Thanks for watching. I just think they are very cool vehicles and pretty unique so it nice to see other people who appreciate them. I'm just trying to inform people since the first time I saw one, I wanted to know as much as possible about them. I also never I thought I would own or drive one either but it is funny what happens when you want to own the real version of your favorite Matchbox and/or Corgi :)
i drove one at the age of 10, in a straight line, i held the steering wheel on hay field while the older strong guys pulling and pushing up hay bales (small ons not the big ones) on the trailer
@@theunimogcenter yeah I'm a car / machinery guy and love all this stuff. I live in Houston though so it's dead flat and full of people so I couldn't find a use for one here unfortunately
@@myc0p There is another video of starting an old bulldozer. So many combinations of things to do. Pump this, pull this, switch this, then push this, and pull this, then put this back where it was. Impossible to steal.
When I worked at our town public works, we had a 1974 mercedes unimog with a snow thrower, plow, a high range bucket, it could pump fluids (water), and other attachments. The thing was so kool in first low it could creep so slow that the driver could get out, walk around it, and get back in it! Sadly, only 4 of us could get it to move, so using it was never used to its ability. I personally loved it. I could park it running anywhere, and not a person ever touched it, lol!
Something about older work trucks gives off a complex simplicity. It's complicated when you look at it at first, but soon everything makes enough sense to where you're not confused. Unlike today's electronic infotainment centers, lol
There are certainly some advantages to the modern technology, BUT. I miss the tactile sensation of some of the older stuff. And the simplicity and dependability of it. I went to aircraft mechanic school in 1969. Carburetors-Bourdon tube pressure gauges-Generators instead of Alternators. My daily driver is still a 1988 F150.
@flower2289 Carbs on aircraft are great because they are one barrel and use a separate primer instead of a choke for starting. The carb only has to accelerate the engine and prop, not the whole plane.. which is also why magneto timing is fixed. Bourdon tubes are great but the gauges are laggy and inaccurate and will make a mess if a line leaks (heck even manifold pressure gauges have drains to let out the excess fuel) and generators are awful because all of the current has to go through the brushes (which is why you have to inspect them every 200 hours vs 500 hours for alternator brushes) plus they need a heavy and failure prone mechanical voltage regulator, current limiter, and reverse current cutout vs an alternator with a solid state regulator, no need for current limiter since it’s self-limiting, and diode rectifier already prevents reverse current. I’ve got a 1987 Econoline motorhome and it’s a full time job keeping it running. I love my new car that doesn’t need anything except fluid and filter changes.
I think the army vehicle Unimog I drove in the Danish military in the early 1990's had a 4 gear lever. A second lever engaged high and low. On a flat terrain I once got it into 3. high reverse. That was a scary ride. No rollercoaster ever got close to doing 60 km/h in reverse on a dirt track in a vehicle with 4 giant springs as suspension.
So in lowest crawl at 1000rpm the Unimog will go at 150yards/hour. If you just let it idle, it’ll go somewhere around 20yards/hour or less… Use case was mainly large snowblowers (clearing avalanches from roads and railway tracks). These “hyper crawl” gearboxes are rare to find, as all slightly newer Unimogs would use the hydrostatic drive for such applications. Also: when the lucky owner used the phrase “like a tractor”, he could have left out the “like” as the Unimog was conceptualised as an agricultural vehicle. When these two German engineers heard about the Morgenthau plan (turning post war Germany into a strictly and only agricultural country - they later found out that this would starve about 8 million Germans to death) they thought that thousands of universally usable tractor-like vehicles would be needed and built one. Later Mercedes bought their company and military use was introduced. Thus Unimog is an acronym standing for UNIversal MOtor Gerät (Gerät=appliance, tool).
hydrostatic drive made it so much simpler to use and maintain, any trouble you just flush system and replace hydro pump or motor. i worked in croatian road maintainance, we had 20 unimogs just for "winter" but non of them were actually used as plows as we had 20 ton trucks with huge plows. Unimogs were for local roads. and this is Adriatic coast, we see snow perhaps once a year, if it is super snowy we get 3 snow days :D we used them for cutting grass and cleaning ditches by roadside
@ good question for which I don’t have the figures but some leading facts. Engines were always small 4 cylinder diesel engines with an output around 200 hp and 590 lb-ft. and of all the gears in and around the vehicle, the last ones are in the wheels. Because of its portal axles the last reduction is in the wheel assembly.
The first Unimog I saw was wading up the river Stour in Dorset. Had a digger attachment and was heading up to maintain a weir. As a small boy I was very impressed!
Im a Land Rover guy and explaining the purpose of the red and yellow leavers in my Series 2 is often a challenge…. That was a really informative video, and very well explained. I’ve often wondered what they’re all for. Many thanks.
