UNIMOG Fuel Tank

RF2200

Member
Just thought I would share my experience replacing my OEM fuel tank on my Unimog. I have a U1200 which is in excellent condition and extremely well optioned. However, it had a very slight leak from the fuel tank. Upon inspection the leading edge of the fuel tank had some corrosion from dirt/mud sitting on top of the weld seam which extends out about 5/8 of an inch and is great for collecting debris. Not a good design. What I wanted was a tank made from a material that was as durable as the OEM tank but would not corrode and a design that had radiused corners, not the weld seams like the OEM tank.

A few calls later and I had some quotes from domestic Unimog parts suppliers in the range of $700 to $990 for the OEM tank, not including delivery. I looked into some aluminum options, but they were at least as expensive as the OEM tank, did not have radiused corners and the build quality did not look to be that great. Kept looking. I ended up buying a tank from Michos-Tank based in Greece. Seemed to be better materials, better quality construction, had the radiused corners and was supposed to be a direct replacement for the OEM tank and reused the OEM straps and fuel sender. Kind of a risk because I was not going through a parts vendor and I had never seen one of their tanks before. Price was 566,42 Euro shipped to my door. Tank arrived at my door two weeks after sending payment via PayPal, I think you could use a credit card or other payment but I like PayPal for international transactions.

Removing the OEM tank was relatively painless. Just drain, remove fuel sender, remove straps, remove tank. Then reverse for installing the new one. Taking the straps off proved to be kind of a pain in the *** since they had not been touched since the truck was manufactured back in 1986 but I got it done. To mount the new tank I put the front strap on while the tank was on the ground. This can be done because there is a bolt that holds a pivoting mount for the front strap. So to take the tank off you actually only need to remove the rear strap and the bolt where the front mount pivots. Getting to the point, the new tank fit without issue and I would say I am very happy with the purchase. And I did all of the install by myself with no help and with basic hand tools in about 4 hours including cleaning and repainting all of the tank mounts and straps. Actually, I had an impact wrench but you could have done it with a ratchet.

I know Michos-Tank makes direct replacement tanks for most if not all the OEM Unimog units, but I think they can make custom extended range tanks as well, but you would have to send them an email to ask.
 
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stefanos73

New member
aluminum fuel tank for U1300L

Dear Mr. Matthew,

Thank you very much for your post.
I would like to inform you that we can product aluminum fuel tanks for Unimog U1300L.
I will post some photoes.

Thank you again.

Best regards
Stefanos Michos20151119_121337.jpg20151119_082134.jpg20151119_121348.jpg
 

sson11

New member
Unimog U1300L Fuel Tank by A.Michos & Son O.E.

I ordered the tank for my U1300L from A. Michos & Son O.E. on Dec. 14, 2015. It arrived on Dec. 23, 2015. The tank measures 41 inches in length.
The box that contains lockable fuel cap and keys came with the tank, too. The cap is of very high quality. It looks very durable and should last a long time. =)
The tank is very well constructed and the workmanship manifests great skills by A.Michos & Son O.E.
The price I paid matches well with the tank I got. I am definitely a happy customer!
 

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Oran Davis

New member
My recent experience with Michos Unimog 1300L gas tank

I needed a new gas tank for my 435-115 as an earlier owner's repair of the original military gas tank was falling apart and a leak under the support arm was developing.
I found the reference to Michos on this web site and the Internet was a great resource for making contact.
I'll spare the pictures of the packaged tank as they are identical to what is on the site and try and summarize as best I can.

Pros:
Extremely good communication with Mr. Stefanos Michos info@michos-tank.com
PDF of the CAD drawing was supplied via email
Reasonable price including a gas cap and shipment quoted at under $900
I also chose a new sender pickup unit for a reasonable price under $100
Shipping via Greek and US post service included tracking
Impressive build quality and fit and finish of the gas tank when it arrived
Identical fit to the original tanks with all the curves and height being identical

Cons:
Shipping via USPS of large packages is prone to abuse, they managed to break the high quality gas cap as it is the only thing that sticks out a little. Michos replaced it immediately with new.
Once the unit arrives in the USA the USPS tracking is marginal at best.
New tank does not have the filler neck fitment for the metal military collar that holds the strainer. Strainer sits OK in the filler flange.
New supplied pickup and sender unit gas line hookup angles was not identical to old unit costing me a whole day's work to reroute.
I ordered replacement stainless steel tank straps and rubber sleeves and they were exceedingly difficult to bend and mount on the truck. Stay with stock.

Overall after a few thousand miles now with the new tank I'm happy how well it cleans up from grime and mud and they way it looks.
Below is the mounted tank in the wild:
IMG_3684.JPG
 
new tank U1300L

I have a BW U1300L Ambulance and needed an extra tank.
Via this thread I found Michos Tank Manufacturing. The contact was perfect, I just needed to explain my model and the tank with level sender installed was delivered completely bubble wrapped in perfect condition.
Installed the tank this weekend without any problem, fitted perfectly in the old tank console. Just needed to adjust the width of the diesel retour tubing as the diameters are not the same on the Michos tank and the Unimog tank.
Still have to figure out how to connect my diesel meter....
 

Jostt

Adventurer
In My case I bought two units and Im very Happy whit the quality, the ship and specially all the Atention I recibe from michos, I Hope they expand his bussines all over the world, very good quality-price ratio
IMG_20170912_203704.jpg
 

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