does offroading=problems

[dreamer]

i am wondering are the things such as, rust, rattling, seal problems, and water leaks the result of offroading. is there a correlation between problems and off roading. if you go off road you can torque the body and the parts will shift than not match up causing leaks,rattles and such. now do people who drive their h2 on road experience these problems also. i am wondering because i am so close to buying one and will never take it off road.

[dreamer]

i am wondering are the things such as, rust, rattling, seal problems, and water leaks the result of offroading. is there a correlation between problems and off roading. if you go off road you can torque the body and the parts will shift than not match up causing leaks,rattles and such. now do people who drive their h2 on road experience these problems also. i am wondering because i am so close to buying one and will never take it off road.

[SOFTTAILJC]

dreamer, of all the trucks i've owned, the h2 has held up the best off road... thats under moderate conditions......the harder you drive anything the more chance you have of breaking stuff.....but you said you'd never go off road , so buy it , have fun..........soft... http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[H2 Daddy]

Dreamer
I use my H2 as a daily driver and take it off-road. I think if you are not going to try out the H2's capabilities, you will be missing a very satisfying part of H2 ownership. I have never off-roaded in my life before I bought a H2 and now I love going off-road. You could drive on trails that are easy so you don't have to worry about damage. I would not drive over any terrain that would cause body damage either. It is certainly your choice but I just wanted to let you know that it is very fun on drive an H2 on the dirt.

[Steve R]

Say what???? You mean people actually take these things offroad????? http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gifhttp://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Simply put: when offroading, you have the potential to expose your vehicle to non-typical forces, stresses and demands that CAN increase the likelihood and propensity for damage and mechanical failure.

What dramatically seperates the H2 from a built-up Tahoe is that the H2 was designed & engineered extra strong in order to encounter these extremes and keep within a safe range of reliability and function. In other words: it can handle a lot of harsh stuff...but nothing is impervious to failure.

I firmly believe that when approached properly and in a conservative/reasonable manner...off-roading will not cause problems.

Time and again I've seen excessive speed, poor judgement and inappropriate actions result in problems. Aka....driver error.

[dreamer]

here in nj there is not much if any good places to go offroading. i am just trying to find out if there is a connection. i am going by what i read on the board. granted i am looking for the problems people post. on the other hand a coworker of mine has one and has not had a problem so far, but he never goes off road.

[argonaut]

Offroading is what a Hummer is for. That is what they are built for. But yes, they do get hurt on serious trails. The lighter terrain doesn't do much, but if you are a pansy and stick to the easy trails it isn't much fun. Why would anybody buy a Hummer and never hit the mud? Could I interest you in a nice caddy escalade? The most stolen car in the country... They are great on road drivers... If you are buying it to look like you have money, how about the range rover, much classier...

'03 H2 Sunset Orange No mods
'03 BMW M3 Convertible
'02 BMW M5

[Adam in CO]

I, for one, have NEVER taken my H2 off-road, and never will. I'm not even sure these things have 4 wheel drive. I stick to the pavement, where cars should be. Perish the thought of anyone I know, or would want to know, ever using these vehicles for that purpose. Oh, the humanity!

Adam P. Smith
Mortgage Pros, Inc.
303-407-2405 p
303-407-2414 f
aps101374@yahoo.com

[Zing]

I bought a used Jeep a few years back and had the seller meet me at my mechanic before I bought it. The mechanic, who is a friend, asked him all sorts of questions about whether it was taken offroad. It had been offroad once and my friend seemed concerned, looked all over the place for potential problems. I remember him saying how mud in the wrong places if not cleaned out properly accelearates wear and tear, and loose, cracked, broken parts were a concern.

Well we know that offroading will certainly not extend the life of your Hummer. But like H2 Daddy says you're missing out if you try to keep your H2 problem free by not offroading.

[Hummer Man]

YES - With every manufacturer!

[89vette]

I had a rattle in my tailgate that I could not find and I am usually pretty good. I took it off roading and not the rattle is gone! How about that!

03 Sunset H2!
89 Vette
02 Escalade

[ckhagman]

"here in nj there is not much if any good places to go offroading. i am just trying to find out if there is a connection. i am going by what i read on the board. granted i am looking for the problems people post. on the other hand a coworker of mine has one and has not had a problem so far, but he never goes off road."

Ah bite your tougue. While the pine barrens are not really challenging we do have some great off-road challenges in the area. Of course they are in PA but still not that far considering what some other people go through to get there fix of off-road fun.

And of course Steve people take them off-road. I once saw a video if a guy driving his H2 around while getting interviews by some tv station in CA and saying off-road related stuff. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Steve R]

there's been a few video's since then....

[ckhagman]

I know i stay on top of them. I usually wait until a slow day at the office with the high speed line.

[dreamer]

all i want is no problems with the thing. thats it. dont hate me because i dont want to wheel it.

[marinron]

Dreamer - There are no guarantees in life. I have had a blown head gasket in a nearly new MZB, and dumped over $10,000 in to a Jeep Cherokee Grand Laredo that was never off-road in five years. My 03 H2 is a year old, has 15k miles on it of which approximately 5K has been off-road including a trip to Baja. The only problems i have had are very minor first year production items which the dealer has cheerfully remedied.

If you don't take it off road, my guess that it will last longer than almost anything else you can buy. Buy it, drive wherever YOU want to, and enjoy...