CAJON PASS, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA–Well we finally organized a trip to return to Cleghorn.  It was fitting that the only day for it to rain in this 6 week window happened to be the same day.  The run was organized by both groups of which I’m a part of, HummerXClub (HXC) and Club Hummer Off-Road (CHO).

Although the day was not as treacherous at our previous February run it still proved to be a little challenging.  My wife chose to stay home this time so my Dad ran navigator.  It was really a pretty cool day and I got to do a couple of other trails that I just didn’t feel comfortable doing the last time.  All-in-all it was a fun trip.  Next time, I’d love to do this trail when it’s dry.  I have yet to see this trail without rain.

Airing down at the head of the trail on Cleghorn Road, off Interstate 15 at the base of the Cajon Pass.

Heading up the trail.

Approaching the first obstacle, Powerline Hill.

Half way up the trail and we already had great views of the pass below.

Articulation Hill.  It’s more  a play ground because it loops around back to the main trail, so you can go up and around as many times as you like.  Typically everyone gets out and take pictures of the awkward angles.

One thing I found out was that a lot of the time the trail from below looked more intimidating than when we were on them.

It’s just a matter of learning where your comfort zone ends and stupidity begins.  Luckily I didn’t have to find out this time.

For more photos of this trip, check out CounterPointPhotography.com

The family and I just did a day trip to go cherry picking in Leona Valley just west of Palmdale.  There were a few trails in the area so I picked an easy ridge trail to do on our return home.  It was the first time taking our 2 year old son.  He loved it.  Here are a few pictures of our trek.

I pulled it from the Charles Wells trail guide for SoCal and also used California Trails South Coast Region from Petter Massey.  It’s the same trail.  I just abbreviated it by doing it backwards and starting at the 7N23 trail like in the Well’s guide and tacked a couple miles more at the end to the Tumble Inn on the Old Ridge Route which is just a there and back at the end of the trail.

Starting the trail from the east side heading west towards Pyramid Lake.

Trail Head Coordinates: 34.703112,-118.527718

Our halfway lunchtime/run-around stop at one of the campgrounds.

Sawmill Campground: 34.709603,-118.606253

Heading back out on the trail.

Skyler’s View towards Pyramid Lake.

View of Pyramid Lake in the top left corner with the winding trail in the foreground.

View Point: 34.726192,-118.705269

Pyramid Lake zoomed in 14x.  You can see the 5 FWY just before the lake as it head north to the Grapevine.

The whole day we had great views and uneven trails as you can see here compared to the horizon line.

At the end of the Libre Mountain Trail (34.715645,-118.710698) we headed about a couple of miles south, down on the “Old Ridge Route” to go see the ruins of the Tumble Inn.  It’s a very interesting place and a forgotten piece of Americana History.  I love these old forgotten places.

The Tumble Inn circa 1920s

Tumble Inn 6 June 2010.

Tumble Inn: 34.707963,-118.721094

I parked my truck close to where the Model T was parked in the 1920s picture.

As we returned home Skyler kept talking about the bumpy road and laughing.  We all had a great time.

Route:

Original Trail Head Coordinates: 34.673806,-118.455523

Trail Head from where we started Road 7N23: 34.703112,-118.527718

Where 7N23 meets the Sawhill Motorway – Go North to stay on 7N23; 34.691609,-118.554668

Sawmill Campground: 34.709603,-118.606253

Libre Mountain Trail meets Old Ridge Route: 34.715645,-118.710698

Tumble Inn: 34.707963,-118.721094

The road end here.  You must backtrack the way you came and take the “Old Ridge Route” north all the way back to 138

Old Ridge Route & Lancaster Road 138: 34.764814,-118.732939

Take it west to the I-5.

Route can be run in both directions.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2010 – Forecast – 90% chance of showers.  Not a good way to start the day, a day that had been planned for almost 2 months with the HummerXClub.

