Since you live in the same state we (FTE members) may call on you for an intervention

 

Really sounds like you need to be looking at 2500 Suburbans.

08/09 H2s are overpriced.

 

My only Hummer experience was with a rental H3 in Maui, which we got to drive on the Road to Hana and back to civilization. (Awesome drive if you ever have the chance! 104 total miles, 59 bridges, 46 are only a single lane and 1240 curves there and back all along giant cliffs through dense jungle.)
That H3 was horribly uncomfortable, I fiddled with the seat adjustments all day and could not get a comfortable position, the other 4 passengers had complaints too. we were very happy to get out of it at the end of the day.

Mulepic, what are you towing? I'm getting the same-ish mileage you mentioned with my gas hog V-10, 12.5 solo and 9 towing an 11k TT. Something doesn't sound right with you getting that same mileage with a 7.3 PSD. Maybe with some troubleshooting and a quality chip/tune the 7.3 will deliver better economy as well as a power increase that will help to hold OD longer climbing those hills with the trailer. I know your Western hills tend to be a little taller and longer than those back East but our rig does pretty well for us here, I would think that your 7.3 should be doing a little better even with the bigger climbs.

 

Spent a lot of time behind the wheel of a HumVee during my years of service. Everywhere from the Gulf to climbing rocks with them out at Ft. Irwin to mud bogging them at Ft. Polk.... you would honestly have to pay me some serious money to spend any long amount of time sitting in one again having my right leg fried off by the transmission tunnel and listening to the "rattle" of the motor. Have been present when guys on base who also had very well built civilian trucks went through mud holes that HumVees got bogged down and stuck in. They are "purpose built", but not the best choice for that purpose in my opinion. Yes, the military H1 has very high cool factor. But I would take LivingLarges' Excursion (up-armored of course) when the SHTF over a Hummer after my experience with them.
Don't buy the hummer..... I really like the advice about finding a 2500 Suburban 4X4!

 

As I recall they are horrible at towing right? I believe their towing capacity was very low also. I do not have any real experience with them though. How much weight do you tow? That is why i went with my ex in the first place was to be able to tow. Just finished towing 11,000 pounds of tt 5 hours going 60 mph in a 70 mph zone i will second your sentiment on the way the ex seems to not be able to find the right gear. I will hopefully add some custom tunes shortly to see if that helps. If not i may rear gear. What type of trails/terrain ate you off roading in? My main concern would be who the hell can tow an ex if you get stuck lol?

 

Why is it horrible? What is happening that makes it a negative experience?

Are you stock, or tuned?

Stewart

 

This video sums up exactly how I feel about H2's in one loud snap.


I drove a family sedan with more ***** than these pieces of junk. (No seriously, I offroaded a Ford Taurus harder than that H2 and it lived to be totaled out by an inattentive driver)

 

Kind of off the original thread topic, but I'll chime in on this one real quick.
4:30 gears will make your towing experience much better. It was the answer for ours while towing 9000 lbs. Ford should have put 4:30's in them to begin with. Towing 11K you may want to even consider 4:56's. Although you might not like the daily, unloaded driving as much.

On a side note, and this is just my experiences.... I wouldn't be cruising down the highway at 70 mph with 11000 lbs hooked to a hitch-pull anyway. 5'th wheeler's with a long wheel-based truck can get away with it. I don't do more than 60 to 63 mph on flat, straight highway when towing 9K.... even that can get "squirrely" in the right conditions sometimes. If things start to go south with 11K at 70 mph on a bumper pull, they can get out of control very quickly. Okay, "Mr. Safety" hat off now.

 

Dsn46 you are not joking lol. Re read my original post. I was going 60 max driving in a 70 getting passed by everyone. Not relaxing lol. I occasionally wander to 65 by accident and things get very squirrley very fast. Sorry to hijack, how does the hummer tow?

 

Here you go: Vehicles for Sale in Waco, TX 76706 - Autotrader

 

Don't necessarily know that a 2500 Suburban is more capable than a 7.3 Excursion though... it's more of a competitor against a V10 Excursion.

It is much newer and will have much more creature comfort and safety features though.

 

Only thing worse than the '06 is the '05...
Waco joke

 

A note on the GearVendors, it's $3300 for the 4R100 4x4 model. They also have a big fat disclaimer saying do NOT tow with it engaged for double OD, so it'll split all the gears but still leave you with the stock OD, which with your gears and tires should be around a 2.91 final drive. So it'll help getting moving and up to speed, but there are other ways to go about doing that without spending all the monies.

mulepic, if your signature line is up to date I'm assuming you have no tuner at all? For the cost of the GVOD you can get some good tunes, some supporting mods, and also throw a 38R on there and get a completely new machine instead of just adding the GV to an otherwise stock powertrain. Personally I would look into that route first, purely because across the board the bank for the buck far exceeds that of just the GV unit.

 

I don't own an Excursion or H2, but I worked at a Chevy/Hummer dealership for a couple years and you couldn't pay me to own a H2. We were constantly chasing wind noises around the windshields, leaks in the roof from factory optioned off road lights. And the worst was rebuilding the 14 bolts when the exploded from the computer failsafe not locking out the e-locker during wheelspin... 40 mph one wheel slipping owner hitting the elock button kaboom. They are a strong diff but nothing survives that. I'd keep the X any day

 

Sorry matt what is a 38r?