Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, German engineers designed the ultimate vehicle: the Unimog.
Oh, you’re unfamiliar?
Well, if a John Deere farm tractor and a Land Rover had a love child, you’d basically get a Unimog.
Unimogs are used by the general public in some areas of the U.S., but that's mostly (if not wholly) due to individuals who have imported them personally. However, the U.S. Army used various Unimog that was rebadged by Freightliner and were equipped with a front-end loader and a backhoe. Yes, you read that right.
Let’s learn a little more about it and how you could drive one legally down your block.
What is a Unimog?
Yeah, the FLU419 is pretty much the coolest thing ever devised.
So, where do we start?
The Mercedes-Benz Unimog is a road-going, four-wheel-drive truck that was built to operate at highway speeds and employed a power take-off that could be used on either end, so the truck could have attachments on either end like a tractor.
No joke, Unimogs can use mowers (brush hogs, hay mowers, finish mowers), hay balers, and all sorts of other implements on the back, and then you can run snow blowers and whatever else on the front.
There are many different models, but again, not all that many made it to North America, which is a real shame considering how agrarian our society is. Although truthfully, they are a little small for American farms.
Why Did The Army Strap A Loader & Backhoe to A Truck?
Well…why wouldn’t they?
In all seriousness, the Freightliner Unimog 419 (FLU419) is probably the most unique battlefield vehicle the army has fielded in a long time. There really is nothing quite like it: a four-wheel drive medium-duty truck tricked out with a front-end loader like a tractor or skid-steer and then a backhoe on the back. But there’s more: to make the truck more manageable on the road, the backhoe element folds over and tucks all the way onto the back of the truck.
The truck also has hydraulic ports in a few locations that are used for some of the most rad gadgets ever. My personal favorite is the hydraulic chainsaw. Yes, they really did make one. You plug it into a hydraulic port on the Unimog and cut to your heart’s content. You will never lose power as long as the truck runs; it always starts and never needs to be recharged. Unreal.
It's easy to see how useful that functionality would be to the military, and the FLU419 was issued to engineering units in the army. Now, to the rank outsider: engineering does not mean the Corps of Engineers. It is a branch of the army that focuses on rapid airfield building and restoration, roads, rapidly deployed bridges, and demolition. Pretty cool stuff. It is not a bunch of stuffy dweebs sitting behind desks reading schematics.
An example of a FLU419 Unimog wearing a dozer blade. Note the CUCV in the lower left background.
But why in the world would they slap a loader and backhoe on a truck?
It’s pretty simple, really. They needed a loader and backhoe that could travel with the convoys. Yes, you could load a backhoe on a trailer, but there are a few problems. The FLU419 was intended to travel with the first wave of engineers, shortly behind the main forces. The roads could be bombed, trees have fallen, etc. They needed a vehicle that could also make it through rough terrain. Anyone who has pulled a gooseneck or pintle-hitch equipment trailer knows they do not do well beyond gravel or grass. Even then, they’ll sink into soft ground.
A standard backhoe cannot keep up with convoy speeds, nor does it have the ground clearance, articulation, or proper suspension to handle roads – tractors have no suspension, just rigid axles. This doesn’t work when there are mortar craters in the road. On the other hand, a Unimog has a standard suspension to flex and handle higher speeds while still getting through anything. (And yes, I do want one if anyone is looking for early Christmas ideas.)
A backhoe is single-handedly one of the most useful pieces of equipment if you are trying to patch roads quickly, move debris, or get a runway up and running in a matter of hours. You can clear debris, fill in holes, and more. Oh, and since the Unimog is modular, you can easily install a rotary broom on the front for sweeping the road or runway of small foreign objects & debris (extremely important for aircraft operations; small debris will destroy a jet engine, easily).
The army used a few other attachments on the 419, including dozer blades.
We could go on and on, but you get the point.
Is There Any Difference Between the Mercedes Original and the Re-badged Freightliner?
Well, there are a lot of original Mercedes models, so you can’t answer this exactly. However, the 419 is most closely related to a Unimog 406.
So no, it is nothing more than a Unimog wearing a Freightliner badge. This isn’t surprising, though, since Freightliner is a Daimler company.
Where Can I Find a FLU419?
It’s tough to nail down exactly when the FLU419 was removed from active service. Since it wasn’t a tactical vehicle or had much sex appeal (at the time, anyway), it slipped away from the military's inventory.
