The vehicles won't physically be limited to 40km/h by governor I don't believe (though it's possible). I think the article means is that since they are being imported as "off highway" they will be limited
by law, to a top speed of 40km/h during highway travel, which may vary by province. ie, it's a road grader (for example), and by law if it has a slow moving vehicle sign, it's not to exceed 40. That's why I dont run a SMV sign on my mog, it's capable of sustaining a steady highway travel of over 40km/h, I can be ticketed with a SMV sign if I exceed that. Is that neutering one of the key advantages to the Unimog (high speed travel between work sites), yes, yes it is, unless that work site is a set of train rails in a rail yard it never leaves, which I suspect is the case since that was some of Mross's biggest clients, rail yards in Toronto and BC just love the Unimog as a (everythings realative) cheaper alternative to a dedicated shunt, that can not only shunt rail cars, but blow snow, sweep track crossings, and haul maintenance gear as well as several crew members in the DoKa's case (there's a U4000 DoKa in service with the TTC used for just those purposes that Mross supplied years back).
From the article:
Mross says. New Unimogs will be classified as off-road vehicles, and thus be subject to the same rules as a tractor or backhoe.
From the farm guide to using a farm tractor on the road:
SLOW MOVING VEHICLE:
A slow-moving vehicle sign is placed on
the back of vehicles that travel less than
40 km/h, such as farm tractors,
machinery or construction equipment.
This sign warns drivers to be prepared to reduce
their speed.
I suspect they are just classing the Unimog as a tractor or construction equipment, to import it for industry use and avoid all the "motor vehicle" import stuff (crash testing, emissions compliance, etc) and subjecting it to the 40km/h limit for highway travel (being it's an off-highway vehicle, same as a tractor). That doesn't' mean the vehicle can't go over 40, it's just not allowed to on the highway. Of course lots modern machinery such as the Fendt having a top speed of 60km/h, JCB fasttrac 3230 XTRA having up to an 80km/h top speed, they can exceed 40km/h, but if they have the SMV sign on the back, or even if not and are registered and insured commercially (every farm operation is a commercial operation, or construction company, etc) they are
supposed to keep it under 40 for highway travel. Do they? Can't say for sure
I've seen units hauling a bale wagon perhaps in excess of that, but who's to say
Plenty of farm equipment now-a-days is capable of exceeding 40 on the road, but the law still states....well you get the idea.
The U500 was imported as a vehicle by Freightliner, thus it was vehicle plate-able and allowed higher highway speed travel. They even had to do some change from the Euro version for the seatbelt anchors for the North American market, to be road compliant. That relationship (Mercedes+Freightliner) no longer exists so this is a whole new instance (the U523, etc) as an off-highway vehicle.
Unimogs were sold new in Canada long before the U500, lots of 411's in the 50's were sold to mines in Ontario, I bought a 1956 402 that was sold new in Saskatchewan from a Mercedes dealer as a wrecker. U900's were sold by CASE to oil field weed control companies local to me, and new U1750's were sold new in Calgary and Edmonton right at the car dealerships, and new U2450's were sold new in Rocky Mountain House.
There's a need in industry for new ones and Mross seems to be supplying. Just this time around these are imported off road use only. Rail shunts, crane trucks, and other such uses is what these will be used for. Not Expo Campers. (yet
)
