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Jeep?

amrg

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,317
Location
Qatar
A jeep will need a lift kit (a proper one with shocks should cost you $ 1000 installed) to run 35s, you will also need spacers. However, the ride isn't the same on road. I run with my friends, all of em have jeeps. Even my brother got a new JK and just put on a teraflex lift. Its not like a hummer. The other guys are running very expensive modded jeeps (6 litre hemis on 36" and every mod you can think off) but the H3 at the end of the day feels amazing on road. Much more comfortable and civilized. The wind noise alone is a big difference between H3 and JKs!
 

ReconH3

Guardian Angel
Messages
2,288
Location
Raleigh, NC
38328a68a7dc3ccf69d6831a220bf60e.jpg


Go with whatever makes you happy. Both trucks will require investments to wheel hard. That JK is running 34.5" tires with nothing but Daystar spacers and bump stop extensions. All other mods are purely aesthetic. It wheels great as is, but is used 90% for road use, and it's just fine for daily driving. The huge advantage with the Jeep is that you will always find a solution for your needs in every budget range, without having to have stuff custom made. I love my H3 but realistically, the JK is a much better choice simply because it has much more potential due to availability of options.


"Ex Umbris Venimus"
 
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chaos254

Well-Known Member
Messages
577
Location
United States
Im just thinking back to all the stupid **** my friends and I did when I was 17. You'll probably have a new truck before you know it...lol

Im glad I did not have anything nice when I was this age.

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Chocflip201

In the Rocky Mountains
Messages
585
Location
Utah
Ha when I was 17 I had a 1,000 dollar '87 XJ, with a $300 add-a-leaf lift kit, and loved that POS to death.

I hear ya about parts being harder to get, but why not learn how to make the parts yourself and "build" your hummer rather than bolt-on a bunch of magazine stuff. 90% of the JK world is: your rig is only gets cooler as you bolt on more money. So if you want to rack up a bill to get your jeep where you want it, that's fine.

Your two points of IFS and I5 are just up to preference. I prefer IFS for sure, and don't mind my I5 at all.
 
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rsc

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,087
Location
Tulsa
And who runs a lifted Jeep hard offroad with big tires w/out regearing or junking the little Dana 30's? Thats $$ right there just to run 35" tires! Fabbing your own stuff only costs you the price of materials, most of which can be sourced as scrap cheaply. Your labor is free. Think outside the box- Digger made a Ford axle fit and stayed IFS, one of the H3T guys adapted a Nissan roof rack to his truck, 954Paolo welded Toyota sliders to his frame, MSR mod'ed his thermostat with parts from Jegs. Bumpers? Sure, a few folks have made their own and there was a resurrected thread about a stinger bumper recently on one of the forums. Back when Hummers were being produced if you wanted to build your rig you had to use some ingenuity and make something fit from scratch or adapt it from elsewhere. My next project? Getting a 4X Innovations to make his 68" long DOM slider w/rear kickout that is all welded up except for the attaching legs in a 2" longer length so I can weld the legs on at the right angle to fit and bolting it up. Just takes patience and commitment to build an H3.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
it so depends on how/where you wheel. If you run in a desert or on forest service roads - you'll flat out outrun a JK because the IFS makes the H3 easier to control at speed. My issue with the H3 is weight, as loaded my H3 weighs 1000 lbs more than my wife's JK - and that affects everything from climbing to mpg.

I didn't know Jks came with a V8... here's the deal, it's a whole lot cheaper to modify what you've got than buy a new rig. Just comparatively, my H3 costs 1/2 what my wife's JK cost. For 18,000, the sky is the limit for what I could do. You complain about rancho prices, but you'll be dollars ahead with a rancho kit, new tires, and wheels rather than trading for a comparable JK.

And finally, making your rig into the rig you want makes you and your rig something to talk about - some kid who has a JK that he got from 4wheel parts really isn't anything at all.
 

Panzer07

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,548
Location
Ontario, CA
Just keep it and save up and get a jeep later on I know in getting one at one point since that's what the wife wants for herself.