Long ago, here in the UK, a seriously talented engineer built a handful of heavy-haul trucks and when I say heavy, these things could move 350t as a single unit. They were powered by GM 92 series two-stroke V8 diesels driving Fuller Roadranger RTO915 gearbox and Hardy-Spicer splitter axles. The Fuller box had 15 forward and 3 reverse gears (5 x 3 ranges) and the axles were four-speed so in effect, 60 forward and 12 reverse gears!
Best explanation I've heard yet of how the unimog transmission works. You basically describe the power flow as a flowchart (well that's how it seemed in my little mind 😁) which cleared up so many questions I've had about the unimog. Thanks👍👍
The writers for The Fast and Furious movies absolutely took inspiration from a Unimog. I've got a question though, how difficult is it to catch the gates for 3, 4, 5, and 6 properly? I've figured mis-shifting is one reason 6spd manuals tend to be what is commonly available. Edit: I watched another one of this person's videos that covered covered how the 8spd works a little more. Basically there is an interlock the Operator has to activate before moving the gear lever to the "High Range" of gears 5-8. To activate/deactivate the interlock the Operator must put the gear lever into either 3rd or 4th gear, afterwards the pneumatic interlock will open and allow the shifter to move to the upper range. They didn't say anything about downshifts though.
Its the same for upshifts and downshifts. You can only go up or down one row of gears at a time, you cant skip and go directly from 3rd or 4th to 7th or 8th and vice versa. Also there is no problem with missing shifts, for one its more like a 4 speed but twice instead of 8 a speed, and the gearbox feel and shifting precision are better than some sportscars ive driven, weirdly enough. As well as generally when driving normally, you wont be useing low range at all, 5th gear is all ready slow enough to get going in traffick, even with a decent load in the back.
I actually thought this was one of those AI generated funnies from the thumbnail! This is a steampunk/Captain Nemo's Nautilus fever dream come to life!
Just cuz the xj (jeep Cherokee) speedo only goes to 85 at about 4:30, you can still peg that speedo to dead 6 o'clock... Friend following me said he was at 102.
the gearing only allows it to do 81kmh at peak rpm, down a very steep hill, but generally you stay at around 70 cause thats around where the rattling and loud scary noises are still bearable, going faster than that, you are gonna need double earpro and bravery
The view out of the windscreen looks like an oil painting. Just beautiful. I instantly recognized that it must be in north america and not in the Unimogs country of origin. I wish we still had forests as vast and as lush as yours...
My brother had a 06 powerwagon, it was a manual 6 speed with a 4:56 rear end. In low range on flat ground from a dead stop you could just gently nudge it into gear without even using the clutch and it wouldn’t even grind a gear. I can’t imagine having such low gears as that thing!
I am pleasantly surprised that I managed to intuit many of the functions those levers serve. Very similar to the Isuzu tractor I learn to drive on. I really like the multiple range selectors. Just what you need when ploughing around tricky trees and fences.
Back in the 80's and 90's I regularly drove UNIMOGS. They have got to be the best wheeled cross country vehicle that I have ever driven. The UNIMOGS that I drove did not have synchronised gearboxes, they had crash gearboxes. That means that you have to double declutch.
my older Unimog 806 had 24 gears too. but reverse only worked in 1&2 when in road gears. Hydraulics were on the steering wheel. It had a separate lever also for diff locks, front and rear.
It’s not that bad once you get used to it. I’ve never had the pleasure of driving one of these, but I’ve studied the drivetrains for my own amusement and it’s really not that bad once you understand it. I’ve also got an engineering mind so it sorta comes easier to me😂 Thank you for making this video with such a great explanation!!
Yep its not that hard once u get to know what each lever is for. We have U1200, U1400 and U1650 for winter road maintenance. Operating them is one thing, but maintaining can be painful. Those things are so expensive when something fails.
Mogs were originally designed as a tractor with the use of drivability like a small truck. They've become a lot more then just a tractor over the years though
I have driven a 404S, that is less complicated, but it was a lot older. The only thing I missed in your explanation was the diff locks, or are they push-buttons operated? Also, I assume there is a heavy point between the gates of 3/4 and 5/6, otherwise mischanging becomes very easy.
The diff locks are the switch right above the ignition key. It is in two wheel drive If it is Up. If you turn it right once its 4x4 and second its completly locked.
I had a splitter on the main gear stick giving 16 road gears and then a separate working gear lever,. Also had 5 stage diff lock. It was 6x6 and excellent over any terrain.