Cleghorn Ridge Trail – The entire trail is a fire road with a more challenging trail winding back and forth across the fire road.  It starts at the Cajon Pass, 15 fwy and Cleghorn Rd and runs to highway 138 by Silverwood Lake.  This dirt trail is about 14 miles long each way. The trail starts at about 3,000 feet and peaks out about 5,200 feet and has lots of side trails that criss-cross the main easy road.  The roughly graded route in this trail is suitable for medium clearance 2WD in dry weather. The trail is considered extreme when very wet.  The US Forest Service has designated this trail as 2N47.
View Larger Map

During our drive out there, the rain got worse and worse.  Cleghorn is at the base of the foothills and traverses up the mountains.  It happened to be in the path of the storm.  Before we even got there, we had strong winds, rain and hail.  We got there with a little time to spare so we hit McDonald’s for breakfast before we met up with the club down on Cleghorn Road.

We pulled in under the freeway overpass to air down the tires.  We were the first ones there.  It was pretty cool to see other Hummer owners pull up and to the side to air-down to get ready to go wheeling.  We finally got to meet a few from the club and exchanged names.  Our good friends Laura and Sheldon H. with their kids Jewel and Ethan showed up in their Jeep.  Seth, our group leader, gave a short meeting on rules and what to expect, before long everyone was ready to hit the trail.

We took the trail headed east towards Silverlake.  The trail snaked its way up the side of the mountain crossing pools of water as he kept heading up.  Off our left shoulder was a valley with a small rainbow sitting in it.  Our first optional play area was  Powerline Hill.  Basically it’s just a hill climb to the top where sits a power line tower.  This was the first time stepping out of the vehicle since ascending.  As I placed my foot down, the ground beneath felt like melted chocolate.  I didn’t realize how much mud we were driving through.

ChasH3

It became more apparent as some of the guys were trying to go up the steep incline only to loose traction and slide back down.  After a while of playing there we continued on.

This is where it got interesting.

We headed up a rather steep incline as the rain begin to intensify.  The lead H3, Seth, got to a point where he couldn’t keep his momentum going and began to loose traction.  Before too long Seth could go no further.  We got out and stacked some rocks to help keep the rear passenger tire from dropping into a deep rut and bottoming out.  He was able to reverse out, turn a round, and head back to the main fire-road, upon which we all followed behind.

Later on down the road I took a wrong line and kept getting sucked in to a rut.  The mud made for a huge amount of grief.  I eventually tried to turn the rig around and got high-centered on a berm.  After a quick strap yank we were headed back up the mountain.  The rain and hail made even the easiest parts of the trail challenging.  Going up and around corners in the mud and driving rain was almost like slow speed drifting, with the exception of the mountain cliffs on the side.

Sheldon's Jeep

"BeHummer2" Ben, "Family Jeepster" Sheldon, "Slogger" Adrian.

H3Play on Articulation Hill

We had a great day out on the trails, a new trip is being planned to explore this trail once again in dry weather.  This way we will be able to get a better view from up on top instead of driving through the clouds.  Although the views that were presented to us were quite spectacular, I’m sure on a clear day it will be much more grand, especially when there is not the worry of getting stuck, cold wind and driving rain.

AlanM

JeffH3

H3Ing

Slogger

Until next time.

Feel free to leave comments!

Okay, here are the details of installing a battery for the Hummer H3.

I got home and installed the battery as fast as I could.  My son was with my wife at “My Gym” so I had about 45 minutes to get this battery in.

Installation should take about 15 minutes, it took me about 30 minutes, mainly because I double checked everything and took pictures along the way to make sure I didn’t forget anything.  It was dark.

It’s really quite easy.  The battery I installed was a Bosch PremiumPower.  (about $75 USD)

This summer when I have time, I’ll probably install an Optima Red Top and keep this guy as a backup.

