Title says it all. Just got back from towing w/ the H2 a small TT around the Sierras and down the west coast. The H2 towed awesome and got great MPG. I love the 6 speeds and be able to pull up hills at 3500 rpm's if needed. Temps stayed good for the engine and tranny (external cooler). The truck will actually run cooler at 3500 rpm's towing up a hill than at 3000 rmp's. Go figure.

Also the truck runs cooler w/ 92 octane than 89 when towing. I run 37" (measure 35") tires and 4.56 gears.

We did a similar trip w/ a 7.3l diesel excursion and same camper 2 yrs ago. Pulling hills and passing sucked with it and had to always keep in eye on temps. Not to mention the brakes suck on the excursion compared to the H2.

All in all, towing/driving the H2 has been great and an upgrade from the excursion. Although miss the 42g tank.


Thought I'd share.

 

Wow that most has been a nice trip
what year is your truck
did you use the trailer option

could you give more imfo on tge trip itself
Im a road trip fan . 3200 miles make me dream

any pics to share

 

It's an '08 (in my sig) w/ 100k miles. Always use trailer button when towing. I also use manual shifting so I can get the rpm's up before the hills.

The trip was pretty much California 395 north to Lake Tahoe, then Crater lake, west to the coast and 101 south.

A main reason we ditched the Excursion was b/c of only 4 gear tranny. Need at least 6 when towing hills. And I use 3, 4, 5, and 6. Before swapping to 4.56 gears I only used 3, 4 and 5 never 6. Having that extra gear now is a big help.

 

That sounds like a great trip. 10 mpg is great. That is about what I get and I am not towing anything.

 

nice trip. I never tow that far but 10mpg is what I get towing in flat terrain
nice trip. thx for the info

 

Seeing as the H2 is shaped like a box and so is the camper, I don't think it has much of an impact in terms of aerodynamics. Just a little extra weight. But I am very happy w/ 10mpg while towing.

 

Just returned from this years camping trip. Towing the same camper, 2700 miles in 12 days. Temps and all were good and we got 10.3mpg for the trip. Going through Utah on I15 was a challenge. The speed limit is 80 and we'd struggle to do 70-75mpg. The aerodynamics are a big challenge for the H2. There were times I wish I had a turbo that would help kick in around 2200-3000rpms. All and all, very happy with it as a tow vehicle.

 

Thanks for the feedback, new member here, great to hear your combo is working well. We have an '05 H2 SUT we recently purchased, more or less factory setup, and we get about 10 MPG on the flats, towing a 5000 lb Airstream. In general, we really like the truck, it's a big improvement over our old turbodiesel K5 with 5 speed manual. The only real complaint I have is that when it finally does downshift on a hill when towing, the truck will actually start accelerating quite a bit, when what you really want it to do is maintain speed. The only easy fix I can think of is the supercharger option, so it won't need to downshift. Unless someone has a how to for upgrading the older models to the 6 speed, I'm fresh out of practical ideas. Is this something the GM dealer could fix with a computer reflash or update?

 

Mine is an 08 w/ the 6 speed. When I tow, I'm always shifting it manually on the steering wheel. Just makes the whole experience less eventful. So before I approach a hill I'll get my rmp's up so as to maintain speed.

 

I'll have to try that technique out. I noticed that a few people have recommended the Diablosport programmer for better shifting while towing with the older transmissions, that may be my next step if manual shifting is a problem.