Hey guys, i'm new to Hummers and i really don't know much about them. I've been reading a little on here when i get a chance, but haven't found everything i'm looking for just yet.

Anyways, i've looked at a couple H3's here lately, '07s and '08s priced between $17.5k-$20k with miles around 39k, not wanting to get anything with miles above 60k.

How well do these things tow? i don't tow to often, but everynow and then we'll rent a boat (tahoe fish and ski), uhauls, stuff like that. I just want to make sure it won't have any problems getting the boat out of the water.

How many miles are you guys seeing out of them? what kind of mpg?

Are they expensive to mod? i was thinking maybe a small lift, little bigger tire, then of course intake and such, i don't need/want anything to crazy.

I've read that the '06s had issues with the heads, is there anything i need to look out for on the '07-'08s?

I'm sure you guys get these kind of posts all the time and i would normally just search around but i've been pretty busy lately and haven't gottin to much computer time, so please forgive me.

Thanks in advance for the help!
Kenny

 

i have an 06 and have not had any problems with it yet and i just rolled over 70k the other day. they are extremely reliable and can do anything you pretty much want it to do. before i got the bigger tires, i was getting around 20 mpg, then got my new tires and it dropped to 17 highway. they are kind of expensive to trick out but it all depends on what you want to do to it. there is a 2" lift for just over $230, but the easiest way to lift it is getting bigger tires *kill 2 birds with one stone). you can fit 35x12.5 on a stock h3 with out having to do anything, but you lose a lot of mpg ( i have 35s on mine), people usual put 33s on theirs because the mpg does not change. Intakes are around $200 to $300. there were 06s that did have problems with the heads but those were taken care of in the later ones. there was someone on this forum earlier that had the VIN number to check to see if the hummer was corrected or not.

 

Any vin lower than 287591 is in the no-no zone and I personally would not buy one.. I'm kinda in your shoes.. I've got a 2000 Trans Am and need something to haul kids with..

 

one of the main reasons i was wanting the '07+ was because i read that they came with the 3.7l over the 3.5 in the '06s.

I'm actually looking at trading in my '05 ram quad cab right now which is my main kid hauler.. Unfortunatly i just sold my formula about 2 weeks ago, that was a sad sad day, but i needed the money for other things. I'll get another one eventually.

 

98formula? You on camaroz28 by any chance? That name looks familiar.

These trucks tow fine. I tow a 14ft duck boat without any issues. Cant even tell its there. Launching is a piece of cake.

Bone stock with the torsion bars cranked, I get 18-19mpg highway. Once I do my airdoc and filter, and perhaps tune, I'll see 20-22 easy. About 16.5-17mpg city.

They aren't that bad to mod. You do NOT need a lift on these! Cranking the torsion bars (free) and taking off the nerfs, combined with installing 35's will literally make your "stock" have more "lift" than most lifted trucks. Adventure package trucks come with 33's stock; so thats a good tire to upgrade to. But 35's will fit without ANY modifications, and these trucks will go anywhere with a GOOD set of 35's. But if your hell-bent on a lift, a 2"rear/3"front lift is like 230-240$

 

thats the kind of info i was looking for. I didn't know how much you could get out of them by just cranking the torsion bars, 35's will be plenty for me, my wife is short so if i go any higher she will probably start getting pissed haha...

i don't think i had an account on the camaro forums, i'm mainly on LS1tech and LS1.com

 

Check out this picture on the first page. The left would be you, and on the right is a truck w/ cranked t-bars and 35" tires; THATS-IT.

https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=20258

These trucks look and perform great with those 2 small mods.

 

thats crazy, it definatly makes a big difference! Now i'm just gonna have to keep searchin around to find one for the right price.

i see people talking about the h3 alpha, and luxuries, what is the differences, and how many different ones are there?

 

There are a few diff H3's.

If you are a hard-core offroader, go thru some nasty sh*t, or live up north, try finding an Adventure Package H3. Those come with front and rear push-button lockers. Aim for an '09 or later Advent Pack. But really any of them are good. The advent pack H3's come with cast iron differentials, and a lower ratio (dont remember exactly) transfer case for rock crawling. The regular H3's are VERY slow when crawling in 1st gear; the advent pack 3's are even better and slower.

Alphas come with a v8 with 300hp and 320lbs of torque. They also only get 15-16mpg highway tops. An i5 with a tuner, airdoc intake, filter, and even a five speed will get much MUCH better mpg, and will also have similar HP as the v8. The alphas also have a very tough cast iron differential and I believe a better rock-crawling-pace transfer case.

Luxury package has leather, heated seats, etc. They can also come with a 7-speaker monsoon system (with NASTY bass btw..), and are often coupled with the chrome package (mirrors, door handles, etc).

There are Tactical edition H3's which are mostly looks

And a few other things.

It's all up to you. I tow with my 3700 i5 just fine; I've recovered people in mud, towed cars home (my own lol), towed a boat, towed 5 passengers and about 5-600lbs in gear to the beach just fine, etc. But the Alpha H3's do have a higher tow capacity and have a lot more power. But they suck a lot of gas.

The adventure package hummer's, while nasty, aren't really needed. I consider myself a "hard core" offroader; I go thru 3ft of water, traverse hills and terrain where I am constantly on only 2 tires teeter-tottering, I climb huge hills, I trail ride, I bomb thru mud holes, and I even recover buddies who are stuck; and I have STOCK goodyear wrangler tires w/ 30% tread left. And thats NOT with the adventure package. I've only gotten stuck in situations where I knew I would, but didn't care because I had backup to pull me out. With a set of tires, I would be unstoppable. I even waste a buddy with an '04 f150 with 35's and a 3" lift. He even admits the HUMMER is a monster. Keep this in mind. Not saying the advent pack is worthless; but if you can drive, and have good tires/cranked torsion bars, you really will be unstoppable.

The luxury pack is nice; you cant beat leather and a gargantuan sunroof (and the amazing Monsoon stereo). This way, when your stuck you've got some good country music to listen to while waiting on recovery

 

very nice, i grew up in a swappy area of florida, 4 wheeling most of my life so i consider myself a pretty good driver. But now i am stationed in texas and there really isn't a whole lot of that stuff here from what i have seen.

I've looked at 2 or 3 H3's recently, 1 of which was the luxury, the other 2 had the I5 with cloth seats, and no moon roof, one was a '06 the other was a '07. One of those 2 would probably be what i would go with since the luxury was a bit out of my price range and it was an '08.

I'll keep my eye out for the right deal, i'm definatly set on getting a H3 now!