That's too bad....it looks like minimal damage ..very 'fixable'. If you want to drive an H3 these days you really have to WANT to (and helps being your own 'good' mechanic).
What's next?
...A Jeep Gladiator? A Wrangler JLU? Bronco? Colorado Trail Boss??
Jeep: There you get some utility of a pickup. You might look at Jeep JLU Rubicon of the last couple yrs. I have a JKU but the newer '25-'26 JL Rubicons have improved and have a much better LCD screen. If you decided to go the way of a Wrangler, I'd personally hold out for a built up newer Sahara, or better yet, an "Unlimited" Rubicon. The better leather seats of an Unlimited have a inch more padding than the regular Wrangler (stiff) seats, and trust me, you notice it every time you ride. It is worth it IMO. And don't buy one w/o a factory subwoofer. I much prefer the more GM-like seating position of the H3 than the sit-up-tall seating position of the Wranglers, and Jeeps are kind of loud inside (compared to H3's). H3's are more comfortable for long-distance drives, although we've driven our Jeep back from LA to WI. Jeep has such a strong ownership community out there ...that's one very nice thing about Wranglers ...or Gladiators. You'll probably read about Pentistar weaknesses but IMO they're way overblown by youtubers. They've made millions of those engines, the chances of a problem having problems are low. The last few yrs the Pentistar has received a bunch of major updates too.
Bronco: That's probably the most H3-like. I've driven Bronco's with the Badlands Pkg, which I thought would be closest to a H3. I wanted to 'buy' one, I really did. But hey just didn't rub off on me like I thought they would. I didn't care for the soft top, or the removable panels (knew a few owners who had persistent leaks). I wish they had a steel hard top, or a rigid removable hard top. But the Bronco is definitely an option. One thing Ford did 'right' on the Bronco is you can use the rear locker in 2WD Hi range. I specifically tested for that. At least on the ones a few yrs ago you could do that. That might not matter to you in Vegas, but if you were in our area, in deep winter snow, for instance, you rarely run through snow in low range (which is how some vehicles lockers work). Worth looking into though.
4Runner: We recently rented a brand new '26 4Runner TRD Off-Road with very few miles on it, for 10 days or so. I was impressed. That smaller turbo engine has plenty of power, and it got noticeably good fuel economy. We noticed that b/c we were in CA during the period of uber-high fuel prices!! Drove it from SF up to north of Eureka, then over the mtn's to Shasta, through the mountains, and worked our way down to Sacrimento and eventually back to San Jose. Not a cheap vehicle to buy new, but I enjoyed it ...could see driving one. I didn't really find too much to complain about on that Rig.
Trail Boss: Maybe another replacement vehicle to consider might be a Colorado 4x4 pickup with the off-road pkg?? I have rented/driven 'plain Colorado pickups' ...went all over Moab with one a couple yrs ago (and liked it). A stock 4x4 was very capable on trails. Comfortable. Good utility. But the new off-road versions like a Trail Boss I haven't driven but looks pretty nice and capable. Between a Trail Boss and a Gladiator Rubicon, I think the the Colorado is going to be a lot more comfortable ...just the seating position alone, and quieter (less driver fatigue) in the long run. If you don't need the solid axle, probably the Trail Boss wins for an everyday DD.
Just some thoughts. What are YOU thinking next? ...I'm not getting rid of my H3 that I can tell you....
