March 7th, 2010.
Diced Deuce Man:
I can only say what I have observed around here on the HMMWV/ H-1's (civillian) that they are very noisy as to frame creaks on rough terrain and they don't seem to ride all that well for the size of the vehicle. My own two vehicles are a 1963 Swiss S404.114 CArgo Unimog abd a 1971 M35A2 Wo/W, and I must agree with David K Roberts above as regards the Unimog, as I would not part with her due to her reliabilty and agility, but there is that question of power (80HP on the S404) and speed (40-42 MPH cruise), but she will do things that neither a HMMWV or a H-1 will do, and she almost never gets stuck or high centered.
I wouldn't part with the deuce either, but she doesn't have the positive locking differentials the Unimog has, and she can get in trouble with her fuel tank, but if you respect her, she hauls almost anything and will run faster on the road then a stock S404.114 will. The HMMWV/H-1's are faster then either of the above two trucks, but I, for one am, am not impressed with the drivetrain or the mechanical design and limitations. The Army could have done better with U1300L Unimogs far and away for the money. H-1 or HMMWV's will hang up in places the Unimog can traverse with ease, and with Utra High speed axles (seen more often on the U1300 series) they can run 70 MPH all day long. The Unimog IS overengineered, I suspect there will be more operable U1300L's and even S404.114's fifty years from now then there will be HMMWV's and H-1's. The Unimog is a basis for an MRAP design, the HMMWV? Just check all that flat underbody out and see where the blast will grab on to, plus a Unimog can probably handle uparmoring better just due to the overengineered suspension.
Just my .02 worth,
Cheers,
Kyle F. McGrogan
N.B. Unfortunately though, the S404.114 does not come with power steering, air conditioning or any other frills beyond a cab heater, and the cab is pretty crowded with the engine box and shifter set up that is stock, but then I have never seen an HMMWV as having any huge amount of space in the cab either due to the engine and transmission covers. So, I guess it goes to how deep are your pockets when the time comes to buy, restore or repair these critters? I do suggest test driving a U1300L with the aforementioned ultra high speed axles before condemning the breed outright. Had I been Uncle's purchasing officer way back, the HMMWV probably wouldn't have been the truck of choice, especially when an old USMC M422A1 I had was getting more miles between breakdowns then the prototypes for the HMMWV.