The Search for Babe.
Having decided the unimog fast tractor concept offered the best base for my dream
forest tractor I searched Google for available machines.
This revealed the extent of the unimog range but also a surprising scarcity of used
machines & even worse the price tags attached to what were often wrecks. The
oldest “frog face” machines were clearly antique collectables, next came the little
411s like the sprayer I had driven as a teenager, these had drop down windscreens
& were light & nimble but with only 30hp & no synchromesh I knew they were too old
& too small for me,
Yes officer, It’s a 30hp tractor & it has air brakes on all wheels
Right a “ frogface” lovingly restored, unimogs don’t change, just grow over time.
Next came the bombproof 406 & bigger u900 models. Check uTube to see what
people do with these things. Most have disappeared into the mountainous forests of
Eastern Europe for a life of extreme hardship.
Transylvanian dream machine
Oh all right!!, some 406s have it easy.
My best prospects lay with the 1000 series, having engine power from100-200hp &
net weights from 4.5 tonnes upwards, these are the last of the all mechanical
Unimogs. They are still in “relative” abundance with spare parts still available.
There are bigger machines than these, eventually ranging up to full blown 6 wheel
drive artic lorrys of interest to the industrial scale woodchip harvesting & silage
operators of the future.
A zetros silage mama. The zetros & arctros (below) are not strictly unimogs but can
be specified for Agriculture/forestry with reduction gearboxes, hydraulic spools, link
arms & power take offs. Note the matching trailer wheels & chevron tyres all round.
MAN also make a similar truck derived tractor. It is the woodchip future.
There is also a sprinkling of smaller high tech models for special applications & of
course 3 ranges of true Unimogs are still made today but only for lottery winners.
A modern u300 series unimog road/rail locomotive, will one day be re-converted .
So Where does one find used unimogs for sale? Rossetts our local Mercedes dealer
occasionally repair unimogs for EDF & sell to NGOs & lottery winners.
“Aggraffaires” is the best online market, it features dozens of private sale & dealer
offers. It would be possible for an enterprising Unimog expert to track down a relative
bargain, most likely in France where large numbers of unimogs are used by utilities
for snow clearing, as fire engines etc. Some of these machines have long
wheelbases & fast ratio axles which would need extensive conversion work.
Occasionally German army u1300s are released with low mileages & rust free cabs.
These machines are essentially lorrys though, without low ratio gears , hydraulics etc.
Agrifying an ex utility mog is of course possible as all the goodys you ever dreamt of
just swap over & bolt on like giant Meccano. Occasionally fools buy ag spec unimogs
for overland expeditions & sell unwanted parts on ebay otherwise specialist dealers
have salvaged parts at handsome prices.
A steady trickle of continental machines & attachments make their way to the UK via
web based sales. The typical way continental trailers attach differently to tractors
must be factored into any decision to import. A used UK pickup hitch can cost £2k!
Most agri spec Unimogs were sold in Germany, Benelux, Denmark & Austria. Older
u406 era unimogs with agricultural spec were sold in North America as Case tractors.
Most Ag spec Unimogs in UK are now operated by tree surgeons who are invariably
hard on them & these wrecks are periodically traded for machines overhauled by
specialist firms.
A typical ex French council u1500 (150hp) the smallest Unimog with 7t axles,& large
diameter wheels. It has 24volt electrics & is physically taller & wider of track than the
smaller u1000-u1400 models (100-140hp) which share the same cab & many parts.
This machine has a front pto, sticking out of the bumper,4 sets front hydraulic spool
valves (coloured nozzles above the headlights) these correspond with colour coded
levers in the cab. This machine has a DIN plate in place of front links. Attachments
hook on, typically snow ploughs, verge mowers, hedge cutters, front loaders etc etc.
This machine has bi-directional tyres, common on council & military unimogs.
Several tread patterns & speed rated tyre options are available to fit unimog rims
All thousand series unimogs have the same basic cab shape & chassis design. Most
have vertical exhaust stacks which are fixed to the cab door pillar. The pipe from the
silencer is not sealed where it meets the stack because the cab moves
independently of the engine, transmission, load tray & chassis. Each of these
components is attached to the bendy spring steel chassis in 3 positions by a rubber
mounting which allows it to move independently of the others as the chassis bends
while crossing uneven terrain, this feature contributes 15 degrees of the 35 degrees
of axle articulation. This feature is only found on thousand series models & is an
important part of the unimog’s off-road capability.
