I bought a UNIMOG!

[Barra GU]

Hey mate , the vehicle was originally purchased as a toy hauler. I've currently got a new 4.Wh4trailer being custom built for me so looking to have the mog and trailer set up to tow the gu if I ever have to (which means weight wise I will be completely legal).
The gu being 3 tonne plus a 1 tonne trailer means that a 3.Wh3rated vehicle just doesn't cut the mustard so started looking at the dodge ram and the likes of other American trucks.

The more I started to look into it the more I realised they were a bad idea for my personal situation.
1: I have a work car so if I spent 130k on an american truck it would litreally just sit there for whenever i need to use it so its jist not feasible.
2: though they claim 4.5 t towing this means that you can legitimately tow 4.Wh4as long as you don't have more than 10 litres of fuel, not one aftermarket accessory amd the driver cant be more than 76kg... if youre 1 kg over that youre over the rated weight.

For something that's going to cost me over 100k i just couldnt justify this knowing its still not legally aloud to tow 4.5t if youve got more than the above mentioned scenario.

The Mercedes Benz Unimog has a 24t GCM, and tbh though they are starting to get pretty pricey I think I got in just at the right time before they skyrocketed.
A year ago you could find them at auction for 12 to 20k... Now you're paying 20 to 30k at auction with private sellers now asking for 35k+ on gumtree etc.

The vehicle is going to be used for a lot of things and I want it rather versatile.
I didn't want to put a camper on the back because then I'm limited to using it just like that. Not too mention I don't like the sound of making something that's very heavy even heavier so I am happy to just swag it if need be.

I also have a 1969 XT Falcon which I'm in the planning process and talks to engineers about installing a twin turbo coyote and turning it into a pro streeter to do drag challenge with.
We are looking for 1000-1500 rwhp.
The Mog and trailer will be used predominantly to tow the xt to panel beaters, mechanics etc and to the drag strip.

Given it's first job is being a dedicated tow vehicle I want to keep the back simple and just be able to house the tools and tyres for the drag strip or when we go winch truck racing use it as the pit car with the tools, etc.

If I can go to the high country for the odd touring trip in it with my swag in the back, the Weber and a fridge I'll be laughing as it would be kinda fun to do as much as I can in it.

People state that the three biggest issues with them is that they're slow, loud and uncomfortable.
I'm yet to find it annoyingly loud or uncomfortableas I drove it back from QLD in a weekend and the only thing I find an issue is they are real really really really slow.... that and if things go wrong with them they aren't cheap to repair.
So far so good though

What sort of build do you have in mind, travel truck , toy hauler or keeping

 

[lars cordes]

what a beast .... how tall is it, looks like it could struggle to get under the overhanging vegetation on some tighter tracks

 

[linuxfan66]

what type of truck is the unimog licensed under LR, MR, or HR?

 

[Lost1?]

what type of truck is the unimog licensed under LR, MR, or HR?

You need a MR license to drive a Unimog.

I find the performance commentary amusing. Whilst some call thier 4wd a truck, a 4wd is not a truck. Unimogs are a truck and trucks are slow and thirsty compared to a 4wd. What is preferred in a truck is a torque value in the right part of the rev range that enables the vehicle to maintain road speed on gentle or moderate inclines.

 

[maddon]

those things have a one tonne rating on the roof - horses for courses- gunna be some fun although i dont think the winch is strong enough lol , arent the tyres 80psi

 

[McGinnis]

Unimogs are slow, heavy, uncomfortable, and expensive - just like a big ass 75 series - and I love 'em. Look forward to seeing the build!

 

[linuxfan66]

Unimogs are slow, heavy, uncomfortable, and expensive - just like a big ass 75 series - and I love 'em. Look forward to seeing the build!

so its the apocalypse you must survive as long as possible: 75 or unimog

 

[John U]

so its the apocalypse you must survive as long as possible: 75 or unimog

Or one of these.

Edit - just found this fantastic story about the average Joe (not a stuntman) who drove the truck for the rollover scene in the movie.

 

[Albynsw]

I am ready to go

 

[Barra GU]

Hey fellas, been a few weeks since I've checked in here. Been pretty busy lately. Every spare second I can get I'm throwing it on the mog.
First things first I want to give it a good service but am currently waiting on the filters to arrive from interstate.
So in the mean time I purchased all the oils and thought I'd get stuck into the portals. The portal oils I hear are something that require regular changing. 5000k is a good length if you want them to last forever-ish. Otherwise some people change them every 10k.

Glad I did it in the end the oil smelt terrible and looked pretty bad.
It was changed at 33,333klm on the odometer.

