Question for frequent wheelers

[Arizona Hummerboy]

I have a 03, and I am at 60,000 miles on it. I have wheel it a lot with out any damage to it, and I have not had any maintenance problems with it form off roading it.

As for maintenance on the Hummer I just try to follow the Owner Manual for maintenance on it.

[CO Hummer]

I've had mine for just about 4 years. Almost $0.00 in maintenace thus far. I only have 35K miles, but I've got a lot of them offroad and no problems so far.

[BlueTJCO]

...in the 130,000 miles I've wheeled her, maybe $20.00 on trail repairs...

[DennisAJC]

Originally Posted by CO Hummer

I've had mine for just about 4 years. Almost $0.00 in maintenace thus far. I only have 35K miles, but I've got a lot of them offroad and no problems so far.

X2

[KenP]

Originally Posted by DennisAJC

X2

You only ride around with FJ's and they suck... so there...

[SnakeH2]

Originally Posted by CO Hummer

I've had mine for just about 4 years. Almost $0.00 in maintenace thus far. I only have 35K miles, but I've got a lot of them offroad and no problems so far.

I am to conclude....good driver = $0.00 Damage

[CO Hummer]

Originally Posted by SnakeH2

I am to conclude....good driver = $0.00 Damage

That would be a Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc logical fallacy.

[KenP]

Originally Posted by SnakeH2

I am to conclude....good driver = $0.00 Damage

No, he only drives on fire roads out there.

[OldHiker]

What can you expect? How much and what type of off-roading do you want to do? Fire roads will ding you with rocks kicked up by your tires. Mud pits will make a mess and clog up everything. Paragon greens will give you pin stripes and lots of bending of under carriage parts and brackets. The Rubicon will try to do the most damage. Of course, a rollover could result in death in Moab.

Damage is not optional when off-roading. It will happen. I have destroyed the front diff and transfer case. Much body damage, from stripes to dents and missing flares.

So it goes back to you and your personal limit. How far do you want to push yourself and/or your truck? What gets you going?

[ssgharkness020147]

IFS is gonna be the weakest link for you. But alot of the other wearable iteams can be avoided. If you dont you really need to grease your WHOLE truck before and right after every event. U-joints, ball joints, tire rod ends, carrier bearings, everything. You will significantly cut down on wear if everything is greased. This is the stuff that really will keep your truck out of the shop in the long run, and the not so long run.

I aslo change my diffs, t-case, geared hub fluids after every event.

[CO Hummer]

Originally Posted by ssgharkness020147

I aslo change my diffs, t-case, geared hub fluids after every event.

Dang..... And I thought Phil was obsessive about this.

[Boar-Ral]

We go wheeling several times per year and have found that if you are careful, you can avoid mechanical damage. The first thing is to drive slow, where possible, and to be careful with the stock tie rod ends. There are a couple times where the wheels have been stuck, and just tugging a bit on the steering wheel, you can hear a very metallic groaning and clunking sound, and I lay off immediately. So far, we have had no mechanical problems with the vehicle, at around 85,000 km. Now cosmetic damage, that is a differrent story, and I am looking at about $5,000 in repairs, if I decide to go ahead with them.

[BlueTJCO]

Originally Posted by Boar-Ral

We go wheeling several times per year and have found that if you are careful, you can avoid mechanical damage. The first thing is to drive slow, where possible, and to be careful with the stock tie rod ends. There are a couple times where the wheels have been stuck, and just tugging a bit on the steering wheel, you can hear a very metallic groaning and clunking sound, and I lay off immediately. So far, we have had no mechanical problems with the vehicle, at around 85,000 km. Now cosmetic damage, that is a differrent story, and I am looking at about $5,000 in repairs, if I decide to go ahead with them.

[Boar-Ral]

Originally Posted by PhilD

If you like to push the vehicle to its limits, stuff will break, you pay to play. Even if you just soft-road, stuff will break sometimes. But there is a subtle difference between abusing your vehicle and driving it hard, if you abuse it, you will break stuff regardless of how hard or easy the trail is.

That is sort of what I meant. There is a difference between getting some air while driving through off-camber washouts, and seeing how fast you can drive over some hills and moguls to see how far you can fly.

[BlueTJCO]

Originally Posted by PhilD

Sure you can avoid damage if you are careful, but where's the fun in that?

