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Transporting milk and towing airplanes - the Unimog in a (historical) practical test

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Created on May 14, 1959

Text:

Willi Schmitz

Photos:

Daimler AG

20

Daimler AG

20

Unimog 411 (1959) - with tipper body

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Unimog 411 (1959) - with closed cab

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Unimog 411 (1959) - with closed cab, U30

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Unimog 411 (1959) - with Klaus body loader loading an LAK 321 tipper truck

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Unimog 411 (1956) - U32, with closed cab and 30 hp

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Unimog 411 (1956) - Chassis with 1720 mm wheelbase

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Unimog 411 (1956) - the good OM 636, similar to the engine of the 170 Diesel

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - driving across the Sauberg proving ground

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - View of the front axle from the front/bottom of the six-cylinder Unimog

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Demonstration of the axle articulation of the six-cylinder Unimog off-road

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - the six-cylinder M180-927 petrol engine

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Chassis of the six-cylinder Unimog

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Chassis of the Unimog S

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - off-road driving with the six-cylinder

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Hunting vehicle in French Equatorial Africa

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - with snow blower and superstructure engine for winter service

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Demonstration of the six-cylinder Unimog on the grounds

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Demonstration of the six-cylinder Unimog off-road

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Demonstration of the six-cylinder Unimog off-road

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Unimog S 404 (1958) - Drawing of the M180 petrol engine with gearbox

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Summary

The Unimog was produced from 1945, its name means "universal motorized machine" and it could be seen as a compromise between tractor, off-road vehicle and truck. But of course it could not be compared with the cars of the time, it had to be tested according to its own standards. Willi Schmitz did this in 1959 for the magazine "krafthand" and was not content with a few kilometers of test driving, but spoke to the users and tested the suitability of the vehicle for a wide variety of purposes on site. This historical test report reproduces the original wording from back then and shows the Unimog in historical pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

All-purpose vehicle
Brave diesel engine
Versatile talent
In fresh milk service
In action for the water supply
Convenient

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

I think it was more than 10 years ago - I was still in the middle of the repair and ferry business at the time - when I suspiciously circled the first Unimog I saw and thought to myself: "What might it be good for?" Well, in the meantime, this somewhat strange-looking vehicle has become a good friend. Only the question of what it might be good for is still not easy to answer today, unless you want to reduce it to the simplest denominator by saying: "For almost all transportation and work in agriculture and forestry, in municipal operations and in freight transport." Its field of work has expanded so enormously that it must be narrowed down in order to assess it properly, and so today we want to look at the Unimog in terms of its suitability outside agriculture and forestry.

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