Sadly, I cannot stop thinking about my desire to own a Unimog. Specifically, I am looking for the orange Case MB4 models that were sold as tractors in the U.S., predominantly to cities, towns, and municipal agencies; I believe some were also used in various federal capacities. Why, you might ask? Well, these Mercedes-Benz-built trucks are just so darn charming to me, and because after living with an older G500 for a year, there’s little doubt that true German-built Mercedes products are over-engineered like nothing else out there. In the meantime, if lived somewhere near the North Pole (yes, really), I might be checking out this 1967 Unimog 404 listed here on craigslist for $15,000.
The thing is, the North Pole is exactly the place a truck like this should be used. Even if I found the perfect truck for sale tomorrow, I’d have to find a place to store it, and I live about 30 minutes outside of our nation’s capital. Plus, where do you drive it? There’s a reason many ‘Mogs don’t have titles, and that’s because they were originally sold as tractors – quite literally, farm implements. Still, given these rigs are a bit less sensitive to being driven daily than, say, a vintage Ferrari, I suspect they can handle a little bit of extra sitting, even though that doesn’t stop hoses from weeping and seals from giving out. The seller notes his Unimog is gas-powered, which means it likely has the M180 II-U, which I believe maxes out at around 90 horsepower.
The background shows lots of logs, and I’m sure this truck is put to work on a daily basis – which makes Unimogs infinitely cooler. The fact that a truck made in the middle 60s is still out there in a brutal climate doing heavy work makes me love them even more. This truck looks oddly similar to a Unimog we wrote up in 2016 and located in British Columbia, which almost makes me wonder if it’s the same truck with some key differences (the mirrors aren’t painted, the chrome strips on the grill aren’t painted, the front bumper is gone – still, those are superficial changes at best.) That truck was listed for $10,000 with 400K miles on the clock, and we don’t see any miles listed for this Unimog. Do you think it’s the same rig?
Perhaps I could pick this up and bag a moose on the way. Is the former owner a reindeer rancher that wears red and works really hard once a year?
Actually Jeff, this Unimog is located in a town called North Pole, Alaska. Not at the North Pole which is thousands of miles away. Article should read North Pole, AK (not the North Pole).
Jeff, If you are looking for something that was owned by a municipality, keep an eye on GovDeals. Almost everything that is owned by local government ends up there.
https://www.govdeals.com/en/transportation
Guaranteed to be a fun time waster.
That is a very bad posting: now I want a rolling dental clinic or maybe a ladder fire truck. I will have to set a timer when I go to the site to “remind” me that there is something else to do with my life.
the 401/2/4 seem the ones to have. Others/later a bit big.
Something that can work the acreage and, days end,
go to the pub for friends, dinner’n beer.
Gas motor means easier start
winters, 3 PTOs better than
one…
Living in Colorado, in the 1970s I saw orange Unimog snowplows owned by the town of Vail. Later, I visited Schmidt Industries in Wisconsin and drove a couple of new ‘mogs, one of them into downtown Milwaukee for lunch! Most have diesel engines.
A friend of mine had a military version painted in olive drab. I believe his had a diesel engine. He parked it next to his WW2 Willy’s Jeep. He hardly drove the Unimog because of it’s size but he used it to drag logs around his property to cut for firewood. It had so much low end power the logs didn’t even make it work hard. I never heard of them until je showed me his. It was pretty big and strong.
Now this is a purpose built truck.
My late brother in law had up to six, he bought one of the Case versions new. He was a landscape contractor in north Jersey so the compact size was a plus, he had backhoe and plow attatchments. They sat for a few years unused, and when we sold them off the buyer just put a fresh battery in and they started right up on whatever diesel fuel was still in the tanks.
Would be kinda expensive to get it home but it would make a fun toy
MB made a good many of these for the US Army thru Freightliner as engineer vehicles
This is the perfect vehicle for commuting in Balt /Wash traffic!!! High enough to see all the traffic, and check a skirt or two!! Remem,ber that “He with the bigggest tires has the right of way”!! Put a back bumper on it and when they hit you, just stand there and laugh.. Also will make a good weekend work horse..