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The Ultimate S.U.V.
Max the Merciless writes: "Take one part KITT, one part 007, one part Unimog, throw in a whole lot of high technology and you get the MaxiMog, perhaps the ultimate SUV! The MaxiMog is a go anywhere, do anything 'expedition system'. The vehicle (and trailer) runs a total of 7 separate computers, a high speed network and a google of different communications devices. I enquired as to the operating systems, and apparently "real time and safety related systems control run under QNX, scheduling and communications management under Linux, and there are a few apps that run under OS9/OSX and WinNT (hate the NT stuff, but some of the communications software is yet to be ported to anything else)". However, my favourite feature is the "High Intensity Air horn system - two air horns producing 137dba at 15 feet in front of vehicle. Note -- Due to high sound pressure levels only for use off road when no personnel are nearby!"
Its FAQ says that:
The MaxiMog(TM) is a Truck not an SUV and requires a driver's license for a heavy (over 12,500lbs) vehicle with air brakes.
So I doubt that we would see these being driven by soccer moms. Although it would be cool for a road trip.
You can do either.
They are alternative spellings of the same word, as this site says.
Dictionary.com lists 'enquire' as a 'Variant of inquire'.
Also, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary lists enquire and inquire as having the same meaning.
OS's by law have to be embedded type OS's. It's ilegal to run the controls such as safety and what makes it work with anything else such as windows, macOS,linux (embedded forms would be ok). They have to be embedded to help prevent against a crash. Any bug while driving could result in injury/death. Also since the cars computer controller is never used by things like entertainment systems and such it doesn't have to support much other than a lot of IO and managing things such as fuel maps for the engine. The auto industry does most of their prototyping with Dspace. Production cars use a finalized version of this. Typicaly you have little control over this programing for safety reasons, you can read the codes (as in error code) but not much more. This is not something people shouldn't mess with. I would be surprised if QNX is the real OS controling critical things. 1) because Benz makes the unimog so its' controls would have been made by them. 2) QNX is pretty advanced, for your car you want it as simple as possable to avoid bugs. 3) its pretty big and needs a decent CPU, cars use very lame CPU's in them, and many of them. Anything thats more than a few thousand lines of code would probly be to much.
BB
The Mog is basically a military vehicle. The ADF use them and they're almost impossible to tip.
The Unimog, (the machine on which on this technological crap is being dumped) has been around since 1948. It's an incredibly sturdy, reliable and easily adapted machine. It's widely used for all sorts of purposes all over the world.
Examples:
With a trencher it digs to a depth of 6 and a half feet and refills the trench with a front power-take-off-driven back-filling auger, completely operated by one person.
At factories, it can serve as the prime mover, fire pumper truck, crane, forklift, sweeper, and snow removal tool.
Many communities, (12,500+ municipalities in Europe), buy it for winter service, fire protection, search and rescue, disaster relief, road construction, underground cable-laying by both trench and plough-in methods, lawn and field mowing, waste removal, sewer and street cleaning, tree transplanting, utilities boom truck and mast erection, even grave digging, and more.
You can run UNIMOGS on rails/wheels too. Thousands of UNIMOGS can even crawl onto the tracks and hydraulicly lower chassis-mounted guide mechanisms for the purpose of shunting rail cars or for simply getting to the scene of railroad or other emergencies by the most direct rail route.
They can pull up to 600 tons with the appropriate gearing, and can be geared down to 50 metres an hour if neccessary.
Maybe they will get used as SUV's, but as far as I can tell, they haven't had any particular recreational usage, (apart from enthusiasts!), and I doubt that is going to change as they have always been bred as working vehicles, and aren't specced with the kinds of options packs that SUV'ers have come to expect. (This 007 toy excepted)...
Check www.carradine.net/articles/ince/ for more Unimog History or www.carradine.net for Unimog resource...
...about the Unimog. This vehicle, dubbed to be one of the best All-terrain vehicles in the world (with exception to the recent Humvees maybe), was one of the first Mercedes-Benz products after WWII was over. As Germanys industry was was under control of the allieds everything they built needed prior permission. As it seems the allieds took the vehicle for what it was advertised a powerful tractor/transporter for agricultural and civilian construction uses (it was perfect for building roads as the vehicles had cruise control from day one, allowing them to go with very constant 2mph).