Thanks for explaining. Even though I drive U1650 for snow plowing, I didn't know about third lever reductiom aka turtle one. I wondered what was it for, but now i know 👍
They are actually little lights to tell you what gate you are in. So the first light illuminates if you are in the 1/2 gate, the next light illuminates if you are in the 3/4 gate and so on. Basically it is to help you know what gear you are in since there are a lot of throws on that gearbox.
we used to have an old mbtrack at work, it had all those levers and all the instruction labels etc had worn away, it was a nightmare if you didnt know it, would only go into reverse in low range etc lol used to be funny watching new guys trying to find reverse.
I can sympathize. When it's been run into the ground before you ever set foot in it, and you have to do the whole voodoo witch thing to get it started = not fun.
I was on a work outing in the desert near Lake Powell. The host was a guy who had started his own “Unimog experience” firm. He was driving his troop transport Mog and I and 10 or so of my work colleagues were in back. He was overconfident as he dug into that gearbox to show us what that baby could do. We’d already travelled about 5 miles off the road on terrain that wouldn’t have challenged a 4x2 pickup when he flipped a few levers to take us up and over a short rock edge. We heard a grind and then all slammed on our seats to the front of the bed. The engine died. We sat still as he tried to restart, only to grind the gears more when it finally did. TLDR: a five mile hike through desert heat to find a payphone somewhere near Glen Canyon Dam.
There is computer simulator you can download where you can drive trucks like unimog or GAZ or UAZ (even a 6x6). Simulating the gears and reduction settings. Giving you different terrain to climb and explore. It even has a winch you can hook to trees or boulders to climb steep angles.
@ no it was a Russian game I can’t find in app store anymore. It was called (gear reduction) I had a look at snow runner and it was more basic than that. Like a single dev made the one I’m taking about. Very basic but it had all the gears and diff locks, whinch etc. I’ll try to find it again.
I´m most amazed over the Start Pilot thing. I saw the chocke symbol and a "?" popped in my head because diesels have glow plugs but no choke. Would You look at that. So it´s like a wiper fluid pump for ether? Fascinating. Try to buy a bottle of ether in Germany… But our brand of starting fluid is called like that but it doesn´t contain ether anymore. When my Dad used it and I was around I was very keen on a whiff of that because it gave me a little buzz… Kind Regards
OK UniMog and math guys. How many total Forward gear ratio combinations are there? Is the number bigger than women's shoe types or fishing lure types or folks in New York City?😊
24 gears forward and 24 gears reverse. Working gear multiplies the main gearbox by 5.76:1 and crawler by 56:1. Most stock transfer-boxes reduce 2.75 +/- except the Jeep Rubicon is 4:1. Most after market creeper ratios are also around 4:1. So the working gears on a Unimog are already slower than most extra low aftermarket boxes. The crawler gears are about 15 times lower than that.
I’m going to have to watch this video multiple times to understand all this. And I don’t even own a UNIMOG. I want one. Have no use for one….But want one
I have one question about the crawler gears: Is there a 4th setup? Because you haven’t showcased the right leaver in rabbit and the left leaver in donkey. As I understood there’s A: no physical transmission to the auxiliary gearbox with the right leaver in the rabbit position or B: It would damage the system. Great and informative video, thank you! :)
I would not say that this is like flying F-15, but for somebody who newer drove anything more complex than standard automatic sedan, this forest of levers makes "oh, my god" reaction 😱
Flying is very instinctive because all your hands and feet are doing something and you don't have to look at the controls to use them, whereas this requires you to use many controls with one hand whilst driving and paying attention to the road/land with the other
I went to visit a friend who lived in a Belgian forest, we put his Unimog in the lowest gear, set the hand throttle and left. We went for tea and cake, and a chat. When we came back it’d moved 25 feet.
One wonders if the lowest possible gear ratio is not too much torque for the wheels to still have grip on whatever surface. It has pretty large wheels and quite some vehicle mass but it's wheeled traction is likely not endless. Or do these things come with tracked versions or capability also ? I used to operate airport special purpose trucks ( snow plows among them ) so the many levers do not scare me :-) But hopping into one without some explanation would leave me experimenting for hours :-))
@visionist7 Unfortunately. I sold my series 3 a few years ago before Covid, so I can't make a video. Basically, you have a 4 speed + reverse gearbox like an old car. Then there's yellow mushroom you push down for 4 wheel drive in high ratio. There's a red mushroom on a lever you push it forward for high ratio and back for low ratio. The overdrive gear stick is used in conjunction with the normal 4 speed box. The over drove gets you better economy and drops engine revs. The red gear lever is also used to disengage 4 wheel drive in high ratio. Lastly, there's a conventional lever handbrake. You can't go into 4 wheel drive whilst moving, and you shouldn't drive in 4 wheel drive on a paved road as you will experience diff wind up. So you end up with 5 levers sticking out of the floor.
