Wowza... I had a pretty immediate change in faith.

[SirFer]

Hey all. I haven't posted a whole lot on here, especially lately, and I've got a confession. It's mainly because I was looking at getting rid of my '07 H2... I'm a 17 year old kid, and parents wanted the H2 strictly for safety after I got in a wreck in an Xterra and it was totalled with me and 3 friends inside. I loved the H2 when I first got it, it fit in quite nicely down here in South Florida (Boca Raton), the Glacier Blue and healthy helpings of chrome go a long way down here. After awhile though, I got kinda tired of the H2. I knew I needed an SUV at the time because I surf quite a bit, and was mainly into longboarding at the time so needed something that could carry 9' logs. I also lived a few minutes away from the boat ramps so I needed something to trailer my jetskis around. So the H2 was a good choice. Then the gas mileage started getting old, and the lack of acceleration. I was doing alot of city driving so I was on a first name basis with most of the gas station guys. Then over summer I moved to a house on the water with jetski lifts in the backyard so no need to trailer anymore, and I all but stopped longboarding and went to shortboards. So then I started looking at other cars, yes cars. SUVs were out. I was looking at nice cheap fast cars that would leave me money left over from a sale of the H2 to trick out... I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking. I had a slight change in faith when I decided that North Carolina is definitely where I'll be going to college so an SUV would be nice in the snow, but I was still thinking the H2 could use a catback exhaust, an aircharger, and maybe some 22" wheels, possibly 24"s... Negotiations were in the works with the parents for those things between my grades and all. And then on Saturday it all changed. I finally went off-road, first time in 11 months of ownership that I ever put it in 4 Hi Locked. Alot of the trails were flooded out and/or muddy, and I was following my friend in his H3. I can honestly say, it's probably the most fun I've ever had. I was a religious washer, interior and exterior, every Saturday morning to keep the chrome shining until Saturday. I had so much fun tearing through mud and trails. fording ponds that I only had vague ideas of depth. (I learned that I should not trust vague ideas when I got halfway through a little flooded out pond and hit a dropoff that brought water up to my hood handles, though the H2 handled it quite nicely, plowed right on through with no trouble, then had to go back through the same dropoff to leave, and after a check upon returning home none the worse for the wear after being almost submerged for a few seconds. Got home Saturday afternoon and didn't bother washing it, figured I had so much fun I'd go back yesterday, so I did. Once again, most fun I've ever had. I have mud everywhere, a quarter inch thick on the sides, and once I was spinning the tires in some mud and heard "plop plop plop" on my roof and realized it was the mud flying up and hitting the roof. I had a complete change of faith. Not only do I never want to own anything but an H2 again, I also don't want silly shiny performance and appearance parts, just anything that'll make it even more beastly out on the trail. I have no problem with people who bling out their rigs, but I've finally found my calling on the trail and don't think I'll change my mind anytime soon. Most of my friends who used to get rides off me so they could be seen in the big baby blue chrome H2 are now disgusted by the mud covering everything and don't want to ride anywhere near me even and I'm loving it. Just thought I'd share, and let you know I'll probably have lots of questions about general Hummer stuff and how to make my off road experiences even more fun.

[HUMMERcustoms.com/TAZ]

Hey Congrats,

You made the right choice. H2 will give you allot of fun whether it is bling and going to shows to compete as i do or taking it in the sand or mud all the time as most on the forum do. Just make the rig your statement and run with it. As far as the parents add-ons if you are going north for school ask for winch which will mean a bumper change and other off-road stuff. There are many here that will give you advice. I for one would not go over 20" rims but, even more go 18" with as big a tire as will fit on the rig and not rub. It will get you some lift and you can get a key set that will allow you to turn your sway bars up and get 2" real cheaply along with tires may get you a total of 3 to 4 inchs. If you are really enjoying being off-road you will have so many places in North Carolina to go it will most likely take you the full college stay to find them all. It will be flats, hills with trails and rocks, and then rocky hills. There will be allot of places that will be nice in surrounding states that will draw you to them also. So if negotiating with parents for stuff for H2 ask experienced about what to add. You may be the kind that loves it so much you add a lift kit to get 4" up to 12" if you want to get that high. You can go to 44" tall tires with lifts and I'm guessing you have 33" tall tires now with me not having asked what you have.

