Danish Defence 240GD
Danish Army as first decided to implement new light vehicle into their Army – it was Mercedes G class in short as well as long version. Danes opposite to Germans are still placing their order more often for version with tarpaulin. The new so called Wolf has nothing in common with the first production models besides the name and characteristic look.
Because of the huge interest from hunters, farmers, vets and also ordinary off-road enthusiasts about Military Mercedes G, we decided to broaden our offer by Danish Army Wolf.
Main reason is as always price – “Dane” is the cheapest Wolf possible on the market. Unfortunately, lower price means in many cases disproportionately lower quality. Quite often we can find on the market vehicles after so called “quick renovation” which is only done for a quick resale. Not to mention about the quality or origin of painting materials. Danish Wolf or German one are painted with special paint, which besides its preservatives features, makes the vehicle invisible for the first generation Night Vision. Same pattern of spots is to blur the contours of the car during various military actions.
As seen on the attached images we did complete “Danish Wolf” renovation according to original guidelines and materials from Danish Defence. We decided to renew this vehicle after first tests on traverse. We’ve been under big impression from the very beginning. It is common known that “Dane” is a slow, hard to make any maneuver, rusty piece of garbage – unfortunately, just after few miles I have to say, that people are absolutely wrong! However, after dealing with some pretty serious off-road, I was very impressed with these 23 year old Mercedes off-road properties. 240GD is obviously weaker than Bundeswehr Wolf by 6HP, but in the field while having terrain mode on, there’s practically no difference between those two cars.
The Danish Army has 4 cylinders with a 2.4L diesel engine but in Bundeswehr version we have newer 5 cylinders, 2.5L diesel engine. Slight difference, but experienced users will feel it in torque which is very important in steep climbs. However, there is nothing to exaggerate 99% of users won’t feel any difference in the engine power while driving in hard terrain.
Both vehicles have the same two hydraulic differential locks, which you can switch during drive and also the same reducer. The difference is the gear ratio and its number – Dane has 4, German has 5 gears. German Wolf we also have so called “L” gear which is the motorless gear that we can put on during the road mode without switching the reducer. It is very helpful while trying to move the vehicle with trailer (You put on “L”, then 1st gear, 2nd gear etc.). Unfortunately “Dane” doesn’t have this solution – But watching many of my colleagues who drive BW Wolf for a few years now, I haven’t seen any of them using “L gear” even once. Another difference, which is unfortunately very annoying both in the field and on the road, is the lack of power steering. “Dane” was not equipped with this feature and it’s a pretty big problem when maneuvering a trailer, or even to the car itself.
Dane big advantage is its higher and more comfortable suspension, which is absolutely better that a harder one in BW Wolf. It has a huge impact not only on the comfort of the ride itself but also causes less wear of the vehicle. I also think that benches used in the back are much more practical than comfortable two solo seats in the German Wolf. With this solution Dane has a higher tarpaulin frame, which gives the car larger luggage compartment.
Given the same visual effects, Dane gives the impression as if it was even larger car – this feeling is caused by mentioned suspension with increased travel, increased tarp and higher tires (235x85r16). “Dane” also has a very useful (for example, if you connect the 24-12V inverter) main power switch, (so called „Plane”). The difference is also in the spade mounting, which is very useful in Wolf BW which you can find it under the hood, it’s very practical – unfortunately, the Dane has a spade behind the first row of seats, which is quite annoying when you try to get into the car from the passenger side. Both cars have a 24V installation (2 batteries at 12V) and very powerful heating system, which is perfect even at – 20 temperatures.
Dane does not have a wooden floor in the luggage compartment and external fuel canister mounting on the back, which is located on the license plate illumination and additional roll bar in the back of a car that saves lives during the rollover and rear seat passengers’ health.
However Danish Wolf is almost 300kg lighter from his German cousin, which you can mostly see in fuel consumption.
Quite a big advantage of Danish Wolfs offered by our company is their technical condition – all the vehicles have relatively low mileage, resulting in low wear of the parts, which in most cases are change for brand new ones by the Army. As you know engineering is most important, because all the repairs (even minor ones) are very expensive.
It’s different with the visual aspect – practically every “Dane” looks pretty much dull. Plumbing repairs are needed in virtually every case – but the price is a half of the cost of a Wolf from Bundeswehr also satisfaction and joy from the ride and its off-road abilities are almost identical. I always say to my clients that where ideal “Dane” ends, you won’t even find cheapest German Wolf. So everybody who’d like to start his adventure with Gelenda and he’s not looking for a vehicle that he won’t be using more often than once a month I recommend Danish version. In the Renovation section you can see how “Dane” could look like providing its very good technical condition.
Situation looks the same with Skoda and Audi – both cars have the same origin and are very similar, they will take us to the most inaccessible corners of the globe and will serve our kids for years. But Bundeswehr Wolf is just better, faster and stronger version of his Danish brother.
During every purchase of Wolf you have to always pay attention to the documents that seller is offering, because later you can experience a real horror in Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Remember that those vehicles have their market value and occasions happen really rarely, especially in the Internet era. So for “Dane” in good technical condition we’re about to pay 20.000 zł and with good body condition around 30.000 zł.
The Bundeswehr model will always be 10.000zł or even more expensive. In case of Wolfs always try to buy a vehicles that are in their original condition – you can always let professional company to make a complete renovation for you. These kind of vehicles need to be bought from a known source, because w wrong purchase can lead you to some serious financial troubles. But a good Wolf is nothing else than a good investment – cars in their original condition when properly operated won’t lose their value within years.
I always recommend www.gelenda.pl web site, which is a true source of knowledge. There are many fans of G-class, who are willing to share their experiences. There is also some kind of a record of Gelenda’s in the country, so each car can be easily verified.
best regards
Rafał Waliłko
RAV73
see full gallery: Danish Defence 240GD