If you like to push the vehicle to its limits, stuff will break, you pay to play. Even if you just soft-road, stuff will break sometimes. But there is a subtle difference between abusing your vehicle and driving it hard, if you abuse it, you will break stuff regardless of how hard or easy the trail is.

As H2CP says, the IFS is definitely the weakest part of the H2 and is what requires the most maintenance. I'm on my 7th idler arm, 4th Pitman arm, 2nd steering box, and have gone through numerous tie rods, ball joints, sway bar bushings, half shafts, etc. Although a lot of that is due to the lift and the additional stresses it puts on the steering/driveline. That said, you can lift a H2 and never have any issues if you soft-road.

Body damage comes with the territory when wheelin' hard and will happen sooner or later if you push the vehicle. Good spotting will really help keep it to a minimum, but sometimes it just happens and there is nothing you can do about it.

If you are not willing to break stuff then stick to easy/moderate trails and drive sensibly; think twice, drive once, and you'll substantially reduce the reapirs needed.

After every off-road trip I get the impact wrench out and make sure all the bolts are tight and check for damage. It is amzing how many nuts and bolts will come loose after just one wheelin' trip.

Hey Phil, I wheel plenty of "moderate/hard" trails, prob about 20 to 30 a summer and see plenty of breakage...

I myself, have not broke a damn thing wheeling and I push my vehicle plenty out here, trust me...

Dont assume because someone wheels slow and carefully that they are not pushing the limits of their rig. It has more to do with knowing what needs upgraded in your setup, what is strong, and what the weak points are. From there you know when and where you can "push" it and when you cant....

No dont get me wrong, I have replaced my steering box, radiator, shocks, and other simple parts, but I have never had to "replace" anything due to it failing me or breaking on the trail. I know one day I will, but if your careful and know what your doing you can push your vehicle plenty and not break stuff...

"Sorry, just proud of my little heep".........

Agreed on tightening up after wheeling though. Now that I have a nice garage, I will check all my suspension and front end nuts and bolts after each wheeling trip. Keeping "chit" tight is a very important proventitive step in making sure you dont break something on the trail...

I know I'll break something soon enough, just waiting...............but I've been careful so far and lucky in other situations I suppose. I can think of a few times on a few trails I thougt I'd be towing my ass home and ended up being just fine.....my day will come.......

[johndjmix1]

Adam, thats exactly what I plan on doing.

--John

[DennisAJC]

Originally Posted by PhilD

But you ain't wheelin' a H2

It takes more talent to wheel an H2.

[BlueTJCO]

Talent...you have more doo-dads and buttons on there to help you down the road then some airplane cockpits

A rumor I heard is in 2009 GM is planning on the "Moab" edition H2 that wheels itself...


"But you dont drive an H2"......I know Phil, just thought I'd open my stinky mouth and chime in......

[CO Hummer]

Originally Posted by Mooncricket

A rumor I heard is in 2009 GM is planning on the "Moab" edition H2 that wheels itself...

For an extra $200 you can also add the auto-PIKE option.

[BlueHUMMERH2]

Wow, a lot of responses. Thanks for the input.

I try to drive sensibly for the most part. I found that the group of H2's on Saturday at Paragon drove like maniacs as far as speed was concerned...

My UCP is bent up into the exhaust, and it has sheared off one of the engine exhaust manifold bolts, which I have to have extracted and then replaced. Has to be the rear most bolt, which I can't easily access myself. The bolts are $.79 each, but the job will probably cost me $200....

So far I've avoided body damage. I have smashed the rocker rail on the drivers side, and smooshed a bushing on the sway bar in the rear. I don't want body damage (though I suspect it's only a matter of time), but I don't mind if I bang up the protection because that's why it's there.

But I'll keep an eye on the IFS. I have a feeling that some of the components in there are in need of replacement. Otherwise, the other components seem to be holding up. My rear suspension squeaks, but I think that's from the lower shock mount getting dirty (there is a TSB on this I think?) and my exhaust rattles from the aforementioned UCP impacts. The steering at low speeds is making a noise at some points and causing the steering wheel to vibrate. And when I come to a stop, there is a rattle of about 2 seconds a few moments before I come to a complete stop. I'm going in for inspection shortly, so I guess I'll have them look at everything and see if there are any parts I can try to replace on my own with my dad helping me.

Thanks for the input so far!