Will I ever own a Unimog? No.
Will I ever drive a Unimog? Unfortunately probably no.
Did I watch this entire video and share it? Yes.
Same here
Yepp. Me too.
Thanks for watching. I just think they are very cool vehicles and pretty unique so it nice to see other people who appreciate them. I'm just trying to inform people since the first time I saw one, I wanted to know as much as possible about them. I also never I thought I would own or drive one either but it is funny what happens when you want to own the real version of your favorite Matchbox and/or Corgi :)
i drove one at the age of 10, in a straight line, i held the steering wheel on hay field while the older strong guys pulling and pushing up hay bales (small ons not the big ones) on the trailer
@@theunimogcenter yeah I'm a car / machinery guy and love all this stuff. I live in Houston though so it's dead flat and full of people so I couldn't find a use for one here unfortunately
No kill switch required. Throw in a random mix of lever positions and nobody is stealing that thing in less than an hour
Security through obscurity is real!
Try driving old Ford-T
@@myc0p There is another video of starting an old bulldozer. So many combinations of things to do. Pump this, pull this, switch this, then push this, and pull this, then put this back where it was. Impossible to steal.
I like that idea.
The best anti-theft measures on the American continent
Modern cars with touchscreens? Nah.
Old stuff with ALL the levers? Hell yeah!
When I worked at our town public works, we had a 1974 mercedes unimog with a snow thrower, plow, a high range bucket, it could pump fluids (water), and other attachments. The thing was so kool in first low it could creep so slow that the driver could get out, walk around it, and get back in it! Sadly, only 4 of us could get it to move, so using it was never used to its ability. I personally loved it. I could park it running anywhere, and not a person ever touched it, lol!
these are so cool.
You sir are the earliest vehicle ghostride 😂
Something about older work trucks gives off a complex simplicity. It's complicated when you look at it at first, but soon everything makes enough sense to where you're not confused. Unlike today's electronic infotainment centers, lol
I own an Unimog. If youre used to the gear scheme, youre using it without much thinking... 😁
Best machine ever made! Beats riding a tractor on a field plowing any day!
The physical levers and buttons are so cool, we live in the touch screen dystopia
There are certainly some advantages to the modern technology, BUT. I miss the tactile sensation of some of the older stuff. And the simplicity and dependability of it. I went to aircraft mechanic school in 1969. Carburetors-Bourdon tube pressure gauges-Generators instead of Alternators. My daily driver is still a 1988 F150.
Physical levers = Dopamine
I won't disagree with you, but no consumer transmission needs more than one lever 😜
@@ethniccartoonkid Physical levers and mechanical sounds = more dopamine
@flower2289
Carbs on aircraft are great because they are one barrel and use a separate primer instead of a choke for starting. The carb only has to accelerate the engine and prop, not the whole plane.. which is also why magneto timing is fixed. Bourdon tubes are great but the gauges are laggy and inaccurate and will make a mess if a line leaks (heck even manifold pressure gauges have drains to let out the excess fuel) and generators are awful because all of the current has to go through the brushes (which is why you have to inspect them every 200 hours vs 500 hours for alternator brushes) plus they need a heavy and failure prone mechanical voltage regulator, current limiter, and reverse current cutout vs an alternator with a solid state regulator, no need for current limiter since it’s self-limiting, and diode rectifier already prevents reverse current.
I’ve got a 1987 Econoline motorhome and it’s a full time job keeping it running. I love my new car that doesn’t need anything except fluid and filter changes.
And I thought a dual-stick was crazy. This one is absolutely insane!
It's an... Octostick? Decastick?
Thats what she said
@Geoduck-dj5sl Seriously? Always a filthy joke when one ISN'T needed. Get your mind out of the gutter. Not everyone is dirty minded.
@@MarkArrand-cf4cl go to anger management class
@@MarkArrand-cf4cl live a little and have some fun in life. Grow up!
I think the army vehicle Unimog I drove in the Danish military in the early 1990's had a 4 gear lever. A second lever engaged high and low. On a flat terrain I once got it into 3. high reverse. That was a scary ride. No rollercoaster ever got close to doing 60 km/h in reverse on a dirt track in a vehicle with 4 giant springs as suspension.
The military versions usually didn’t have pto’s etc except winch if fitted. The multi levers are normally fitted into agriculture spec ones.
The South African military Unimogs in the 1980's had three push buttons. I think one was low range, the others was diff locks.
So in lowest crawl at 1000rpm the Unimog will go at 150yards/hour. If you just let it idle, it’ll go somewhere around 20yards/hour or less… Use case was mainly large snowblowers (clearing avalanches from roads and railway tracks). These “hyper crawl” gearboxes are rare to find, as all slightly newer Unimogs would use the hydrostatic drive for such applications.
