Hey guys,

My friend is about to buy an Unimog, and he is willing to spend about 12K to get the one he wants. I think is was a 63 with a 2.2 liter gas engine. Does anyone out there know about these giant rigs? With only 20,000 miles, (is that even a lot for these things) what should he expect to git for milage, road speeds? I assume they are quite expensive to repair, right? It is the 6 spd 4x4 version.

Won't be worth a darn on the hwy...top speed is probably under 50mph

We he is comfortable with 50mph. I wonder would scream at that speed though? I was looking up parts prices and they are cheaper than my Patrol parts

Here is the link: It is a 61 not 63.

http://www.giant-rock.com/rob/UNIMOG/

I rode in one all day in Puerto Vallarta last fall, highway and off road. It did great on both IMO.

They're super capable off road and will go pretty much anywhere they'll fit.

Something to keep in mind as well.. Unimogs 404s cannot run at sustained speeds above 50mph. Travelling at that speed, you MUST stop every hour to hour and a half or so to let the transmission oil cool down. The reason is because in the transmission the low range crawler gear shaft does not disengage, so at 50mph it spins at nearly 10k rpm and only has bronze bushings that it rides on, so its easy to burn up.. and very expensive to fix. I would limit the speed to around 45mph tops to prevent these bushings in the tranny from burning up.

For the mog he's looking at, I'd have him go for a highway drive to ensure that the tranny does not sieze up at speed. When they've been burned up, they will drive fine on the road around town, but when you get them up to speed, the tranny will slowly sieze up until it cools off again.

Ideally, mogs are not the kinda thing you want to drive to the trailhead.. Unless its a big mog (406) with the better tranny, they should really be trailered, as they are really designed for low speed operation (like a tractor).

20k doesnt seem like a lot, but I've heard of them needing full engine overhauls at low miles. Luckily, the engines are the same as those in the older M-B cars (you can even bolt in a diesel engine if you want), so parts are easy to get for the engine. The tranny and rest of the driveline is the expensive part to fix.

Having said all that, I'd still LOVE to have a mog. If he can afford it, GET ONE.. but just make sure he is buying from a reputable dealer or knowledgeable owner that hasnt flogged it. He might want to check www.umog.com . The guy that runs that place, Shep Sheppard is very knowledgeable and sells pretty quality trucks.

Current price for a 404 is $6900 through him:

http://www.umog.com/seeswiss.htm

Well thanks, that is some good insite. I will let him know about the 406. He would want to be able to get on the highway and pund miles from Flagstaff the North Rim. So stopping every hour when you are only going 50mph would be rough.

Also check out T-LO's Ultimate Offroad in prescott:

http://www.mogsrus.com/

Apparently, he is an authorized mog dealer here in Arizona.

You should have him look at this big mog in Prescott. Its got the 20 speed tranny, shoulder belts, hard top, AND its a DIESEL w/ jake brake!

http://www.umog.com/unimog_421.htm

Awesome! Wow, I want one of those babies
I think the newer models are the way to go! You can still get parts easily too. The more I read up on these bad boys the more likely I will end up with one of my own. I think I might be on a test drive shortly!

I went wheelin with one for a day and they are awesome, it will go through pretty much anything and everything, the only problem is if you ever get one stuck youre in for some heavy recovery time. It took 4 trucks 2 winches and one snatch block to pull it out. This one was diesel and it dragged me though some serious mud holes and all the way back home. When you get to a hole where the Sheep running 8" of lift, 37's and lockers wont run it, the mog will walk right through it. It was like our offroad tow truck for the day, had buil in booster cables too. I know the guys wore earmuffs when they drove it on the highway.



More Pics of the mog here:
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/418094/8

Sounds like a seriously powerful winch would be a good idea if you go mudding with these big Mogs.

DO NOT GO TO OR CALL T-LO!!! That guy is very far from trust worthy. I know Pinz owners who have gotten the shaft from him in a seriously greasy painful way. I also have not been impressed with Shep but can't say if he is a good guy or not. T-Lo is a jackass for sure! He took 6 weeks to replace a speedo cable on a Pinz and it was not due to parts delay. I know he been sued at least once.

Also avoid LinDen Engineering and Dennis in Denver at all costs!!

Sean with Euro-truck Importers is a very good guy to deal with. He is very experienced in Mogs and has built several for racing. Also Derik up in the Seattle are, can't recall the shop name but he is also a very good guy who knows more than 95% out there about Mog's. All this guy does is Mogs and he restores them from the ground up, I think he is German. Scott at Expedition-Imports in Cali is also a very cool guy and will spend time on the phone on his dime to gve you info. He is also very knowledgable and trust worthy.

I really think you need to watch out when dealing with dealers for Mogs, Pinzies and C303's. In the last 2-3 years I have learned these kind of trucks attract dealers/shops that are very sketchy at best. Some are just plain crooks. Maybe because it is harder to sue them or harder to prove they are crooks. Be careful is my advice, $12k is a lot of cash and it can be flushed down the crapper fast.

$12k is way way to much for a 404 unless it restored, customized heavily or modified or the very rare 404 Doka. You can get 406's for that price range and they all over the place. I almost bought a Case 406 Mog before I got the Pinz but didn't want to deal with the noise and slow speeds plus massive size of the truck. A 6x6 (712) Pinz is better IMHO and they start at about $12k. The Case 406 Mog's were sold in the USA by Case who makes machinery. They have some cool stock features like over head protection as they were used in forestry and such. I have seen them at $9k-10k to start and good ones are at $10-12k.

Personally I would never consider a 404 due to road speed, noise, lack of comforts and few other reasons. A 406 or newer or nothing is once again my HO.

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Sounds like a seriously powerful winch would be a good idea if you go mudding with these big Mogs.

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Very good idea. The one in the pic had a 12,000 pound hydraulic winch. They was nothing to winch too, and it was burried

Thanks again for all the info guys! I spent nearly all day Friday searching the internet for info on the Unimogs. I'm confident that the 406 with a modifed back is what will meet my fiends needs because he must have long-term road driving capibilities. At least now I feel a lot more comfortable when looking for the right unimog.

I'll say that, what fun these bag boys would be. I can also say that I imagine I would consider running an Unimog for a tow vehicle that can go retrieve the tow object once it breaks down!

Actually, I've always had the notion to take a Unimog and put a tow flat bed on it, it would make for a steep pull on angle though, they sit really high. And if its too long to compansate, you'll be dragging it and getting into to much money. Standard hydro tow flat bed setups are fairly inexpensive.