I am a beginning off roader looking into buying my first off road vehicle. I am in my 50's and not mechanically inclined myself. I will start with one day trips with my boyfriend and build to short overnight trips. I am about to buy either a 2006 Jeep commander limited V8 Hemi 4x4 that has the off trail badge on it.....I think it has skid plates already??? It is completely stock no mods. OR I am looking into a 2004 cherry Hummer with 17" rims and 35" brand new Goodyear tires. If I buy the stock Jeep what will I need to add to it to make the Jeepers Jamboree/ Rubicon Trail run in Tahoe end of July beginning of August?
Can I go off-road with Hummer without mods? How about the stock jeep? What would I need to do to the jeep to make it off road Worthy?? No rock crawling...just day trips or weekend overnight trips.


Please advise plus and minus of each or which is easier to maintain. I know this is Hummer group but please be objective if at all possible. I love both right now!!


Any advice at all or insights are completely appreciated!! Glad I found this group!!


Looking to buy before this weekend


Jill

 

2004 Hummer what? Is it an Adventure or what???
If it is a bone stock H2 it will need rock rails and skids. H2s are a BUNCH wider than Jeeps, they have a hard time squeezing through Jeep trails at times depending upon where you are going. You would be better served by an H3 if you are going to wheel Jeep trails.

Being in a hurry when buying always sets you up for a real headache.

Commanders have very little aftermarket support and suck gas like a Rastafarian on a dime bag.

Go ride along with somebody, research what you need, then buy.

 

 

Please, buy the Commander,

They both will suck fuel (not the best for over-landing)
Commander is smaller in width (fits better on tight trails), H2 rides better on road and off for the passenger.
Both are horrible platforms for serious offroad (ROCK CRAWLING).
Over-landing is what it sounds like you want to start doing so either would be kinda OK at that.
Better have plenty of $. Over-landing is expensive and quite snooty now a days.
Commander has plenty of aftermarket support for lifts, etc. You can also go to your "Hooray, having a midlife crisis so I bought a Jeep and a bunch of stuff from Orvis and feel like I fit in somewhere now" Jamborees.

You will NOT be able to tackle the entire Rubicon Trail (which is ROCK CRAWLING) in either without some major modifications, major $ and major time.

This is my favorite part seeing as though it's JULY 16th!
"If I buy the stock Jeep what will I need to add to it to make the Jeepers Jamboree/ Rubicon Trail run in Tahoe end of July beginning of August?"
Ask the Jeep people.

 

I have a Jeep and Hummers. I rarely wheel the Jeep. It is lifted, 35s, rocker panel protection, etc. Nice rig but when I hit the trails I am in a Hummer. Rubicon is a tight trail in places. I have wheeled with some Commanders. You can wheel them but they have been pretty unimpressive offroad. I would expect some snobbery even from the other Jeep owners if you show up in a Commander. I was on John Bull one weekend and we had a JK with us. A bunch of guys in CJs passed us on the trail and asked if we were all Hummers in our group. I pointed to Seth's JK and said no we have a Jeep running with us. He laughed and said " that ain't no Jeep, Jeeps only have two doors" and drove off. I wheeled my H2s and they were great. There are some trails we didn't run due to its size and that is why we got the H3 Alpha. Whatever you buy you need to understand its limitations and learn to drive it within its capabilities to avoid a lot of the trail repairs that others deal with. Wheel enough and you will break something. Know your truck and how to drive it and you won't spend much time fixing your rig on the trail.