Also: when the lucky owner used the phrase “like a tractor”, he could have left out the “like” as the Unimog was conceptualised as an agricultural vehicle. When these two German engineers heard about the Morgenthau plan (turning post war Germany into a strictly and only agricultural country - they later found out that this would starve about 8 million Germans to death) they thought that thousands of universally usable tractor-like vehicles would be needed and built one. Later Mercedes bought their company and military use was introduced. Thus Unimog is an acronym standing for UNIversal MOtor Gerät (Gerät=appliance, tool).
hydrostatic drive made it so much simpler to use and maintain, any trouble you just flush system and replace hydro pump or motor. i worked in croatian road maintainance, we had 20 unimogs just for "winter" but non of them were actually used as plows as we had 20 ton trucks with huge plows. Unimogs were for local roads. and this is Adriatic coast, we see snow perhaps once a year, if it is super snowy we get 3 snow days :D we used them for cutting grass and cleaning ditches by roadside
150 yards/hour = 0.137km/h !!! 137 meter/hour !
20 yards/hour = 0.018 km/h !!! 18 meter/hour !!!
I'm faster walking on my hands !
and how much torque ??? -> YES
What is the wheel torque on that?? I have no idea how much the engine makes, but with such reduction a hamster could probably move this thing
@ good question for which I don’t have the figures but some leading facts. Engines were always small 4 cylinder diesel engines with an output around 200 hp and 590 lb-ft. and of all the gears in and around the vehicle, the last ones are in the wheels. Because of its portal axles the last reduction is in the wheel assembly.
Our 406 in Super Crawl 1st used to cover around 80yds in 1 hour, from a distance you couldn't see the tires turn.
I love it when TH-cam comes through with recommendations like this
Excellent explanation. I have been trying to decipher the various pictograms but my truck, as you know, has none of this stuff on it. Thanks George!
Thanks Chad! Just an FYI for anybody out there who is curious what all those levers do.
The first Unimog I saw was wading up the river Stour in Dorset. Had a digger attachment and was heading up to maintain a weir.
As a small boy I was very impressed!
Im a Land Rover guy and explaining the purpose of the red and yellow leavers in my Series 2 is often a challenge…. That was a really informative video, and very well explained. I’ve often wondered what they’re all for. Many thanks.
Fantastic explanation. Didn't know I wanted a Unimog until watching this!!!
Very informative - great video... I was hoping for a 1st gear low, low, low driving demonstration :)
you really dođnt want it, a yearly service is 4000 euros just for fluids and gaskets.
@@rcajavus8141 lol
Then, when you run over a snail, you can say, "I couldn't see it, it came from behind."
It was driving in lowest gear. Didn't you see it move?
@@Here_is_Waldo :)🤪
Never knew such things existed, my God, 24 gears and 8 gear stick! Great video!
Long ago, here in the UK, a seriously talented engineer built a handful of heavy-haul trucks and when I say heavy, these things could move 350t as a single unit. They were powered by GM 92 series two-stroke V8 diesels driving Fuller Roadranger RTO915 gearbox and Hardy-Spicer splitter axles. The Fuller box had 15 forward and 3 reverse gears (5 x 3 ranges) and the axles were four-speed so in effect, 60 forward and 12 reverse gears!
After You explained that mess of levers, it actually started to make sense.
Thanks for walking us through it.
Best explanation I've heard yet of how the unimog transmission works. You basically describe the power flow as a flowchart (well that's how it seemed in my little mind 😁) which cleared up so many questions I've had about the unimog. Thanks👍👍
The writers for The Fast and Furious movies absolutely took inspiration from a Unimog.
I've got a question though, how difficult is it to catch the gates for 3, 4, 5, and 6 properly? I've figured mis-shifting is one reason 6spd manuals tend to be what is commonly available.
Edit: I watched another one of this person's videos that covered covered how the 8spd works a little more. Basically there is an interlock the Operator has to activate before moving the gear lever to the "High Range" of gears 5-8. To activate/deactivate the interlock the Operator must put the gear lever into either 3rd or 4th gear, afterwards the pneumatic interlock will open and allow the shifter to move to the upper range. They didn't say anything about downshifts though.
Ahh yes, I figured out a 8 gear like that should be pretty much impossible to find the gears on...
In middle of the dashboard where the shifting stickers are there is a box with four lamps that show you were you are. Minute 1:10 at the right end
Its the same for upshifts and downshifts. You can only go up or down one row of gears at a time, you cant skip and go directly from 3rd or 4th to 7th or 8th and vice versa. Also there is no problem with missing shifts, for one its more like a 4 speed but twice instead of 8 a speed, and the gearbox feel and shifting precision are better than some sportscars ive driven, weirdly enough. As well as generally when driving normally, you wont be useing low range at all, 5th gear is all ready slow enough to get going in traffick, even with a decent load in the back.
