I love my H3
 

Ok, I know it is a bit of a ridiculous title but it is true. I bought my 08 H3 Alpha in early December and had not really put it through any type of challenge other than hauling some gear and checking out some new cut roads.

I don't know if any of you saw the great fun we had in the DC area this past week but I was stuck in the middle of it. I work in DC and live 30 miles north west in MD. My commute is normally 40 minutes yet it took me 7.5 hours. Not because I was stuck but because I had to deal with everyone else. Well after 6 hours of traffic and only getting 10 miles I needed to get gas. I got off the highway and filled up. As I looked from the station I noticed I had two options... where I came from, well traveled and semi plowed roads that were at a standstill or the remainder of my drive on un-plowed roads... I chose the path less traveled. A jeep with a lift kit and big tires followed me and it was a blast!!! It was like a scene out of Mad-Max. Abandoned cars, buses, mail trucks, cop cars, etc all strewn across the road at funny angles where they got stuck. What made it even more spooky was the lack of power or lights across most of the area.

I am pleased and amazed at how well the H3 handled 12 inches of wet slippery snow. I had it in 4 Wheel high lock and never once felt as though I was not going to make it. We had to traverse a couple of downed trees (small ones) and at one point some idiot had plowed out his driveway into the street leaving a pile of snow about 3 feet high across the entire road. I saw it too late as it was around a corner and I ended up hitting the edge of it and the H3 barely blinked. I was on all side roads so they were twisty and at times you could not tell if you were on a road or not.

Sorry this is so long, but I could have written even more describing the crazy conditions but it was all handled by the H3. Funny side note, a doctor I work with rented a 4x4 at the airport and they gave him a H3. He tried to buy it from the rental car company he like it so much (he drove my route about a half hour behind me).

I got home and thanked my wife for letting me buy the H3 and not pushing for a XC90 (which I say a lot of on the side of the road).

great story,good commercial if hummer was still in business!!
i especially enjoyed reading it here,warm and toasty in bed with a hot cup of coffee!!

tell me about your tires since i do not have your confidence with my bridgestone 285 duellers.

Believe it or not, the tires are the stock 265s. Good tread left on them, did well in the snow.

I joined this forum 2 days ago because i was thinking of buying an H3 and this story really makes me want one now! I live in Philadelphia and we got around 15 inches in the last storm.

AWESOME STORY!!!! I only wish we could get some of your guys's harsh snowey weather here in Oregon!!!!!

Sounds fun...We have a blizzard coming into the Chicagoland area tomorrow... cant wait to zip around in the Hummer.

we got more snow comming here to buffalo- ower first big storm i had alot of fun lol i pretty much did same as him except tad bit differnt all my friends were calling me to come pull them out of the snow haha lol i love this truck and for me only being 25yrs old i hope this truck never dies lol deff will buy another one!

Seriously! its supposed to be sunny for like a week straight. what's up with that haha. Although when it comes to portland I'll take the snow in the mountains and rain in town. Last year we got about a half inch of snow in town and there was practically a state of emergency. It didn't matter what I was driving, I couldn't move because of what everyone else was driving! but when I did start moving is when I first fell in love with my h3. This thing kills in the snow.

supposed to big the biggest storm since the late 60s not looking forward to driving anything in this one lol

,!!

im thinking of someone in an all electric green whizbang,,freezing their xxx!! no gas?,no heat?,no go? cant borrow a gallon!

um a hummin

Our turn in Michigan -- in my area, 30 miles outside Detroit, we are supposed to get 11 to 16 inches tonight and tomorrow morning. Can't wait!!!!!

Make sure you turn off the traction controll. I got mine stuck in 2 feet of snow while in 4 high lock. I didn't think to turn off the tc untill it was too late. After some digging and rocking it back and forth I finnaly got out.

I left mine on, no problems in 4 high lock... the traction control only kicked in when I took a turn a little fast and some jackhole had plowed his driveway into the road, about a 3 foot pile. In 4 high open the traction control was kicking in a bit more. Not sure I do enough extreme driving for Airlockers but it is tempting....

found something that stops a hummer 2 feet of snow at the end of my driveway got stuck in 4 low had to dig it out doesnt help i have highway tires on it lol

Only got 8 to 9" where I am at last night. This is the first significant snow that I got to use the Revos in (last winter was cr@p). Really surprised how much better my H3 performs with the Dueler Revos on it vs the cheap OEM Wrangler RTS tires that came on it. No problems today - even in the 2 - 2.5' drifts (many on my street). I am a happy camper. I still want the 16 inch snowfall that was promised.

My wife bought a H3 Alpha with big Mud Terrain Tires & I hate driving my Truck now. Just drive hers, now I want a H2 Truck!

Yeah, we got about 9" here @ Square Lake Rd. and I-75. I still had to tow some neighbors and friends out of driveways and ditches. Hey, it's all in a days work for our HUMMERs!:D

We got 5 inches of snow last night in Dallas...so we now have 5 inches of snow on top of 2 inches of ice...it's pretty fun driving down the road, we don't get to do this that often.

I got to pull some people out on the trails behind my house where i take the Hummer to get dirty.

Even did a good deed for a guy in a Jeep with a flat tire today...

These are all very similar experiences to what I encountered last year during the Feb. blizzard. Living in south western PA, we got 27" of snow in about a 24 hour period. The day the snow ended, and before any plowing, my next door neighbor asked if I could drive him to his parents house about 3 miles away. They are in their 90s and he makes sure they take their medications every day. We jumped in the H3 and were driving through 27" of snow with now major issues. 4wd lo and the front and rear lockers engaged was necessary for some of the larger hills. We made it there fine. It is an exceptional vehicle in snow as long as you drive within reason. Any vehicle will slide if you are going to fast...but very few can get moving in the deep stuff.

question
 

maybe a dumb question.... but why do you wan't the traction control off when 4x4ing?

Does ARB make airlockers for the H3 Alpha?

If a tire looses traction, it will brake that tire sending power to the opposite side. In certain situations you may want to turn off your Stabilitrac. It is all covered in your owners manual. You can search this forum and find out more plus there are a lot of videos on Youtube showing the traction control working on the H3's. From what I have seen, a lot of people lift too soon not allowing the Traction Control to engage.