On February 12th, 2012 I went with The Hummer Club to an off-road adventure area in Ocala, Florida and had an absolute blast! I put up some pics on my FaceBook as Public Photos so you should be able to check out some of the fun we all had on there.

https://www.facebook.com/bornabe/photos

I have to say, the Hummer H2 in nearly bone stock form is one serious beast off-road. We climbed what felt like near vertical hills, went up one named "The Rollercoaster" and spent some time with some very challenging obstacles.

My 2004 H2 has a 2.5" Front Levelling Lift *Torsion Keys* and Rear 2" Spacers with Bilstein shocks and 20x10" Black KMC Rockstar Wheels with 37x12.5" Nitto Trail Grappler tires.

I broke my driver's side tie-rod twice, nearly back to back. Had a TON of fun and as such, just ordered in the Cognito Heavy Duty Tie-Rod kit (Heim Joints) and the Cognito Pitman / Idler Arm Support Kit.

I'll be adding many other parts soon as well to really get things rolling off-road and then working on the performance of the motor to help things as well. You guys with your H2s & H3s really need to try them out off-road, it's incredible fun, more than I thought I would ever have and these vehicles continue to impress me day after day.

Can check out The Hummer Club :: The National Hummer Organization for when they host events in your area and jump in on the fun. Everyone that went was very helpful and even had spare parts (which is how I kept going when I broke my tie-rods).

I HIGHLY recommend upgrading your Tie-Rods no matter what you plan on doing with your H2s & H3s... they are WAY too weak from the factory. The support kit I added will help the aftermarket tie-rods keep their adjustment and help immensely if you do decide to go with a heim joint setup.

 

Do you think putting that leveling kit on the front end helped contribute to the tie rod failing? I have always heard those aren't good on them.

Sweet pics by the way. That looks like a blast. Unfortunately, I don't think I'd ever be able to take mine on a trip like that. At least not while my H2 is my only daily driver.

 

See now that's scary! I just got my 3" leveling kit. I'll guess I'll just upgrade my tie rods now.

 

The tie-rod breaking isn't from the torsion keys, but is from putting larger tires on. It didn't help that there was also driver error involved (even though most guys who break tie-rods never admit to it being their own fault). I wheel hopped both times and my tires bite really well. That caused the extra stress on the weak pathetically small factory tie-rods. I mean come'on... The factory tie-rods are only 1/2" at the threads... They're at a breaking point from the factory. I strongly suggest the Cognito Idler & Pitman Arm support kit when using heavier duty tie-rods, larger tires, etc... That makes the world of a difference.

Those pics don't show most of the challenging obstacles we went through. Next time I'll have a Go-Cam mounted and have someone outside taking better pics more often.

Added note: Never turn your wheels without the tires rotating... That's the easy way to break the factory tie-rods or other parts. I learned a whole lot that day. The Hummer Club guys were amazing and extremely helpful at every moment.

 

looks like a great time! Awesome hummers to play with too.

steve