This page details why we purchased a Unimog, the thought processes behind the purchase and information on getting one for yourself.
We also delve into the different ways you can make use of the basic truck as a platform to get your adventure truck project underway for yourself.

As of the date of writing this page, (Feb 2024), we have owned the Unimog for about Three Years. In that time, we have slowly but surely created our interpretation of an Overlander/Camping Adventure Truck.

Sure, we have been through a few variations, and if I had my time over, I most likely would have made a few changes here and there but, by in large, we are pretty happy with how it is developing.

There is room for improvement in insulation and functionality but we are getting there steadily.

Why did we buy a Unimog? -
For as long as we remember, we have camped in the bush in tents and have always preferred to go to locations that are off the beaten track a little. We also like the creature comforts and enjoy a wide range of activities when we go camping.

We love fishing, Bush Walking, Kayaking, archery and Love to prepare great meals while we are out and about.

In the past we have had a Gu Patrol, with a 7x5 trailer, complete with a PVC Cover and Frame that we used to transport all our gear, then, as time passed our kids got older and we needed to bring more and more stuff with us, we used to take our work truck to carry all the extra stuff like motorbikes and Kayaks, extra food and bigger tents etc.

For a time, as our kids became older still, we had a 2019 Y62 Patrol and an EX army Tandem Trailer that we built into a weapon of an off-road camper trailer. That had a Darche rooftop tent on top and about 400 watts of solar. It had a basic AGM battery setup and served us well for a couple of longer trips.

However, it didn't take long, and we realised that we had outgrown our old ways and needed something a little larger (OK, a LOT larger).

The Unimog has a 12t GVM and a Downgraded towing capacity of 4.5t. (If the full rego is paid, the towing capacity is 12t.)

The weight of the truck (Without the trailer) is around 9.5 - 10.5t depending on the trip requirements.

Thankfully, when we pack for a trip now, we can say, What else can we take? instead of what can we do without because we are worried about our GVM Or GCM.

As well as above, the truck has incredible ground clearance. Unimogs have a feature called portal axles that effectively move the undercarriage up and away from the ground. In a nutshell, the centreline of the drive axles are set about 150mm higher than the centre of the wheels or hubs. This raises the obstruction clearance to 500 mm from 350 0r so mm. Actually, with the bigger tyres and rims, we get about 600mm clearance.

Below is how the Mogs come out of the Australian Army Via Frontline Machinery and Pickles Auctions.

Where did we get the Mog from?

There are two main ways to get your hands on a Unimog.
You can buy Privately or you can buy at Auction.

I will try to explain the differences in the two ways and hopefully, you will have enough info to make a good decision if you are looking to get a mog.

Auctions: 

At the moment, Pickles Auctions has the contract to move all of the surplus Unimogs (as well as other vehicles) through their live auction process. They act on behalf of Frontline Machinery who are the ones who organise the consignments into Pickles.

I have been to the Pickles Auction site here in Perth and can tell you that they will let you start the trucks if they are runners and at least you can have a listen. Make sure you let the truck warm up properly, pump the brakes, and make sure that there are no audible air leaks. Let the air system reach capacity and ensure that the unloader valve is working etc.

A test drive at the auctions is not possible, but you could always organise an expert to have a look on your behalf depending on where the lot (Particular Truck) is located.

If you are planning to drive the truck home after winning the Auction Lot, it would pay for you to take it somewhere to get it cleared for the drive to make sure that there are no major and identifiable issues that you have overlooked in the initial inspection.

You will require a travel permit for each state you travel through if you cross state lines (As far as I am aware).

There will always be a fair bit of work to do to make the truck ready for a roadworthy but if you have won a good unit, the cost to repair any oil leaks etc may well be minimised. 

Remember, to buy at auction can be a lucky dip. You will need to get the truck regoed and you will need to budget for at the very least $5.5k for new tyres. The original tyres can have the bigger rubber put onto them but I am led to believe that they are not legal for road use.

Auction prices vary widely from only a few thousand ($4k - $35K +) for non-runners through to units with log books and lower KMs (For Cargo Tray Mogs) through to + 100k for the Six-wheel wreckers.

Check out Frontline Machinery HERE

Check out Pickles Auctions HERE

Buying Privately: Our Choice

This is the way we purchased our truck.
To be honest, if like us, your budget is limited and your mechanical knowledge is fair to good, buying privately is the way to go.
Like buying at auction, you can also use the services of a qualified mechanic to inspect and certify a truck to be worth the purchase, however, just remember that not all mechanics are fluent in Unimog...

I will provide a list of resources at the end of this page that I think will aid in getting a good truck.

Buying through a private seller is good for many reasons, the least of which is the ability to test drive the unit.

You have the opportunity to check out the gearbox, transfer case, diffs and other critical components and to see what seals need replacement. (The visible ones at least)

You can make sure 4wd is working too.

If you allow the truck to reach proper operating temp, you can check the cooling system too.

Another big bonus of buying privately is the fact that many people step out of their trucks after spending a large sum of money on accessories. Look for trucks with front and rear winches. ones that have had the cab sound deadening done, big tyre upgrades, canopies and other features that may otherwise cost you down the road.

A pair of Runva winches mounted on well-made plates could cost as much as 7 - 10k alone.

You might be lucky and come across a truck with all of these things done for little more than the cost of getting an auction unit (albeit a hotly contested one). 

Always ask the seller if they have the EX Army Log books too. We don't have the book for ours, though we wish we did as they contain all of the service records and repairs that the trucks have had done over their time in service.

What did we have in mind for our truck?

