“I always wanted a Unimog, and my children really encouraged me to take the step…so I can blame them!”
About our driver Daniel
Daniel (40 years old) is a world citizen. He has lived in several countries such as the UK, China and Australia. For over 20 years he has been living in Melbourne. The biggest advantage of living in Australia? “This gives me easy access to glorious roads and coastal areas as well as the High Country, mountain passes, and great roads such as the Black Spur and Great Ocean Road.”
So does Daniel work with Unimog’s in your normal day to day job? Nope, “I work in the technology space…so very different to the Unimog!”
His love isn’t only for Unimogs. Outside of his time with the Unimog, Daniel relish the chance to travel, ride his old BMW motorbikes, and work on restoring a classic 90’s Toyota Supra! We think most Unimog owners can relate 😉
Which Unimog(s) do you currently own
A 1984 Unimog factory DOKA 1300LL
It’s a special order Swiss Fire support vehicle of a batch of 70 that the Swiss and German Fire brigades used for high altitude fire support. It also has the original custom rear box with 5 large roller doors and extendable roll out floors.
“I have owned it for about 18 months. The previous owners had it for almost 10 years and used it on the outback Western Queensland desert areas for Gold prospecting. It was imported from Switzerland where it had spent almost 28 years in service, by Ben at Mog Central in Canberra.”
The cool part:
It amazingly still has all its original records, books and service history, including the original sales dockets to the Swiss Fire service, and has only travelled 54,000klms in its life!
Unimog’s are no strangers to Daniel
Previously Daniel has owned a couple of ex Australian Defence Force Troop carrier U1700L’s. They needed a bit of work to be comfortable for extended travel!
Usage of the Unimog
Mostly traveling around Victoria, mostly with one of my Children, Brenna, whom also loves adventure travel. Learn them young 😉
The start
“I always wanted a Unimog, and my children really encouraged me to take the step…so I can blame them!”
“I went looking for an ex-military Unimog, and the rest is history!”
What Unimog would you ever want?
I really enjoy mine, as I have set it up as I like it.
It has fast axles, a class 16 speed OD, ISRI air seats, very cold Air Conditioning, full respray, custom front bar setup, sound proofing, vibration damping, marine carpet, tinted windows, the 1700 engine and turbo, and seats 6…
However, a Zetros would be nice! 😜
Future trips
Ideally the plan is to take the Unimog internationally over coming years, I would love to do the Road of Bones from Magadan, driving across Mongolia and overland through Europe to see family in the UK.
Most memorable experience
Any trip with my kids in the Unimog is memorable, but a late night drive back from Sydney to Melbourne just before Christmas, with my daughter Brenna, was amazing. 1000klms in 10 hours, in 37 degree heat, with the most amazing sunset and getting back to Melbourne at 1am. The Mog didn’t miss a beat, and it was one of those special moments.
