Overlanding in a Hummer H1

[Pindal]

Greetings folks.
I'm looking for some info and opinions on doing overland in a Hummer H1, obviously modified (currently my rig is a 2010 Toyota Tundra Crewmax).
The idea would be to fit the Hummer with camping, survival and some search and rescue gear, but I would like to know if anyone can share some info from experience.
Thanks.

 

[Alanymarce]

Unfortunately no personal experience, however I will say that I have seen very (very) few Hummers out and about, outside cities - a few in North America, none at all outside North America.

I'd be careful in terms of service/maintenance/spares accessibility if you go outside NA.

 

[Renegade]

I have an H1 and I use it occasionally (mostly with other Hummer owners).

Some advantages are 650 mile range, tows anything, amply space for stuff, does not need any more buildout,.

Negatives are you are on your own for recovery, repair (unless traveling with other hummer owners), space issues between trees.

 

[MidOH]

I'd love to roof top air condition a ambulance surplus hummer.

 

[Pindal]

I have an H1 and I use it occasionally (mostly with other Hummer owners).

Some advantages are 650 mile range, tows anything, amply space for stuff, does not need any more buildout,.

Negatives are you are on your own for recovery, repair (unless traveling with other hummer owners), space issues between trees.

What do you mean by "650 miles"?
I guess the "be on your own for recovery"? if you mean the weight of the overall structure, I understand that there are some companies that replace the military material with a much lighter one and keep the power and internal resistance, which I guess would also give a diesel saving or not?

 

[Pindal]

I'd love to roof top air condition a ambulance surplus hummer.

The air conditioning is already installed and works very well or at least like a normal car.
I am thinking of a Hammer H1 wagon, so if it might need some air conditioning aras as well.

 

[Renegade]

What do you mean by "650 miles"?
I guess the "be on your own for recovery"? if you mean the weight of the overall structure, I understand that there are some companies that replace the military material with a much lighter one and keep the power and internal resistance, which I guess would also give a diesel saving or not?

I can go 650 miles without refueling

"on your own" means a Jeep or Taco aint pulling me out of deep stuff. Also unlikely anybody nearby has parts I need.

 

[Pindal]

I can go 650 miles without refueling

"on your own" means a Jeep or Taco aint pulling me out of deep stuff. Also unlikely anybody nearby has parts I need.

650 miles wow that looks pretty good to me, in my Tundra with the kit on top I get about 12 to 14 miles per gallon of gas, how did you do that, I understand that in raw, a Hummer H1, is about 3 miles per gallon of diesel, do you have one with the mods?
How much diesel will your H1 fit?
Yes, that repairs ho getting parts can be a complicating factor.

 

[Renegade]

650 miles wow that looks pretty good to me, in my Tundra with the kit on top I get about 12 to 14 miles per gallon of gas, how did you do that, I understand that in raw, a Hummer H1, is about 3 miles per gallon of diesel, do you have one with the mods?
How much diesel will your H1 fit?
Yes, that repairs ho getting parts can be a complicating factor.

No factory Hummer gets 3 mpg. Even the gas versions are much better than that. I have a Duramax model (H1 Alpha). I get about 12.5 and carry 52.5 gallons with the factory tanks.

 

[Pindal]

No factory Hummer gets 3 mpg. Even the gas versions are much better than that. I have a Duramax model (H1 Alpha). I get about 12.5 and carry 52.5 gallons with the factory tanks.

I understand that the military Hummer consumed that, but thanks for the clarification.
Exactly I am thinking of a Duramax (H1 Alpha) wagon, the Tundra has a 26 gallon gas tank, hence my initial surprise, still with a full tank I am getting about 240 miles....
Is your Hummer loaded with overland gear (roof top tent, awning, a couple of extra fuel tanks, cooler and a little more?).
Because I would put those extra things on it.
If you want you can send me a picture in private.

 

[Ethan N]

Here's the last time I "overlanded" a HMMWV.

Yep, I'm actually in the driver seat here. Somewhere in Iraq.

 

[MidOH]

The wagon is cool if you're single. The center between the seats is a perfect flat bed to sleep on.

 

[Pindal]

The wagon is cool if you're single. The center between the seats is a perfect flat bed to sleep on.

I completely agree with you. My 4Runner was always great until the family grew, first it's the bikes and then it's no longer the accessories, but your kids, even if you tell them not to keep growing, they don't listen to you.
Now there are 5 of us, although the last one is still little.
The best time of my life is when we are all camping, but the two older ones are already in college, they still go, but it is not as frequent as before. That's why the thing for me is to always be ready in case they come. That's why we came to the Tundra Crewmax.
The tent on the CVT roof is great, it fits 4, even 5 if you can fit, but normally 3 or 4 are on top and the others stay inside the car.
It's wonderful growing up as a family.

 

[Pindal]

Here's the last time I "overlanded" a HMMWV.

