The Unimog is undoubtedly one of the coolest rigs ever made, but it has limited uses. From the sheer size of it to the limited horsepower relative to a rig this large, I suspect many of these project ‘Mogs end up in a driveway before the owner realizes just what he’s bought. However, if you happen to live somewhere that doesn’t demand top speed cruising and routinely has some level of access challenges due to unfavorable terrain, it may still make an awful lot of sense – especially when you compare the cost of entry for such a rugged piece of hardware. Check out this former German fire truck here on craigslist for $9,500.
I will be honest: I’d love to own a Unimog. At present, I don’t have anywhere near the lifestyle to support owning such a vehicle. However, if my dreams of living somewhere remote with limited traffic and plenty of unpaved roads nearby, buying a Unimog will be near the top of my short list of priorities. The truck shown here, I believe, is a 404 model which was commonly used as the basis for a fire truck conversions. Similar to auctions for Japanese market fire rigs, the Unimog has much different appeal here in the states than it does where it did its municipal duty, so it’s not a surprise to see what was effectively “surplus” end up here.
However, it appears there was some time between when the Unimog was retired and when it ended up in this California yard for retired 4x4s. The seller doesn’t provide much info in terms of background, but there’s a bit of a hill to climb with bringing this truck back to life. A recent auction listing for a very similar Unimog fire truck that was in running condition stalled out at a little bit over $7,000, so the ask here seems a bit tall for a rig that clearly hasn’t run in some time. The listing actually notes it hasn’t run in seven years, which has little bearing on this overbuilt six cylinder’s ability to fire up once again; it’s just the hours and money it will take to get it running reliably.
When it comes to Unimogs, the sky is the limit as it relates to upgrades and off-road gear you can throw at a truck like this all day long to make it into an incredible overlander. The box on the back makes me curious if it can be gutted and retrofitted with actual living accommodations to make the conversion to an overland-ready rig even easier. Of course, you’ll want to spend more time researching things like “fast axles” and tire size to ensure it can reliably do 60 miles per hour (or more!) on the interstate, but that’s only after you get it running. And because I’m a glutton for punishment: if you have an old Case Unimog single-cab taking up space, I still want to hear about it.
Boy, here’s salt in their wounds, clearly not intentional, but this might have saved maybe one house. It, the fires, were pretty much unstoppable, this would be equivalent to peeing in the ocean. Wouldn’t have done much good.
The truck here is as mentioned, was designed to be the toughest vehicle made, and is. This, being a fire truck, has very limited uses, and as mentioned would probably be better with some sort of RV setup. Not much would stop it. It’s been said, 2 things will survive a nucular[sic] blast. Cockroaches and Unimogs. Firestorms, not sure, fire consumes all. Only a fool would go over 40 mph( 64km) in this.
The situation in L.A. continues to unfold. Please help if you can.
Condition good? Color red? Posted 16 days ago.
I bought a surplus ex-West German army Unimog radio truck, like this, but with a canvas top and fold down windshield. The seller was in Germany, so all of the paperwork associated with importing it was in German. We had a guy where I worked who handled all of our California DMV transactions. He looked through the paperwork, gave me an eye roll and said, “Whatever”. Several hours later, he returned with a registration and plates (the title followed shortly thereafter). All he said was, “Don’t ask any questions.”
By the way, if you want a Unimog camper, a radio truck is a better starting point than a fire truck. And, you have to enjoy going really slowly to drive one of these- like that old Eagles’ song: “Life In The Slow Lane”…
Somewhere around 20 years ago I worked on a Unimog Army Radio Truck. Unlike yours this one was a closed cab with a “pass through” to the box much like American box trucks. I had to replace the clutch and that was a trip to say the least. I don’t know what happened to the truck but my boss was all too happy to have it in the shop to brag that we “Worked on everything.”
It was cool to check out the “radio room” even though I didn’t read German and all of the electric was 24V IIRC. Neat truck though.
Theres an island here in coastal NC which is private ferry access only. The state contracts with a small 10 car ferry operation. Call them up and they will float you and your rig over for a few days to a week of beach solitude. Last few times I’ve been over there has been a lone Unimog parked at the landing waiting faithfully for its next surf fishing excursion. Have to believe no finer use exists for such a rig. It’s Portsmouth Island btw. Be sure to go.
Looks heavy duty, like something they could have used on The A Team show back in the day.
Interesting overpriced find. Personally I would get it running and driving then take that box and water pump off the back then shop around for a travel trailer I could adapt to fit back there and sell it to some off grid person so they can go deeper into the wilderness get stuck and pay a bigger towing bill
These trucks get around and see a lot of uses. Out west most of them are adapted to farm use. I remember a local sheep operation had one. It had that tiny 4 cyl 1.9L diesel engine that tended to go through head gaskets like they were going out of style. I think it was more due to the guy’s cold starting technique–ether is a lot faster than waiting for the glow plugs to heat.
The six cylinder version was definitely a lot more adaptable for the roads. This green gem was brought over from Europe and the owner completely restored it. I rebuilt the fuel system and the guy reported outstanding performance, in that it hit 97 KPH on the trip home from the shop. I don’t think I’d want to do that on a rough, twisty road…
This truck is as mentioned a 404 which was the only gas engine Unimog ever produced and they were built to fill an order from the Swiss military. My first Mog was a 404. Good littletruck but remember they had like 88 HP with extremely low gearing. You can expect a top speed out of this truck to be in the 40 MPH range with this large static load on it. It’s a good starter Mog for someone but hardly acceptable for much highway use!
I never knew that the Unimog ever used a gaspot. I guess one is always learning…
A Unimog 404 radio truck weighs about 6,400 lbs. empty. It uses a six cylinder inline gas engine rated at about 88-90 hp. You do the math- the answer should be “slow”. These are not practical on road “daily driver” vehicles, as they are dangerously slow. I often had to perform pre-trip “route reconnaissance”, as a 180 degree on ramp to the freeway meant merging at about 25 mph. I always worried about an inattentive driver being killed by driving under the back of the body, which was about three feet off of the road. I took mine to a Unimog specialist to see if he could make it go faster. First suggestion: remove the 2,500 lb. radio body. Second suggestion; install a dual carburetor setup. Either way, it would yield little improvement to top speed, which is okay, as I got mine going pretty fast on a downhill grade once and it was thrilling to say the least (thank goodness that I had about 500 gear combinations to choose from 😉). Speaking of carburetors, the 404 military version is designed to operate at such extreme sidehill angles that a shield is provided below the carburetor to prevent any fuel spilling out of it from coming into contact with the exhaust manifold below it. I never confirmed this claim. Like many other things in life, my two best days of Unimog ownership were the day I picked it up at the Port of Oakland and the day that I sold it and watched it go away on a drop deck.
for my use the 1st Mog is the only. Much smaller and mostly farm tractor the ’51 owner could drive it to town (31 MPH) for schnapps & pilsner or abock. I’d even go fera 401, 6, or 11.
They run the 404 here on the hwy like a Range Rover or Explorer. I dont get it. A work vehicle is for work. Like owning a WDX from the ‘50s (“dodge power wagon”) and no logs marked in the forest. Yeah a gentleman farm with a few hundred ac, it can still make sense. Now some of these made it B I G and frnt a sno blower for the really deep a plow cant do but are 3 X as big as this 404.