InterMog

[dzzz]

What's the best mog for the highway? I know some have fast gearing. What's the best most for a tall driver?
In 5 figures U.S., please

[Chas Stricker]

I think you'll find various opinions on this. The best highway in my view would be the UGN500. I'm very happy with my truck on and off highway and I have a SBU1250L Doka. Happy hunting,
Chas

[charlieaarons]

A couple of weeks ago you could have obtained a 2005 U500 with 6800 miles with every conceivable useful option for expedition camper use for US$75K. Check with "coachconvertor" on the www.benzworld.com site. It had CTIS, EAS, VarioPilot, H08 hydraulics, working and crawler gears, etc.
The only Mog that's close for highway use with similar load capacity would be a U2450 with a Claas overdrive. Very hard to find even in Europe, and un-importable because they are too recent. And it wouldn't be any cheaper.

[bluemog]

If you want to get a Unimog that you can drive on the highway for five figures you're not going to find anything in the U500 range except for just below that. Your best bet would be to get an SBU like a 1300 and then retrofit it with fast axles/fast hubs, a Claas overdrive, and a turbocharger. You can get all the parts to make the Unimog go faster from the various Unimog parts dealers here in the US. Just be forewarned, Unimogs weren't meant for the highways and that you'll probably only experience "highway speeds" when you're on a flat stretch of highway with no headwind. Toss in anextended grade (even a slight one) and/or a stiff headwind and you'll watch your speed deteriorate. When you've got the truck so highly geared you also have to watch your exhaust gas temperature pretty carefully so you don't toast the engine and lugging it hard at the top end will do just that. What you may end up doing is downshifting which will ultimately end up in your going slower than had you left the gearing alone.

[Tennmogger]

I also recommend the U1300L. With midrange axle/diff ratio (5.3:1, but down to 4.5 is possible) and overdrive, with OM366A turbo, cruising speed can be as high as 70 without exceeding 'pink' line at 2400 (redline is 2800).

But, IMHO, that's too fast for sustained speed. I prefer about 60 mph with rpm's just below 2000. If overdrive is available, I see no reason for having "fast" ratio axles.

Any SBU cab is ok for tall and/or big. The air suspension seats also help accommodate larger people. Some cabs even have lifted roofs.

Ditto Bluemog's comments about losing speed on longer climbs, exhaust temp, etc. No Unimogs are overpowered.

Tennmogger


If you want to get a Unimog that you can drive on the highway for five figures you're not going to find anything in the U500 range except for just below that. Your best bet would be to get an SBU like a 1300 and then retrofit it with fast axles/fast hubs, a Claas overdrive, and a turbocharger. ...chop....

[dzzz]

A couple of weeks ago you could have obtained a 2005 U500 with 6800 miles with every conceivable useful option for expedition camper use for US$75K. Check with "coachconvertor" on the www.benzworld.com site. It had CTIS, EAS, VarioPilot, H08 hydraulics, working and crawler gears, etc.
The only Mog that's close for highway use with similar load capacity would be a U2450 with a Claas overdrive. Very hard to find even in Europe, and un-importable because they are too recent. And it wouldn't be any cheaper.

what's the difference between a U500 and a 2450? Thanks

[charlieaarons]

what's the difference between a U500 and a 2450? Thanks

A very big difference: different frame, body, engine, trans shifting system, axle locating system, built in different years, gearing, etc, etc. Look on the Unicat Europe site, www.unicat.net my U500 is under vehicle/Terracross 49; a couple of U2450s are under vehicle/Individual. Check the specs carefully.
The naming system for SBU Mogs (U1200-2450) goes like: the 1st numbers are hp/10; shortest wheelbase is xx00; longer xx50; longer still is xx50L; longest xx50L37 or 38. The U1700 and higher are "heavy duty" with 7000-8500kg rear axles; 1550 and smaller are "medium duty" with 4000-5300kg rear axles. There are some 1550s with 240hp motors like the very nice one for sale by Unicat.
They split the line into UGN (U3-500) and UHN (U3-5000) in ~2002. UGN are "implement carriers", the bigger ones come with 6.4L 6cyl. The UHN are "ultimate off road" but the biggest motor is 4.8L 4 cyl and it has 6.94 gears whereas my U500 has 5.92s, so it can go ~10mph faster, very important in the US.
UHNs look like SBUs and have more similarities than UGN/SBU.
If 5 figures goes up to $99,999 you can certainly get a very well equipped U500 for less than that.