At left A u1700 multitasking, big wheels & 7 tonne axles, at right a u1400 with 4
tonne axles. Notice the tailgates are removed together with a triangular section of the
load deck to improve implement visibility & headstock clearance for mounted
implements. The yellow machine has a transport box on the front links, presumably
full of weight to balance the plough. Raising heavy ploughs etc is a wobbly
undertaking with all tractors but with coil spring suspension unimogs wobble &
wallow much more. For regular draftwork Unimogs can be equipped with a load
sensing attachment to raise & lower implements automatically like normal tractors.
Their small wheel diameter puts them at a tractive disadvantage compared to
conventional tractors & the suspension wastes energy so they are an inefficient
choice for draft operations.
This u406 above has been set up much as we want to operate our dream machine.
The trailer is a special unimog compatible hi speed crane trailer with the bogie
further forward than usual to prevent the tractor “speedboating” under braking
conditions. It has fast tow tyres, suspension & air brakes This machine has a Werner
winch mounted on a skidding blade attached to a DIN plate on the front of the
unimog We would prefer a regular front linkage able to operate regular radio
command 7 tonne winch or a flail mulcher
Rear view of an older series u406 shows link arms & pto centralising gearbox
necessary on older mogs to present the pto in a lower central position below the
continental rockinger trailer hitch. Note the platform mounting balls sticking out
above the mudguards. The tipping load platform rests & pivots on these. Many
demountable attachments can be fitted to the mounting balls, tanks, box bodys,
cabins, 360 excavators, cranes etc All ag unimog models have similar rear ends.
There are 3 official Mercedes approved unimog specialists in the UK,
AC Price ltd in North Yorkshire leads the pack, they are a general forestry machinery
dealer, South Cave Tractors at Hull modify Unimogs for crop-spraying & other big
farm applications Ibbetts at Cambridge also serve the arable farming market & also
deal in MB tracs, a true Mercedes tractor no longer made. These agents all have a
few used machines, mostly POA (means out of reach).
Three unofficial dealers also cater for unimogs, Park agri in Essex is our nearest
source but appears in decline. Westfield 4x4 is quick & attentive & specialises in
parts for older models.
The other Atkinson Vos near Lancaster always has plenty of used machines & a
great website offering attachments, overhaul services & workshops able to modify
machines for any purpose. This firm offers the nearest thing to a one stop unimog
centre, & trades internationally. “AV” as it is known by “mog” people is keen,
attentive & an efficiently run family business. They try to cover all the bases but have
a gamy reputation.
I took to running through their stock list from time to time & eventually made the first
of 3 pilgrimages up north to AV .
Like any second hand car place the secretary offered coffee while we waited for
someone to see us. Frank Atkinson the semi -retired company founder & a veteran
overland explorer himself ran my son & I through our options, what sort of money did
I have?.... He was derogatory but there were a few machines he could show me. I
was shocked at the level of rust & general dilapidation but we had a ride in a high
spec machine which was just sold for a no VAT 15k awaiting the deposit. We
climbed up into the cab & after a groggy start it warmed up & tripped along better
than expected. It seemed a deal & no vat. Other machines lacked the spec we
sought & the cost of adding the spec always pushed the cost to 18-20k for what I still
believed to be worn out wrecks VAT was usually a hindrance.
I spoke with the official dealers & found that POA really did mean out of reach but
agreed to view a 140hp u1400 at Hull. This machine was a right hand drive one
owner machine used to spray strawberrys, its easy life & annual dealer service
showed, It drove like a dream, quiet, powerful, & sure footed., it even had a radio CD
player which you could hear above the din & aircon . The dealer wouldn’t drop
below 20k+vat, furthermore it needed a pickup hitch, new tyres & some other bits
putting the finished price at 27k but it was in great condition so I considered finance
over 3 years, it would be tough but worthwhile remembering the 19 years my David
Brown had done for me.
22 years of good-boy behaviour with my existing bank suggested I should ask them
since asset finance is not available on vehicles or machinery over 15 years old.
I listened to tasteless music on hold & was occasionally lucky enough to be
patronised by some quick talking yuppie in a call centre. I could sense their irritation
at being interrupted from some international arms deal to talk with a no-hope waster.
I got the chance to divulge lots of unimpressive financial information & I filled out
forms & spreadsheets which all convinced the coke heads that I was a no account
waster whose hopeless business & history of valueless struggle could never make
the re-payments. Everything seemed viable to me so I kept asking them to reconsider. It was pointless of course, how many times did I need to be told. I tried
others & to be honest some sounded interested & said no nicely but the rejections
reminded me of job applications as a school leaver.