 

[Barra GU]

Next I thought I'd start on modifying the mog appropriately. It's funny though, when people ask you "you have a new 4wd what are the first mods you would do?" I reckon my list would of been somewhat different but when you're actually in the situation logic trumps all.
So for me first things first I did was add a light bar and uhf.
The standard lights on the unimog are pathetic and that's putting it politely. The 50 inch light bar makes the world of difference on those night drives but I'm also looking at installing some of those adr compliant led headlights soon too.
For those looking for a bargain, oricom are doing deals at the moment, I purchased this for 199 bucks delivered.
Anyway here's the lightbar and uhf I installed.
The uhfalso needed a 24v to 12v reducer

 

[Barra GU]

Ok so the mext mod would have to be my most favourite mod on the entire "truck". This absolutely transformed the vehicle completely.
When the generator (what the standard unimog calls alternators) stuffed up I went to see Ben Reid,the guy that came to the high country with a unimog to save me with barra gu. He sold me a second hand generator which he had taken off his mog as he upgraded to a proper alternator set up (which I will do eventually). Whilst there I see he had some massive 46.6 inch Michelin mud tyres stacked up on a pallet.
The tyres are normally $2300 EACH!!!!
When I asked him what he wanted for them he said $1000 bucks if you get them out of here by Wednesday (it was Monday) as he needed them gone. So for 1000 bucks I got the 5x 46.6 inch Michelins, which were also on a factory set of steel ADF rims and the generator free of charge.

The wheels and tyres weigh 175kg collectively EACH!!!!! There was no way I was even going to bother trying to out these on my self so I went to a friend's factory who has a forklift and we slapped them on!
These things are bloody awesome!!!!!

 

[Barra GU]

So the weekend that just passed I ended up going away in the mog on a 1000klm round trip.

Had dinner at the langham on Friday night (if you haven't had the buffet there I highly suggest you try it) and ended up getting home pretty late. By the time I left home Friday night I got to the NSW side of the Murray at 4am in the morning.

I was meeting fellow mogsters for the annual Murray Mog Meet.
All up I think there was about 9 unimogs only this year with covid ruining much of that but we were aloud to go there with a permit.
Anyway managed to meet some awesome people and learnt alot about the mog. Got to see some pretty cool set ups too.

My 2 favorite mogs there was MB1 which was the very first Unimog that ever came to Australia which was sent here by Mercedes Benz as a prototype vehicle for the Australian Defence Force. This had a crane on it and suspension wise was pretty flexy.

The other favourite was Ryan's hamburger with the lot. The dual cab not started off exactly like mine which he then turned Into a dual cab.
I'm 6ft tall and when I sit in the back in had 250 to 300mm of room between my knees and the rear of the front seats. This thing was awesome.

 

[Barra GU]

Here are some photos of the mog off road. Good to finally put it in 4wd and enjoy it. These things are super capable. Especially now having 46.6 inch tyres, portalled axles and then locked with stupid crawl ratio.

 

[Barra GU]

The next day I received a call from my mate saying that his friend had ended up in some serious grief in the high country. He slipped down the hill , hit the wash out and slammed the sumo causing it to be pierced, thus losing all his oil.
I ended up leaving the Murray and heading straight to them to give them a hand.

Whilst there I managed to hit up Mt Terrible where they were stuck. Managed to get a few pics up on the summit and some pics of the the Mog in the snow.

 

[Barra GU]

So today I managed to utilise the existing compressor and tanks by I stalling a 15m hose reel in one of the original army boxes. The hose reel sits inside the box side ways and the feeder hose runs to the front air tank (the unimog has 3 air tanks). Plumbed it all up today and gave it a good test. Purchased new line, fittings, hose reel and hand help pump with a gauge.
Glad I can now oumo up my own tyres and I also purchased an air gun. The compressor and set u pp can also run an air rattle gun.

 

[linuxfan66]

So today I managed to utilise the existing compressor and tanks by I stalling a 15m hose reel in one of the original army boxes. The hose reel sits inside the box side ways and the feeder hose runs to the front air tank (the unimog has 3 air tanks). Plumbed it all up today and gave it a good test. Purchased new line, fittings, hose reel and hand help pump with a gauge.
Glad I can now oumo up my own tyres and I also purchased an air gun. The compressor and set u pp can also run an air rattle gun.

love the practical and usable mod, how fast does it fill one tyre?

 

[Toyasaurus]

Mog heaven.
If you are looking for better head lights trucklite is excellent.
I noticed that some of the other mog`s had simply bolted in 5 or 7" h4`s.
One looked like it had the really expensive yank led`s, I can`t think of the name but 1k + per light.

Keep it up, looking good.

 

[G_ute]

STEDI have a new 7" light (very similar to Trucklite)
I would get them myself but I am fussy and dont like the "STEDI" lettering on it.

STEDI 7 INCH HOMAGE LED Headlight

The stylistic STEDI 7 Inch Homage LED Headlight is a classic light design that harnesses trailblazing LED technology to push 390m @ 1 lux with a Halo DRL.

www.stedi.com.au

 

[Toyasaurus]

Looks like a typical chinese copywrite infringement to me.