Here is what it says on the top:

• CCA @ 0^F : 630
• CA @ 32^F : 785
• RC Mins @ 25 Amps : 90
• Part Number: 86-630B
• Group Size: 86

Uninstallation of Old Battery:

Click open the battery’s negative (black) cover to access the post and nut.  Loosen the negative battery cable nut.

I used a 10mm socket wrench for this.  Pull it off the post and set aside.  Make sure it doesn’t touch anything.

Click open the battery’s positve (red) cover.  Loosen the positive cable nut.  Work it off the post and set aside.  Again make sure this doesn’t touch anything.  Even though it’s not connected to anything it’s just a good habit to keep when working with electrical stuff.

Remove battery vent hose.  It slides right off.

Remove the battery upper box.  Press the locking tabs inward and lift up.  It might be easier to do one side and angle it up to release the other tab.  The tab closest to the fender is a little tight to get your hand in to push the tab.  Angle it out.

Disengage the battery strap.

I used a 13mm socket wrench for this.

Loosen and take off the nut.  Slide strap end up.  This will create the slack you need to take the strap off the other side of the battery’s lower tray’s restraint.  Also this exposes the cleat that holds the base of the battery down.
The cleat fits over a groove that is in the battery and wedges it down.  Remove the cleat by pulling it straight up along the bolt that it sits on.

Here is a picture of the cleat.

You must remove the cleat before you remove the battery.  The 2 pictures above where shot just to show the cleat.  I had already taken the battery out so you can see how it wedges the battery down. Just imagine the battery sitting in the tray. You’ll see in a couple of photos below with the new battery installed.

Remove the battery.

Installation of New Battery:

Note the groove toward the bottom backside of the battery.

Place new battery into lower half of battery tray.  Notice there is no cleat yet.  Make sure, if you are installing a battery intended for a Hummer H3, the groove on the back of the battery is closest to the firewall of the engine compartment.  This is where the safety cleat will clamp down on.

Place safety cleat over bolt and slide down into position.

Place battery strap on the front side, hook into position.

Place end of battery strap over bolt on top of the safety cleat.

Install the retainer nut.  Use that 13mm socket and tighten down.  If the battery you are installing sits a little shorter, wedge it with some material that can take some heat, it gets hot in there.

Install the battery upper box and make sure the tabs click.

Make sure your Positive and Negative battery cables are free from corrosion.  Use a wire brush to clean.  Install the positive (red) cable.  Use the 10mm socket to tighten nut.  Install the Negative cable, tighten the nut.  Close the plastic covers.

Connect the battery vent hose.

All done.  Start her up!

Hey, Leave a comment.  Let me know if you stopped by!  Thanks!

Early December I thought to myself I might be in the market for a new car battery. The last couple of nights getting out of the car the interior lights seem to turn off prematurely and each time I thought to myself, “hmmm, I didn’t turn those off.” Now since it’s happened a few times I’m thinking my battery is on it’s last legs.

It doesn’t help that recently my 2 year old has taken a liking to playing in the H3.  He likes turning on the lights, rolling down the windows, opening and closing the sunroof, turning on and off the fan for a good 10 to 15 minutes almost every time we get home and pull into the driveway.  That’s another story.

I threw a question out to my Hummer Friends at HummerXClub.com for their suggestions on what is the best battery on the market for an H3.

“I have a 2006 Hummer H3. What’s the best battery for the rig without too much fuss of installing?”

Many came back with great pictures of their installs.  The overwhelming response was the Optima brand, more specifically, the Optima Red Top.  Well as time passed by my battery grew weaker and weaker.  I still hadn’t pulled the trigger as to which battery I’d get.  In the long run the Optima Red Top would work the best however there were some immediate drawbacks.

Optima Red Top

CONS:

• I’d have to modify the existing battery enclosure in-order to for the optima to fit.  It’s a little taller than the OEM sized battery.
• Possibility, based on current reviews of the battery, that it potentially could be hit or miss on getting one that was DOA or with non-working cells.
• Price.  The Optimas tend to be a little more pricey than your everyday battery.

