Thread: U1700L Unimog in the flesh - HUGE

I've driven in that truck - belong to an American guy who came to visit me a month or so ago to compare Unimogs. It's huge - much bigger than my Unimog U1250 which is only a little bit smaller than the U1700's. To put it into perspective - those are 49" tyres on that truck.

As far as the the SBU ( U1000- U2150, U3000-U5000) Unimogs being complicated - compared to even a D1 they are very simple - the air over hydraulic brakes are the only "complicated" bit - but even that is easy if you have a manual. All the older SBU Unimog run the OM352 or OM366 series engine - any must be one of the worlds most reliable engines used in hundred of applications. They are all 6 cylinder diesels, some with turbo and some without.

The Australian army has both U1300, U1700, U1750 and some U2150 6 wheel drive units - they have almost 2000 of them.

My U1250 drives very similar to my D1 Tdi - disc brakes, power steering and coil suspension - just a bit bigger. My U1250 has a 12.9m turning circle - so very similar to a D110 and better than a D130. It is relatively slow - 90-100kph and it will struggle up a steep hill - but then so does my D1 when it's loaded ( over loaded?) with camping gear. The truck is 6m long and 2.2m wide with a 1.8m track. It has 500mm clearance under the diff, and 700mm everywhere else. The top speed of a standard U1250 is 75kph - but mine has high speed portal gears and a Claas overdrive and should sit at 2200 at 100kph. I'll be adding a water-air intercooler and LPG - should run at around 170hp and 600nm - which is adequate for a 7.5 ton truck.

Driving a 404 or even a 416 ( that's the smaller rounder cab mog's) would be the equivalent to driving a Series 1 or an old army jeep - they are from a similar era - when men were men and didn't worry about comfort

Last thing - Unimogs are not cheap - but if you want something for a round Australia trip or round the world trip - they are the ultimate expedition vehicle.

Originally Posted by isuzubob

If I was getting a Mog with my Tatts winnings it would be one like this from the smaller U300/U400/U500 series. Only very few sold in Oz (not officially by M-B but an apointed sales distributer) they are smaller than the ADF Mogs and more designed as an implement carrier rather than a heavy load carrier. The cab is made from a fibre composite (no rust problems), the steering wheel & dashboard can slide from the left to right (or vice versa!) but still only top speed of 90 km/h.

More info Mercedes-Benz UK - Models - U 300 - U 500

Originally Posted by spudboy

You are not wrong! The model naming classification is very hard to comprehend.

The U1700 series seems to have heavy axles (7 Tonne), but has the same wheelbase as the medium duty U1300 and U1500 series (4 tonne axles).

Usually the first 2 digits x 10 = horsepower, so U1700 = 170HP, but then you seem to be able to get a U1500 in a 214 Hp version, and some U1300 have the 170Hp engine....

If there is a "50" in the model, this means it has a longer chassis overhang on the back, so a U1750 is longer than a U1700, but has the same wheelbase (of 3250mm). But then you also get some with slashes, so a U1700/38 has a 3850mm wheelbase

Very confusing for a beginner like me.

And it is even more worse than you think...
Example:
406 Agrar Version(Farm) Topspeed 80km/h
406 Forst Version same engine 53km/h

Then all the options with better top speed (different axle ratio) for emergency vehicles. Or 1700, with 2450 engine, or with WSK ( torque convertor), or, or,......