Most trucks have 8 speed gearboxes with splitters to allow 16 or more gears.. Its about as easy to shift as a normal gearbox .
I had fun listening to the functions of all those levers🇬🇧
I don't know how to fly an aircraft, but I could certainly learn it.
I don't think I could ever learn to operate that Unimog.
itd be great to get a view underneath of the various gearboxes and pto setups. also where its pulling hydraulic flow from. Thanks for the cab view!
"Most amount of levers" is utterly correct
I actually thought this was one of those AI generated funnies from the thumbnail!
This is a steampunk/Captain Nemo's Nautilus fever dream come to life!
The most frightening thing is that the speedometer goes up to 120... I don't care if that's kmh or mph, but dang..
So the 120 is for downhill fully loaded 🤔😂
Just cuz the xj (jeep Cherokee) speedo only goes to 85 at about 4:30, you can still peg that speedo to dead 6 o'clock... Friend following me said he was at 102.
Lol. My dad's 1990 ford ranger (2.3L 5 speed) only has a speedometer going up to 85, fastest I could push it was 80
the gearing only allows it to do 81kmh at peak rpm, down a very steep hill, but generally you stay at around 70 cause thats around where the rattling and loud scary noises are still bearable, going faster than that, you are gonna need double earpro and bravery
@@jaanuspapp1333 High speed axles available to allow around 60mph.
Never heard before of Unimog I'm happy the algorithm suggested this video.
Well that all seems straightforward enough. I’m just surprised more people don’t choose to take their driving tests in one of these! 😮 Great video!
The view out of the windscreen looks like an oil painting. Just beautiful. I instantly recognized that it must be in north america and not in the Unimogs country of origin. I wish we still had forests as vast and as lush as yours...
Unimogs really are self-propelled tools, for any kind of work you can imagine.
Or really fun off-road... something similar to a vehicle.
Thanks. Now I want a Unimog.
The Donkey = Hauling Ass
I mean if there is a person in the 'mog it's hauling ass in any configuration. :D
Looks massivly complicated but once you explaned it its quite strait forward love the unimog they can go anywhere
Those gear levers, glad the ones I drove in the army are automatics. Beast of a machine.
My brother had a 06 powerwagon, it was a manual 6 speed with a 4:56 rear end. In low range on flat ground from a dead stop you could just gently nudge it into gear without even using the clutch and it wouldn’t even grind a gear. I can’t imagine having such low gears as that thing!
Super useful. The second I win the lotto I am buying an old-school Mog.
I am pleasantly surprised that I managed to intuit many of the functions those levers serve. Very similar to the Isuzu tractor I learn to drive on. I really like the multiple range selectors. Just what you need when ploughing around tricky trees and fences.
Back in the 80's and 90's I regularly drove UNIMOGS. They have got to be the best wheeled cross country vehicle that I have ever driven. The UNIMOGS that I drove did not have synchronised gearboxes, they had crash gearboxes. That means that you have to double declutch.
my older Unimog 806 had 24 gears too. but reverse only worked in 1&2 when in road gears. Hydraulics were on the steering wheel. It had a separate lever also for diff locks, front and rear.
It’s not that bad once you get used to it. I’ve never had the pleasure of driving one of these, but I’ve studied the drivetrains for my own amusement and it’s really not that bad once you understand it. I’ve also got an engineering mind so it sorta comes easier to me😂 Thank you for making this video with such a great explanation!!
Yep its not that hard once u get to know what each lever is for. We have U1200, U1400 and U1650 for winter road maintenance. Operating them is one thing, but maintaining can be painful. Those things are so expensive when something fails.
I love Unimogs !!! Thank you for the detailed description!!
Everybody should want a Unimog! 😊
I had a mog 1500 with a similar gearbox .mine was 44 gears, 22 forward and 22 backward . Took some getting used too 😃
That's fcking wild!!!!
Mogs were originally designed as a tractor with the use of drivability like a small truck. They've become a lot more then just a tractor over the years though
What an amazing machine! Thanks for posting.
This is much simpler than expected at first. Everything makes sense once you understand it
That 8 gear reverse could be a cool scene in a “die hard”ish movie
I have driven a 404S, that is less complicated, but it was a lot older. The only thing I missed in your explanation was the diff locks, or are they push-buttons operated? Also, I assume there is a heavy point between the gates of 3/4 and 5/6, otherwise mischanging becomes very easy.
I believe the difflocks are on that partically covered switch above the key at the start of the video
The diff locks are the switch right above the ignition key.
