I want one. 4x4 Unimog w/loader, backhoe, HYDRAULIC CHAINSAW, etc.

[aussiedog3]

I'm thinking the ultimate tool!


here is the link to the craigslist ad. (broken link removed to http://lansing.craigslist.org/hvo/5501293765.html)

 

[peakbagger]

I have one I bought last year. The government has been cleaning them out of inventory in the last few months. Unfortunately the chains saws rarely come with the units. I got the hydraulic jackhammer and the rock drill but no chainsaw. I could have bought a chainsaw on Ebay but I don't know if I would want one as they dont have chain brakes and chaps dont stop them. The chainsaws are essentially the same set up as concrete chainsaw. If you look around on web there are videos on how the backhoe deploys, its pretty impressive.

The government barely used them as they were designed for the cold war that was over by the time most were delivered. Some were run through government restoration shops and rebuilt mostly to deal with long term storage issues . Most sat their entire lives and frequently maintained but despite low miles and hours, they do have their issues that I am working through. The base Unimog 406 chassis is one of their beefiest designs and the SEE version was the last of the production of this chassis and had a lot of upgrades over the earlier 406s. The government paid around $130,000 each in 1987. One thing that was not so beefy was the sheet metal in the cabs, but mechanically they are very robust. Prior to the SEEs being auctioned, there were some beat up Case MB94 models that had been used in municipal service on the market. By the time they got sold off to the public they tended to have serious rust in the cabs. Many newer civilian version are imported former European army surplus and currently with the cheap euro there are a lot of them being imported. Mercedes guaranteed parts availability for 50 years, but nowhere did they say how much the parts would be priced. The government bought lots of spares and private buyers are filling up warehouses so currently many parts are reasonable.

 

[D8Chumley]

If I only had a spare $28k laying around! That would be cool to have here, I'm sure I could find a few uses for it

 

[peakbagger]

They have sold as low as 15K at auction although some are basically parts trucks

 

[Lcback]

That thing is amazing. Too bad it's priced more then I'll ever spend.

 

[iamlucky13]

The government barely used them as they were designed for the cold war that was over by the time most were delivered.

It doesn't seem to me the end of the Cold War is relevant. If there is a need for soldiers, there is a need for foxholes and trenches. I could see these things having been useful in Afghanistan reaching and building remote firebases as well as rebuilding work to aid civilians in areas impacted by the fighting. However, 20 years is more than enough time for the military to change its mind several times about how it wants to perform a task.

This site claims they were used in Iraq and Afghanistan, but weren't necessarily favored. I wonder if the preference was to stick with dedicated equipment (backhoes, bulldozers, etc.) rather than a jack-of-all-trades:

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

 

[peakbagger]

All I know is that there have been many sold at auction in the last 2 years with little or no mileage or operating hours and reportedly from former folks in the military they were mostly parked at bases and not used. They were in production from 88 to the early 90s and that's when the US was pulling back from Europe so I expect that many didn't even get deployed to Europe. They did line up with the first gulf war but not sure how well they would have done with a short wheelbase and sand. Most reports are they are handful much over 35 mph and that may not have lined up with first gulf wars mission which I thought was more mechanized than infantry based. I expect the SEE would not keep up with a Humvee and other mobile equipment. 130 HP will only move so much. The SEE also has zero armor. The sheetmetal is decidedly thin and wouldn't stop much.

Whatever the reason its a useful tool for me. I was looking at similar Case and Cat crawler loaders of this vintage and what I would have ended up with was a third owner beat up piece of equipment. For what I paid I got a piece of equipment with very few hours with the reputation for a very long life plus parts availability.

 

[Hills Hoard]

nice!

 

[beatlefan]

I want one...