...) already have bought one. And it runs. It is not uncommon to see 1960s models in the streets doing their work. So why buy a new one ?
Ironically, after the Germans were allowed to establish a military force again they ordered Unimogs and rated them as "military vehicle class A" which means that it is "able to follow a heavy combat tank through heavy terrain with medium speed under all conditions". Created for civilian use it received its well-deserved military honors. Even the US army uses some of them. (Among many many others).
You can check out the vehicle history at the link below, along with some pictures. You can also take a look at the new U400 which looks way ugly in comparison to the older models. Maybe I just like them better because I have driven one of 'em for so many miles.
Unimog History
Ironically for Mercedes-Benz, the sales are going very bad in the last years, that was part of the reason for the facelifted U400 but it is not the competition that's digging MB. Everyon who could possibly use one (military, agricultural, construction,
+++ath0
OK, finally got enough of the main page to see the FAQ link -- and it downloads instantly. (See how much better text works?)
WHY WAS IT BUILT?
The MaxiMog(TM) vehicle and trailer was built because it's owner plans to drive around the world to remote and hard to get to places doing both photography and scientific exploration. Contrary to what many people believe, most of our planet is still relatively unexplored. After a year of research, he determined that a custom vehicle would have to be built to meet his requirements. The MaxiMog(TM) is the first pass at that solution and is a work in progress.
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WHY A VEHICLE, TRAILER AND MOTORBIKE?
To provide the most flexibly. The hybrid system allows the vehicle or motorbike to go off exploring while the trailer remains behind as a base camp. The MaxiMog(TM) vehicle alone can be used by itself for small expeditions that don't require sleeping, kitchen or toilet facilities.
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WHY IS IT CALLED AN EXPEDITION SYSTEM?
Because the various components including the vehicle, trailer, motorbike, underwater submersible (ROV), remote surveillance aircraft (UAV), Jet Boat, and modular electronics systems are designed to be easily interchangeable, and work together as a coordinated whole.
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WHAT WAS IT BASED ON?
The MaxiMog(TM) vehicle is based upon a highly modified Mercedes Benz Unimog U90 chassis. At this point about 30% is original. The MaxiMog(TM) trailer was designed and built from scratch.
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WHAT'S ITS DRIVING RANGE?
The vehicle has a design driving cruise range of about 1200 miles without refueling. Obviously this MPG rating is affected up or down based upon speed and terrain.
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HOW MUCH DOES IT WEIGH?
The vehicle weights approximately 16,500 pounds loaded, and the trailer weighs about 14,000 pounds.
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FROM THE PICTURES, IT LOOKS TOP HEAVY.
While the vehicle has a high profile to provide adequate internal headroom (BTW - It's the same height as the original Unimog U90 chassis on which it was based.), the center of gravity is quite low due to the placement of heavy items such as the Engine, Generator, Batteries and Fuel Tanks. Additionally, the vehicle has front and rear antisway bars and an auto leveling air suspension system to assist in dynamic stability.
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DON'T THOSE NERF BARS HURT GROUND CLEARANCE?
The Nerf Bars (side steps) are shown extended in the pictures on the site. When driving, they are pneumatically retracted.
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WHY SO MUCH CHROME!?
There is actually no chrome anywhere on the Maximog(TM). Everything you see that looks like chrome (including the 4 front bumper mounted 5 gallon water tanks) is solid 316 stainless steel alloy with a natural polished finish. Beyond corrosion resistance and appearance, the polished finish minimizes adhesion of snow, ice and mud.
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DOES THE TRAILER HAVE TO BE CONNECTED TO THE MAXIMOG(TM) VEHICLE TO GET POWER AND COMMUNICATIONS?
While the trailer can be connected to the trailer for power, communications and data, it does not need to. It has it's own water cooled quiet 25KW generator which can supply power, air conditioning or heat, or hydraulic power to operate the wheel motors at low speeds (Both 4 wheel drive and steering) for campsite positioning or power assist for off road mobility.
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CAN IT STAY IN COMMUNICATION AND CONNECT TO THE INTERNET IN VERY REMOTE AREAS?
