[obsolete]

After hearing many tales of these wonderful machines, I've finally taken time to look them up and it brought me here. Taking many things into consideration, especially the amazing camperized moggy of :bowdown: AdamHarward, I've decided that my goal is to build my own camperized unimog.

I would like a unit that can withstand -50c nights for a week or so at a time, so a fair bit of space will be taken up by a heater, extra fuel, and plenty of cabin insulation. I think the best mog model for me would be a U1300L/37 because of the longer bed allowing for a bigger cabin, more fuel, and all the necessities required for living in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter.

Now comes the fun part.... Where should I start to find myself a unimog that has a sufficiently long wheelbase and bed to allow for this project? I'm in Northeast Alberta.

Calls have been placed, voicemails and emails have been left all over with not so much as a response. Is there a "go to" place to get a unimog in Canada?

Also, as a first-time buyer of a unimog, what are the common things to watch out for?


Thanks in advance!

 

[Monstermog1964]

RMM or the Rocky Mountain Moggers is a good website to start. Go to the link page. Besides the ones in the USA....You should probably the unit your looking for in Europe. Merex, Atkinson Vos ect. Classic Unimogs is a good too. The next question is your budget....Truck plus about 5-7k shipping and import fees. If you stay with a fire truck you'll be better off. There's several people up in Canada that can give you advice about importing ect. Some have even done it themselves without to much difficulty.

If your looking for a Mog importer they are all over. Word of advice...if you can find a vehicle that has the majority of items you are looking for...ex...high speed axles, turbo, winch, heated windshield already...you will save alot of money. Michael Cardone on the Unimog Exchange is also a good one too. I'm sure there are many others.

 

[obsolete]

RMM or the Rocky Mountain Moggers is a good website to start. Go to the link page. Besides the ones in the USA....You should probably the unit your looking for in Europe. Merex, Atkinson Vos ect. Classic Unimogs is a good too. The next question is your budget....Truck plus about 5-7k shipping and import fees. If you stay with a fire truck you'll be better off. There's several people up in Canada that can give you advice about importing ect. Some have even done it themselves without to much difficulty.

If your looking for a Mog importer they are all over. Word of advice...if you can find a vehicle that has the majority of items you are looking for...ex...high speed axles, turbo, winch, heated windshield already...you will save alot of money. Michael Cardone on the Unimog Exchange is also a good one too. I'm sure there are many others.

A fire truck, you say? I can understand the used ambulances because the camper is practically built already but, why a fire truck?

Thanks for all the info, that gives me a good estimate on how much of the budget goes towards importing the unimog and I'm trying to track down a guy in the same town as me that apparently has 3 old moggies and a brand shiny new one. (fingers crossed)

 

[tkv000]

Where exactly are you? Of your close enough, come drive mine, see if its what your looking for. I've imported to Canada via Germany, I can help in that regard.

Trev

 

[obsolete]

Where exactly are you? Of your close enough, come drive mine, see if its what your looking for. I've imported to Canada via Germany, I can help in that regard.

Trev

That would be awesome! I'm in Bonnyville and (hopefully) have days off coming soon.

 

[Tmax]

After hearing many tales of these wonderful machines, I've finally taken time to look them up and it brought me here. Taking many things into consideration, especially the amazing camperized moggy of :bowdown: AdamHarward, I've decided that my goal is to build my own camperized unimog.

I would like a unit that can withstand -50c nights for a week or so at a time, so a fair bit of space will be taken up by a heater, extra fuel, and plenty of cabin insulation. I think the best mog model for me would be a U1300L/37 because of the longer bed allowing for a bigger cabin, more fuel, and all the necessities required for living in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter.

Now comes the fun part.... Where should I start to find myself a unimog that has a sufficiently long wheelbase and bed to allow for this project? I'm in Northeast Alberta.

Calls have been placed, voicemails and emails have been left all over with not so much as a response. Is there a "go to" place to get a unimog in Canada?

Also, as a first-time buyer of a unimog, what are the common things to watch out for?


Thanks in advance!

UNIMOG CANADA is the place to go if you need a mog. give them a call during buisness hours.


Mross Import Service - Dealer of New and Used Mercedes Benz Unimogs

 

[tkv000]

That would be awesome! I'm in Bonnyville and (hopefully) have days off coming soon.

