But with CTI fitted, the guys regularly drop tyre pressure down to 55psi in the field and sometimes down to 35psi when needed. Noel did say that one of the challenges of using such a capable off-road vehicle is that when you do happen to get stuck, you really are stuck. This 430 has also been optioned with CTI (Central Tyre Inflation) to help keep the little truck afloat in the muck. Plus there’s room on the rear for all manner of tow hitches if needed. There are mounting points on the front of the truck and on each side of the chassis in between the wheels. The 400 and 500 series ‘Mogs also feature factory mounting points for implements which should keep aftermarket equipment installers away from the gas axe. The Unimog ladder chassis has been built to maintain rigidity but also to twist laterally allowing the ‘Mog to keep all of its feet on the ground in challenging off-road situations. The Mog can straddle these quite easily without decapitating valuable vegie crops. “Some of the raised horticulture beds we work on can be 50cm high,” says Squires. This means the diffs and axles are actually higher than the wheel centre and drive the wheels via a hub reduction drive. The Mercedes Benz Unimog is famous for its portal axles which provide excellent ground clearance. But even with half a load the U430 can feel the high centre of gravity as the ‘Mog rocks on its coil springs when cornering. The U430 will take a 4.5 ton payload with the spreader body on the back. This wasn’t exactly going to be challenging off-road circumstances but it certainly was going to be a good look at the work day characteristics of the sophisticated little vocational chariot. With a couple of ton of lime in the back we headed to a local equestrian centre so I could have a play in the grass. The fertile red dirt of Werribee South has long been an ideal location for growing vegetables and to date this productive patch of soil has done its best to stare down the march of urban expansion in Melbourne’s outer west. The Spreaders handle territory that encompasses roughly a 100 kilometre radius of Melbourne and the two Unimogs spend a lot of time on the road mixing it with traffic as well as churning around various, paddocks, race tracks and parks. Noel still pilots the oldest 2450 Unimog on a daily basis. ![]() The fleet now numbers three vehicles, an older 2450 Unimog, a U400 which acts as a spare and a brand new U430. And the business has seen 10 ‘Mogs in service over that period of time. Squires also happens to be the longest running commercial Unimog operator in Australia having purchased his first back in the early 1980s. The Spreaders also handles work for turf clubs and sporting grounds. Werribee South based Noel Squires owns and operates The Spreaders, a business started by his father Colin over 50 years ago.Īs the name may suggest this business specialises in spreading sand, lime, fertilizer, gypsum and other products for the agricultural sector. The first right hand drive U430 Unimog landed on Australian shores recently and we got to climb behind the wheel and take the new implement carrier for a jaunt, both on and off-road. The Mog’s history in Australia has for the most part been a military one however Daimler Australia is trying to take advantage of the extensive global toy box that the company has access to, and target niche areas where vehicles like the Unimog are a walk up start. The big beasty U4000 and U5000 Unimog is a heavier duty truck variant anyone with military experience may have fond memories of a similar truck. The U400 has been designed to enable all manner of auxiliary equipment to be mounted on its torsionally stiff yet laterally flexible frame. The Unimog range starts with the baby U400 and U500 series which cover the more mundane vocational roles that may be covered by a true implement carrier. It can even be found shunting rail wagons. ![]() However Daimler mostly just refer to the ‘Mog as an Implement Carrier which just means that there aren’t a lot of jobs, vocational or otherwise that it can’t do.įrom street sweeping to freeway verge mowing to snow ploughing to load lugging in hard-to-get-to places, the Unimog seems to have a spec for all occasions. The best clue to the true definition of the Unimog really lies in its name which is an abbreviation of the charmingly Teutonic ‘Universal-Motor-Gerät’ or Universal Motorised Working Machine. Part truck, part tractor all off-roader – the ‘Mog as it’s often affectionately called does its best to defy definition. ![]() ![]() It’s hard to find a box that the Mercedes Benz Unimog fits into.
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