Yep, I'm actually in the driver seat here. Somewhere in Iraq.

View attachment 270360

Well good friend the first thing is to thank you for your service, for men like you there is still hope.
I have never driven a HMMWV, I guess they must be quite uncomfortable and more in those terrains, plus with all the weight it carries I don't know what it will be getting out of you.
Happily the civilian versions are keeping the power, but are much friendlier.
By the way, those straps they are holding you with must be very good.

 

[Ethan N]

Well good friend the first thing is to thank you for your service, for men like you there is still hope.
I have never driven a HMMWV, I guess they must be quite uncomfortable and more in those terrains, plus with all the weight it carries I don't know what it will be getting out of you.
Happily the civilian versions are keeping the power, but are much friendlier.
By the way, those straps they are holding you with must be very good.

The straps are nice, I kept one. It's rated 60,000lb. So long story short, these Iraqi back roads cut between farms and are wayyy too small for our vehicles. We used to bring an armored excavator with us but it had gotten stuck, what I was trying to do was go around it to give it a tug from the front. We had preemptively strapped it up before I got stuck just to make life a little easier. Lo and behold... And no it didn't work, we had to have another crew with a wrecker get us out haha.

HMMWVs are very fun to drive, I'm sure an H1 would be a blast. We had some of ours equipped for fording water, not just the snorkel but also extended exhaust above the roofline etc.

 

[Pindal]

The straps are nice, I kept one. It's rated 60,000lb. So long story short, these Iraqi back roads cut between farms and are wayyy too small for our vehicles. We used to bring an armored excavator with us but it had gotten stuck, what I was trying to do was go around it to give it a tug from the front. We had preemptively strapped it up before I got stuck just to make life a little easier. Lo and behold... And no it didn't work, we had to have another crew with a wrecker get us out haha.

HMMWVs are very fun to drive, I'm sure an H1 would be a blast. We had some of ours equipped for fording water, not just the snorkel but also extended exhaust above the roofline etc.

View attachment 270365

60,000 pounds is a very good resistance for the belt.
I imagine that at first they must have been worried about how they were going to get out of the ditch, but that later turned into a funny anecdote, plus it looks like they are working at night.
I have seen some photos where they seem to have two snorkels, but, as you say, it is mainly because of the water in the second one. I haven't seen it on the civilian models, although it's still something to consider when passing a river.
As Renegade says, the Duramax models themselves have the basic power and features of the HMMWV, but with all the extra weight out.
So economically they are quite sustainable as opposed to a military one which must be expensive to maintain.
The 650 miles for the 52 gallons of diesel also seems like a good thing to think about, although I don't know if it's already loaded or empty. My truck is always ready to go when needed, so if I definitely opt for the Hummer I will have to have all the equipment permanently installed and I will need to know how much it will consume with the equipment installed.

 

[MazeVX]

Well good friend the first thing is to thank you for your service, for men like you there is still hope.
I have never driven a HMMWV, I guess they must be quite uncomfortable and more in those terrains, plus with all the weight it carries I don't know what it will be getting out of you.
Happily the civilian versions are keeping the power, but are much friendlier.
By the way, those straps they are holding you with must be very good.

Can't tell you much but this:
when I had the chance to drive a HMMWV offroad the first thing I noticed was how stable, planted and comfortable it was. I was absolutely surprised!
The seats are terrible but the suspension was great. The engine seems to be underpowered but that's quite personal I think.
Outside of the US you will find lots of enthusiasts in basically every European country with knowledge and access to parts. If that is something that concerns you.

 

[MidOH]

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[Pindal]

Can't tell you much but this:
when I had the chance to drive a HMMWV offroad the first thing I noticed was how stable, planted and comfortable it was. I was absolutely surprised!
The seats are terrible but the suspension was great. The engine seems to be underpowered but that's quite personal I think.
Outside of the US you will find lots of enthusiasts in basically every European country with knowledge and access to parts. If that is something that concerns you.

Thank you for the comment you share with us.
I am in Southern California, north of Los Angeles.
Regarding the seats, although I haven't driven one yet, I think the Duramax Hummer H1 Alpha Wagon has been given more comfortable seats, closer to a normal car.
I think someone mentioned that the 2006 was in their opinion the best.

 

[smritte]

They only produced 281 second gen H1 Alpha's. Not sure what that's going to do to the cost and availability. We had a Hummer franchise at my shop and I did some work on one of the prototypes before they were produced. The Duromax was a bit of a squeeze in there. From what i remember, the first gen had a few....issues with the fit. I remember the prototype needed a significant body lift for the engine to clear the body. They also needed to redesign the engine fan drive. I dont remember how they addressed those in production. "If" they did, it most likely would have been second gen. I will say this, it really needed that engine.
Sadly we only sold 6 H1's including 1 1'st gen Alpha in the 4 years we had the franchise.