The view of the Unimog's front suspension clearly shows the live axle and coil-spring suspension. Note the portal axle , i.e. the axle tube is much higher than the centre line of the wheels, thanks to the hub-reduction gears, which allows huge ground clearance. Water to 1200mm can be forded without special preparation. A central tyre inflation system improves cross country ability on soft ground. At the back, both rear axles are driven to give full 6x6 traction.
All axles also have differential locks.
The gearbox has eight forward and eight reverse gears, with a splitter and a two-speed transfer case which make for a total of 32 ratios in both directions of travel. It is impossible to make such a big truck completely rigid and the Unimog's chassis can flex by several degrees, so steps are taken to distribute stresses where cross-members meet the chassis rails.