Mercedes-Benz Lets You Enjoy The Outdoors, One Steppe At A Time

Thomas Kreutzer
by Thomas Kreutzer

Photo courtesy of www.abtir.com

Mongolia. The name evokes images of vast, sweeping plains, burning deserts, high mountains and deep, crystal clear lakes. Born to the horse and with restlessness is in their blood, the wanderlust of the Mongolian people fits the greatness of their land. History tells us that under the Khans, they once swept across the entirety of Asia conquering every kingdom that dared to stand in their way and stopping only when Kublai-Khan died and his empire fractured into four separate, competing kingdoms. Today, hemmed in by Russia and China, the country has become a cultural backwater, but the spirit of the people and their connection to the land remains as intense as ever. Given all that, what you are about to see makes perfect sense.

To those of us in the United States, Mercedes-Benz is the purveyor of high end luxury vehicles and the occasional delivery van but the rest of the world receives a much wider range of their product. In fact, their large trucks are famous throughout the developing world for their longevity, toughness and off-road ability and, given that reputation MB was the natural choice for two wealthy Mongolian businessmen who decided they needed to get back to nature and engage in traditional activities like hunting wolves with eagles.

The men chose the Mercedes Zetros 2733, a 6X6 all wheel drive commercial truck chassis that puts its 7.2 liter inline 6 cylinder engine out front of the driver and added a custom made mobile home body, specially made to be able to deal with the climactic extremes of the Mongolian wilderness. As the photos on Daimler’s website show, the living quarters are well appointed units featuring all the comforts of home, including a full galley and bathrooms that feature heated marble flooring. The vehicles are also outfitted with large flat screen monitors, DVD/CD players, wireless LAN systems for computers and self aligning satellite dishes so the trucks’ occupants can be in constant contact with the outside world no matter how far they may choose to roam.

Truth be told, I am not much of an off-road guy and I have little interest in mobile homes, but I like exploring and the idea of a nicely appointed, large off-road truck that can take me further than the local KOA campground really fires my imagination. That said, I think I’ll leave the wolf hunting to the locals, I’m not so sure I have the heart for it.

Thomas Kreutzer
Thomas Kreutzer

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  • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Mar 10, 2014

    I'm surprised you have to get out of the cab into the elements to enter the living quarters. There could at least be a little door for access. Also surprised the driving cabin isn't nicer than it is. Pretty crap when considering the rest of the vehicle. With this sort of deep off road stuff, it's not like you'll have a driver.

    • Signal11 Signal11 on Mar 10, 2014

      While not as flexible as the Unimog, Zetros trucks are built on frames with quite a bit of axial flexibility necessary for sure footed cargo hauling on rough terrain. Google "Unimog flex/flexibility" to see how far off axis the cargo bed/box can get from the cabin box. I don't know how the van/passenger type single box Unimogs are built, but most utility vehicles of this type retain enough flex that attaching the cabin to the cargo box would be much more work than it's worth. Also, there are not only going to be drivers, but cooks, guides, etc.

  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Mar 10, 2014

    @rpn453 - Depends on where you live. If one doesn't get too far out of town or off the farm - most likely coyotes or are you thinking foxes? ;) Cool trucks and most will be purchased by people who think off-roading is travelling the 200 metres of gravel road to that prime camp stall along the lake (next to the other 99 camp stalls). EarthRoamer has an F650 or smaller F450. A "Domestic" chassis might be easier to get serviced or repaired. I wouldn't take one of these to the local Merc dealer. They'd tear the roof off getting it into a bay let alone know where to start.

  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
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