PROS:

• Well liked and a good name in the wheeling community.
• Powerful battery used in cold weather.
• Sealed and maintenance free and lasts a long time. (As long as you get a problem-free one…)

My dilemma?  How much time would I have to physically replace the battery given the variable of my two year old son?  In a perfect world, a couple of hours and a beer; in the real world, 3.5 minutes and a red-bull.  I needed to find something in the middle.

Let’s jump to the end of the month, December 28th.  The original battery lost it’s mojo.  Not bad, I guess, it lasted a good 3.5 years 62K miles.  I walked out to the parking lot after work, turned the key and there was silence, a silence similar to what I would give in place of vermouth to my dry vodka martini.

I was the last one out to lock up that evening, but luckily my friend and co-worker, Finlay G., was in the area to come back and help jump start it.  He followed me over to the Sear Auto Center, given the lack of time I thought, “Die Hard, that will work.”  Much to my surprise Die Hard/Sears don’t make a battery for the size the H3 needs.  Bummer.  The guy at Sears pointed me over to PepBoys a few miles away.  Jump start and I was on my way.

PepBoys – for some reason the same smell of tires and stale car fresheners has stayed the same over the years.  It triggered memories of when I was a toddler going up and down the aisles with my dad looking for parts for either the Pinto, the Corvair, or the Volaré.  Classic.  I went to the back counter and asked for a battery for the H3, they had one.  And when I say they had one, I mean they had one. One brand and only one in stock.  ”I’ll take it.”

Bosch Premium Plus

CONS:

• I hadn’t done any research on this battery.

PROS:

• I’ll fit.
• I can install with minimal time and effort.

Read the Installation Here.

It’s rare in this this day and age to receive customer service above and beyond what has become acceptable. Lately, the past few years, I’ve noticed how customer service has all but disappeared. I am writing from Southern California so I am not speaking for everyone in the country, I can only write about what I know and have experienced; generalization suck but sometimes they are true.

There has always been that marketing/sales quote. “If a customer receives good service he’ll tell 1 other person, customer received bad service he’ll tell 10 others.” I’m out to change that in this post.

This week I was pleasantly surprised. I feel, especially with today’s economy, customer service is a differentiating factor I have come to place more weight upon. If I am going to spend my hard-worked money for a product or service there are a few things I expect: knowledge of the product or service that is being provided, mutual respect and a fair price. That being said, the first two criteria can influence the third. Earlier this week I took my H3 in for service. I took it in the Cerritos Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Hummer Service Center where I met Robert D. I was having a “Serv 4WD” in the DIC light up and then go away occasionally. I was due for an Oil Change so I thought I’ll take it in to get the 4WD serviced. I feel, had I taken it somewhere else, I would have had to pay for an oil change and a 4WD service and still not have solved the problem. It ended up being electrical and not a 4WD problem. Nice catch on Robert D’s part to diagnose the problem instead of treating just the symptom.

So here is my plug for Robert D. <plug> If you are in the Los Angeles/Orange County area and need to get your Hummer or any other GM vehicle serviced take it to the Cerritos Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Hummer Service Center, ask for Robo or his real name, and you won’t be disappointed. He knows what he is doing, doesn’t talk down to you when explaining some basic things and a pleasant cool guy.</plug>

Pulled from HummerXClub Forum

March 30, 2009

HUMMER Announcement Could Be Delayed, Sale Still Likely

On February 17th, then Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said GM “will make a final decision to sell or phase out HUMMER by March 31st of this year.” After the events in the last 48 hours, it’s possible the announcement regarding the ultimate fate of HUMMER won’t be made tomorrow as promised.

GM’s chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner was asked to step down by the White House over the weekend, apparently after some disappointing meetings in Washington with Obama’s automotive task force. Monday morning Obama addressed the nation regarding the automotive industry.