Sent From Someone Else's iPhone 'Cause I'm Too Broke To Own One.
 

poweraidon

Well-Known Member
Messages
830
Location
georgia
I'll probably get a jeep in the future when I have some extra cash... And I'm gonna build it right dana 60s babyyyy [emoji16]


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Best4x4

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,042
Location
Vidor, TX
I've owned both Jeeps/Hummer's and Jeep's are far from perfect. First off I'd stay the heck away from any 07-11 JK with the 3.8L, it's a horrible gutless engine! If you must have a Jeep I'd go with a 99-04. The 05-06 TJ/LJ are great, but the OPDA that controls the engine timing is known as a ticking time bomb. I personally had 2 05 models, but I never had any issues with either of them and the OPDA, but then again I only had 50-54K on them.

You can modify them like crazy yes, but you've got to do it right or all you'll be doing is replacing control arm bushings and U-Joints. If you're going to buy a Jeep DO NOT buy someone's already modified Jeep. You'll just be dealing with all sorts of issues. I'd recommend finding a completely stock rig, and putting a good well known lift on it. The 4.0L engine is darn near bullet proof, but the 4Spd Auto and 6Spd Manual were known for having a few issues. The best transmission IMHO was the 5Spd Manual.

The ride of an LJ is much better than a TJ due to the longer wheelbase, but if you run the proper PSI in your tires (I ran 26PSI), and you have good shocks like Old Man Emu, the ride really isn't that bad.

If you can't off road unless you have a Jeep I'd quickly find another group to wheel with. That's just total BS IMHO! I was the Co Organizer of a Jeep Club and I would let anyone with a 4x4 join. Eventually though I had to resign because the Jeep Owners (mainly new JK owners) got all offended when they had to off road with say a Toyota or Land Rover. That Jeep club went downhill quickly and they no longer have a good reputation.

The rear leaf springs on our H3's flex very well. The IFS does suck vs a coil setup as far as flex, but each setup has it's ups and downs. The I5 actually has more guts than the 4.0L or 3.8L found in a Jeep, it's just that our H3's weigh so much. The 4.0L has like 180/190HP, but it does have excellent low end torque. I could drive 65-70MPH tops, but if I got into the hills I had to floor it. Also unless you get an 03-06 Rubicon or 04-06 LJ with 4wheel disc brakes you'll be stuck with drum brakes in the rear. Of coarse with $$$ you can change them to disc. A very limited earlier TJ's had ABS, but 99% of them don't so stopping in the rain can be fun to say the least. Also the front calipers are truly designed cheap, and they are well known to just lock up on you. I had a total of 3 calipers lock up on me. I caught them all early and just had to replace the actual caliper, but it can be costly if it goes un-noticed.

I had fun with my Jeep's with the top off and doors off, but thats about as far as the coolness goes. I honestly spent more $$$ and time repairing them vs the time I spent wheeling them. They're just made cheap if you ask me. The H3 isn't perfect either (as my recent trip went), but I made it home without being stranded and it's a far more comfortable ride. In my TJ/LJ my MPG was 10-14MPG tops. They were modified but nothing I'd call crazy.
 

Hans3T

Lif"T"ed
Messages
3,035
Location
NC
Let me put it this way. When i was in middle school I switched from wearing New Balance sneakers to Nike, because 'cool kids' wore Nikes. Now I'm a young adult, free from social pressures and you won't catch me buying Nikes. New Balance are way more comfortable and I like them.

I was close to pulling the trigger on a Jeep and trading away my 3T. I'm glad I did not. Adding to that, I was in a position to add another vehicle to the lineup and I went and got another Hummer. I could've got a Jeep...they're fun here at the beach...but I didn't.
But hey, I'm just some words on the Internet. Do what makes you happy.

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twinmill28

Spilled Milk
Messages
1,545
Location
El Centro, Mehico (Way So Cal)
First off I'd stay the heck away from any 07-11 JK with the 3.8L, it's a horrible gutless engine!

Haha--these are not horrible or gutless engines.