Charlie

[dzzz]

Thanks Charlie,
I did look carefully at the specs for the 2450 that's for sale. It's a big, heavy truck for a camper. Although there would be no concern about going overweight.
The camper on it is very homemade. It's odd someone would pay that much for a truck and not have a well made camper. I would probably go down and look at the truck if it had a good shell. I enjoy renovating campers. But the camper on that one is a complete liability.

[charlieaarons]

If a 2450 registered legally in the US is for sale, consider buying it if the price is right, tearing the camper off, and send it to Germany to have Unicat install a 4.5m camper on it. If it has 6.38 gearing, add a Claas overdrive and 14.00R20 XZLs (2200 rpm @ 60mph). I think I saw that camper somewhere, where's the link? How much is it? Remember, some super well equipped U500s have gone for $75K with only ~7000 miles. A less than stellar camper doesn't add much to the value of a vehicle like a 2450 IMHO.

Charlie

[mhiscox]

Others know more about this than I do, but it's likely that the cabin dimensions you want will affect the truck you'll want to choose. I don't know the wheelbase of the 2450 for sale, but some 2450s will accomodate a longer cabin than a U500. And, similarly, some 2450s will be able to mount the cabin a bit lower than on a U500, which requires the cabin floor to be pretty high in the air.

The U500 will be the nicer ride; the basic design of the truck is about two decades newer and it's more way more sophisticated and with a nicer engine and transmission. Some argue that the US-legal U500 is less desirable because it's from the MBz Mog "implement carrier" line rather than the "off-road" line (those, as Charlie mentioned, were the U3000, 4000 and 5000; never legal here). And others argue that the U500 is too complicated and computerized to work for third world use.

I personally don't find either agrument compelling. If reducing complexity is critical to your journey, then you'd want the 416 series, which is the last Mog comprehensibly fixable by the village mechanic. And where the heck you going to go that's too rugged for the U500? Either a U500 or a 2450 is going to yield a camper that's way too big to be doing technical stuff anyway. To me, the most important issue is how the cabin you want will fit on the chassis. If it's six of one, half a dozen of the other, a U500 seems the better choice, if you're not adding any significant value for the U2450's cabin.


If a 2450 registered legally in the US is for sale, consider buying it if the price is right . . .

If you buy any Mog from anywhere, oh do make sure that you can get the truck registered in your state. Nothing makes a worse paperweight than an undriveable Mog, and there have been a few.

[charlieaarons]

Ah, that 2450 - the Doka. My opinion: I'd rather have a well equipped U500 for $10K less and then have a really nice, 3' longer camper built for it, rather than that necessarily short not-really-nice camper currently on it. How is a short camper like that going to accomodate the 5-6 people carried in the Doka cab? That's why I believe in single cab camper Mogs; the camper is small enough for 2-3 people as it is.

Charlie

[mhiscox]

Ah, that 2450 - the Doka. My opinion: I'd rather have a well equipped U500 for $10K less and then have a really nice, 3' longer camper built for it, rather than that necessarily short not-really-nice camper currently on it. How is a short camper like that going to accomodate the 5-6 people carried in the Doka cab? That's why I believe in single cab camper Mogs; the camper is small enough for 2-3 people as it is.

Charlie
When there's just two adults to ride in the cab, Charlie's point is spot on, with two mitigating factors being that:

1) The cab on an LBU is so wide that the rear sear area can be used as the bunk space for many people, and

2) On campers with small passthroughs that are hard to get through, the rear seat area can provide space for an chest-style refrigerator, duffels and other stuff that you might not want to crawl to fetch out of the cabin.

My Mog is a double cab with the rear seats out, and we find the rear area a useful space. But the real advantage will show up if it gets sold to a family that will need the extra seat or two or want to sleep a child in that area.

