2005 Unimog U500 - GXV's Original Camper

[DLippke]

Update: This vehicle has been sold. See last post for details / comments. Thanks all.

After several intense years of full time adventure travel, we're rolling to a stop and have decided to sell our GXV Unimog camper.

Details and pictures can all be found at UnimogXRV.com but the short summary is that this is GXV's original beastly-tough camper integrated with a 2005 Unimog U500 -- all in excellent condition and with less than 39K miles on the truck. The vehicle is currently located in San Diego with an asking price of $185,000 USD.

In the market or not, I'd appreciate any feedback or questions that anyone might have.

Thanks much, David

 

[ExpoMike]

Too all, I saw this rig in person and it is beyond AWESOME!!! If I had the funds, this would be my dream rig. It is very well thought out, has all the right parts and is very well built. Good luck David on the sale and congrats to whomever picks up this great rig!

 

[BrianV]

Amazing rig! The only problem is affording it. :Wow1:
Does it get by the whole CARB 2013 diesel emissions issue due to being registered as an RV?

 

[DLippke]

This vehicle is registered in South Dakota and so it is no issue for me, however, this is my understanding -- privately-used RVs are excepted on page two of the final regulation order and are defined on page ten. /David

...
Does it get by the whole CARB 2013 diesel emissions issue due to being registered as an RV?

 

[basil1]

Question about mileage

We are in awe of your beautiful vehicle. Can we ask what kind of mileage you get?

 

[Ron Mexico]

We are in awe of your beautiful vehicle. Can we ask what kind of mileage you get?

looking at the photos in the link, Exterior #7 caption is:

"We get 7 - 7.5 mpg when towing the loaded JK with both vehicles fully loaded and 8-10 mpg without the JK."

 

[DLippke]

looking at the photos in the link, Exterior #7 caption is:

"We get 7 - 7.5 mpg when towing the loaded JK with both vehicles fully loaded and 8-10 mpg without the JK."

Good eye, Ron. Yes, when towing the large JK with 35" tires, garvin roof rack with bikes on the top, and about 500 lbs of gear in the jeep, I see between 7 and 7.5. Without the jeep but with the usual ~2-4K lbs of water, fuel, and gear, I get mostly mid 8s to mid 9s.

However, there's a complicating factor to these numbers. On any given tank full we will have used the air heater on quite a few nights, the diesel water heater on most days, and of course any cross country / unpaved stretches change the numbers dramatically depending on their nature and what you are doing. I've made no attempt to factor that out in the numbers above.

I would say that the most repeatable numbers are for the jeep towing since we only hooked that up for long distance paved travel and so the ratio of pure miles to camped nights is higher in that scenario.

 

[DLippke]

More interior pics

I received some requests for better wet bath pictures, a closer look at the wall coverings, and of the table. Those have now been uploaded. Cab pictures were also uploaded yesterday in case you were an early looker and missed them.

 

[Keyne]

Wow, that is so awesome. I really like the interior. Very nice and GLWS.

 

[mhiscox]

Thank you, David, for the excellent descriptions and photographs of your U500 expedition camper. It is a very impressive vehicle and you've done a fine job of documenting its systems and accommodations. I humbly suggest that anyone reading this thread should invest the modest time necessary to go through the full writeup and pictures David provided to see how this type of vehicle is designed and equipped.

 

[GR8ADV]

How shipable is this in a container. I have seen many threads of people doing creative things with the wheels etc. In this particular case, is there any hope of a container? Mike, will you finance and store?

 

[mhiscox]

Mike, will you finance and store?

Well, my friend, it's a little tall for the shop, garage or storage port, but I've learned never to say never, especially as I'm sure you'd provide excellent loan privileges.

As for the financing, I'll need to refer you directly to my wife, whom I'm certain will be every bit as dubious of your plans as of mine. :sombrero:

 

[Northernstar]

Not to hijack the thread just wanted to say:

HI Mike and Ken :wavey: been a while - hope all is well. Ken, sent you a PM.

 

[DLippke]

How shipable is this in a container. I have seen many threads of people doing creative things with the wheels etc. In this particular case, is there any hope of a container? ..

Not sure if you were serious, but I believe the answer is "not very". Even with creative wheel & camper removal the show-stopper appears to be the width.

My understanding of ocean container dimensions is that they are 7'8" wide at the door and interior? While the bare outside wall to wall dimension of the camper is about half inch less than this, the integral (welded) light protection sticks out another 1.5" on each side. Even with those somehow gone (e.g., rebuilt to be inset) there are the window guards and other lesser (but still too large) protuberances. And so I think the answer is, no, it couldn't be done short of some significant body work, engineering, .. and grease.

 

[DLippke]

Storage space spreadsheet and more photos

I've received requests for more photos on the exterior storage, cassette toilet, mat jacks, control console, stove, and shower. I've now added those to a separate album on the website but you can get straight to them here.

I also added my interior and exterior space spreadsheet: PDF, XLS. Negative numbers represent insets into larger spaces.

Cheers!