There are many ways to build a Unimog.  Some can be done on a budget, while others may require substantial investment in both time and money. 

If you are good with your hands and have common sense a large saving can be made by DIYing the project, or parts of it.

You will still need to spend a fair bit on materials, but the overall cost will be reduced by about half. 

What did we want? - The design brief.

We wanted a capable truck where all of our gear had a place to be stored safely, and that had only minimal restrictions on access to places we wanted to visit.

We didn't want a habitat on the back because the ones we had seen on the Internet seemed to sway around quite a bit and also, it appeared that the places with low-hanging trees were off-limits to the owners due to their overall height.

We also needed to have a good solar array on the roof and we needed to carry both our folding boat and Bridget's Kayak.

Making all that work on one roof was not easy.

Another major "must-have" was to carry as much water as possible to reduce our need to fetch H2o constantly.

Our choice of accommodation was for a stand-alone tent initially and for several trips, this is how we travelled. Our sleeping system was an RX5 Oztent complete with a front room and zip-in floor.

It was a good setup, from a flexibility standpoint - ie not needing to be set up in a particular way (We could be close to the truck or a fair way away if need be) But, for me, it became a pain in the exhaust pipe having to put the tent up and down each time we needed to move on. The back of an Oz Tent has more guy ropes than a three-ring circus tent... and that's without the fly in place.

This setup has evolved now and we have a Bundutop Roof Top Tent that is set up and put away with the push of a button. 

I will attempt to provide a few different examples of the various ways to convert a Unimog into a Adventure truck or Camper/RV

Basic Truck -
Leave it pretty much original and just use it like a tray back ute.

No different to having a Ranger, Landcruiser Ute or Patrol Ute with a tub rack etc. Sleeping accommodation may be a Roof Top Tent, a swag or a Regular tent away from the truck. Some people set up accommodation under the canopy as supplied on the truck from the Army. Many folks still have their trucks set up this way.

Example 1 - Donna and Andrew, Echuca Victoria
Below you will see several photos of their setup. This is a terrific example of a self-made camper truck.
As you will see, they have opted to keep the height of their camper as close to the original as possible. Even with the roof rack on the top of the Canopy and the boxes, their height is quite suitable for most of the tracks out there.

Example 2 - Sam Keck,  - @Chasing_the_dog
Here is another fantastic example of how to keep your eye on the goal (Getting out there and enjoying life) without blowing a fortune on unnecessary comforts.

Sam and his partner have created a practical camping base that can go pretty much anywhere a regular 4x4 can venture.

Photo Credits for this entry go to Sam Keck and His Partner

Sam and His Partner have now converted this set up over to a caravan on the back style unit utilising a Jayco Penguine Camper. He has done the conversion based on another Mog owner, Jai Loader (Otherwise known as LawnMog)

Example 3 - Adam and Mogzilla Check out Adam's Facebook page here and Mogzilla's Page Here
Photo credits to Adam.
Adam and his partner reside in WA and they have built another example of a Mog that has been kept very close to original spec (from a camper point of view)

Overlander - 

Where the tray is switched out for a canopy or where a canopy is built onto the tray

This is the direction we went down - it is a compromise between being too high and having a place for everything to be stored

Camper/Caravan - 

Some owners have had the idea of melding an already existing camper or caravan with their Unimog. This can be done using a Statutory write off caravan or for that matter a brand new unit that is modified to be installed onto the back of the truck tray.

There are several examples in various states of completion around Australia with two of the most recent ones following very similar pathways to a pretty cool outcome. Both Sam Keck and Jai Loader have converted a Jayco Penguin Pop Top Campers for use on the back of their trucks.

Some of the benefits of these conversions are obvious and include keeping the overall height at about that of the truck roof, minimising overhead tree branch impacts, and the fact that the cabinet work and other required features are already installed and ready to be expanded on. I can imagine that this approach would save many thousands of hard-earned dollars turning out a very practical fast to finish touring rig.

Others have turned to larger hybrid vans that have had undercarriage damage and they have carried out the work to mount the body of the van onto the truck tray.

There are a couple of examples of these that I am aware of, with one being here in WA (Owned by a guy in Collie) and another in NSW that has an AVAN caravan on the back.

If you are not already a member of some of the Facebook Groups that deal with Unimogs, perhaps you should visit this page to have a look at becoming a member of a couple.

Jeffs Camper

A new trend

Over the last few weeks, we have seen a new concept evolve... It began with Jai (AKA - Lawnmog from SA hitting the ground running with a concept that a couple of others have begun replicating. 

Basically, Jai purchased a 2017 Explorer Camper by Jayco and stripped all of the non-required parts off and with a fair amount of work, plonked it all onto the back of his truck.

The camper is such a good fit for the truck that many others are now contemplating this cost-effective way to get out there without the massive build time it takes to construct a habitat.

One other has contemplated it so thoroughly, that he is almost finished his take on the concept... Below, we will showcase both Jai's and Sam's builds and link out to their respective videos on YouTube.

RV / Habitat - 

For a very in-depth view of this style of build, please see the following two recently built units. 

The first one was executed by Chris and Angela of the OutFit. You can see their build series and other great YouTube videos on their Channel  HERE

You can visit their Facebook Profile here

You can also get a great idea of their truck by having a look at the playlist below. It takes you on a journey of the whole build and is a credit to both of them.

Patrick And Jele - With Moggy

The second offering is that of Patrick and Jele, They had a similar take on building their Unimog but took a different approach but arrived at the end with a unit that is now carrying them all over Australia too. You can see their channel and build series HERE