The president articulated his belief that neither GM or Chrysler had gone far enough with their plans for viability, and before the U.S. Government would loan more money to the automakers, they would need to make further cuts. Obama gave GM another 60 days for more planning, and also announced that starting today, the government would back GM and Chrysler’s new car warranties during their restructuring to help calm fears of bankruptcy.

Though it’s still possible that we may have some HUMMER news tomorrow, it most likely will not be an ultimate decision about the brand as previously expected. Regarding a sale, HUMMER spokesperson Nick Richards said Monday night they are “cautiously optimistic that we will report a favorable outcome to our efforts to sell HUMMER within a very short time period.”

Troy Clarke, GM’s president of North America told dealers Monday afternoon that “Our efforts to sell Hummer are proceeding, and there are several parties interested — and I would say really interested — in the brand…We’re still very much in the process, although that process is maturing.”

HUMMER owners, enthusiasts, dealers, manufacturers and suppliers are all on the edge of their seat tonight, and although a definitive answer may not come in the next 24 hours, there is plenty of evidence that suggests a sale is much more likely than simply discontinuing the brand.

Upon installing the Thule Crossbar Rack, I was ready to install some sort of safari basket.  On the market the prices ranged from $60 to $1,800.  I needed something that was robust yet not too heavy and overkill.  Thule had a nice basket called the Moab, however, it sat way too high on the cross bars and would look strange.  Searching the Internet I found a few reviews on a hummer forum I frequently visit (hummerxclub.com).  More than a few of the guys there have roof-top baskets.  The one that caught my eye was the Rola Roof-top Cargo Basket.  Coincidentally I found it to be the best price for what you get.

I ordered the Cargo Basket and 18” extension from eTrailer.com.  They had the best price and their customer service was top notch.

Basic Rola Roof-Rack (Photo from eTrailer.com)

18 3/4" (Photo from eTrailer.com)

Rola Roof-Rack with Extension (Photo from eTrailer.com)

Features:
•    Black powder coat finish resists rust and corrosion
•    Includes custom fairing to help deflect wind
•    Stylish design

Specs:
•    Universal mounting hardware fits round, square and most factory OEM racks
•    Factory roof rack cross members must not be wider than 3-1/4″
•    Inside Dimensions: 48″ x 37-1/2″ x 4″
•    Extension is available to lengthen carrier by 18-3/4″
•    2 piece steel construction
•    Do not exceed the vehicle manufacturer’s roof rail weight ratings

Installation was a breeze.  The basket came in two pieces plus an extra piece that was the extension.  They slide into the other pieces and screwed in with the provided hardware.  I placed basket up on the roof of the H3 where I wanted it and then snapped the brackets on the basket and crossbars.

Close up of Bracket and Clamps (Photo from eTrailer.com)

I installed this by myself and it took about 45 minutes.  I would have been shorter if it hadn’t been cold and dark but it was all good.  It was the only time I had after our 17-month old son went to bed.

Once it was on the H3 it gave a whole new look.  It sat a little high, but because of the Fairing on the Thule crossbars and the Fairing that is part of the Rola Rack it works great.  The only tweak I need to do is bring the basket one rib up toward the front of the truck.  Right now it’s rear sticks out a little over the roof-line.  It’s not bad, but I’ll see what I could do.  If I didn’t have a sun roof it wouldn’t be a problem I would be able to bring everything forward.

Overhang

Rola on Hummer H3

All-in-all a great piece of gear that I will get it’s use out.  eTrailer.com was great in price, shipping, and customer service with video instructions and write-ups I will definitely visit them again for other cargo needs.

For more information go directly to Rola Roof-Rack Mounted Vortex Cargo Basket at eTrailer.  Or visit Rola’s Website

Also, if this review was helpful to you, I’d like to know.  Leave a comment below!

It took me a while to find the right roof-top gear to install on my 2006 Hummer H3. I began searching the Internet only to find very little on racks for a Hummer H3 other than the OEM bars.

