Unimog 404

[jcook5003]

Hey Guys-

Just looking for some general info.

I know most people offer a lot of drawback to using 404's as expedition rigs.

I was wondering if anyone had put a lightweight truck camper, ie alaskan, four wheel, or six-pac camper onto a Mog 404. How did it perform?

I think lower cost of ownership makes a 404 a very appealing candidate for me.

[Robthebrit]

I have never been a huge fan of 404s, even empty they have fairly low performance but if you already have one why not use it?

They are one of the fastest original type mogs but they will slow down on hills because the gaas engine is gutless. You'll be doing 55 max on the flats without a load and people say you should stop every couple of hours to let the tranny cool because it uses journals instead of bearings. There are a few things to make it faster but if you are going to do that you may as well get a faster mog to start with (yes, this will be diesel).

They are rock solid and fairly difficult to break, you probably want to take the mil spec ignition off and replace it with an electronic ignition and civilian wires/plugs.

As for parts they are easy to get NOS or from donor trucks and they are typically cheap but a lot of the bigger stuff is no longer available from MB.

Rob

[63tlf8]

Hey Guys-

I was wondering if anyone had put a lightweight truck camper, ie alaskan, four wheel, or six-pac camper onto a Mog 404. How did it perform?

I think lower cost of ownership makes a 404 a very appealing candidate for me.

Hi jcook5003,

Do you actually own a 404 or are you looking? If you don't own one, get some miles under your belt before you buy. Just the driving differences between a soft and hard top make the choice very personal.

Forget the appealing cost. If you don't like it after a few months then its money wasted. There is a member elsewhere on this forum that started out building a 404 camper and has now bought a Mitsubishi Canter. For him it seems that will suit his requirements better.

I think the 404 is well suited to a particular type of expedition vehicle i.e. well off road / under developed areas etc. Its also better if you are a realistic type of guy. You buy a 404 for what it is, not to travel 1000 miles every day, cruise at 60 - 70 mph, have more power etc etc. We're a soft lot these days, need to have everything including the kitchen sink with us everywhere we go. You won't go far with a 404 and that mindset however, warm, dry and very comfortable is easily achieved within the limits of the chassis and engine.

Good luck with your choice, we could use a few more satisfied 404 owners on line to counter the "it's not big enough, fast enough, new enough brigade".

In addition to my 404, a friend has had his for some 30 years and is now on his third camper on the back. Still gets a long trip or two every year so there is another one who is happy with a 404 for his trips.

Regards

Tony

[lehel1]

hello jcook5003

i own a 404 expedition camper and we've enjoyed it for years, traveling all over alaska, canada and the US. we've found a 50 mph speed limit and stopping every 2 hours or so to be a very nice way to travel. we definitly find we got to see and experience more during our travels. we do have the m130 motor in our rig instead of the m180, but were also loaded down pretty good. parts are easy to get and the ride is nice with the weight we carry. we weight in fully loaded at 9500 lbs.
it can be a bit noisy in the cab.

we are in the process of buying a new fuso to build a new camper. we have found we don't use the unimog to its full offraod capacity these days. but also looking for more comfort and can afford it now.

if your not in a rush and enjoy traveling to remote area's, we found the 404 an affordable and roboust platform to do a camper on. the gas vs deisel has never played a big role for us one way or another so far.

good luck in your planning cheers lehel and laura

p.s. i'm finding it hard to load pic's, i'll keep trying but you can find a pic of our 404 on this forum under "unimogs heading for vegas" we were at mogfest in calico in sept. were ther rig with the colorfull kayaks on top and yamaha on the back.

[762X39]

Yeah, what he said...

I have had my Unimog 404 for 8 years now. I love exploring and camping in the bed. Even with just the canvas back on I found it to be comfy and convenient. Some of the people I used to travel with whined about how slow it was (and it is) but I love to explore and stop to fish, look around, stretch or whatever. If you can handle a simple,spartan,noisy but capable vehicle by all means go for it. If you want to "improve" its performance (beyond civilian plugs,wires and distributor) than a 404 is not for you.

[jcook5003]

Thanks for the advice guys......I went and checked out a local 404, needless to say it was uber cool, but I'm just not sure I need a truck that big.

Believe me I want a truck that big, but I just cant reasonably justify it right now.