Thanks for letting me in guys. 2007 Hummer H3. My question is about trailering and an odd feel my H3 gets when I tow with it. I own a 19ft boat and trailer combo (3200 lbs), I have towed it for years with both my F250 and my Izusu Rodeo and have never had any issues. I just started to tow it with my H3 and it feels odd. When I am towing the boat I get this slight "Tugging" feeling. It happens more at 20-30 mph but does happen sometimes at higher speeds to a lesser degree. I am wondering if anybody else has had this feeling and what they came up with. I have tried all the normal stuff (trailer angle, tounge weight....) but they did not help. One of the old timers at work asked me if this was the widest vehicle I owned, and yes it is. he thinks that it may be an aerodynamic thing, or lack of one in an H3 case. He is thinking that at certain sppeds the air may be getting trapped by the boat as compared to just gliding in the slip stream of the other 2 tow vehicles. I am putting some weight behind that thought also, only because at 65-70 mph the trailer does act differently than it does with the other 2 trucks. Nothing unsafe as I don't drive that speed anyway but just not as smooth as the other trucks at that passing speed. Thanks for any help.

 

Are you sure the weight ratio on the trailer is within spec? (Not having more weight behind the trailer axle as opposed to infront, etc.) Is your trailer equipped with electric brakes? Could those be activated a little by some stray current? Also, do you have the factory tow package or an aftermarket hitch installed? Does the coupler on the trailer seem worn? Does it grab the hitch ball and secure itself to it properly?
I've towed many different types of trailers w/ my H3 and the only time I noticed what you are talking about is when I was towing a U-Haul 6x12 enclosed trialer that wasn't loaded correctly. More of the weight was in the rear so it felt as if the coupler was trying to pop off the hitch ball and would pull on the truck everytime it did that. However, when I towed my friends 18' Boston Whaler on a single-axle factory trailer with no brakes, it felt just fine and never felt a pull. It was all local driving, no hwy but again, no problems.

 

Thanks for the thoughts JCA. I will check all those ideas, I never had this issue before so I have never really checked the ratios. It is a factory tow package and the trailer has no brakes. The coupler did feels a little looser to me this year so I will take a good look at that also. Thanks again, and I will post my findings and hopefully the cure.

 

Good stuff.
Let us know how it works out

 

I pulled a loaded to the gills U-Haul trailer behind my I-5 H3 from Central CA to Southern TX and it hardly knew it was back there. No tugging feeling. No slowing on hills. And fuel economy still stayed around the 15.5 mark.

Mine has factory towing package and I used a 3" drop ball setup.