Picking up an H3 on Friday

[Metro]

Well if all goes as planned I will have this H3 by Friday afternoon:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/861746458.html
I know it's not a jeep but having a family and the fact that 99% of the time I am in my vehicle I am not wheeling, I wanted something with a little more room and nicer interior than an XJ.  I loved my Grand but after driving it and working on it for 4 years, I wanted something different.  I would loved to have had a JK Rubicon Unlimited but with my wife not working and having my daughter too, I wanted to keep my payment a little lower than what  a JK Rubicon would have put me at.  The H3 seems like a good fit.  This one does have the adventure package which gets you the stock rear locker, 4:1 transfer case, bigger tires (it actuall has 285/75/16s on it, the ad is wrong), and skid plates.  Another thing I like about it is that I can crank the front torsion bars up for free and fit 35" tires on it.  That will probably be the first thing I do to it.  I know IFS isn't great for wheeling but it does ride nice.  Let the Hummer hating begin...

Someone already purchased my WJ so I will have a little cash to get the mods going.  I am pretty sure 35s will be the first order of business.

[Will]

Sounds good to me man. As long as you get her on the trails at least once     I didn't know you could get those things with a 4:1 t-case.

[RotorHead]

Congrats Seth. It should look pretty sweet with 35's on it. I've seen a couple of really sharp H-3's around lately with lots of mods. I wonder how hard it is to do a straight axle swap for the front. That would be cool. I think that is the only thing that hurts them off road.

[BigJerm]

Cant even lie... i looked at getting an H3 before I got my first JK. Did you get new or used but either way congrats! If I had younger kids I wouldn’t want the JK Unless I had the hard top/full doors anyways.

Cant wait to see it on the trails. We had a guy in an H2 Wheel with us once at Morris Mountain, never an H3. I think it would be kind of cool for you to get out in stock form first, ill sure still be stock and we can do a real stock vs stock comparison on the JK vs. H3.

[Trailabite]

Man, I thought these things were more expensive than that. I looked at an H1 back in 96/97, it was used, it had no carpet, no dash pad, no A/C, no radio, it was all metal except for the seats and steering wheel, it sort of looked like the inside of a tank. The sticker price was $42k.

Looks good! Just in time for RR!

[Matt]

You dont have to have a jeep to enjoy some trails. I drove the durango for a year and did everything I wanted to with it, Daniel keeps up in the ranger to with IFS. That thing on 35s will be sweet. You dont drive like a maniac off road all the time...

[IFSSUX]

dont bash IFs so much. my taco has the stock IFS and i have been places you wouldnt dream of it going. if you pick your lines right and watch your weight shifts (and it will shift weight more without that front flex) you can go alot of places and have alot of fun.

as far as the H3 on the trails who wants to watch me bash a lexus?

[Trailabite]

dont bash IFs so much. my taco has the stock IFS and i have been places you wouldnt dream of it going. if you pick your lines right and watch your weight shifts (and it will shift weight more without that front flex) you can go alot of places and have alot of fun.

as far as the H3 on the trails who wants to watch me bash a lexus?

ME!

[Ben H.]

I like it Seth. A couple of things though, Hummers are have notoriously weak tie rods, you might want to look into replacing that. Also, when you crank the torsion bars, its going to ride much worse. And finally, that 5 cylinder is going to feel like a slug compared to your Jeep.

[Will]

I like it Seth. A couple of things though, Hummers are have notoriously weak tie rods, you might want to look into replacing that. Also, when you crank the torsion bars, its going to ride much worse. And finally, that 5 cylinder is going to feel like a slug compared to your Jeep.

Do they have the same steering as the H2s?

I've seen plenty of videos of the H2 tie-rod snapping. Think of the TJ tie rod with all that weight on top   

There's probably a big weight difference though too. Not bashing your Hummer Seth, just the H2. Still, sleeving your tie rod wouldn't hurt, especially if it looks a little small.

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[Metro]

I like it Seth. A couple of things though, Hummers are have notoriously weak tie rods, you might want to look into replacing that. Also, when you crank the torsion bars, its going to ride much worse. And finally, that 5 cylinder is going to feel like a slug compared to your Jeep.

Yeah I have read a lot about the tie rods bending very easily. I have read that there is a redesigned factory part that is a little thicker now.  There is also a company that makes very beefy ones but they are very expensive and the next weakest link is the steering rack.  Consensus seems to be to just carry spare tie rods with you when you wheel.  I would imagine it is worse with 35s but I don't think I can resist 35s.  I have red the front differential housings aren't that strong either.  It would be cool if someone came out with a JK D44 swap kit for the front.

I know it is a slug with the stock tires, I am sure it will be worse with the 35s on there.   With the 33s it has, it is supposed to do a little better than my jeep did on gas 16-19. 

[Ben H.]

Oh, I forget one thing. You need to do a name change: white05h3.