I contemplated this very idea this weekend as I was thinking how dumb Jeep guys are. The Chrysler 3.8 liter motor in my 02 mini-van runs like a raped ape pushing a 4000 pound van!! We've driven it over 100,000 miles now and it was the top engine you could get in that van for it's time. We've even towed 3000 pound trailer from Utah to Canada and back with it and it was a great trip.

Now how stupid were the Jeep engineers thinking, "hey, this works great in our mini-van line up, it's going to be even better in the Jeep!" And those Jeep morons want to put a HUMMER rescue sticker on their junk, thinking I want them strapping onto my deuce? Hell, I could hook the mini-van up (I'm even pretty sure it would wheel as good as a Jeep!) and pull the deuce out with that stupid line of thinking.
 

Diode Dynamics

LED Lighting Experts
Messages
486
Location
St. Louis, MO
I was fairly impressed with the build quality on one of my co-worker's JK's

wrangler1.jpg


Haven't been in an H3 for a while so it's tough for me to compare

Nick C.
 

skeptic

Well-Known Member
Messages
737
Location
Orygun
Like many others, I've had my fair share of Jeeps. I hear the newest JKs with the Pentastar engine are fairly nice, but the 3.8 maybe isn't so great. As someone that has owned a couple TJs, I would take an H3 over a TJ every time for all the reasons mentioned above and more. However, there are two areas where an old TJ has the H3 beat. It's smaller and more maneuverable. You feel like you can fit anywhere and do a zero-point u-turn in a 1 lane alley. The roof comes off. If there is one thing I miss about my old TJs it's being on a trail in the woods, top down with bikini top (on the Jeep, not me), everything feeling open and easy to see. Of course there are downsides to wheeling with the top down - dirty, wet, hot, bugs... It's the day to day stuff that keeps me in a Hummer and out of a Wrangler for now. We will see what the next gen Wrangler is like - ever model change it becomes more and more like an H3.
 

chad

Well-Known Member
Messages
545
Location
florida
heres my two cents, i live at ft bragg where a million soldiers live and everyone and there mom has a jeep, i went to a jeep show with my friends jeep, i called it, i knew everyone there would look the same, lift tires and a light bar. well everyone looks the same but my friend and i did a lot of work on his jeep, a little over $10k plus in just parts alone, i did all labor for him for free and lots of thinking how to make things practical and different. so because of that his jeep won the best in show but its a very unique jeep, but my hummer has way less money in it and i build most all my stuff myself and get tons of comments on how different mine is compared to other vehicles on the road. so i would keep the hummer, and i used to have a jeep and i will probably never buy one again, when my hummer is completely dead i plan on putting a diesel in it.
 

zackcrum

Well-Known Member
Messages
543
Location
Corinth MS
heres my two cents, i live at ft bragg where a million soldiers live and everyone and there mom has a jeep, i went to a jeep show with my friends jeep, i called it, i knew everyone there would look the same, lift tires and a light bar. well everyone looks the same but my friend and i did a lot of work on his jeep, a little over $10k plus in just parts alone, i did all labor for him for free and lots of thinking how to make things practical and different. so because of that his jeep won the best in show but its a very unique jeep, but my hummer has way less money in it and i build most all my stuff myself and get tons of comments on how different mine is compared to other vehicles on the road. so i would keep the hummer, and i used to have a jeep and i will probably never buy one again, when my hummer is completely dead i plan on putting a diesel in it.

I wanna see the jeep lol

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Bigunit

Hammer Down!
Staff member
Messages
6,561
Location
Arizona
I will wheel with anyone. If they don't want to wheel with me because of what I drive, it tells me that they are truly superficial and clueless and would be worthless on a trail if adversity rears its head and would be dependent on everyone else to get them home. No thanks. I like wheeling and living life in general with like-minded people.

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PreferredChassisFab

Yosemite Sam
Messages
168
Location
Tucson, AZ
I will wheel with anyone. If they don't want to wheel with me because of what I drive, it tells me that they are truly superficial and clueless and would be worthless on a trail if adversity rears its head and would be dependent on everyone else to get them home. No thanks. I like wheeling and living life in general with like-minded people.

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Yep-That's what I say.


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