The 710/712 Pinzgauer is a very rugged and sturdy vehicle but there are some issues (potential) owners should be aware of.

The truck was designed in the 60’s for very special applications.
In the 60’s safety design was not developed as much as it is today and wasn’t as much a concern.
The main users, military forces, didn’t have any intention to drive those trucks at high speed and they are usually operated in groups which are somehow separated from the normal traffic (by signs and leading and trailing vehicles). Due to it’s weight the Pinz is classified as a truck in Europe which implies a speed limit of 80km/h.

The forward control design of the truck and the offroad capabilities lead to some safety issues everybody should consider when driving the truck. In case of a frontal impact the driver and front passenger are in a very unfortunate position. The bumpers are NOT very strong and the legs are just behind a thin metal body with marginal framing. Driving at higher speeds is dangerous as it won’t track very well if you hit the brakes. These brakes are drum brakes which don’t have the efficiency of today’s disk brakes either! For drum brakes they are very good but they are not self adjusting which requires regular maintenance to keep them adjusted.
Side impact stability isn’t as high as people may believe as the “tub” only has to be able to hold the payload. The tub only has a simple square metal tube around and all the stability is build into the center tube which holds the engine, drive train and gearboxes.

The worst part is the stability if you make a sharp turn at higher speeds! The truck will simply roll over. Several ex-Swiss army drivers reported that they damaged / totaled more trucks by roll-over on the road then they did off the road.

Some more safety issues from todays point of view:
- the steering wheel is just rock solid
- lots of sharp corners around driver and passenger
- no padding for the front passenger.
- the gas tank is in a “very unfortunate position” in case of an impact on the right side.
- the front seats will collapse on impact.
- due to the high “belly line” the risk to tip from a side impact is increased
- very low backrest of the rear seats and no seat belts.
- at night “invisible” from the side.
- very small and weak tail lights.

This should not be a statement to make you afraid of driving the truck! The sole purpose of this page is to make (potential) owners aware of the limitations. If you drive the truck at decent speeds on the road, i.e. 80km/h max., it is a nice behaving vehicle. Don’t drive it on-road with tires previously deflated for offroad use as this increases the roll-risk.

Enjoy the Pinz offroad where it is one of the safest and most capable vehicles you can drive and just be careful on the road. If you can, trailer it to the offroad places. It’s more comfortable, doesn’t wear the truck and you have the best of both worlds. Whether you want to use it as a daily driver is up to the owner but don’t forget, the smallest modern car has more safety features.

Recommended improvements/modifications (w/o “fundamental” modifications):
1a. where allowed, install a solid brush guard which goes around the front corners and reinforce the bumpers. If possible and allowed by local laws make them wider then the truck so they can hook around the door frame in case of an impact. Or:
1b. install two heavy metal tubes from the inside in the “nose” which go against the door frame. Requires to cut holes into the air-tunnel and to relocate the horn and the air intake for the fan.
2. install seat belts in the rear. Unfortunately only lap belts can be installed. Do NOT use automatic belts (wrong activation direction) and do NOT mount them to the bedsides as they are not strong enough
3. install (removable?) bars behind the rear seats or attach them to their backrests and install headrests.
4. install a round metal tubing frame around the gas tank which is attached to the tub frame (outside) and the bottom frame of the tub (inside). Even better with stringers against the central tube.
5. make the backrests of the front seats lockable or better, replace them with modern seats
6. replace the tail lights with improved versions which meet local/modern standards.
7. install side markers
8. replace the headlights with modern versions (direct fit) for halogen bulbs.
9. pad as many sharp corners as possible in the driver and passenger area (i.e. glove box, hand rail, fan, removable top of door frame).

Author known to SDP-P