HELMUT...

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Helmut is a 1970 Unimog 416.141.  He rolled off the truck in Ontario from BC in September of 2001.  Not sure of his history, but the old OM352 diesel was pretty tired but the cab and chassis are excellent.  Here are some pictures before delivery....

Part of the appeal of 4wd vehicles is being able to modify them to suit your needs and the terrain that you will find yourself on.  Helmut finds himself spending plenty of time in the mud and water of Northern Ontario, Canada, and because of tight tree-lined trails his overall height had to be taken into consideration.  Unimogs are great all-round off-road capable vehicles, so drive-train and chassis modifications were not needed.  Here are some of the modifications I've made so far, and no doubt, more will be coming.  If your interested in Unimog information, check out my links page to get where you need to go.

Interior:

Helmut's interior was pretty "bare" when he rolled off the assembly line in 1970, so it wasn't hard to improve upon.  Two things I had to consider were sound deadening, and water intrusion.  I started by having the entire cab floor rhino-lined, drilled drain holes in the lowest parts of the floor, fitted with brass plugs, and fitted "water-proof" seats out of a Land Rover Defender. I insulated the cab roof, behind the seats, and made some floor mats out of water-proof foam that is used in Tractors.

  On top of the dog-house I made a custom radio mount for my Midland CB radio, Garmin GPS, and Hella Fan.  I also added switches for lights, and the controls for the remote controlled spotlight.  On the highway a pilot intercom system with two noise canceling headsets keeps the road noise to a minimum.  I also installed a Sony CD player for tunes while on long, slow trips on the highway. 

To handle all this wiring I installed a Painless Wiring 7-fuse water-resistant fuse block and encased it in a small Pelican case under the passenger seat.  All this wiring is connected via Centech-wiring quick disconnects for ease of service when the doghouse is removed.  I haven't yet found a use for all the wiring so please excuse the "spaghetti wiring".  Under the cab I used another quick disconnect for when the cab needs to be tilted, and all the wiring passes through a water-resistant marine "hull pass-through" mounted under the cab.  

Driving into the deep Canadian Wilderness it is a pretty good bet that you will run into a Mosquito or the odd Black fly...  So, I glued some Velcro to the factory window frame and had some Heavy Duty "Anti-Pet" screen made up with Velcro sewn into it.  When installed, it keeps the bugs out, and allows a nice draft to flow through the cab, one of the best modifications I've done this far. 

To air down Helmut's 335/85/R20 Michelin XM27's, I rely on Staun Products tire deflators.  These are all brass, are adjustable, and are of the highest quality.  They are made in Australia, so there is no surprise as to their construction.  If you have large tires, you need a set of these.  They can air down all four of the Mog's tires in less than 5 minutes, and you can even install them, and then continue to drive to the trail head.  To the tires I've also fitted "No-Loss" valve stem caps.  These caps will stop air leaking from the tire even with the stem removed from the valve.

After spilling many a beverage both hot and cold I decided it was time for a cup holder.  I guess when Helmut was built you stopped for your coffee and didn't try to plow snow while drinking it, but times have changed.  So, I ordered up a RAM mount beverage containment system, which actually swings in all directions guaranteeing that your drink is never spilled, even if you manage to roll your rig upside down...  I bolted the universal RAM mount to my dog-house console.  They even throw in a RAM mount cozy to keep your drinks cool on the trail.....

Exterior:

So far Helmut's exterior modifications are strictly functional.  Over the past few years I have been formatting a plan on what I needed and wanted Helmut to do while in the wilderness.  From my experience in the woods, he needed everything to be as high up as possible to be saved from water and mud contamination, and all recovery and extraction gear needed to be readily accessible.  For that I settled on Weather-guard aluminum boxes for the bed.  These boxes house all my recovery gear, spare parts, and tools needed for trailside repairs.  To protect them from trees I built steel guards to surround them.  These are handy for walking on as well, and for a mount for the Wilderness Roof Rack.  This rack carries my shovel and axe, pull-pal, Hi-Lift jack, Hella Matador work lamp (with Centech disconnect), and any camping gear that I may bring a long.  I opted to stow the 40" spare tire in the bed since I needed that weight to be as low as possible.   

Behind the cab I mounted a custom "back-rack" that holds the Go-Light remote controlled spot-light (which can be used both from the cab, and by remote control), and my GPS antenna and Wilson CB radio antenna.  This rack has proved to be really useful and attaches to the cab so that it doesn't interfere with service.  I also had the exhaust stack installed to the factory tire carrier behind the cab.  It proved to be quite noisy and a heat hazard so I wrapped it with Thermo-tech heat wrap.  This helps to get the noise and smell of the diesel up and away when working around the truck.  Here you can also see the aluminum tool box that was part of the truck when I bought it.  I was going to remove it but it has worked out perfect for carrying spare oil and other misc. parts that can be dirty and foul smelling.

