Wannabe Unimog owner

[oilerfish]

Have been considering one of these for a couple of years and have finally found one locally that i can afford.
The plan is to build a camper out of it... eventually..
What do all of you Unimog experts think, is this a good deal and is it a good platform for a camper?
Its a 1983 1300L with fast axles, one owner with 23 k kms on the clock. No rust at all anywhere. Has been used by one fire department up till 6 months ago with full service history.
I realise that these are a bit rare but how rare are they and would it be easy to sell on if i find that its not for me (After playing with it fro a year or two. The asking price is is the equivalent of about $US 37 k..
Any and all answers appreciated.

 

[charlieaarons]

The Doka arrangement severely limits the length of a camper. Additionally, usually a U1300 has a rear axle rating of 4000kg, or 4400kg at most. With the rearward bias of a camper with the Doka, the rear axle would be overloaded. Check the axle ratings.
If I were to seek an older Mog for a camper, i would look for a single cab, longest wheelbase (3.7-3.85m), at least U 1550L/37; preferable a U2450L/38. Because of weight issues with campers.
"Fast axles" from U1550 down are 5.31; up from there, 6.38. A Claas overdrive and tall tires are desirable for highway speeds.
The fire wagon does have 5.31 gears. Even that without the overdrive and with 365/80R20s (14.5R20s) only gets you ~91kph@2400rpm, or a cruise of 83 kph @ a bit less than 2200.
If rust free it is a good price. And fire trucks are usually very well maintained. Older not well maintained Mogs WILL have portal gear/bearing problems. Does it have an air drier?
Welcome to Expo.

Charlie

 

[oilerfish]

Charlie
Thanks a lot for the answers. Won't be needing much more speed than 80 kph so not to worried about that one. i live in Norway and most of my adventures will be off highway stuff. As you indicate bigger tires and an overdrive could be an option in the future if needed.
Will bigger tires alone help much and if installed can they have any effect on reliability?
The weight issue however is a bigger nut. For now any Camper that I build (or have someone else build..) will be pretty rudimentary.
Thinking of a fairly light camper on the back and a rooftop tent on the top of the cab.
Plan is to have more than 2 or 3 people traveling so a five seater is necessary.
As for the air dryer, not sure if it does. Is this an intake air dryer?
Sorry for my ignorance, but not really read up yet on the intricacies of this beast.
Thanks!
Robby

 

[charlieaarons]

The air drier is part of the brake system (optionally). It keeps all the air tanks, lines and valves clean, if maintained with element changes. Older Mogs without it tend to have lots of "gunk" built up in the air system.
Tires up to 365/80R20 are optional with the 1300.
www.hellgeth.de can tell you what size tires it can tolerate; they will ask you the chassis number to figure which axles it has.
They have put tires as big as 475/80R20 XML on 1300s; probably lightly loaded however. Great for offroad; only thing better is XM47s but they are not so good on the highway...

Charlie

 

[oilerfish]

Yes i think it does have a dryer, is this located just behind the stock gas tanks on the right hand side?

 

[charlieaarons]

It looks like a big screw-on filter unit with air lines and electricity going to it.

Charlie

 

[mogwildRW1]

That's a pretty high asking price, depending on options (Fast axles, OM352 or OM352a turbo?, hydraulics, working/crawling gears, ect), but depending on where you are of course, mogs in certain area's demand more than in others.

Charlies right the older 3 piece axles have a drivers side hub oil migration issue, but there is a fix. A gentleman sells a breather replacement that fixes the issue. The portal bearings in the older trucks (like mine, a 1988) also usually have ball bearings, the newer replacement bearings are roller bearings, and much better and more reliable.

IF you can get the VIN from the seller, PM it to me, and I'll put it in the EPC, if the truck shows up, I can send you the list of options that it was originally equipt with, things like the air dryer, axle ratio, ect.

 

[oilerfish]

Thanks guys for the info, have just spoken to the owner and he will forward me the VIN number later today.
Are roller bearings a direct swap for the ball bearings or are there any mods necessary to allow fitment?
There is no air dryer on the truck. Has been in a heated garage all of its life and all services done at a mog specialist (I think..)
Just waiting to get my hands on the service book later today to see what has been done in the last few years, have been told that there is a pile of info.
Thanks,
Robby

 

[mogwildRW1]

Ok I have the data card, I sent you a PM, send me your email address and I'll email it to you.

