Please be objective, please

[steveInMaryland]

I am thinking of selling my L35 and buying one of these:

http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_see_tractor.php

It will probably never leave the farm and is twice as powerful on all fronts. Actually it is 110 hp. They can be had for about the value of the L35 and they have a fully heated cab etc. If it had AC I would not have asked this question.

They are not small or light, 16K actually but seem extremely capable. I do find the L35 too small for some of the stumps I pull up on this horse farm. I can get them out of the ground but I can't pick them up and put them on a trailer.

Just kicking the idea around at the moment.

Semper Fi

 

[Daren Todd]

Those things are fun!!!!!! Got a chance to operate one years ago. Between the Three speed gear case, the high low air shifter, and a 4 speed transmission, you have plenty of gear selection from super super slow, to speeds of 60 mph. And running across a gravel pits and running that loader into something Well it was a fun time back hoe on the back is pretty capable as well

Don't know if I would replace the kubota though. But if I could swing both, I would in a second

 

[Bulldog]

They make about everything for those but I don't know how available they are in the states.

 

[steveInMaryland]

They are apparently fairly available. The Army bought 50,000+ and the Marines another 14,000+. They have all been refurbished around 2004 ish and have current miles under 2000. The services are moving onto something else.

If you don't recognize what these are, they are Unimog 406's re-branded as Freightliner's because of the buy America act. I only mention this for those that don't know what they are. Folk's that have responded so far definitely do.

If you try to find a Unimog 406 with nothing on it they are running in the 40-50K$ range.

I never saw one of these when I was in. Dang it.

Semper Fi

 

[Daren Todd]

Back in high school, the ag department of the vocational center did a day with the National gaurd playing with there heavy equipment, complete with an MRE for lunch I think the one I ran was built by Mercedes Benz. Had a fold up back hoe on the back and the bucket with dentures on the front. One I ran was the old school 4 sticker for the bucket and dipper controls on the back. Had two sticks in the cab for front bucket controls plus a passenger seat. Going down a road over grown with one inch saplings with the front bucket was a blast. Was doing about 20 down the road just plowing through everything

 

[skeets]

I second if you can get it with out selling the L go for it,,, hell go it anyway,, man could I get in to trouble with that little beasty!!!

 

[BWXT]

Well, the 'Mog was developed by the Germans to replace/combine the medium truck and the tractor. Unimog is an abbreviation for universal tractor or something like that. Anyway, incredibly capable all around. Never run one, but I've seen them in action. Always thought they were incredibly expensive, especially decked-out with all kinds of attachments. If you don't have space limitations Id say go for it. Worse case: It doesn't work as well as you thought, so you sell it and buy a tractor again.

 

[Lil Foot]

It would be a long drive, but:
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/5828477814.html

 

[steveInMaryland]

I have a source in Indiana that has several. Thank you though. Ah, see; now others are researching these crazy awesome machines. That's all good.

So here is a definition of a Unimog: In German it means "UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät", Gerät being the German word for device (also in the sense of machine, instrument, gear, apparatus)

Semper Fi

 

[Lil Foot]

Just to satisfy my own curiosity, how does the Phoenix price compare to the Indiana prices?

 

[steveInMaryland]

Pretty much real close. However the shipping charges would be drastically different and from Indiana I suppose I could actually fly out and get it.

I am also watching the site they are getting them from. Currently out of stock but more will come.

So the L35 has all new tires, R4 rear, AG front, new hydraulic hoses end to end, most cylinders have been rebuilt, and has 24 inch and 12 backhoe bucket, a rebuilt and enlarged loader bucket and led light bars front and rear. It also has the 3 point hitch with top and tilt. Truly an awesome machine but maybe something bigger would be better.

Any bites?

 

[100 td]

If you have the use for one, go for it, twice the breakout force and lift capacity, twice breakout for hoe, portal axles, locked up, if you can bog it and can't get out, you really have made a mess! Just buy it, you'll love the power!
Operator/tech manual for those who haven't seen it.
http://www.rockymountainmoggers.com/pdf/TM5-2420-224-10.pdf

 

[D2Cat]

Book says it's a 6 cyl. direct injected engine.