[w5yk]

I did look carefully at the specs for the 2450 that's for sale.
The camper on it is very homemade.

Can you give us a link to that camper? I have a 2450, and I'm thinking of putting a camper on it, so I'd like to check out the one you referred to.

Thanks,
Richard

[Joaquin Suave]

Richard,
Is your 2450 the one that has the Twin-Disc transmission in it?

[mhiscox]

Can you give us a link to that camper? I have a 2450, and I'm thinking of putting a camper on it, so I'd like to check out the one you referred to.

Thanks,
Richard

Richard,

It's at Sean Philyaw's in Georgia. Lots of pictures on the EuroTruck website

http://mercedes4x4store.com/dieselmogs.htm

but you'll probably have to call Sean to get him to measure it for you. I'm guessing it would fit, but that you'd want to do some major modification to get your ground clearance and departure angle back.

[w5yk]

Richard,
Is your 2450 the one that has the Twin-Disc transmission in it?

Joaquin,

Yes, it is. There's two of them in the USA with Twin Disc transmissions, plus a bunch in Germany. Mine was built by Twin Disc to bid on a US Army contract, but it didn't work out, so they sold both prototypes off cheap.

Some details here.....

http://web.mac.com/rgrussell/Geezer/Unimog.html

[w5yk]

Richard,
It's at Sean Philyaw's in Georgia. Lots of pictures on the EuroTruck website


Thanks Mike. I like the 2450 doka, the camper not so much. I didn't know there was another 2450 doka in the USA (the other one being the Dinohunter).

I noticed Sean has a U140 for sale. Someone should buy that, plus your fiberglass shell, and they'd have a killer camper!

The California politburo is outlawing heavy diesels, so we will all have to convert to campers to get round the ban.

[charlieaarons]

The California politburo is outlawing heavy diesels, so we will all have to convert to campers to get round the ban.

As much as I detest CARB's attitude towards diesels (and California's tax structure! And a few other things about the state), they are doing you an oblique favor. You will learn to love having a camper on your Mog. Then you get to drive it during the day AND sleep in it at night.

Charlie

[mhiscox]

I noticed Sean has a U140 for sale. Someone should buy that, plus your fiberglass shell, and they'd have a killer camper!
You've got that right. And don't think I wasn't sorely tempted personally. I figure I could get the shell mounted in about an afternoon and be on the road in two weeks. And, having seen the cabin on the U140L, it makes a very nice-sized camper, good cabin space on a very compact--if modestly powered--truck.

Alas, already having three off-pavement campers is a counterindication of the need to buy another, at least in the mind of the family comptroller. ;)

[dzzz]

You've got that right. And don't think I wasn't sorely tempted personally. I figure I could get the shell mounted in about an afternoon and be on the road in two weeks. And, having seen the cabin on the U140L, it makes a very nice-sized camper, good cabin space on a very compact--if modestly powered--truck.

Alas, already having three off-pavement campers is a counterindication of the need to buy another, at least in the mind of the family comptroller. ;)

What kind of highway speed? And how is it different than the one your selling?

[mhiscox]

What kind of highway speed? And how is it different than the one your selling?
A U140L is part of the light duty series of Mogs (U90, U100, and U140) that carried a good deal less weight--got the stats around somewhere but can't find them--than the SBU series, of which the U1300L is the most common. The engine, being both 140 HP and turbocharged trumps Camper Mog's 120 or so, but the cruise speed might not be too much different because most Mogs are limited in highway speed by gearing rather than power. No way to tell without knowing the 140's gearing.

David Lam, the president of Safari Vehicle Manufacturing and the owner of the only U140L/SVM shell combination, said it was a great rig, but not ideal as his daily driver due to the modest power. Still, it'd have to be quicker--if not much faster--than Camper Mog, since I'd guess the all-up weight of the finished shell on a U140L would be under 10K.

One thing to note is that the U140 is a pretty small little truck. I'm 5'10" and things felt pretty tight. In exchange, though, with that odd-little hood, you have great visibility.

[dzzz]

I've been shopping both U500 and 2450L. It's a very interesting market.

In my brief introductions, the 2450L seems to ride better. But it was carrying more weight.