Well your about 3 hours away. I'm off the 11th to the 15th if you'll be anywhere in the Edmonton area, the offer is open, I can show you around the mog, you can take it for rip, we'll hit some light offroading, ect ect.

PM me with your email address and I'll send you any/all info I have on the import process if your interested.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but building a camper (from what I've heard) Isn't cheap. Scott @ EI has some for sale that I'm sure you couldn't build for the same price, unless you want the satisfaction of doing it yourself and your handy of course

Expedition Imports Corporation Vehicles Available

This one has most of the right things: Expedition Imports Corporation U1300L Expedition Camper

And this one can be built to order it says: Expedition Imports Corporation 20 Passenger Transporter - Built to Order

I'm with Charles, adding things like fast axles, big @$$ winch's ect down the road is cost prohibitive, its usually cheaper to buy the bulk of what you want right from the get-go, and add the little things after.

Also remember being in Canada, the limit is 15 years old or older, not 25 years like the US if your importing one, but also keep in mind year doesn't necessarily indicate use/condition of these trucks, there are some older trucks that are in great shape.

 

[yarr]

...I would like a unit that can withstand -50c nights for a week or so at a time, so a fair bit of space will be taken up by a heater, extra fuel, and plenty of cabin insulation. I think the best mog model for me would be a U1300L/37 because of the longer bed allowing for a bigger cabin, more fuel, and all the necessities required for living in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter...

Thanks in advance!

I'm sorry but you made me lough.
I'm having hard time with mog below -25°C.
You're talking about -50°C for a week in the middle of nowhere,
make sure you write your will first.
I'm confident, Trevor will fill you in with all the info,
but feel free to pm me if needed.
I'm here in Grande Prairie, getting my mog ready for third winter.

Oh, if I were you I'd stay away from Mross Imports,
but hey that's my personal opinion.What do I know ?

Welcome to the forum.

 

[obsolete]

I'm sorry but you made me lough.
I'm having hard time with mog below -25°C.
You're talking about -50°C for a week in the middle of nowhere,
make sure you write your will first.
I'm confident, Trevor will fill you in with all the info,
but feel free to pm me if needed.
I'm here in Grande Prairie, getting my mog ready for third winter.

Oh, if I were you I'd stay away from Mross Imports,
but hey that's my personal opinion.What do I know ?

Welcome to the forum.

I'm pretty sure I'll need to use a good oilpan heater and circulating heater to keep er alive but my subaru fired right up (kinda) in -50c mountainside temps without being plugged in. I'll definitely need a fair bit of fuel to keep warm but -50 is on the extreme side, I could tone it down to the half-dead of winter if I need

With your opinion of Mross Imports being the popular one, I'll definitely stay far away from that :thumbsup:

 

[tkv000]

Esbar or Wabco make heater that would heat your cabin and engine, oil pan ect. There not cheap, and god forbid one fails in the bush, but its possible.

How far away do you need to roam? These guys will do 50km/h and if your just back country camping/hunting in the snow...

a campurized one would be kick @$$! Speaking of middle of nowhere capability

 

[needmog]

Here is one for you and not that expensive:

Volvo BV 202 NF1 bei eBay.de: NATO-Shop (endet 09.11.10 21:22:23 MEZ)

 

[yarr]

Esbar or Wabco make heater that would heat your cabin and engine, oil pan ect. There not cheap, and god forbid one fails in the bush, but its possible.

How far away do you need to roam? These guys will do 50km/h and if your just back country camping/hunting in the snow...

a campurized one would be kick @$$! Speaking of middle of nowhere capability

Now I recall there is a Haegglund here in GP for sale, sitting by main highway.
I should stop by tomorrow and take some snapshots.

I do have have Espar Hydronic in ma'mog and it does the job of keeping engine warm.
I consider though installing also Airtronic to keep the cab warm.
It's all about green ...

 

[troca]

Don't forget, your Subaru runs on gasoline. It's not just the engine oil and coolant that needs warming at -50C, your fuel is going to need alot of help to get into the engine at those temps and to light off. The OM352 is not very high compression compared, for example, to the MAN and us multifuel (built under MAN license) which are 22/1-pretty high-and this helps considerably when trying to get very cold diesel fuel to ignite. These engines also have diesel spray igniters in the intake manufolds for cold weather. Mogs are wonderful, very capable machines, but you should really do some reading on operating machinery in Arctic conditions to get a feel for how serious what you are talking about really is. Have a backup plan, communications and people that know where you are and a registered "flight plan" with someone that will (and can) help if needed.