Under the box above I house the twin Odyssey 1200 batteries wired in parallel in a steel Weather-guard box, with another Painless fuse box mounted between them.  This powers the aux. lights on the truck and some forthcoming modifications.  Also under the fluid box I have installed two Hella work lamps (one per side) and the Warn quick disconnect battery booster kit.  This allows me to jump start vehicles without getting into the battery box.  I have moved the air tank up a few inches for better clearance, and installed a quick disconnect air chuck for the 50ft air hose.  Helmut can air-up his own tires in about 5 minutes and run some air tools from the factory air compressor.

The winch has become one of my best friends over the past few years, and since Helmut has the factory Hydraulic system installed, I chose to mount a Mile-marker 10,500lbs winch up front.  I was skeptical about this winch, as was everyone else, but have found it to be both reliable, and able to out pull just about every electric I've seen in use.  However, after spending a few hours extracting Helmut from a gooey mess where I wasn't able to use the front mounted winch, I decided that I needed both a front and rear winch.  Being such a heavy vehicle I knew that I needed to be a little more self-sufficient, rather then depending on Jeeps to get me out.  So, with that in mind I ordered up a new Warn 15,000lbs Hydraulic winch and mounted it on the front, and moved the Mile-marker to the rear.  Both use Master-pull synthetic winch lines, the 40,000lbs Super-line up front, and the 26,500lbs super-line in the rear.  I mounted the Mile-marker on a custom mount that I am particularly proud of.  The winch it mounted up under the rear frame rail using factory holes, and is easy to access, and is protected by the Class IV receiver hitch mounted beneath it.  I was concerned about clearance with this set-up but happily it has turned out far better than expected, and allows me to tow the odd trailer that doesn't use the Pintle hook.  I also installed a bracket and seven-pin trailer connector in the hole where the PTO shaft comes through, along with LED lights on the rear deck.

This is the latest incarnation of Helmut for Summer 2004.

Well, I finally got around to my tail-gate project.  Basically I just wanted something that kept things from sliding out of the bed, and would allow some kind of security for my camp stuff while I am parked in civilization.  I modeled the gate after the tail-gate on the M104 trailer.  A pretty simple design, both strong and suitable looking for Helmut.  The hinges I used are from a Land Rover Series door which seem to be pretty beefy but time will tell.  It also gave me a good place to hang the "Mercedes-Benz" sign, which should answer a common question I get asked quite often.

While Helmut's engine was out, I thought it would be a good time to add a pyrometer to monitor exhaust gas temps.  Here you can see I mounted the VDO Vision series EGT just below the dash on the LHS.  I installed the probe just under where the manifold attaches to the pipe under the cab.

I also found time to install part of the 3-point mounts on the rear frame cross-member.  These mounts finally finish that part of Helmut and make for another recovery point other than the rotating pintle hitch.  I had them sandblasted and powder-coated before installation.

After breaking my last winch rope (it was probably too small in diameter for my 15K winch) I finally installed the latest from Master-Pull.  The 7/16's super-line II.  This is a really beefy rope and the 100 foot length just barely fits on the massive drum of the Warn 15K hydraulic.

I finally managed to have the VDO Tach installed.  This Vision series Tach uses the pulses of the alternator to display engine RPM and is a big help in getting to know the Mog's power band.  I used an Auto-Meter mount instead of drilling through the dash.

I had Dean from Currie Truck Centre move my exhaust up since it was now the lowest part of my truck and I really wasn't happy with the previous install from another shop.  I just have to paint it now with high temp. paint, and wrap it in exhaust wrap to keep the heat away from the transmission.  I also had a battery disconnect fitted and installed next to the battery box. 

After several issues with the current twin Odyssey  batteries set-up, I swapped them out for a single Optima Yellow Top Group 31 battery.  This battery puts out plenty of juice, and so far has been a much more reliable set-up.  I modified the Odyssey bracket to fit the longer and taller Optima, and it worked out quite well.  Not show, but in that box as well is the second Painless wiring fuse box.

With Helmut's new engine, I had the injector pump turned up slightly to produce more power.  As a side effect of this the water temp always seemed to be running a little high, especially on long grades and while towing the trailers.  So Robbie from Unimog Canada sent me the Tropical Radiator and fan set-up.  This is working out really well.  The temp never rises above 80F no matter what the speed.  I've had him out in 40C with high humidity (yes, it does get that hot in Canada) and the needle on the gauge never moves.  A worthwhile upgrade if you live in high humidity climates.  The rad is slightly thicker and more square looking than stock, but it bolts right in with no issues.

Ever since acquiring the Eezi-Awn Roof-top Tent for the M101 Camper project I've been itching to make it adaptable to Helmut himself - sometimes you just don't need to tow along the trailer.  I accomplished this by mounting the tent to two Thule bars first and then bolting them to the mount on the trailer, then using lifting rings, lifting it off with chains and then bolting it to the rack on the back of the Mog using light tabs for the Wilderness rack.  I've yet to camp with it in this configuration but it seems to work out well and doesn't take too much effort to change out - thanks to the Kubota of course.....

Keep checking back for updates.....