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Sad Day...An H3 Tragedy

Tpryde3

Probationary Member
Messages
2
Location
Michigan
Well...here is the story... my father special ordered this 2008 H3 Alpha with the Adventure package and everything in the Lux package except he didn’t want the Navigation. He ordered it to allow him and my mom to get out, since he was on O2 leading up to a lung transplant. He put a MileMarker hydraulic winch from Predator Motorsports (hidden in the bumper); then he put the Gobi rack on top; and he did a few modifications and added 35’s underneath. (https://ibb.co/bJA6tL)

It represented his freedom, and he and my mom tricked all over Southern California. They even tackled the “Waterfall” trail (I wish I had a picture of two retired people, one with O2, picknicking there). After my dad passed away last year, I inherited “Big Red,” as he liked to call it.

We drove it to Michigan, but on the way we stopped off and did some off-roading in Utah and Northern Arizona. It was great, and that area of the country is like 4 wheeling heaven. (https://ibb.co/iGd9DL) Even though we ended up having to put a new transmission in it soon after we got it to Michigan (with Zpack upgrades), we enjoyed having it through last winter, where we didn’t bother plowing our driveway.

However, our fun was short-lived. A few weeks ago, while towing a skid-steer on a trailer, the load shifted and sent the trailer into an oscillation that could not be stopped. I did manage to slow it down considerably, but the trailer spun us around and into a ditch...upside down. (https://ibb.co/m6Ad7f)

The crash was slow enough for there to be no injuries at all, though hanging upside down and trying to talk with OnStar was unnerving. In any case, I can’t afford to fix her, so we are going to have to say goodbye. Here she sits (https://ibb.co/eMDLL0, https://ibb.co/iRWwtL), but before she goes on EBay, I thought I would share her saga with others who appreciate the H3...thanks for listening.
 

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3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
Great story except for your dad passing and the wreck. I have to say that towing a skid steer with an H3 Alpha is way beyond the rated towing capacity of the H3. My skid steer weighs a little over 10000#. Add in trailer weight and you were likely over twice the towing capacity of the vehicle.
 

Tpryde3

Probationary Member
Messages
2
Location
Michigan
Great story except for your dad passing and the wreck. I have to say that towing a skid steer with an H3 Alpha is way beyond the rated towing capacity of the H3. My skid steer weighs a little over 10000#. Add in trailer weight and you were likely over twice the towing capacity of the vehicle.

Sadly, you are probably right...The owner of the skid steer told me it was 4000...it was a small one, but in retrospect I suspect it was still above tow capacity. It had been fine getting to the site, but returning it was when we had the problem.
 
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