Time passed & new stock arrived at AV so we took another M6 trip. 2 machines
deserved a look, a red machine had been “partially restored” & had some spec. It
started easily but wouldn’t accelerate, it chucked out lots of odd smelling smoke. The
floor consisted of loose pieces of metal, like movable crazy paving. We agreed to try
the yellow machine instead, loaded with spec it was only 15k but had a seriously
rusty cab. We got in & as the driver took us off I could watch the wheels going round
through holes in the floor, others in the roof & walls allowed in plenty of air so the
broken window winders didn’t seem to matter, or so I thought. It drove well with a
nice gearbox & responsive engine, a replacement cab off a NATO Mog would only
cost 4.5k the mechanic offered helpfully. We pulled over to a layby & my son Hugh
took over.
Hugh set off up the hill through real Wallace & Grommit country & I began to think of
crazy paving the floor & how much welding we’d have to do to it when smoke began
billowing from the instrument panel in front of the steering wheel, obscuring the road
ahead & filling the cab, Hugh pulled over & we struggled with the stubs of window
winder & door catches, on the passenger side the catch was missing, On the driver’s
side, Hugh didn’t realise the golfball impaled on a piece of fence wire was actually a
“designer” door release, so the first to escape was the mechanic who managed to
open his window & reach the handle outside. He jumped out & wrenched at the
battery terminals which were all too accessible through the broken plastic battery box.
Don’t stop the engine he yelled as the smoke cleared. We waved the waiting traffic
past & the mechanic drove it back, using hand signals.
Thinking this fiasco might get me a hefty discount I probed the salesman when we
got back only to hear he would take it off the market & they would do it up in the
workshops with a newly sprayed cab & accessories, He explained that Unimogs
don’t die, they get dismembered into their constituent parts which retain a high value
& other people buy the bits to fit their own machines. Sure enough it disappeared
from their listings although the red machine still lingered for a while.
We headed South on the M6 feeling the only way forward would be to earn more
money, I would need to become a heartless bank predator, leveraging eye watering
deals from desperate bankers. I would shaft them into paying over the odds for
things I decided they would need. I could muck them about, perhaps improve their
music appreciation by leaving them on hold listening to punk & reggae, then I would
invite them to make pointless applications & disclose statistics I could laugh at,
maybe even pick a shortlist of victims & tell the rest casually that I had high
standards & they were just too slimy to bother with. By the time we reached the best
bit of England however I was considering a business efficiency drive instead.
One evening after invoicing nice people for the usual small change, I logged onto
search for unimogs to see one on ebay, you could buy it now for 12k+VAT, it had all
the spec I wanted & it was only in Ashford. We scanned the pictures & reread the
spec several times.
Unable to believe our luck we asked for more details & a test drive. Nothing
happened, it could be a scam, there are loads around, but I didn’t want this
opportunity to get away from us in a last minute bidding spree so I decided to buy
now but pay in person if a test-drive revealed a sound machine as stated. We
pressed buy it now. Ebay said it was mine
The Vendor was a beefy fencing contractor who dismissed our worries about the
smoky engine & rattly gearbox. Hugh had the first spin & I watched it tear away up
the road with a 9 foot mounted topper on the back leaving a cloud of white smoke.
Eventually squealing brakes announced the machines return, my turn, I listened to
the clanking of the gearbox & observed the vendors driving style, he crouched over
the steering & despite this being a tractor managed to tailgate the traffic in front,
chucking it around bends as he shouted useful bits of information above the roar of
mechanical mayhem below our seats. He had clearly spent lots of money on the
machine but hard use had worn other bits, eventually he had bought a big Valtra
tractor & needed to sell the “Mog” because he couldn’t get finance for some
attachment he wanted to buy at the forthcoming APF event. I empathised with his
story & felt in a world of dirt-bags at least I should stick to my word so I wrote him a
cheque for more than I had but relying on the extra money my Dad & partner had
offered to lend me. We would return with a cash balance the next week to drive it
home, only 34 miles but a whole gripping story to start the next instalment….Getting
to know Babe
Our 1983 model u1000 Ag spec unimog as bought with the sturdy steel chipbody
attached. The black attachment on the front bumper is a “one off” front linkage which
operates on the forklift principle. Nothing we had fitted it so I sold it within hours on
ebay Our machine has 4 tonne axles & small wide wheels from an older u900 The
recon engine fitted came from a u1500 & allegedly gives 154hp The tractor should
cruise at 50mph.