2600 Mile Trip

[phantom2]

First let me say that I've had my H3 for 9 months and 9500 miles and it has been 110% trouble free.I've just completed a 2600 trip from Florida to Connecticut and I just wanted to make a couple of comments and please accept them for what they're worth..my opinion.The H3 ran flawlessly and I even managed 18 mpg which is more than I anticipated.Here are the problems I encountered...I found luggage space to be mediocre for a vehicle of it's size.The rear of the vehicle is very narrow and I had to stack my luggage to get it to fit and I really didn't have that much.The lack of a flat cargo area (with rear seats folded down)didn't help much either.The front seats gave a punishing ride and after hours of driving,felt like wood park benches (cloth seats).The worse problem was the horsepower,or lack of it.The slightest of grades was an adventure and passing another vehicle was a major event and preparations for each must be made well in advance.I really loved the H3 up until this trip and since I plan to make many more,I think perhaps it might be time to look for something else more suited for highway travel.I think that the H3 is as good a machine for off-roading as you can find but I just can't have a vehicle like this as a daily driver.

[Bully13]

Well.... We can't forget that it is a small truck. I don't know of any small truck that would be a comfortable ride to go touring the states. And you are right, the vehicle is built for offroad. Very stiff suspension.

I drive mine everyday (hour round trip or more). No problems here. I also have driven it for 10 hrs+ in a day to go offroading (taking 2 hours + travel one way jusy to get to the site). I would not trade my 3 for anything. But that's just me.

[wannabeH3]

very interesting, i agree with you for cargo space. i just did a 200 mile road trip offroading adventure with 4 people plus gear, and we had stuff in the back seats since room is a hot commodity. however 4 people in my rig and we were flyin up the pass. i have had mine for 12 months now one road trip to california (from WA) with me and my gf and 2 dogs in a crate wasnt bad at all. (except my transfer case blew out and had to be replaced out there) but other than that i still love it a lot. but i agree if you need to do a lot of road trippin and the h3 aint workin out for ya you should definetly find something else you really like. altho it sucks cuz im sure you will take a financial hit selling it.

[Chip]

I knew when I bought my H3 I wasn't getting a Mercedes. It's always been a trade off with vehicles built for off road use that aren't great highway cruisers. The H3 does the off road really well and for me is quite acceptable (with the rack and pinion steering) on the interstate. But I wouldn't own one if I never went off road.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

That's good to know about the cloth seats ...

On test drives, the cloth seats felt fine to me, even better than the leather. But 15 minutes is a lot different than several hours.

Would the lux (leather) seats do better on long trips?

[usetosellhummer]

Made the decession knowing the H3 was not a cruizer like th 2. We have a a full size car for trips. I had a Canyon prior and knew waht it would be like. Try buying a softy Buick for road trips and keep the Hummer for fun

[DWPC]

Mileage: We got 17.9 averaging 70 mph with the A/C on from LA to Sedona and back (1200 miles) last weekend.
Cargo: I agree; cargo space is skimpy for a rig this size. That the rear seats don't fold flat is a PITA.
Front seats: I disagree and think H3 seats are way above average for long haul comfort.
Engine Power: I heartily agree. Between the I-5 engine and 4 sp auto trans, the H3 has a rough time keeping up with traffic on even slight grades without dropping to 3rd. It reminds me a lot of our old MB 300 diesel (non-turbo). The H3 is not well geared for 75 mph interstate cruising in the West where we have long grades and hills. A 6-sp trans would likely help this problem a lot without sacrificing economy.
Daily Driver: Our H3 is my wife's daily ride and I can't get it away from her. We're willing to accept the compromises because its road comfort and handling are really superb; especially for such a capable offroad beast. Power isn't everything.

[phantom2]

Originally Posted by Wisha Haddan H3

That's good to know about the cloth seats ...

On test drives, the cloth seats felt fine to me, even better than the leather. But 15 minutes is a lot different than several hours.

Would the lux (leather) seats do better on long trips?

