Unimog 425 and 435 Models

The Unimog heavy series brought new life to the legendary make of trucks. It was kickstarted by the Unimog 425 and 435 models. These trucks not only brought with them a completely refreshed look for the Unimog. But they also brought several upgrades in terms of the truck’s capabilities. These trucks were introduced in the 70s and several of their design elements are still being used in the modern trucks of today. The following is why they’re great:

Unimog 425

The 425 Unimog made its way to the roadways in about 1975 and it stayed in production till 1988.. While the main Unimog at the time, the 406 was known to be a rugged beast, this one took everything to a whole new level.

The Unimog 425 was lauded for being a lot more capable. This was partly because of its body and mostly because of its new engine. This truck came with a 6-cylinder diesel - you can find this truck today with 3 different tunings for the power figures.

The engine on this truck was mated to a great 2 x 4 manual gearbox. Front-wheel drive was available on the truck as well. Merc also offered a special gearbox for those who needed a better power adjustment for the fields.

The model names for this one are the U1300 and U1500. The latter is more powerful and there was also a U1500 which came without a truckbed - it gave users the liberty of being creative. That being said, what if the wheelbase was longer? 

Unimog 435

Well, then you’d have the 435 Unimog. Manufactured from 1975 to 1993, this beast was based on the aforementioned 425. But it had a longer wheelbase. In fact, it too offered 2 wheelbase options in case you opted for middle ground.

As expected, the power outputs were higher and you can even find a turbocharged engine on this truck. The standard configuration saw the power sent to an RWD system but AWD was available as well. The model names of the 435 are U1300L and U1700 L.

If you’re searching for this truck on the used market for overlanding, know that you can find goodies such as a crawler gear. This should optimize it for when the going gets tough. Another cool option that you can find is an engine braking system for extra stopping power.

This truck was replaced by the Unimog 437, which is still in production today.