhorse. A couple of farmers used them here to plow fields etc,and HP for HP they will pull with the best tractor. I've seen then with a backhoe and front end loader, and they would travel at 60MPH on the highway. For snow removal they have everything. You can mount a 450+ hp engine on the back to power a Snow cutter ( blower on the front) they have, I think Schmidt is the make, V blade like a Fisher or Boss except it looks like about 10' It has numerous hydraulic, PTO combos front and rear 3 way dump boxes, etc. It will be interesting to see where Diamler-Chryser through their truck division Freightliner wil go with them. You can do a search under Unimog and find out all kinds of things, they almost have a cult following insome parts of the world. Here is a site if you want to get more info. http://www.mercedes-benz.com/e/ecars/unimog/winterdienst.htm

[Edited by nsmilligan on 04-02-2001 at 07:15 PM]

 

[Redmowers]

When the Olympics were in Lake Placid in 1980 there was a whole herd of them around.Some with blades and some with blowers,also I think they may have had a couple of Vee's.If I remember Case brought them ,I don't know what the connection was with Case.But they were animals for work,a few locals had the option to buy them after the games were over and they were $$$$$.$$