Jeep commander or Hummer H3

[Jeep or Tacoma]

landcruiser v hummer v commander

Dave i see you liked the landcrusier. don't like GM Here is my experience i am a hopeless 4x4 slut. I admit it. I had a landcuiser 99 with the center and rear locker lifter with ome 35 inch parnelli jones tires it was great. at about 115k the main computer went out so i had to trade it in. It was terrific off road and on.I had side bars a a 10 k winch in an arb bull bar and rock sliders and a tmj rear bumper.

Before that I had a 95 chevy s 2 door tahoe with a winch and 3/4 ton torsion bars.

After the landcruiser I had a h-3 5 cly. no winch, but with heated seats offroad center and rear locker. The h-3 was underpowered but it fit 35s with no lift. it was great everywhere. The 95 tahoe I ran till about 275 000 miles then sold it for 8k. I sold the hummer to buy a jeep rubicon 4 door. see what I mean about a 4x4 slut. so from my experience they are all good, I typically ran the same trails on all three with no issues.

If I had to pick only one i would probably pick the landcruiser especially now as there is lot more support for it, on terms of offroad I never found a place that any one couldn't go. The ome ride with the landcrsuiser was terrific. the thing of it is I think based on my experience that the hummer and the landcruiser would be equal in terms of reliability. The jeep i think less so . keep in mind though I have a 08 4 door rubicon.

I say that because i also had 2 vets and a viper and the viper blew head gaskets at 14 k miles never any real problems with the vet, although my toyota supra had all sorts of little niggly problems like the trim around the interior door handles falling off and the steering bolts shearing off if you hit any bump on a full lock turn no matter how slow. so I think a lot of what you find is personal preference

 

[4Rescue]

Agreed... I guess my major point was that the H3 is GONE and it's not coming back. Of the two listed the COmander will have aftermarket support for longer or a third option like the 100 makes better sence to me from the OP's intended useage... I like OLD Chevy's, but I've just seen TOO MANY things go wrong on various GM vehicles that people I know own to ever trust any "New" gen GM product. Was some of the stuff related to stupidity??? Yes, but was there alot of little things falling off, stoping working or just plain going haywire (in the case of the winshield wiper motors of one friends Silverado 2500) definatly YES...

Like I said, I totaly agree though, it is personal pref. well put.

Cheers

DAve

 

[Sal-XK]

FWIW I wheel my commander all the time and the 4x4 system in it makes it outstanding. I know this is my first post but I'm not new to this. All the wheeling I do I will say so far I don't remember seeing any hummers on the trails that tells me something. I keep up with locked jeeps and perform better then stock ones only limited by my ground clearance which I solved with a budget lift and bigger tires. I love the commander I know nothing about the H3 except all the ones I see stuck on youTube Oh I do see hummers on the beach where I go but I really don't consider that wheeling.

 

[4Rescue]

FWIW I wheel my commander all the time and the 4x4 system in it makes it outstanding. I know this is my first post but I'm not new to this. All the wheeling I do I will say so far I don't remember seeing any hummers on the trails that tells me something. I keep up with locked jeeps and perform better then stock ones only limited by my ground clearance which I solved with a budget lift and bigger tires. I love the commander I know nothing about the H3 except all the ones I see stuck on youTube Oh I do see hummers on the beach where I go but I really don't consider that wheeling.

Let's see this beauty of yours mate... It's always cool to see some "non-typical" rigs built up. Like I said I LOVED the comander I thought GetLost4x4 built (maybe I'm wrong on who the user was who built it as I'd think they'd have chimed in on this thread but...)

As to the OP's query, how about a 3rd (or 4th with my UZJ100 suggestion) what about buying a JKU and doing a diesel swap??? IMO, in the long run you end up with a far more robust and capable rig that'll tow very comfortably AND get good milage. But then I am a bit biased toawrds a Diesel. Also it's clearly a far bigger endevor then just buying a truck and driving off. BUT, if you bought say a 2wd "Stripper" model then added the motor of your choice and a set of off the shelf Mopar JK (they make special beefier versions too) axles. Sadly I don't know of a good swap that can be done with a Manual tranny but then that might not be something you care about. me I'm a 3 pedaler un till I die (I hope)

Edit: got my threads mixed up. Thought you were looking to replace a Tundra sorry...