 

[tkv000]

troca's dead on.

Here's a picture of a device used to heat the engine intake in -40 conditions on a Hagglunds, even in those temperatures, getting a tiger torch lit is an exercise.

 

[krisinak]

i have a few thoughts on cold weather opps. at -40c/f one should have a really good reason for starting or trying to start a valued piece of machinery. at that temp many materials will simply break. various fluids can gel,plastic parts snap, hell jack danials goes solid at -25f! getting the machine started is possible even when it shouldn't be done. if machines need to be operated at temps below -25...id rather they not be ones im paying for.

 

[MiniMan]

As everyone else has touched on, you need to do a LOT of work to get a truck to run at -50*c, especially a diesel truck that's 20-30 years old. Just to keep the truck running you'd need a heated fuel tank, heated fuel filter and heated fuel lines and to get it started or to re-start it, you'd need battery heaters (plural, because you'll need at least 3-4 800 CCA batteries for reliable operation), oil pan heater, a large recirculating diesel fired coolant heater (also with heated fuel lines) and some form of retrofitted air intake heater off of the newer domestic diesels.

After you get it running, you're probably best off to keep it running and not shut it down until you're in a heated shop, etc.. If you actually want to drive it in those sorts of temperatures, A) don't and B) make sure you use extreme low temperature synthetic lubricants and greases. Make sure you replace all lubes and greases when temperatures rise again.

If you go with a spray foam insulated camper, you will need at least 2" and at least 3000 watts of heat to keep that unit at a comfortable temperature.

Good luck,

Corey
Edmonton, AB

 

[obsolete]

Wow, a ton of serious replies and not one internet tough guy or clown (a first for the internet in my experience). You guys are awesome and thanks for all the help and advice. I've definitely got a lot to take into consideration before taking on this project. Worst case scenario, I get a fun mog to crash bush and splash mud with and don't end up camperizing and arctic-izing it for a loooong time. These are, after all, long term goals that I don't want to dive into without doing a fair bit of research and planning. Thanks, again for all the help and advice so far guys!

 

[Jolly Roger]

PM me with your email address and I'll send you any/all info I have on the import process if your interested.

Hi Trev

I'm in Langley, BC and am going to be importing a Mog from Germany soon. I see you've recently imported one yourself and have some information you're willing to share. If its okay with you, I'll pm you my details and if you have some info / advice that you could send to me that would be great.

Cheers
Simon

 

[hammogger]

You will find there are many gentlemen / gentlewomen in the mog world. The occasional AH gets run off quickly, ha ha.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned 404 radio trucks for cold weather. They are equipped with a gasoline engine, of course, but that's not a bad thing if you must start them in really cold weather. I do not pretend to know ANYTHING about operation at -50 deg, but have started a 404 at -25 F with just a little preheating.

A 404 radio truck has the insulated cabin on the back, a gasoline-fired heater for that cabin that will literally drive you out of the box if left on high, and the heater can be placed in a receptacle under the radiator to pre-heat the engine and cab (through normal cab heater). Even the battery is heated by a diversion pipe off the exhaust (or with modification, off the Eberspacher heater?).

By German Military design, everything is set up for cold weather except heat for the driver and passenger (joking, but not much) because the in-cab heater hardly helps the poor passenger.

Bob

Wow, a ton of serious replies and not one internet tough guy or clown (a first for the internet in my experience). You guys are awesome and thanks for all the help and advice. I've definitely got a lot to take into consideration before taking on this project. Worst case scenario, I get a fun mog to crash bush and splash mud with and don't end up camperizing and arctic-izing it for a loooong time. These are, after all, long term goals that I don't want to dive into without doing a fair bit of research and planning. Thanks, again for all the help and advice so far guys!

 

[victorbart]

A 404 radio truck has the insulated cabin on the back

Is not insulated it is to make it more sound proof. The whole box is metal en the "insulation material is only on the flat metal and not covering all the metal.

and i don't think -25 or more in a old 404 unimog is a wise choice.