6 unimog - Mercedes-Benz España

The baptism of fire
Tests on the edge of the Erzgebirge mountains. Under the
supervision of the Saxon State Highway Construction
Institute, a U 400 with mowing implement was tested by
the Chemnitz Highways Department
The Central Implement Service Section
at the State Institute is responsible
among other things for the
purchasing of all vehicles and implement
and the maintenance and operation of
Federal motorways and Federal and State
roads in the Free State of Saxony. Emphasis
is placed on the testing of new products
as a means of assessment. For this
reason, a U 400 in combination with the
Mulag-Schmidt MHU 800
mowing attachment was
comprehensively tested for
an initial period of six
weeks from May this year
onwards by the highway
maintenance depot in
Gornau on the edge of the
Middle Erz Mountains,
not far from Chemnitz. The
U 400 is very near in its
specification to a tender in-
vitation that a U 1600 would
formerly have fulfilled, but
with major design changes:
• The mowing implements
8 UNIMOG
JOURNAL
The Mulag-Schmidt
mowing attachment is
controlled by a joystick
and keyboard
is no longer driven via the rear power
take-off shaft but via a power hydraulic
system. The rear power take-off shaft is no
longer utilized.
• Thanks to the new transmission design
with Telligent gear shift, a double clutch
is no longer required for operating heavy,
front-driven appliances; the power take-off
shaft is switched on and off electrically,
independent of the clutch.
• The panorama door and the
rotating seat for operating the
mowing implements are not for
retrofitting but can be ordered
ex-works from Gaggenau.
• With the VarioPilot interchangeable
steering it is possible
to control and drive the
Unimog conventionally from
the left or — after a quick
swap — from the right for improved
implement operation.
After a successful invitation
to tender, the Saxon Highways
Administration will buy
seventeen U 400s of almost
the same design. Not all the vehicles will
be equipped with VarioPilot¤, however. In
view of the large number of roads needing
maintenance, the Unimog with two mowing
implements and a two-person crew is
more efficient. The Mulag-Schmidt attachable
mowing implements is matched to the
new Unimog. It has an outreach of 7.3 metres,
CAN bus control and M htronic ,
with which the boom is automatically relieved
of load when meeting obstacles.
As a result, an average working speed of
5 km/h can be reached.
The U 400 also has a hydrostatic drive
which enables very low working speeds,
that can be precisely maintained both in
mowing and in winter road clearing with
a rotary snow blower or snow tiller.
The Saxon State Highways Institute’s
decision to buy the U 400 was not an easy
one, although it has already had a good
deal of experience with the Unimog midrange
and large model lines. Testing the
U 400 also served to define the specifications
for other Unimog vehicles in close
cooperation with Unimog-Agency Henne
Unimog GmbH in Wiedemar and the KLMV
customer service station in Rodewisch.
Result: the new Unimog has passed the
baptism of fire. And the driver is happy as
well with the latest developments!