Some still make their way into government auction houses (i.e., Iron Planet), and you can find them on eBay, Bring a Trailer, and other auction sites. They aren’t impossible to find, but they are becoming uncommon. With about 4,500 units produced, many of which were used to the point of destruction, the American military Unimog is an extremely rare find. When one comes up, you’ll probably have to drive to get it, and finding a pristine example is becoming exceedingly difficult.
How Much Do They Cost?
Again, it all depends on where you get it from, how many miles are on it, and so on.
The great thing about most military surplus trucks is they usually have next to no miles on them.
The bad thing is that they are driven by thrill-seeking 19-year-old soldiers and marines who beat the hell out of them.
The best way to figure out what they are going for is just to start searching. Iron Planet/GovPlanet has a feature where you can look at a tab of sold items if you are a member and logged in. This might be a little more skewed than looking at Humvees and LMTVs, where they have sold hundreds, and you can find an average, but it’s still your best bet.
Is a FLU419 Street Legal?
If you are buying a used surplus military vehicle, unless it explicitly comes with a street-legal title, it is an off-highway vehicle (OHV) in the eyes of the law. Don’t worry, this is just a paperwork issue; we deal with it all the time, and we know how to get your surplus military vehicle street-legal.
Is a Regular Unimog Street Legal?
Since these were not imported by Mercedes to the North American markets, they are also OHV until issued a clean title and registered accordingly.
They may qualify as ag vehicles in certain states (since they are an ag vehicle), so farm owners may not even bother titling or registering them.
What Do I Need to Make a Military Unimog Street Legal?
We will need the following:
For a Montana plate:
ID/Passport/Drivers License (Copy)
Title or SF-97 with a bill of sale
For a Utah plate:
ID/Passport/Drivers License (Copy)
Bill of sale
Proof of insurance
Proof of tax paid in the form of a dealer bill of sale or DMV tax receipt (if applicable — if you don’t have proof, you’ll need to pay tax unless we are registering your vehicle in Montana)
Photo of VIN
VIN Inspection (We provide this form to be completed by your local police or the DMV)
You’ll need to confirm the following parts are installed on your vehicle before driving it on the roads:
White headlights with low and high beam
Red tail lights with brighter or separate brake light
Reflectors: yellow front and rear
White license plate light
Front and rear turn signals
DOT tires
Mirrors
Horn
Quiet exhaust with muffler
Seat belts
Handbrake
Rollover protection
Windshield and wipers
Since these army trucks were driven on federal and state roads, they are usually already equipped with all of these items but double-check to make sure. You do not need these parts installed for us to register and tag your vehicle.
Also, here are a few insurance providers that we recommend for a surplus military truck:
The Dirt Legal Military Vehicle Program
There are thousands of surplus military vehicles on the market, maybe even tens of thousands, and more hitting the auctions daily. The problem is that a few states are less than friendly about titling them. In fact, if you currently own a street-legal surplus Humvee in Colorado, they are stripping the regular title and replacing it with an OHV title.
We have done the legwork to find states that have no issue titling surplus military vehicles. They will be issued a clean title and in some cases, a registration as well. For California and Colorado residents, you must register and tag them out-of-state to avoid scrutiny or being flat-out shot down by the DMV.
Montana Option
If you have an Off-road branded Title, SF-97, or just a bill of sale, you’ll get a Montana plate/title for your military vehicle, which comes with a Montana LLC.
Sales tax for Montana is 0%, which means if you haven’t paid the tax, you will not have to pay it, which means significant savings for you.
If you have a bill of sale only, a VIN inspection will be required, and you will receive a bonded title.
Utah Option
If you have a Non-Off-road branded Title/SF-97, you’ll get a Utah plate/title for your military vehicle. Sales tax for Utah will be 7%, which will be calculated using the vehicle purchase price or Average Retail Value, whichever is HIGHER.
Note: Dirt Legal will invoice you for tax if you owe it. You will not be auto-charged.
Wrapping Up
If you are lucky enough to find a FLU419, it can be a real hassle to get it titled and tagged in your home state, especially if you are in California or Colorado (ironically, two states where owning a surplus military vehicle is the most useful). Dirt Legal is your first and last stop to get your surplus military Unimog on the road.
Dirt Legal’s team of professionals will get your surplus military truck, including the awesome FLU419, legally titled, tagged, and on the road!
John McCoy is a lifelong car and truck enthusiast and has a strong mechanical background off the road. He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. He resides on a small farm in Eastern Kansas where he (sometimes) enjoys fixing ancient farm equipment.