In cold weather:

Cold Start Switch (5). Injects a metered amount of ether into the engine to aid in cold weather starting. (Refer to
page 2-74 for operation.)

When you have a motorpool open 24 hours a day with unlimited tax dollars to keep things going, and unlimited work force you can get away with doing things others can't afford.

 

[Treckerzeug]

Well, the 'Mog was developed by the Germans to replace/combine the medium truck and the tractor. Unimog is an abbreviation for universal motor gerät...

It is a high speed 4wd tractor, developped end of the forties,
I had borrowed a 406 from a cousin long time ago,
It has a 5,6 in line six cylinder direct injection diesel engine OM 356.
You have a 4wd drive with four small wheels, in mud or on soft ground it is by far giving less traction then a tractor,
To make a U turn you need double the space.

You have poor visibility to the front, as you don t see the front wheels and to the rear.
Get in and out of the cab five to ten times in a row, you see how inconvenient it is.
A modern front wheel assisted drive tractor does 40-50 km/h max road speed too, it has a suspension for the front axle and for the cab,
The axle suspension is blockable for loader work to get an even surface when levelling/grading,
The unimog has two planetary axles with helicoidal springs, moving up and down all the time,
I'm not sure if the 406 has already the same mix of hydraulic and pneumatic elements in the brake system as the later ones, e.g U1200, if so,
It would be a nightmare if you would have to work on the brakes.

Just my 2 cents worth experience of the unimog...
Regards

Robert

 

[MadMax31]

Where deployed, the SEE was a scarce item and heavily employed. In overseas areas, a few hours of SEE operations could often be bartered for local commodities, labor or services. However, the SEE was often not liked by user units. They were slow, hard on the operator, and had a tendency to roll over. Maintenance issues kept the readiness of the SEE at too low a level.

I read that from your link, Id pass. But Id love your L35...

 

[rentthis]

My concern would be repair. How available are parts? Is this a purely military machine? If you can get parts now, what will be available in the future.

 

[steveInMaryland]

So quickly I would like to correct the front tires on the L35, they are turf 10 ply tires. I got tired of the wife yelling at me about the golf ball sized chucks of earth they would throw out when turning tight. Problem solved.

So as for rolling over I can say the L35 has come real close. I had just pulled down a 10'' trunked cherry tree and was pulling away. A branch got ahold of one of the joysticks and the farther I pulled away the farther over I was going. The mind doesn't register whats happening when mayhem is not far away. I pushed in the clutch and the machine pulled back and leveled out thank god. The look on my 10 year old daughter's face is now etched in my brain. That being said I was once an invincible Marine being shot at and did some stupid things not really thinking I could ever get hurt. My guess is that is a great deal of the tendency to roll over. A more experienced operator should be safer however my father does scare the hell out me when he is on even a lawn tractor.

Parts should be no problem, the BH is a CASE, the front loader ????, forget, but both are well known. The platform is a Unimog 406. All over the world and a couple of dedicated parts sources in the US. You can readily still buy parts for the 404 and even the 401 made in the 1950's.

I have made no decision yet but did find an auction source for the actual military purging of these machines: http://www.mylittlesalesman.com/find/freightliner-flu419-i0c0f20m353417

P.S. the L35 only has 700 hours on it. If an offer comes in I can't refuse then so be it.

Semper Fi all

 

[Oldmansbike]

I worked for Case for 30 years building loader backhoes. Back in the late 70s early 80s we built the backhoes for the Unimog. Most of them were 480 backhoes but a few of them were 580 backhoes. We would assemble them and put them on a special built pallet to be shipped to where the Unimog was built.

 

[MadMax31]

http://albany.craigslist.org/hvo/5884898593.html

Ill be damned

 

[Missouribound]

We don't have to be objective, you do. My garage is filled with things that I want, not what other people want. If you want it, get it.
I do have one question though. It looks like you can use the loader and dump it right into the bed...is that correct? If you can I can't imagine a more efficient way of combining the loader and hauler.