Yes. It has multiple long range communications systems for plain or secure message traffic in addition to short range VHF and UHF transceivers for short and medium range use. The principally long range (non-emergency) communications systems are Inmarsat-B/C/Mini-M, Globalstar LEO, and a HF/ALE (High Frequency/Automatic Link Establishment) transceiver for low bandwidth communications in areas where there is no satellite visibility. Asymmetrical data-only internet connectivity for wideband downloads can be accomplished via a tracking DSS satellite dish if within the satellite footprint. When wideband video Uplink capability is required an independent satellite system is carried on board the Vehicle or trailer.
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WHAT IF IT BREAKS DOWN?
The MaxiMog(TM) carries a significant compliment of spare parts and tools to effect field repairs. It is also designed so that critical systems have backups and automatic systems can be isolated and operated manually if needed. However in the event of a serious component failure such as a broken drive-line component, the approach is to take the BMW R1150GS bike and get help, or use the global communications system to get parts and tools driven or flown in.
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HOW GOOD IS IT FOR ROCK CRAWLING AND EXTREME OFF ROADING?
Simply stated, it's an expedition vehicle, not a recreational vehicle. While it is designed for severe off road conditions whenever encountered, this is a vehicle that is intended for long duration expeditions, not "seeing what it can do" by traversing technical trails created by off road enthusiasts. However, the Maximog(TM) chassis provides 20+" of suspension travel, 25" inches of ground clearance (worst case, under the differential housings), positive locking differentials, CTIS, variable ride height, adjustable shock absorber compliance, and air shifted transfer case for low range operation. This makes it quite capable in a broad variety of off road conditions.
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BUT WON'T IT GET STUCK OFF ROAD IF TOWING THE TRAILER?
The Maximog(TM) trailer is designed for the same off-road operation conditions as the Maximog(TM) vehicle. It has a ruggedized chassis, the same 25" ground clearance, and the same air suspension and adjustable shock which are coordinated in operation with the tow vehicle. Additionally, the trailer is a fully powered 4X4 using computer controlled hydraulic wheel motors so the combined MaxiMog(TM) + Trailer functions as an 8X8 with coordinated drive, suspension ride height and compliance, and CTIS operation. The front wheels are steered so the vehicle and trailer combined has the same turn radius as the vehicle alone.
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HOW DO YOU CHANGE A TIRE AND WHAT DO THEY WEIGH?
Fortunately, this size of heavy duty Michelin tire doesn't get a lot of punctures and if it's a slow leak the Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS) can often keep up with it. When you do need to change a tire, the vehicle has a tire lowering winch built into the swing away spare tire holder that easily lowers it to the ground or raises it into the storage position. Depending upon which tire size and tread pattern (highway, off-road or combination) is fitted, the weight is between 325 and 400 pounds each.
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WHY THE BIG TELESCOPIC MAST?
The mast has a variety of uses. It can elevate an electro optics package for long range observation and rangefinding (day or night). It is also used to mount communications antennas to increase point-to-point communications range. This is especially useful for flying the UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) at long range, and to increase the service area of portable communications devices like walkie talkies (using the onboard VHF and UHF repeaters). A chair can also be fitted to the mast to elevate a person for direct observation. The mast has a tilt-down facility which facilitates loading heavy items on top from ground level. It has a static payload capacity of 350 pounds.
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WHAT IF IT GETS STUCK?
It has 20,000lb capacity (continuous duty) front and rear hydraulic winches with 150' stainless steel cables. The winches are dual speed units and may be controlled locally from the drivers cab, or remotely via a safety interlocked radio remote control system. The vehicle also carries a variety of hydraulically powered accessory tools including an submersible chain saw, impact wrench, bolt/cable cutter, grinder, and multi-purpose push-pull jacks.
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IS IT LEGAL TO DRIVE IN THE USA?
Yes, once certified and licensed it is fully legal to drive on any road that is rated for it's weight (all major roads and highways) and height (10'6"). It meets California emissions standards and all applicable DOT/FMVSS/EPA regulations. The MaxiMog(TM) is a Truck not an SUV and requires a driver's license for a heavy (over 12,500lbs) vehicle with air brakes.
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HOW IS THE TRAILER CONSTRUCTED?
