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Unimog U1300L Expedition Camper
 

In 2002, my search for a Unimog ex military vehicle or "gebrauchtwagen" came to an end. After many visits at the Bach sale & export website, the Unicat fahrzeugbau GmbH website and may other sites I did find my Unimog at the mobile.de website. (By the way: I also own a swiss Unimog 404 S with radiobox and recently acquired a german Unimog 416 firetruck with fast axles and the 125HP engine!!)

  

The U1300L originally was a military fire truck and since 2003, I am converting it into my own Unicat expedition camper. My plans are to use the Unimog as a Funmog for off-road driving and for overland offroad travel, i.e. on tracks like Paris Dakar.


Why the Mercedes Benz Unimog U1300L?

I have converted my U1300L into a Unicat for overland expedions within Europe and to other continents. Overlanding enables me to visit and camp at remote spots completely inaccessible to travellers using conventional 4x4 transport. My decision in favour of the Unimog is based on the following characteristics:

1. Off-road flexility:

Unicat Farhzeugbau in Germany notes at their website that the Unimog possesses unsurpassed cross-country ability due to distinct features provided by a flexible chassis frame, low-pressure tyres, four-wheel-drive and axle differential locks that can be engaged and disengaged whilst on the move. Portal axles provide ground clearance that give the Unimog a tremendous advantage off-road because all chassis components susceptible to damage in rough terrain are well out of harm's way. According to Unicat, it gets through virtually anything without getting stuck. And if it gets stuck, a chassis frame mounted 5 ton hydraulic cable winch (front and back usage) stands by for rescue.

2. Reliability:

Engineered and built by Mercedes-Benz to undeniably high standards, the Unimog concept offers mechanical reliability unknown to its competitors. Provided that simple routine maintenance is carried out, the specifications of the Unimog 1300L encourage safe and reliable daily operation in areas far from civilization. And it is looked after by a reliable MB service network: replacement parts are readily available and can be shipped if necessary to anywhere in the world.

3. Dimensions, weight and load capacity:

The lenght of my ex-firetruck is approx. 6000 mm including the sparewheel rack on the backside. With temporarely storage of the sparewheel in the camper body, lenght is reduced to approx. 5400 mm. Thereby, our expedition camper falls within the standard camper fees and rates on payroads, ferry's etc. Height of the ex-firetruck is kept relatively low at 2850 mm, due to the custom-made hydraulic roof. If necessary, vehicle height can be further reduced by using the tire pressure regulating system. Standard width of a Unimog U1300L is 2320 mm, however widht of my truck is 2420 mm due to the firetruck body.
For every expedition camper, sufficient load capacity is important. The empty weight of my Unimog 1300L ex-firetruck is approx. 6000 kg. With a GVWR of 7500 kg, there is 1500 kg left for food and water supplies, extra fuel, spare parts storage and camping equipment.

4. Tough, secure and comfortable camper body construction:

The camper body is a converted heavy duty aluminium Wackenhut firetruck storage compartiment, built to the highest construction standards. The internal measures of the body (lenght 3100 mm and width 2300 mm) provide enough living space and basic comfort for a 3 month travel period.
Main problems when converting the body were the original height of 1600 mm, the insulation of the heay duty aluminium roll-down shutters and footboards and enhancing anti-theft security. The height problem is solved by mounting a custom-made hydraulic roof, which extends the standing height in the body to 2100 mm. Construction of internal walls behind the aluminium shutters and footboards solved the insulation and safety problems, without weakening the body construction. And with the shutters down, my camper still looks like a cargo truck instead of an expensive offroad vehicle.

5. Off-road range > 1000 km:

The Unimog truck has two diesel tanks for 125 liters each with an automated fuel pump. Due to the additional gear splitter, fuel consumption on-road is reduced by 20% to approx. 15L per 100km and driving range is approx. 1500 km. For sufficient (and safe) driving range off-road, carrying extra fuel in jerrycans is absolutely neccessary. Our Unimog 1300L provides sufficient outside storage for 20L jerrycans.

6. Other considerations:

And last but not least, driving a Unimog is fun!!