Editing Unimog (section)

== Features ==
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F004772-0001, Sechtem, Rübenernte.jpg|thumb|[[Unimog 411]] with beet lifter, 1957]]
[[File:Unimog-3318657.jpg|thumb|Unimog 401, 406 and 411]]

=== Design ===
The Unimog's characteristic design element is its [[chassis]]: a flexible [[chassis#Ladder frame|ladder frame]] with short overhangs, and coil sprung beam [[portal axle]]s with a central torque tube and transverse links. Having portal axles, the wheels' centres are below the axle centre, which gives the Unimog a high ground clearance without the need for big tyres. The coil sprung axles with torque tubes allow an axle angle offset of up to {{val|30|u=°}}, giving the wheels a wide range of vertical movement to allow the truck to drive over extremely uneven [[terrain]], even [[boulder]]s of one metre in height.<ref name=Vogler_2016 />{{rp|23}}

Unimogs are equipped with high-visibility cabs to maximize operator visibility of terrain and when manipulating powered tools. The newest implement carrier Unimog models can be changed from left-hand drive to right-hand drive in the field to permit operators to work on the more convenient side of the truck. The ability to operate on highways enables the Unimog to be returned to a secure garage or yard at the end of a shift.

=== Equipment ===
[[File:Unimog Schneefräse (Schwäbische Alb).jpg|thumb|Unimog equipped with a snow blower]]
Unimogs can be equipped with front and rear tool mounting brackets and [[hydraulic]] connections to allow bucket loaders and hydraulic arms to be used. Most units have a [[power take-off]] (PTO) connection to operate rotary equipment such as snow brooms, [[snow blower]]s, brush mowers, loaders or stationary [[conveyor belts]].

=== Variants ===
Unimogs are available with short wheelbases for implement carrier operations or long wheelbases for all-terrain cargo carrying operations. Currently (2022), Daimler Trucks offers the 437.4 heavy series and the [[Unimog 405|405 implement carrier series]]. Starting in 1951 having purchased the traditional Unimog from Boehringer, Daimler-Benz started making the Unimog S series in the mid-1950s and added light, medium and heavy series to the model lineup in the 1960s and 1970s, before they successively reduced the available models during the 1990s to end up with the modern implement carrier and the heavy series today.

Originally, the traditional [[Unimog 70200]] was a rather small agricultural tractor, measuring just {{val|3520|u=mm}} in length. It was only offered as a Cabrio with a canvas roof. The engine power output of {{convert|25|PS|abbr=on}} proved to be insufficient for many applications. To accommodate customer needs, a longer wheelbase version, a proper cab and more powerful engines (up to {{convert|34|PS|abbr=on}}) were introduced soon after Daimler-Benz took over Unimog manufacture; the traditional Unimog evolved into its final stage, the 411-series. Yet, Daimler-Benz decided that an entirely new, more powerful version of the Unimog would be required to meet future customer expectations. This Unimog version would later be known as 406-series.<ref name=Vogler_2016 />{{rp|12-14}}

The military Unimog&nbsp;S&nbsp;series is the first Unimog designed to be an offroad truck rather than a tractor, and it is the only series production Unimog that has an Otto engine.<ref group="N">In this article, the terms Otto cycle engine and Diesel cycle engine are used to differentiate between a traditional petrol engine and a traditional Diesel engine. This is because the original Unimog does not only have a Diesel engine that can burn petrol (precombustion chamber design), but also used to require petrol as a fuel additive in winter to prevent the fuel from gelling. Furthermore, many German military vehicles (such as the Unimog S) have petrol engines, but several military petrol engines use the Diesel principle.</ref> Daimler-Benz designed a new frame for it, but it still shares its drivetrain with the 411-series.

With the introduction of the 406-series in 1962, Daimler-Benz laid the foundation for a completely new Unimog model family, the 406-based medium series (in the 1960s known as ''heavy'' series). It was produced until 1994. Unimogs belonging to the medium series are the series 403, 413, 406, 416, 426, and 419. These models were offered with three different wheelbases ({{val|2380|u=mm}}, {{val|2900|u=mm}}, {{val|3400|u=mm}}) and two engines, the straight-four and straight-six direct injected Diesel engines OM&nbsp;314 and OM&nbsp;352, ranging from {{convert|54|to(-)|110|PS|abbr=on}}. The light series 421 and 431 share their frame design with the 411-series, but borrow their drivetrain and cab design from the 406-series, which is why they also count as 406-related Unimogs.<ref name=Vogler_2016 />{{rp|11}}

The heavy series Unimogs were introduced in 1974, and first featured the edgy cab, which is still a design feature of the Unimog today. The first heavy series Unimog was the 425-series, which was available from 1976.<ref group="N">Mercedes-Benz presented the 425 in 1974, and the 435 in 1975. Series production started in January 1976.</ref> Soon after, the 435-series and 424-series followed, which caused a decline in Unimog 406 sales.<ref name=Vogler_2016 />{{rp|85}}The 425 was available with a wheelbase of {{val|2810|u=mm}}, the 424 with {{val|2650|u=mm}} and {{val|3250|u=mm}}, and the 435 with {{val|3250|u=mm}}, {{val|3700|u=mm}} and {{val|3850|u=mm}}.<ref name="Unimog 1976 bis 1985">{{cite web |url=https://unimog-club-gaggenau.de/historie-unimog/1976-1985/ |title=Unimog 1976 bis 1985 |lang=de |publisher=Unimog-Club Gaggenau |access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref> The introduction of new engines starting in 1986 caused a shift in the series numbers, but leaving the vehicles mostly unchanged otherwise. The 424 became 427 and both 425 and 435 were joined together and became 437. A derivative of the 437-series, the 437.4-series is still in production today.<ref>Unimog-Club Gaggenau: ''[https://unimog-club-gaggenau.de/historie-unimog/1986-1991/ Unimog 1986 bis 1991]'', retrieved 30 December 2018</ref>

In 1988, after declining Unimog sales, Daimler-Benz launched a new strategy that was supposed to increase sales and make the Unimog more profitable, called "Unimog-Programm 1988". New models introduced with this programme were the new light series 407 and medium series 417, which ought to replace all Unimog 406-related series.<ref name=Vogler_2015 />{{rp|119}} 407- and 417-series were replaced after just four years, in 1992, with the 408- and 418-series.<ref name=Vogler_2015 />{{rp|134}} in 2000, these two models were replaced with the current 405 implement carrier series, making the 437.4 and the [[Unimog 405|405]] the only remaining Unimog series.

{{Unimog}}