It is in two wheel drive If it is Up.
If you turn it right once its 4x4 and second its completly locked.
I had a splitter on the main gear stick giving 16 road gears and then a separate working gear lever,. Also had 5 stage diff lock. It was 6x6 and excellent over any terrain.
Were all those gears available in forward and reverse?
I loved the unimog backhoes the army had in desert storm
Wow ! What a machine,I'd love to see the inside casing of this transmision and look at the gearsIt is for sure a niece piece of engeneering.
I’ll be honest when I saw this thumbnail I thought it had to be Photoshop. I mean I’ve seen trucks with four livers, but this truck absolutely amazing
Thanks for explaining. Even though I drive U1650 for snow plowing, I didn't know about third lever reductiom aka turtle one. I wondered what was it for, but now i know 👍
Very informative! What are the push button looking things on dash that look like the shift pattern?
They are actually little lights to tell you what gate you are in. So the first light illuminates if you are in the 1/2 gate, the next light illuminates if you are in the 3/4 gate and so on. Basically it is to help you know what gear you are in since there are a lot of throws on that gearbox.
we used to have an old mbtrack at work, it had all those levers and all the instruction labels etc had worn away, it was a nightmare if you didnt know it, would only go into reverse in low range etc lol used to be funny watching new guys trying to find reverse.
i drive the exact same model at work, love that little truck
I have a semi-traumatic memory associated with those things.
I can sympathize. When it's been run into the ground before you ever set foot in it, and you have to do the whole voodoo witch thing to get it started = not fun.
I was on a work outing in the desert near Lake Powell. The host was a guy who had started his own “Unimog experience” firm. He was driving his troop transport Mog and I and 10 or so of my work colleagues were in back. He was overconfident as he dug into that gearbox to show us what that baby could do. We’d already travelled about 5 miles off the road on terrain that wouldn’t have challenged a 4x2 pickup when he flipped a few levers to take us up and over a short rock edge. We heard a grind and then all slammed on our seats to the front of the bed. The engine died. We sat still as he tried to restart, only to grind the gears more when it finally did.
TLDR: a five mile hike through desert heat to find a payphone somewhere near Glen Canyon Dam.
My dad used to call 1st gear "donkey low", and now I know where he got that from. He had experience with Unimogs in his SADF days.
The beer can on the floor is nice touch!
There is computer simulator you can download where you can drive trucks like unimog or GAZ or UAZ (even a 6x6). Simulating the gears and reduction settings. Giving you different terrain to climb and explore. It even has a winch you can hook to trees or boulders to climb steep angles.
Snowrunner?
@ no it was a Russian game I can’t find in app store anymore. It was called (gear reduction) I had a look at snow runner and it was more basic than that. Like a single dev made the one I’m taking about. Very basic but it had all the gears and diff locks, whinch etc. I’ll try to find it again.
@@Southernstar-RHINOaye lmk if u managed to find it
Thats the best truck ever made in the world. If i had money, i would by it for sure.
I'm confident I can now drive a Unimog, Even though I have never seen one
You wont even get it started😂. You have to press the clutch and make sure that the manual gas is open.
Fantastic, now I just need a nice Unimog to try what I learned 😄
Everyone should have a Unimog; especially in busy traffic, with a front plow attachment...
"How many gears do you want?"
"Yes"
0:14 hellraiser gearbox 😂 ❤
I´m most amazed over the Start Pilot thing. I saw the chocke symbol and a "?" popped in my head because diesels have glow plugs but no choke. Would You look at that. So it´s like a wiper fluid pump for ether? Fascinating. Try to buy a bottle of ether in Germany… But our brand of starting fluid is called like that but it doesn´t contain ether anymore. When my Dad used it and I was around I was very keen on a whiff of that because it gave me a little buzz…
Kind Regards
Would like to see the linkage underneath.
dang that is a beautiful quality camera
Super video... I've loved the Unimog ever since riding in them in a big mine, 50 years ago, but it seemed that the guys there broke them too often.
Probably drove them too hard and put too much load on them. They weren't meant for heavy mining stuff.
great job ! i feel i can just jump into this beast and ride right now )) even if i didnt ride a truck in my life
How do you even keep track of that
Wow.. Now I guess there will be two drivers for Unimog. One for handling steering wheel, one for just for those levers.
Brilliant video, was always wondering why so many gear levers.
If a unimog u1500 don t have a swith for 4 wiel drive where is it then ?
Oh so they use unimog gearboxes in fast and furious. Now the 24 gear shifts make sense to me
Thanks. Truck definitely needs more levers.
Did they drop the front and rear differential locks on this model?
The lever is on the dash.