Anyway just pick the way you want to go. later if You want a full custom rig, buy it at my dealer and Dragon and I will do the work and it will win shows. Search for pics of my rig in the pic section of forum and you will see some of what we do. We do mud to glamore rig H2's as well as H3's and they come from way off. East Coast, West Coast shops are great but, we are the shop to Central USA.

Good Luck,
Oh, if you cannot find pics which you should and would like some sent I can have that arrainged to be sent if you PM me on the forum. I hope you keep your fire going for the H2.

TAZ

[porschett]

You wash it yourself? In 15 months, I tried it one time and gave up!

[SirFer]

Eh. I used to. It was like an all-day ordeal though. The thing is so big it took me like 6 hours to fully clean it. I planned weekends around it. I think it was slightly overkill but oh well.

[MVR 155]

Short of cleaning up after an off road expedition the H2 is fairly easy to clean since everything is easily accessable. I start with the wheels, lowers and wheel wells with one bucket/sponge, rinse it, then move to the uppers using a fresh bucket of soapy water and wash mit, dry entire truck. Vacuum the interior and wipe it down, (clean windows if they need it). I then go back around the outside to get any drips and then I dress the tires and spray the wheel wells, suspension parts with protectant as well so they keep a nice black shine.....this also helps for clean up next time around. I can do the whole truck in about 2.5 hours. Ive been cleaning my cars like this for nearly 15 years so I would say Ive got a pretty good system down. Obviously you have to add time for extreme dirt or when a coat of wax is being applied

[jaxtrip]

Thats an awsome story! I had similar feeling about my 06' after I traded my BMW in towards it, I was really sad at first wondering if I made a mistake... Then after owning my rig about 8 months a friend of mine invited me off road w/ him and some Jeep buddies of his..........After that single trip I realized how lucky I was to have my H2. The most fun I'd ever had driving! Within a month all chrome was deleted from my rig as I turned to the dark side (blacked out Grill, Wheels, latches, vents, fuel door, etc.)

Have fun!!!

[ROX]

You can have fun and chrome at the same time!

[jaxtrip]

Originally Posted by H2 Rocks

You can have fun and chrome at the same time!

Blasphemy! I gained at least +30hp and 6" of clearance just by blacking out my rig..

[H2R]

Originally Posted by H2 Rocks

You can have fun and chrome at the same time!

Thank god for h2rocks!

[Agriv8r]

Originally Posted by jaxtrip

Blasphemy! I gained at least +30hp and 6" of clearance just by blacking out my rig..

wow, you must not have done it all...the complete kit raises a minimum of 7" with a lot of people seeing 8 or better and at least 53hp....recheck to make sure you did not get the econo kit....

[jaxtrip]

Originally Posted by Agriv8r

wow, you must not have done it all...the complete kit raises a minimum of 7" with a lot of people seeing 8 or better and at least 53hp....recheck to make sure you did not get the econo kit....

Still have the door handles to do, then we'll see some numbers....

[jmsspratlin]

Originally Posted by jaxtrip

Blasphemy! I gained at least +30hp and 6" of clearance just by blacking out my rig..

[Agriv8r]

Originally Posted by jaxtrip

Still have the door handles to do, then we'll see some numbers....

its always the door handles...

[3Hummer]

i never had it chromed to begin with but as soon as i added my tail light guards in black i noticed a 14.5 increase in horsepower

[MDimitri]

Originally Posted by SirFer

Eh. I used to. It was like an all-day ordeal though. The thing is so big it took me like 6 hours to fully clean it. I planned weekends around it. I think it was slightly overkill but oh well.

