H3 on a college budget

[Altide8]

I am a college student in Alabama with a 2007 H3 that I want to use for extended road trips. First, I want to say that everyone on the forum is great and I have taken many ideas from people on here. It is great to have projects in any price range and experience level for that matter. I will post what I have done so far. Please feel free to give ideas and flood the thread with knowledge.

Additionally, for anyone wondering about an H3. Through the years since I was 16 years old I have owned a Discovery, 2 jeep Cherokees (xj), 2 International Scouts, 2 Jeep wranglers, Dodge Ram 1500, and a GMC 2500. The Hummer H3 is one that impressed me the most besides maybe the xjs. The xjs were a little too dated to be a primary vehicle for my taste and the discovery was a little too unreliable. The H3 seems like the perfect mesh of being very capable offroad stock like the xjs, but still being a great daily driver.

 

[Altide8]

Here are some pics of when I first painted over the chrome. I used plasti dip with a spay bedliner over it because originally I was not sure if I wanted to go with the black. Although it has held up extremely well to my surprise.
before


mirrors and handles painted


grille


rear


Rims will probably be the next thing. Once I clean them of course.....

 

[ExplorerTom]

Put money into maintenence and the gas tank. Go experience.

 

[BPD53]

Love seeing the H3s on Expo. Looks like the perfect blank canvas to start your build.

First thing I would do is replace the steering rack bushing.....ask me how I know.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I was never a fan of the Hummer line (having driven a lot of military HMMWVs in the Army) but I have to say that I always liked the H3. I think they got the size and proportions on it just right (where I thought the H2 was just hideous looking and very ungainly.)
.
IIRC they have the same chassis and drivetrain as the Colorado/Canyon, right? 5 cyl inline engine and I presume the 4l60E transmission? Keith (4x4x4doors on this board) runs a Colorado and has had it all over the place.
.
I've never seen one up close so I don't know what the interior is like or what it's like to drive.

 

[GR8ADV]

wow things have changed. When I went to college I didn't have time to drive a car, never mind explore. Lucky man.

 

[DaveInDenver]

wow things have changed. When I went to college I didn't have time to drive a car, never mind explore. Lucky man.

Truth, but don't judge. OP may be a non-traditional student. I started engineering school at 27 and had just bought my 1991 a few month before, which was about 10 years old at the time just like this H3 is now. I had by them been working for more than a decade and wasn't struggling like an 18 year old freshmen might.

 

[BPD53]

I was never a fan of the Hummer line (having driven a lot of military HMMWVs in the Army) but I have to say that I always liked the H3. I think they got the size and proportions on it just right (where I thought the H2 was just hideous looking and very ungainly.)
.
IIRC they have the same chassis and drivetrain as the Colorado/Canyon, right? 5 cyl inline engine and I presume the 4l60E transmission? Keith (4x4x4doors on this board) runs a Colorado and has had it all over the place.
.
I've never seen one up close so I don't know what the interior is like or what it's like to drive.

The H3 and Colorado share some components and are built roughly off the same frame. Some of the H3s had the V8 with selectable front and rear lockers, not to mention a 4:1 transfer case. Too bad they were full time 4wd.

I built my Colorado to mimick the H3 Alpha. I think that is why I like the H3 so much.

The H3 isn't perfect but it is pretty darn good in my humble opinion.

 

[Altide8]

I was never a fan of the Hummer line (having driven a lot of military HMMWVs in the Army) but I have to say that I always liked the H3. I think they got the size and proportions on it just right (where I thought the H2 was just hideous looking and very ungainly.)
.
IIRC they have the same chassis and drivetrain as the Colorado/Canyon, right? 5 cyl inline engine and I presume the 4l60E transmission? Keith (4x4x4doors on this board) runs a Colorado and has had it all over the place.
.
I've never seen one up close so I don't know what the interior is like or what it's like to drive.

I have to agree with you. I hated the H2 and i wasn't really sure how I would feel about the H3 honestly. I was given a really good deal on it, so I thought I would give it a try. It has impressed me honestly.

 

[Altide8]

So here is a mod I made to the back jack compartment. I got this idea from Imnosaint on the forum. I used on old skim board for the wood. The only things I had to buy were the hinges and small D rings.
It is pretty simple and straight forward. I just used paracord to hold it up. Its surprisingly pretty strong.




The stove is here just to give a comparison of the size and strength of the table. I do not plan to cook on this table.

 

[Altide8]

wow things have changed. When I went to college I didn't have time to drive a car, never mind explore. Lucky man.

Many of my classes are online with no other option. It is definitely a little weird at times. although it opens up many other options.

 

[Altide8]

I needed some sort of storage organization for the back cargo area. So I started to look around to see what kind of scrap wood was laying around. This is what I came up with considering what I had.

As I said before, I just wanted something simple.


I also used the rest of the plywood to slide over the folded down seats. Take into account that I weigh under 150 so it holds up just fine. I plan to cover the piece of plywood that goes over the folded down seats with an old memory foam bed cover.


let me know what you guess think so far.
I think I am going to try to get a dual battery setup next.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Looks great! If you were to redo it you could go with thinner material on the sides to gain a little more room and save a little bit of weight. If you incorporate some sliders into the bottom you'll thank yourself.

 

[murrayargo]

I added some mods for a sleep platform and some wooden drawers

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[murrayargo]

Finally have the battery box set up like I want


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