The 5.7 in the Jeep certainly is a great motor, but to me Uni-body makes me worryabout longevity (thought honestly I have NO experience with the uni-body structure of the Comander so that is all apeculation) and crash repair etc. I say thins having had numerous Jeep XJ's and now having a 260K 4Runner that is SO MUCH tighter and has no squeeks and rattles etc. I'd hope with the big motor and the tow ratings that the Companders structure would be pretty beefy, but as I said, I don't know. Body on frame certainly can have drawbacks but IMO they're FAR outweighed by the advantages they have. as always YMMV

Cheers

Dave

Cheers

Dave

 

[Sal-XK]

I posted some stuff in the picture gallery. As for the unibody on the XK its pretty stiff. With two wheels in the air you can open and close all the doors and the rear tail gate with no issues so it pretty stiff.

 

[4Rescue]

I posted some stuff in the picture gallery. As for the unibody on the XK its pretty stiff. With two wheels in the air you can open and close all the doors and the rear tail gate with no issues so it pretty stiff.

Cool, I assumed that after years of building Uni-Body trucks they'd know that you need to make'm REALLY beefy if they're gonna be usefull off-road and like I said, if it's got that much motor in it it's gonna get used to tow so you need a nice solid chasis for that too. Glad to hear that, cause you def couldn't close all the doors on my old XJ's if I crossed up the axles and left two tires hanging. First time I did that I thought I had REALLY screwed up my truck...I just put it back on flat land and the doors closed, but still... It spooked me out.

Since you own one here's ANOTHER question: How's the interior space of the Comander??? I ask cause what always bugged the hell out of me with my old XJ's was that for as wide and some what reasonably sized they looked from the outside, I always foud them to feel REALY cramped inside. I still can't see traffic lights very well (my dad still has a 98 Up-Country that I use to dive my 104y/o Grandmother around since it's easier to get her into then my lifted 4Runner) I like to sit upright and back from the wheel a bit more (long legs and arms) and since they're kind of "squat" I just can't see out of them too well. The back seats are flat out torturous to get into (I'd hardly call the back openings "doors" and once in the rear seat is massivly uncomfortable IMO. SO that's why I ask. I like how the Comander looks to be a bigger update of the venerable XJ's but I'm just wondering if they're roomy inside or if they suffer fdrom some of the lack of interior space I felt with the XJ's... You know, like sometimes companies may have a big truck, but the interior is layed out and has such a thick ammount of trim etc. that they don't really use the available space all too well. My 4Runner is considerably narrower then an XJ and a little longer(then the old XJ's) but it's just a whole different idea of interior space use for me. granted there's not much in the way of "sound deadening" but it does feel considerably "roomier" then my old Jeeps. The front window being taller really helps too so...

I'll be looking for the pics right now eh.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Sal-XK]

Interior space I think is pretty good. The front driver seat is comfortable and has plenty of room as well as the passenger seat. I love the layout of mine and the look of it. I have the sport trim no wood or leather and very little chrome it just feels and looks great from the driver seat thanks to the boxy design it feels like driving a tank. All the buttons are easy to reach and the gauges are easy to read except the fuel gauge towards E its hard to read. The farther you go back the smaller it gets. The second row is fine for adults that aren't huge my kids fit there just fine and the seats recline which helps for comfort. Mine came with the over head DVD and wireless head phones keeps kids happy. The third row is for kids only or small women and for shorter trips. It has rear AC and heat so the kids are ok when you do have to stick them back there. I have taken 4 adults and two kids camping on the beach fully loaded inside and out the XK had no issues plowing threw the sand and around all the stuck trucks out there. :smiley_drive: I have the 4.7L and it just has ridicules power. Not once have I said man I needed more power while wheeling. In fact you have to be careful because the skinny pedal will send all 4 tires searching for traction real fast on the trails.


fully loaded

Probably one of the coolest things was while wheeling in NC dead of summer triple digit temps 100% humidity three hours into the trail the wife and kids started to feel the pain of the heat. I rolled up all the windows cranked the AC popped a DVD in for the kids and spent the next 2 hours finishing the trail. The XK never complained once about it the temp gauge never moved. Never heard from the kids again and the wife was happy.

 

[4Rescue]

AAwesome thanks for the info mate. I'm glad to hear the truck is working out for you and it sounds like it's working REALLY well eh. Also glad to hear the interior is nice and spacious. I REALLY like that they took the design cues from the XJ and made a Jeep that doesn't look like an A-morphus blob eh. I'm with the low chrome interior too, I don't like shiny things in cab.

Another question about the drivetrain: Do the diffs have some sort of LSD's or E-lockers like the WJ or are they full open??? Is there a center Diff lock???