Here it is copy'd and pasted

Identification number: WDB435117XXXXXXXXX(hidden for safety)

Datacard
Identification number: WDB435117XXXXXXXX
Chassis
Sales designation: U1300L
Order number: 3 2 555 00009
Paint code 1: 3000
Paint code 3: /
Paint code 4: /
Paint code 5: /
Engine no.: 353959 10 735128
Transmission: 717901 10 025372
Steering: 765601 10 002244
Cab: 425825 10 000016
Transfer case: 10
Front axle 1: 737111 10 0008514
Rear axle 1: 747113 10 0008514
SA code 3000 / /
SA numbers
Code B28
B28 035966/01
Code B71
B71 035822/06
Code C07
C07 036056/01 C07 053958/03
Code C25
C25 035633/02
Code C27
C27 035772/04
Code C28
C28 035772/05
Identification number: WDB435117XXXX

Code D10
D10 035753/05
Code D35
D35 035371/12
Code D65
D65 035587/05
Code E15
E15 035475/06 E15 053984/02
Code F07
F07 036056/01 F07 036099/04 F07 042582/5
Code F46
F46 053493/01
Code F82
F82 053980/01
Code G75
G75 035985/01
Code G79
G79 036048/03 G79 036083/05 G79 036143/01
Code J32
J32 035775/01
Code J66
J66 053480/01
Code K11
K11 035754/05 K11 035759/01 K11 035847/03 K11 035920/05
Code K71
K71 036077/01
Code L12
L12 035693/05
Code L20
L20 035876/01
Code L30
L30 035770/01
Code M03
M03 036019/03
Code M22
M22 035810/01 M22 053499/01 M22 082773/12 M22 082928/05 M22 083069/04
Code M65
M65 053472/01
Code N17
N17 035925/10 N17 035957/01 N17 036083/05
Code Q35
Q35 035984/01
Identification number: WDB435117XXXXXXX

Code S26
S26 035962/01 S26 053473/03
Code S35
S35 035965/01 S35 053484/01
Code S45
S45 053485/01
Code T24
T24 035817/08
Code X39
X39 035956/03
Code Y64
Y64 035437/02
Code Z98
Z98 035760/02 Z98 053953/01 Z98 353959/ Z98 425825/ Z98 435117/
Z98 435117/12 Z98 717901/ Z98 737111/ Z98 747113/ Z98 765601/
Other
Rims: SUEDRAD
Lamps: HELLA/
Wipers: SWF 083282
Heater: SOFICA
Body: 2

So now you need to go to http://www.rockymountainmoggers.com/unimogoptioncodes.html and start cross referencing the codes, not all of them will be on there, but it will give you an idea of some of the options.

 

[mogwildRW1]

According the the EPC, that truck has regular axles (22:7 ring and pinion)

As a comparison my 1988 U1300L RW1 rescue truck has fast axles, with a ratio of 23:9 My top speeds are as follows:

8th gear @ 2400 RPM, 42" Tires = 86km/h
8th gear w/22% claas overdrive @ 2400rpm = 107-109km/h, depending on head wind

 

[charlieaarons]

It looks like I was wrong, the fire truck has no "A" code for fast axles, so it has 6.53s.
That's a cruise speed of 75kph@2200 with 365/80R20s. Is that fast enough? 395/85R20 will get you 8% up to 81 kph cruise. Claas OD will get another 22%.

Charlie

 

[mogwildRW1]

That's pretty rare for a fire truck not to be equipt with fast axles, but as with everything Unimog, there are no standards. Everything was an option, and any configuration could have been ordered. Perhaps it was a small municipality order so it was never intended to get much over 80km/h anyway. Europe is very different from here, most large trucks are restricted to 80km/h by law, however emergency vehicles are obviously exempt. If you could I'd love to see more pictures of the beast, post them up here or via email.

-Trev

 

[grizzlyj]

Europe is very different from here, most large trucks are restricted to 80km/h by law

-Trev

It varies a bit.

In fact the speed limit in the UK is 60mph, but EU law says they must be limited to 56mph over 7.5 tons.

For instance, comparative info;

http://www.man-truckers-world.co.uk/en/CURRENT/Service/Speed_limits_in_Europe_.jsp


365s when I had a light turbo 1300l were fine. Unless you had big flat areas to drive around in, so could maintain 90, I wouldn't think bigger HP eating tyres will be worth it?

I agree with Charlie that weight will be an issue, but the alternative to getting a bigger Mog is as you say going lighter if you can. I believe Norway has a few hills? Weight will hurt there too. Mogs have many gears to allow them up and over anything using sufficient, not surplus, power. In the Alps and Scotland I've travelled for 9kph up an entire valley! My current Mog may have something approaching 200Hp, 9500kg, a big camper box, 395's and its very slightly faster than the 1300 was. Getting to 90 takes quite a while

One other thing might be the actual dimensions you end up with? One reason putting me off visiting Norway in our camper is the hike in tollroad prices over certain lengths and heights? Or is it not as bad as I've been led to believe?

Happy travels

 

[sojourner]

You might find this interesting.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=735762

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[gbreden]

I am also a novice and still looking but I would be interested in advice.

I am also looking at the Doka configuration as we are a family of 4 and we have decided to compromise on the box in order to have more time together in the cabin. However the weight challenge has kept me away from the 1300's and U100 and looking more towards the 1550, 1750 or 2150. This configuration with turbo and inter cooler (standard or added) should give enough power and allow for a box with a max length of 3 meters in length (allowing for the 60% over hang at the back).

But I have searches out all over Europe and they are very rare - So if anybody spots one I would be very interested in hearing from you!

Kind regards

Gerard