best 4x4 truck ever. (5:30 !!) Post your pictures and videos! <object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n1YRb1sI2Xs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n1YRb1sI2Xs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object>
subscription on side bar question: [hijack on] .. are you able to still purchase new Alfa Romeos in Mexico City? ... I remember awhile back they were imported to Mexico and parts of So. America.[hijack off]
Couple of years ago I saw a Unimog camper in Southern Maryland. It had Alabama plates IIRC. Looked brand new.
A sportsmobile posted at a decent price and another Unimog thread. Really bumming me out. I need to play the lottery so I can get a DOKA. Here was my 1300.
saw a green one here last week. first one in a long time i have seen around here... driving what a pretty sight.
My neighbor is selling one of these - one thing that scares me is if I do manage to get it stuck WTF am I going to do?!? It's not like I have a battalion of support vehicles and I'm pretty sure my F150 doesn't stand a chance
Unimogs don't get stuck! If Chuck Norris were a truck he'd be a Unimog! I'll bet a Unimog could easily kill Chuck Norris!
A very nice Article and Pictures: http://www.carsales.com.au/reviews/2009/large-4x4/mercedesbenz/mercedesbenz-unimog-u5000-15147 ... Of the dozens of contenders claiming to be the world's best offroader, only one can pick the opposition, carry them on its back and still perform like one of the best rough-and-tumble machines the world has ever known. ...And, if it could fit them onto its 4.1-metre cargo area, it could carry (legally) four fully-specced Toyota LandCruisers on its back and still walk over ditches a metre deep ... its frame is designed to be elastic, with two massive, U-shaped beams linked by tubular cross-beams that are all designed to twist offroad and retain their stiffness onroad. The cabin (and whatever framework you want to put on the back) is fixed at three places, so you often see the cab moving at different angles to the chassis. It looks, and feels, a little odd, but it means it can walk over half-metre diagonal differences without straining the chassis at all ...Instead, it uses Portal axles, which means the differentials and axles sit much higher than the centre of the wheels, then they drop down through a series of gears to drive the wheels. ...the Unimog's hubs also have a reduction gear inside it, so the driveshafts can spin with a bit of lethargy, then rely on the gears inside the Portals to 'magnify' the torque right where it's needed ...The axles themselves live inside torque tubes. Here they are protected from damage while the wheels can articulate up to 30 degrees. If this sounds radical, it's exactly the same system Unimogs have been using for nearly 60 years -- so it's tried and tested technology ... Powering all of this driveline wizardry is a 4.8-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine with pistons the size of bread plates and only 160kW. A modest figure even alongside 'softroaders', what really counts is torque. The U5000 punches out 810Nm of torque almost from the second you turn the key ...Our test machine had the extreme offroad gearbox fitted -- which doles out another eight gears. If you're thinking low range, then think extreme low range, because in its heavy-duty cog, the speed spread across the eight gears runs from 1km/h in first gear to 15km/h in eighth ...It's incredibly strong with no load onboard, but it's more a case of being unstoppable than fast. Accompanied by the hiss of the turbocharger, you revel in being so isolated from any vibrations or harshness and keep pulling gears until you soon hit eighth. It should be isolated, too. The seats are suspended and, effectively, so is the cabin. ...The astounding thing isn't how the Unimog goes, however -- it's how it rides. The massive wheels and tyres (365/80 R20 Michelins -- there are also 22.5 and 24-inch options) cushion just about any small bumps and the long-travel coil springs manage the bigger stuff. It feels like you're cruising along on a well-controlled carpet. ...In the really serious country it just ends up being plain-out amazing. It will climb 45 degree slopes and descent them again, but that's not the half of it. It will do all this at its maximum weight, too. You just dial up the locking differentials at both ends and ease the power on and it will walk its way up even rutted, seemingly impassible routes. If that's not quite enough, you can flick another switch and adjust the air pressure in all four tyres to see if that wins you more traction. If that's not going to be enough, you can safely declare the hill unconquerable. ...Approach even a solid concrete block of almost a metre high and you sit astonished as the Unimog touches rubber on it and begins to climb. And it keeps clawing its way up until the front tyres sit on top of the block. That's what a 44 degree approach angle can do for you. The thing you'd normally worry about next is banging the bottom of the body or the sills onto the concrete as you roll over it. Not with a Unimog. In first gear, the Mog walks calmly (even as you sit nervously, staring screen-first at the dirt on the other side), and plants its front tyres on the far side. No banging, no graunching and no scraping as the LWB's 35-degree ramp-over and 53-degree departure angles do their stuff. ...It's even more impressive on diagonal obstacles, largely because it looks like a truck and you think it just shouldn't be able to do it. In such a case the whole body twists as you slowly walk one 80kg front wheel and tyre on top of the block. Both rear tyres stay on the ground along with the other front tyre. It's secure and safe and very, very impressive. ...The Mog will happily live with deep water, too. Even a standard Unimog regards 800mm of water as a mere puddle, while our U5000 came with the wading kit to stretch its wading depth to 1200mm! And remember the innovative drivetrain layout means there's far less likelihood of snagging your underbody on unseen rocks than there would be in a conventional all-wheel drive. ...The final trick is that you can order a Unimog with just about anything that can run on hydraulics, including a crane. That means if you do find another serious offroad contender in your travels, you can just pick it up and put it in the back.
Pinzgauers are pretty cool also. Not nearly as large as a Unimog but they do come in 4x4 and 6x6 versions. Has porta axles with hydraulic diff-lockers. More affordable too.