From what you've said, it sounds like the Comader is a great choice for what the OP wants eh. I know the H3 has the lower T-case gearing and Lockers, but like I said, they're gone and they aren't coming back so I'd imagine that at some point spares and AM-kit will be limited, plus I just don't like what I've seen or heard of the interior and sight-lines OUT of the Hummer.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Sal-XK]

QT2 uses brake torque traction control to lock a spinning wheel and send power to the other side. It does have a 4LO TC. It also runs full time in four wheel drive. So I guess AWD with 4LO. It works really well. While rock crawling the system is fast and every single time someone at least once asks me if I have lockers installed.:smiley_drive:

QD2 uses ELSD as well as brake torque traction control. While in 4LO there is a pump in the diff that will activate putting pressure on the clutches and temporarily lock the diff. The clutches can also send all the power to one wheel when it deems it necessary. This system is also always in AWD with a low range TC.

QT1 uses brake torque traction control and is AWD but does not have the low range TC.

People not familiar with these systems always ask if we have lockers which says to me the system is pretty impressive. I've seen plenty of stock wranglers with open diffs struggle on an obstacle that I would go over no prob. I think if the OP can find a decent XK thats been serviced properly he will be happy with it.:coffeedrink:

 

[cico7]

I and Sal alike have impressed many folks with the capability of the XK.
The cabin is roomy, but I have trouble seeing stop lights, I have that problem
in my wifes' 300. Lot of upgrades available for the XK, not as many as other
models, but quite a few. As Sal indicated, have had no problems with
the unibody construction, but this is only a 4 year model. (06-10) so we may
have to wait and see. I average 13.6 mpg, I also have the 4.7l

Rent an Commander and an H3 for a weekend and see which you like better.
I have not seen many...ok any H3's off road.

 

[4Rescue]

QT2 uses brake torque traction control to lock a spinning wheel and send power to the other side. It does have a 4LO TC. It also runs full time in four wheel drive. So I guess AWD with 4LO. It works really well. While rock crawling the system is fast and every single time someone at least once asks me if I have lockers installed.:smiley_drive:

QD2 uses ELSD as well as brake torque traction control. While in 4LO there is a pump in the diff that will activate putting pressure on the clutches and temporarily lock the diff. The clutches can also send all the power to one wheel when it deems it necessary. This system is also always in AWD with a low range TC.

QT1 uses brake torque traction control and is AWD but does not have the low range TC.

People not familiar with these systems always ask if we have lockers which says to me the system is pretty impressive. I've seen plenty of stock wranglers with open diffs struggle on an obstacle that I would go over no prob. I think if the OP can find a decent XK thats been serviced properly he will be happy with it.:coffeedrink:

Awesome... I've seen what a WJ can do w/QDII and it's IMPRESSIVE to say the least. Personaly I'd rather have manual/selectable diffs in all three slots, but for a stand alone system it's impressive...

Did the Comander come with the QDII Drivetrain ever??? IS there any way to make this a part-time system of some sort for milage gains???

Oddly anough, I JUST TODAY saw a nicely lifted and kitted out XK... I really liked the look of it and the owner had def. put some exhaust work into it too cause it had a nice rumble to it. Ahhh the feeeling of a nice V-8, hell it's pretty much two of my motors side by side eh HAHAHAHAHA...

Funny thing was he had a Basket Rack(that sort of looked like a Disco-esque Safety Designs style Rack where it came over the side of the roof and was set back and stepped up more @ the rear. Don't know if it's custom but I've NEVER seen anything like it on a Jeep before) and some exterior protection and honestly, it KINDA looked like an amalgamation of a Disco II and an XJ (In a very good way I might add) I don't know something about the kind of duck-bill looking hood (to me anyway) and the larger "rear-End" that makes me see those two trucks in it. IMO that's pretty cool combo. Makes me say with even more resolve: To the OP, of the two you asked about, GET THE COMANDER. Or a UZJ100 Landcruiser...sorry, just had to

Cheers

Dave

 

[Sal-XK]

Did the Comander come with the QDII Drivetrain ever??? IS there any way to make this a part-time system of some sort for milage gains???
Dave

Yes a lot of them did come with the QD2 system. If there is a will there is a way if you have the budget you could make it part time. That being said it would be the computer that would be your biggest challenge.

 

[DBH]

I just switched from and XJ to an XK. So far I love it. It will get a lift soon and mods are in process.

 

[4Rescue]

Yes a lot of them did come with the QD2 system. If there is a will there is a way if you have the budget you could make it part time. That being said it would be the computer that would be your biggest challenge.

Yeah that's what I figured...with all the electronic controls SOMETHING is not gonna like having the front wheels disconected...

Cool DBH, when you get'r going make a thread. There aren't too many XK's here so it'd be cool to see one being built.

Cheers

Dave

 

[cico7]

Sal, Romeo, DBH, I think we need to do build threads here....anyone else...