Looking at a Unimog

[Jones]

Dave, I've had a 404 and a 416. The 404s are the most common and probably the best buys.
There's a lot of redundancy, some of which can be simplified and/or updated.
If you end up with one look into a few parts that'll make it more fun?!? "High-speed" axles (the fire trucks came with them) will up your road speed some, for off-roading a "crawler box" is a nice addition and they just bolt onto the bottom of the transmission in place of the trans bottom cover, for that daily climb up and into the saddle-- a pair of hub steps are nice additions, insulation for the engine cover will cut down on the cab interior temps, going to an upholstery shop and having a rear top curtain made with a larger rear window will make backing up a breeze after peering through the foggy, postage stamp sized one they come with.
With a number of places selling Unimogs, parts aren't that hard to find; especially if you join one of the Unimog sites where someone always seems to have a few more parts stashed 'out-in-the-workshop'. Typical german over engineering gives you tight tolerances which aren't always a blessing but all in all you'll find the Unimog a fun truck although not necessarily the ideal cross-country rig. If you can, buddy up with someone who has one and get a ride in it to see first-hand what they're like; I guarantee that seeing one parked or tooling around a shopping center parking lot and sitting in one perched on the top of a boulder are two COMPLETELY different experiences.

 

[Streetgliderx]

great write up man i have been fighting this same delema for a little while now

 

[M813rc]

The standard tire size for 404s was the 10/10.50x20. As an option, they could have 12.50x20s (which, incidentally, is roughly the same height as a 9.00x20). Mine has 12.50 Michelin XLs on it.
The 12.50 does NOT fit in the spare tire holder under the bed! Maybe if you moved the battery box, or...

I may have mislead y'all with the title of one of the pics I posted. All the Swiss Mogs have soft tops. The owner of the one in the picture had made a sheet metal "cap" for his.

On the subject of cab tops, the regular German style top can be unlatched from the windshield frame and folded back. The Swiss frame is non-folding and attached with bolts to tabs on the windshield frame. The Swiss top is much taller and comes to a peak at the rear. There is a flap on the top rear that attaches to the front of the bed cover to keep snow etc from getting down between bed and cab.

Cheers

 

[Streetgliderx]

the second pic is the style he has. that top still removes dont it?

 

[Mike_Pop]

The second pic is the Swiss version. Usually much better maintained than other armies. The Swiss had the higher cab cover which is a dead giveaway. NEVER buy a French Mog!!! They were abused and not well maintained by the French military.

 

[M813rc]

Yes, it comes off. You unfasten the bolts at the front that attach to the windshield, the rear lower corners are pipe and slide into/out of holes in the bed sill corners. One person can do it, two is better.

 

[Streetgliderx]

8500 apeice for his mogs. they were "ran when parked" nbut have horribly old gas in the tanks and tires have been sittin for some time.. leaks at both pinion ends of drive train, both had 2 portal hub leaks, and one has rotted bed and torn top.. he said they start but he had no way to jump them off and had his DD deuce sittin next to em.... seemed high to me judgin by the ones i been seein on ebay and mog exchange for sale??? what do you guys think?... and i got pics but i need a new cable for my camera to hook to my pc

 

[Jones]

Sounds like a little high for the condition you describe. Think out what you want your Mog for and shop for one with as much of the goodies that you want, already installed. i.e. If you're going rock-crawling, a cab and chassis would be better than a completely stock truck and you won't feel as guilty about chopping it up.
Keep looking and remember, no matter what you buy-- you'll find better and cheaper a month or two after you close the deal.
And don't get suicidal when your neighbor tells you about the one they "just sent to the crusher 'cause the old farmer down the road decided to get rid of it in order to have more room in his barn". (This tale is almost always accompanied with the line; "Naw, we didn't have to tow it to the scrap yard, it ran so we just drove it there".)

 

[Streetgliderx]

sounds like you have my luck!... i still shoppin so i aint sure yet what i want one for you guys been great help thank yu very much

 

[Wolf.Dose]

404 Mog's: On the military distributer you can set the timing for lower octan rating fuel, as far as I remenber, down the 60 octan. (The litle plate on the distributer neck where the distributer goes into the engine block is the scale.).
Unbraked trailer: The 404 is good for 1500 kg unbraked trailer according to German legal requirements of 1957. The allowed pedal force is 70 kg, which is 154 lbs. So train your leg! Standard trailer at the German Army was a 1,5 t payload trailer with overrun brake. The Mog can habdle that if you care for a maximun speed of about 50 to 55 mph, which is 80 to 88 kph, the tachometer reading. the odometer is of course in km, not in miles! So the 22,900 mentioned above, if given in km and not converted, is 14232 miles, which sounds normal for a surplus Mog of most of the Armys (exept French Army using Mogs oversees, these Mogs usualy have over 100,000 km when going to surplus).