I'm sure you have all seen the surface to surface missile launches on the Unimog G wagen topic between myself and others. I got tired of all the cheap shots so deleted the entire topic.
But after talking with Mercedes Benz North America, Brabus and my mechanic I have found what I believe is the correct information on the Unimog Vs G wagen tech specifications but cannot find anywhere on the net the ACTUAL printed specs for the G, only on the Mog.
My mechanic who has been fixing Mercedes in Germany and Poland for over 20 years & works in Redondo Beach at Kazs Motors where we take our MBZs. He said specifically that the G 280 was a five cylinder and that the 6 did not come out until late 80's or so and the towing capacity is the correct printed figure of about 3000 pounds.
Brabus said the very same thing. Of course many G owners wrote and disputed this so I was hoping to get an actual printed chart or excerpt from the manual. Mercedes has been unable to help so far.
Both parties, my mechanic and Brabus said that the Mog will as stated by Forum readers, do about 50mph, highway and laughed at 65mph, both have driven the Mog as they are common over seas. Mechanic said the best A/C option is an RV style system mounted on the roof and running of a generator to let the motor have the power it needs. He said about $1500 to do the install.
I have to wonder if most would agree that the word of these two parties would be more than sufficient to settle the subject over someone that simply likes or owns one G wagen and in SOME cases talks out of complete bias rather than objectivity and realism?
I think we can all agree that a vehicle can tow over a rated capacity but you do so at your own expense and peril. Also, using a winch to pull that weight should not count?
Just for the record again I want to state I absolutely love the G and other than the Mog in pure off road no other vehicle can compete. I drove both the G and the much-touted Land Rover 90 in the Egyptian desert and the Benz obviously is light years ahead in all aspects. By the way, the G out performs the Mog by 10 degrees of slope ascending. I had hoped but gotten no word about the Pinzgauer from anyone who has driven one? The 6x6 most importantly.
Both my neighbor and the mechanics American partner have all agreed to get Mogs at the same time even after I told them (and of course our German mechanic informed us…) that the Mog would be like driving a military track vehicle or a tank. But based on thrash in the California rocky desert and what dent, insurance and scratch repairs would cost on a G, we all agree the Mogs are perfect. We all have dirt bikes so throwing them in the back will be a real cinch. Anyone wishing to provide us with the ending information to end this silly topic would be much appreciated!

Ok, found it! Talked to Santa Fe Gelaendewagen importer and dealer. So this is from the horses mouth so to speak!
Rated horsepower for 1980 G 280GE is 73 and the diesel was the only engine he believed was available, which was a 5 cylinder. The correct towing cap. is 1,650 lbs., that's 750 kilograms, for an unbraked trailer and 6,773lbs. with a braked trailer. Without trailer brakes he said the G would not be able to stop.
However, much laughter ensued when talking about actually pulling that weight. He did not recommend it and said you'd be doing about 30mph on flat ground in cool weather pulling that.
He went on to say that the G and Mog are not comparable really for off road use. The G is a fantastic, rugged little truck for on-off road use but could no way compete with a military vehicle in the super rough stuff. Looking at the Mog going across a 6 foot straight drop, 4 foot wide ditch in the pictures we have at http://www.GrannyGumption.com/unimog.htm should be fairly obvious a G or any smaller vehicle would drop nose down into the ditch and need to be winched out because the mogs wheels themselves are taller than the entire G wagen's front end. The Mercedes dealer in Santa Monica where there are quite a few new G500’s said a glaring rebuttal to G Vs Mog; If the G was as good off road for ALL uses like a Mog than why wouldn’t the military and work arenas using the Mog use a G wagen instead of their vast fleets of Unimogs?! Santa Fe said that for nuclear waste disposal in desert bad lands where they live and work is carried out by Unimogs not G wagens’ for obvious reasons. (Basically W.I. Simonson) said comparing the 2 was ridiculous and like comparing a Jeep CJ against a Deuce and a half.
He went on to say that a G will not ford 5 foot rivers or a VISCOUS mud bog going up to the hood. It wasn't designed for it and one would be foolish to use one as such. Obviously the Mog is much higher off the ground both ground clearance wise and approach angle so it's rather silly to say a vehicle lower and closer to the ground could climb up a rock face that a Mog could climb simply because the bumper would smack into the face that the mog would go up and over because of the height. The mechanic said even with a Brabus engine he would not recommend towing more than 2000 pounds with a G. Since these fellas do nothing but sell and work on G's 100% of the time, I'd say they are qualified to end this matter. Bye!

The Unimog's are real beasts. I had the opportunity to drive one of these things a year or two ago, and was in general very impressed. But its a huge truck, not at all a city vehicle. The gelandewagen is for families, while the Unimog is for real work. I would be surprised to see any kind of comparision between the two vehicles, they are totally different. It could get up to about 60mph, but was pretty noisy. I would guess it could tow something quite easily.

The fellow whose Unimog that I drove lives here in Northern California, and he always seems to have a few for sale. He buys them from Europe and brings them in almost always with low miles. I understand many of which were used by fire departments. I forget his name but you can find him on the net or in the alt.mercedes newsgroups. He could be considered as the U.S. expert in Unimogs and has all kinds of manuals and documents pertaining to such.

Tons of G specs @ http://www.g4rce.net The 280GE is a 2.8L gasoline (hence the E designation) 156hp. The 300GD is the five cylinder diesel, probably around 73 hp.

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1995 G320
1984 280GE
1971 Unimog 416

I have the feeling there were different options on the GE. I have seen that site before and today saw a completely different spec sheet right out of a real manual and the power was 93 horse power for the gas. The Santa Fe G dealership said he looked in his manual and it said 73. Like a lot of MBZ's of foreign nature there probably was different configurations for different countries. The Unimog had a 3 inch book of available options.
I am looking real hard at the "Radio" box version. I wish they came on a Doka without sacrificing length. I found some nice early 80's models for around 12 grand. Most were under 50,000 miles. Here is another good link for Mog sales.
http://www.t-los-ultimate-offroad.com/

The specifications on the g4rce website are accurate. They have been taken from official MB literature. While the G had many configurations it was never to the scope of the Unimog which can be spec'ed out for just about any imaginable task. The 73 hp G would be the 240GD, the 90-100 hp gas engine would be the 230G four cylinder gas without FI (no E designation). Cal Benz, I do not keep posting to antagonize you, I just want the correct info posted for others if they have questions. If anybody does have inquiries regarding the Gwagen the above listed site is one of the best. It has complete model info from the first G up through the new 2001 400cdi model. There are lots of good photos also, and if you feel the need you may also view it in German.

[Edited by G-Man on 12-01-2000 at 10:45 AM]

__________________
1995 G320
1984 280GE
1971 Unimog 416