The Unimog 435 is a vehicle of the

Unimog The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...

-series by

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

. 30,726 vehicles were produced from 1975 to 1993 in eight different variants in the Mercedes-Benz Unimog-plant in

Gaggenau Gaggenau is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located some 8 km northeast of Baden-Baden. History Gaggenau was first mentioned in local records in 1243 under the name "Gaggenaw". The present district ...

. The vehicles were sold as ''Unimog U 1300 L'' and ''Unimog U 1700 L''. Best selling vehicle was the ''U 1300 L'', which was built as a special vehicle for the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

and the German fire department often. The successor Unimog 437 with a similar appearance is still in production. The Unimog 436 is based on the Unimog 435. It is made for export and has a different cab. The names of Unimog-vehicles may create confusion, the ''U 1300'' belongs to the Unimog 425-series, while the ''U 1300 L'' belongs to the Unimog 435-series.

Description

The Unimog 435 belongs to the heavy duty Unimog series which started with the Unimog 425. Compared with the Unimog 425, the 435 has a longer wheelbase and more powerful engines. Just as the 425, it has the "edgy" cab (425.820), and is designed as a 7,5-ton truck. Like other Unimogs it has a

ladder frame A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had a ...

portal axles Portal axles (or portal gear lifts) are an off-road vehicle suspension and drive technology where the axle tube or the half-shaft is off-set from – usually above – the center of the wheel hub and where driving power is transferred to each whe ...

and

coil springs A selection of conical coil springs The most common type of spring is the coil spring, which is made out of a long piece of metal that is wound around itself. Coil springs were in use in Roman times, evidence of this can be found in bronze Fib ...

. The Unimog 435 was built with two different wheelbases, and . It is a rear wheel drive vehicle with selectable

four wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

(part time four-wheel drive). The gearbox is a fully synchronized 8-speed

manual gearbox A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...

with lockable differentials. A reduction gear and a crawler gear were available as additional accessory. Depending on the built in gear box and portal axle final drive ratio the top speed is between . The brake system uses compressed air to activate the dual hydraulic circuit

disc brakes A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...

. A compressed air trailer brake system was an additional accessory. An

engine brake Engine braking occurs when the retarding forces within an Internal combustion engine, engine are used to slow down a motor vehicle, as opposed to using additional external braking mechanisms such as friction brakes or magnetic brakes. The term is ...

was available as well. The Unimog 435 uses hydraulic

power steering A power steering is a mechanical device equipped on a motor vehicle that helps drivers steer the vehicle by reducing steering effort needed to turn the steering wheel, making it easier for the vehicle to turn or maneuver at lower speeds. Hydraul ...

. The engines in the Unimog 435 are naturally aspirated or

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

Mercedes-Benz OM 353 series engines. Starting in 1987 Mercedes-Benz used the OM 366 engine instead.

Types' designations

The Unimog 435 was made in eight different types, with the 435.115 type being by far the most common Unimog 435, with 21,775 units built. In total, 473 units of the 435.115 type were built as RW1 fire engines (as depicted in the infobox).Bundesamt für Zivilschutz (ed.):
Typenblatt Rüstwagen RW1
', in German

Technical Specifications

References

/ref> Unimog-Community: Unimog U 435 (1975-1993)
/ref> {{Unimog Mercedes-Benz trucks Mercedes-Benz vehicles Military trucks