It is a composite panel structure using a sandwich of fiberglass reinforced plastic, thermal insulating foam, and electrical shielding to provide lightning protection. These custom panels are fabricated with internal metal tubes and fittings to provide reinforcement where needed. Unicat in Germany is expert at this construction technique which yields an excellent strength to weight ratio and superior thermal insulation for extreme heat or cold.
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HOW DOES THE TRAILER FOLD AND UNFOLD?
The trailer uses a new system which combines a lifting roof with two interchangeable side mounted Swingout® modules (patent pending). These modules are electrically operated with a microprocessor based motion control and safety system doing the motion control coordination. It takes approximately 5 minutes to complete its fold/unfold cycle (limited to this speed for safety). When in its folded state the trailer is fully protected (all glass covered) and the overall size as the MaxiMog(TM) vehicle. When it unfolds, there is approximately double the internal volume. There are seven steps to the fold/unfold process.
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DOES IT HAVE A TV AND AM/FM?
Yes to both with DSS satellite TV capability.
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DOES IT FLY?
Not intentionally...
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WHO DESIGNED IT?
The vehicle was designed by Bran Ferren of Applied Minds Inc in collaboration with Thomas Ritter of Unicat. He can be reached at bran@AppliedMinds.net.
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WHO BUILT IT?
Thomas Ritter at his company Unicat based in Hambrücken Germany was selected as the best and most experienced manufacturer to build the vehicle he designed, and the staff at Applied Minds in Glendale California did the technology systems design and integration.
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WHAT DOES IT COST AND CAN I BUY ONE?
Well, let's just say that it costs more than a Hummer and Less than a Boeing 777 -- and you can't buy this one. However, you can have one built just like it, or to your precise specifications by the same company, Unicat. For more information please contact Thomas Ritter
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I can't really comment on the 'mog, although to me it really seems like it doesn't do much more than a tricked-out Ford F-350 4x4, as used for pipeline inspections, etc. I also think that petroleum exploration uses custom vehicles like the 'mog, but without the supposed cachet of the Mercedes-Benz base.
However...I can comment on the motorcycle accessory..."overpriced poser" comes to mind. The R1150GS is a good moto, but it's designed as an "adventure tourer" for old fogies like myself. NOT what you would take for any serious off-road expeditions. (I have a Triumph Tiger, similar in intent, and wouldn't use it in this context either. And there's a host of poser bikes coming with even less capability in this area from Aprilla, Ducati, and Suzuki.)
A much better and cheaper choice would be a Kawasaki KLR650, as used by the USMC; Honda XR650, better in the dirt; possibly a Husaberg, KTM, or other dedicated dirt bike; or even the BMW 650, if they *have* to have the logo (Bring Money, Wilhelm). One of the characteristics of a dirt bike is that you have to be able to pick it up when, not if you drop it...you really need a winch for this with the adventure tourers!
If the rest of the design decisions were made like this, it really will be used for expeditions to Starbucks.
As for the CPUs, my Tiger has a Motorola 68000-based Sagem engine control system, while the F-350 gets by with an 8096 (or used to, anyway). Don't know the CPU in the BMW R1150GS EFI system. We aren't dead if they go, the EFI has a limp-home fallback mode, but it is a risk, and several high-profile motorcycle adventurers have selected/stuck with the older BMW R80GS or pre-99 Tiger because it's simpler and doesn't risk electronic failure in the Cordillera Del Condor, for example.
During the snowy winter months, Unimogs are just about the only way for researchers and astronomers to access the Meyer-Womble Observatory atop Mount Evans, Colorado. 14,148 feet above sea level.
An image of the Halloween '99 DU Astronomy Unimog expedition is here.
Where I'm originally from (UK), "enquire" and "inquire" are different. "Enquire" means to ask a question. "Inquire" is more of an investigation, thus when somebody "inquires", that might make many "enquiries". However, it seems that isn't the case in America where few people make the same distinction. In fact, from my experiences over here, it would appear that most Americans view "enquire" as an infrequently used alternative to "inquire".
From my Oxford dictionary:
enquire v. to ask. enquiry n. Although these words are often used in exactly the same way as inquire, there is a tendency to use en- as a formal word for 'ask' and in- for an investigation.
inquire v. to make an inquiry. inquirer n.; inquiry n. an investigation, especially an official one.
See note under enquire.