I had mine detailed inside and out and had the crew come to the house, it took them 13 hours to do the job!! Best $650.00 I ever spent.

Cheers!

[SirFer]

TAZ, I think I'm gonna start with anything that will help me get through mud and water and then go from there. A winch bumper is first on the list just because its comforting that I would be able to pull myself out if need be. Then probably bigger tires, and maybe a lift somewhere down the road. Right now though I think it's performing quite well completely stock, so I'm in no rush. I was quite the perfectionist in cleaning which is what took me so long. Wash twice, then dry, then wax. Also shined all wheels and tires, took toothbrushes to the lug nuts to get brakedust off. Invisibly Glass inside and out every window. Armor Alled the tires. Used leather cleaner/protectant on all the seats. Used plastic/rubber protector on all of the trim. Vacuumed entire interior and handwashed floor mats. Man did she shine but now that I realize how beautiful a quarter inch of mud can be I don't plan on washing anytime soon. I'm not going to get rid of any chrome, especially because I'm not sure how the blacked out look would be on a Glacier Blue, but I definitely won't be adding any more chrome either. Thanks for the replies guys. I'm about to start asking questions in the technical discussions.

[tower]

Originally Posted by MVR 155

Short of cleaning up after an off road expedition the H2 is fairly easy to clean since everything is easily accessable. I start with the wheels, lowers and wheel wells with one bucket/sponge, rinse it, then move to the uppers using a fresh bucket of soapy water and wash mit, dry entire truck. Vacuum the interior and wipe it down, (clean windows if they need it). I then go back around the outside to get any drips and then I dress the tires and spray the wheel wells, suspension parts with protectant as well so they keep a nice black shine.....this also helps for clean up next time around. I can do the whole truck in about 2.5 hours. Ive been cleaning my cars like this for nearly 15 years so I would say Ive got a pretty good system down. Obviously you have to add time for extreme dirt or when a coat of wax is being applied

What would you charge to come to L.A and... Oh nevermind!

[tower]

Originally Posted by H2 Rocks

You can have fun and chrome at the same time!

Originally Posted by H2R

Thank god for h2rocks!

X2!

[HUMMERcustoms.com/TAZ]

SirFer,

Sounds like You are making the right choices up front. My baby sister lives in Florida and her husbands famly are all in Miami. You are in fairly flat land so the tires and winch will do for now. I recommend though before You go up north to college you lift it a little bit. You will find out what real off roading is up there. I have not been into it here in Arkansas because it is flat and we grow rice here. I spent all my life in mud riding in some kind of vehicle. I had an actual WWII jeep when I was in my teens that my grandfather kept around for me to play with. I do not know what it was about those old jeeps and the real Army tires it had on it but, that thing could not be stuck. When we moved down around Hope, AR during the time crops were planted as well as winter we had a 2000 acre cattle ranch and that jeep was used with it's winch to pull cattle out of mud that they would get stuck in walking out into the stock ponds. I'm 51 so it was over a good 35 years ago that I first started driving that rig and we had it till I was 23. I'm just still amazed how you could not get it stuck. The last few years we had it I drove it in the same ruts around the rices fields expecting to get stuck put the skid plate just kept acting like a bulldozer blade and cutting lower. I finally gave up and told that old girl she won and I took good care of her and retired her. It got stolen and I wish I could have gotten my hands on the thief. It was almost like having a faithful old horse stolen. It was a blast to run that rig.

Good Luck.

TAZ

[Alan06SUT]

Cool. you should come on one of our Tellico trips. Stock is fine. If anything a set of 37x12.50's and a warn multi-mount winch. That will get you all over Tellico, Moab, Rubicon, and 95% of places ANY vehicle can go. All while haivng a comfortable ride there and back. You can even tow your buddies jeeps and other toys and out-wheel them!