Judging from the guys here the leather seats may offer more comfort especially with the power seats.My problem was with the seat pad itself, not so much with the back support which is actually pretty good.I really think the H3 rides and handles great, it's just the lack of power that limits it highway performance.This may be hard to believe but my wife has a PT Cruiser and I think the H3 has a shorter turning radius..or at least seems that way.

[f5fstop]

I agree the luggage space is limited, but for a Vette owner, it is great and comparing to my Jeep that I take to Utah every year, the Hummer is fantastic. But it is just me and sometimes a friend or my kid. Next week, after I pack in two large camera bags, two duffles, misc. gear, and then my kids two camera bags and duffle bag, I might have a different opinion.
I found the cruising to be ok in all of TN and parts of NC; granted the grades aren't as steep, and it did some downshifting to 3rd a few times, but it is what I expected for an auto/220 hp engine moving 4800 lbs. Guess in two weeks I'll find out how it acts in I-70 through CO, but last year in my Jeep, fully loaded, in third gear (manual trans), I could only obtain 65 mph up a few of those long passes.
Seats to me are very confortable, but I do have the leather, and have only driven a cloth seated vehicle around town; not on long trips.
However, a vehicle with this HP to weight ratio is not for everyone, and not sure if it would be the vehicle for me if I still had three young boys and went on extended trips with them.

[Chip]

I've yet to go up the I-70 with the H-3 but I've driven it from PHX to Flagstaff, Only a couple of times it couldn't maintain 80. It suprised me as I thought it would slow down.

I would be interested how fast you can go up the Gorgetown hill west of Denver. When I lived in Denver that was the test. A Porsche will do a 130 while a Wrangler will be lucky to maintain 60.

[FutureBeachBum]

Having just completed a similar length trip have to agree and disagree on a couple of points.
I've got the cloth seats and did one 850 mile day with no more complaints from my butt than I would have gotten in my Infiniti.
Cargo space is not the best, but with just 2 of us wasn't an issue.
Engine seems to run out of steam above 65-70, punch it at those speeds or above and it's more noise than go.

All in all I enjoyed taking it on the trip...and a whole lot more fun walking up to it and climbing in that getting into a minivan, which lets be honest is more practical for road trips.

Life is too short to be practical !

[deserth3]

Just got back from a trip. Flew up to New england area (got tickets before buying H3) and ended up renting a Ford Explorer. What a dog... this thing would downshift on mild exceleration on a flat highway. Even my daughter was going through H3 withdrawl after 6 days.
I can't tell you how much I'm glad to be back driving my H3.

[FutureBeachBum]

Not to mention you're invisible in an Explorer! If I needed a get-a-way car I would use an Explorer.
Any eye witness would say, yeah the guy was driving a dark grey Ford Explorer [there would be twenty or thirty in a 1 mile radius]
(no offensense to the Explorer owners in the crowd)

[evldave]

I've got 11k on my hummer, about 60% DD, the rest on longer trips (500-750 miles/weekend). I'm coming off a BMW 325i and before that a '91 Cherokee. Not close to comfort of the 325i and 10x better than the Cherokee. I have the cloth seats, and in pretty good shape, so not back or sitting problems for 7+ hour drives, mostly at 35-55 country roads.

I am planning a much longer trip in the fall, likely a month of driving every day, around the western states (last time I went on a monthlong sabatical, it was 7500 miles in 28 days). I've been doing some medium trips and am pretty happy w/the cloth seats. I might go w/a back support for the longer trips. We'll see

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by Chip

I've yet to go up the I-70 with the H-3 but I've driven it from PHX to Flagstaff, Only a couple of times it couldn't maintain 80. It suprised me as I thought it would slow down.

I would be interested how fast you can go up the Gorgetown hill west of Denver. When I lived in Denver that was the test. A Porsche will do a 130 while a Wrangler will be lucky to maintain 60.

I'll post my trip info on the return. That hill sounds familiar, my biggest problems in the Jeep were the climb to Eisenhower tunnel and the next one; Vail I believe. Strange thing was, even though the Jeep was redlining, I was still passing other cars.