You can see it at 1:03, black thing pointed right which means its in 4WD, and next step locks diffs.
Cool, but I guess its always in full time 4x4 with a locked center differential?
Does it have locking differentials? I imagine it does, considering all the other goodies.
Yes it does, you can see lever at 1:03 pointed right which means its in 4WD, and moving it to next point locks all diffs
I would love to take a ride in one of these just to see this in action.
I thought that thumbnail was click bait….never expected it was real!
What's the difference between creeper and working gears?
How many cup holders?
Back levers backwards, front right forward, gears as always, disengage PTO left, check the manual clutch, check the parking brake.
Got it.
4:31 it goes faster running backwards.... That's a terrifying fact !! Love it
4:28 😨😨😨 Look under the chairs you might find more gear levers 😨
just kidding.. keep it up
OK UniMog and math guys. How many total Forward gear ratio combinations are there?
Is the number bigger than women's shoe types or fishing lure types or folks in New York City?😊
definitely not bigger than womens shoe types lol
64, but only 24 good ratios as he said
24 gears forward and 24 gears reverse. Working gear multiplies the main gearbox by 5.76:1 and crawler by 56:1. Most stock transfer-boxes reduce 2.75 +/- except the Jeep Rubicon is 4:1. Most after market creeper ratios are also around 4:1. So the working gears on a Unimog are already slower than most extra low aftermarket boxes. The crawler gears are about 15 times lower than that.
I’m going to have to watch this video multiple times to understand all this. And I don’t even own a UNIMOG. I want one. Have no use for one….But want one
doesn't matter, you NEED one, a use for it will come later :):)
@ Well that enough for me.
As the saying goes "better to have one and not need it than need one and not have it".
Excellent video 👍
I have one question about the crawler gears: Is there a 4th setup? Because you haven’t showcased the right leaver in rabbit and the left leaver in donkey. As I understood there’s A: no physical transmission to the auxiliary gearbox with the right leaver in the rabbit position or B: It would damage the system. Great and informative video, thank you! :)
Daimler ferret reconnaissance vehicle also had same capability in reverse. Full speed.
I would not say that this is like flying F-15, but for somebody who newer drove anything more complex than standard automatic sedan, this forest of levers makes "oh, my god" reaction 😱
Flying is very instinctive because all your hands and feet are doing something and you don't have to look at the controls to use them, whereas this requires you to use many controls with one hand whilst driving and paying attention to the road/land with the other
A 3000:1 lowest is insane, I would be worried about breaking whatever plow (plough) I was using getting caught and breaking.
I went to visit a friend who lived in a Belgian forest, we put his Unimog in the lowest gear, set the hand throttle and left. We went for tea and cake, and a chat. When we came back it’d moved 25 feet.
Our old 406 was around 4000 to 1.
Any locked diff levers?
I can imagine theres specific times when the operator is throwing hands like a drummer in order to work that thing to its fullest potential.
How americans see a manual car
I drove manual cars up until last yr when I got a hybrid. I Def don't miss shifting gears in traffic haha.
Yup, every day Americans were driving automatic transmissions at a time when Europeans could only get them on luxury cars! Suckers😂
😂😂😂
but does the heater work & most importantly the radio ?
Where do you engage diff locks and 4x4?
It’s a mog. Like a Land Rover it’s a proper 4x4. In other words it’s four wheel drive all the time.
That's simply an older tractors set of gears and levers, very common!
One wonders if the lowest possible gear ratio is not too much torque for the wheels to still have grip on whatever surface. It has pretty large wheels and quite some vehicle mass but it's wheeled traction is likely not endless. Or do these things come with tracked versions or capability also ? I used to operate airport special purpose trucks ( snow plows among them ) so the many levers do not scare me :-) But hopping into one without some explanation would leave me experimenting for hours :-))
I thought my series 3 Land Rover with 4 gear sticks was bad, this is mental.
You must have an overdrive
@@hughmarcus1 Yes, it's a Fairey Overdrive.
Post a video explaining them I'm curious to see that
@visionist7 Unfortunately. I sold my series 3 a few years ago before Covid, so I can't make a video. Basically, you have a 4 speed + reverse gearbox like an old car. Then there's yellow mushroom you push down for 4 wheel drive in high ratio. There's a red mushroom on a lever you push it forward for high ratio and back for low ratio. The overdrive gear stick is used in conjunction with the normal 4 speed box. The over drove gets you better economy and drops engine revs. The red gear lever is also used to disengage 4 wheel drive in high ratio. Lastly, there's a conventional lever handbrake. You can't go into 4 wheel drive whilst moving, and you shouldn't drive in 4 wheel drive on a paved road as you will experience diff wind up. So you end up with 5 levers sticking out of the floor.