H3 OEM Crossbars

Those where not what I wanted, I needed something more substantial so that I could eventually place a safari basket atop the rack.

When I was younger my Dad had a Thule bike rack installed on our 1985 Audi 5000S Turbo. (Now that was a sweet car.) From that point on I’d always leaned towards the Thule Rack System. I know there are a few vendors out there that do the same job, most notably Yakima, however, I went ahead and decided on the Thule Roof-top Rack System. My only reservation was that fact that I couldn’t find any pictures of the rack on a H3. I wasn’t sure if it was going to stick out too high and look stupid or if it would add to the character of the truck.

Here is the set-up for the rack:
430 Tracker II Foot Pack | TK12 Tracker Kit | LB58 Load Bars

I ordered the set online from Amazon. They had the best price and shipping was free. I ordered it in pieces and installed it in phases.

The first to come were the 430 Tracker II Foot Pack.

430 Tracker II Foot Pack

These are just the base units that attach to the existing tracks on the H3. These are basically a permanent install. Permanent in the sense that you don’t’ have to take these off if you want to take off the rack. They will just look like nubs on the rails of you roof by themselves. I installed them on the existing rail and tightened down the flat, square nut with the provided Allen wrench in the position I wanted the crossbars to be parallel to each other.

The “Towers” and Load Bars where next on the list.

TK12 Tracker Kit

58 Inch Load Bars

I ordered the “Towers” (TK12 Tracker Kit) and 58” Load Bars (LB58). I slid the load bar into the square hole on one of the towers. I did that three more times since there are 4 tower and 2 load bars. I did not tighten the clamp for the load bar so that I could adjust it when it was on the roof. I placed the load bar with two towers up on the roof into the preinstalled Foot Pack. They snapped in and then I made sure the load bars were centered on the roof and tightened into place with the provided Allen wrench. I repeated this for the other set to finish the platform.

I added a fairing to cut down on wind noise.

Thule Fairing

That hooks up to the leading load bar pretty simply. You just have to put the fairing together before you hook it up to the roof. Once I placed that up on the roof with the rack, it added to the look of the H3. I was quite happy with the look. It didn’t sit too high on the roof, in fact it gave the H3 some height while adding to it’s square body profile.

For protection I added 4 core locks to the towers.

Core Locks

Since they are easy to take off, it would be easy for anyone to take them off so now they are locked on.

Thule Rack

All-in-all, functional and cool looking; Well-engineered and ready to use. I’m glad these worked out perfectly.

Well, I guess it’s been about a year now since my last adventure with the Hummer Group/Dealership from which I bought my H3. Last year was fun with the exception of a broken axle. This year let’s hope it will be different.

A couple of weeks ago I received, in the mail, the invitation to this year’s “Hummer Happening” set for April 12th, 2008. The only difference is that we will not be crawling up Rincon Box Fire Trail.

Experience the excitement of off-roading in you very own Hummer….After breakfast of coffee, juice and breakfast breads we will caravan together to the Azusa Canyon Rincon Fire Station. We will join our hosts from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Search and Rescue Team and the US Forrest Service Fire Department for a short classroom program of rules and regulations. We will then caravan back down to the Azusa Canyon OHV area for some fieldwork. You will experience first hand different types of terrain including river crossings, rock crossing, side slopes, hill climbing, rocky hill inclines and moguls. Around noon we will break for a delicious lunch back at the Fire Station. This will conclude our program; however if you wish you might use your day permit to go back to the riverbed for more fun on you own.

We have a limited amount of space, just 25 vehicles and registration is on a First Come First Serve Basis.

Well needless to say, I’ve already RSVP’d. This time Skye is coming along but not Skyler, it might be a little boring for him in his backward facing car seat. Maybe next year he’ll be ready…  Sam and Susie are headed out with out too.  It should be fun.

Photos to be posted…

Just a little more than two weeks out now. Fun Stuff.