2009 H3T Alpha Build by artkrime

2009 H3T Alpha - The H3T who killed THE H3 Rancho Show Truck

When I first saw the H3T, I knew I wanted one. Around the time they came out, I had a few old car projects going on which tied up all my time and money so I wasn't able to get one then. Fast forward to 2017 and I decided to make the move and look for one. Finding the right one would be difficult, as there were only a few in the US and only a few colors I would take and it had to be an Alpha, lockers, leather, the whole enchilada. I found this H3T in Texas and it checked all the boxes and even the exact color I wanted. So I decided to fly out to Texas and buy it after seeing it in person and checking it out. The same day I bought it, I installed a Pioneer headunit for the long drive back to California, I purchased everything I needed to do it before flying out and brought it all with me.

Here are some photos of how I got it, 1 owner car, clean title, ~145k miles. Driving it back to California would surely put it to the test and any issues would probably show on the way home.

2009 Hummer H3T Alpha
- Front & Rear Lockers
- Leather
- OEM Accessory Roof Lights

I'm not a big fan of chrome unless it's on a classic car, so the chrome would have to go.

The first thing I did was plastidip the wheels temporarily until I decided what I wanted to do with the wheels and tires. I also blacked out the badges.

Here it is just after doing the wheels, much better in my opinion.


After doing this, I knew I wanted to level out the front. So I went on the forums, youtube and found out what I needed to do to level it and bought some $300 Leveling keys, just kidding, cranked the stock keys and leveled the front and got an alignment.

Picture right after getting the alignment after cranking the keys.

Nice looking truck


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Next, I blacked out the grill, mirrors, and purchased some black door handles and swapped out the chrome ones. I also bought some H2 Hood handles and did some minor milling to adjust the fitment and installed them.

On the drive from Texas to California, I could not stand the stock bulbs in the headlights, total garbage. So I upgraded the headlight bulbs to LED's and it made a HUGE difference, no longer would I question whether the lights were on or not. So I did a few lighting mods.

LED headlights


- I replaced the burnt out bulbs in the HVAC controls, went to the dealer initially thinking they would have the bulbs and they looked at me like I was crazy and I would have to buy the whole unit, Yeah right! :roll: So I bought some LED's online for less than $5
- Put LED's in the window controls
- Replaced the rear window switches with lighted switches (from Colorado I think)
- Replaced every single light bulb on the vehicle with an LED.
- Added an LED strip that is hidden in the console but the light comes out of the bottom opening of the center console and gives some nice ambient lighting without being distracting. Light turns on when lights come on automatically.




Next, I wanted some puddle lights so that when I unlock the truck, I can see around it. I looked at a few different options and found some nice bright LED's designed for replacement puddle lights on a Ford. So I wired them up to the interior lights, cut some holes in the side mirrors and installed the lights. The lights come on when I unlock the truck, turn off a few seconds after I lock it and turn on when I open the doors, exactly what I wanted.

First time offroad with the H3T, went to Inscription Canyon by Barstow.



I wanted a Gas lid and found out that the H3T gas door was no longer made and hard to find! So I ordered an H3 one and with some minor modifications was able to make it work and it looks OEM. Has worked great, no problems.

I wanted to have a bit more space to carry extra gear when going camping or offroading, so I added a roof rack.





The roof rack worked fine but I didn't really like the look of it so it was only on for a week or two, then I sold it and got a different one.

My new plates finally came in!



The PS Rack was starting to leak, so I got a new one and some polyurethane bushings while I was at it.



At Cleghorn. Got rid of the roof rack again, I wanted it a bit longer to cover the whole roof so I ordered a longer one.

I finally got to try out the roof lights on a night trail ride and found out just how bad they were. The glare on the hood and on the windshield was terrible and affected visibility.





I couldn't let a good thing go to waste so I put some LED projectors in.

Before and After, and the stock light covers still worked.



Testing them out in a parking garage. I also installed OEM roof corner markers.



Another Before and After comparison. It no longer washed out the windshield and almost no light on the hood. The light output was awesome too!

There isn't very much aftermarket support for H3T's so I contacted Cali Raised LED who makes some nice racks for Toyotas to see if I could check out one of their racks so that maybe I could modify it to fit the H3T. They actually went above and beyond and custom made the support brackets for the H3T and used my T for the measurements. The new roof rack also came in and was just what I wanted.





I also installed another rear camera using an OEM style bezel from a Silverado which turned out great and looks OEM and has a better picture than the stock hitch camera.

I then added a Schwartzy hidden winch mount and Smittybilt 10,000 winch.



Here is the finished hidden winch and I also added a snorkel and Rock Sliders from RockyRoad.

Good looking truck, I like your modifications and upgrades. I'm interested in more info about your radio upgrade. Been considering upgrading mine.

Alpha X said:

Good looking truck, I like your modifications and upgrades. I'm interested in more info about your radio upgrade. Been considering upgrading mine.

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Thanks, I got the Pioneer 4400NEX, has android auto and apple play. But wait! I'm not done yet, it's not even in it's final form. I have more pics to come.

The official Rancho Hummer H3 show truck and how I got a FREE Rancho Lift.

Rancho's Official H3 Show Truck


I had been looking for some time and always seemed to miss out or not find any Rancho Lifts for sale at all. I thought I would forever be stuck with just the keys leveled, but one day that all changed. I got so desperate, I started looking for H3's that were for sale that were also lifted, maybe I could buy one take the lift off, swap it and sell the donor H3. Sounds crazy and alot of work but crazy enough it just might work. I found a few H3's throughout the US, some with Tuff Country and some with Rancho's but either too far or too much to justify the price and possibility of losing money on it.

One day I found one that was for sale that didnt even mention the Rancho lift, but I caught a glimpse of it in the photos and it was an hour away. So I went and bought it.





I finally had my donor H3. I didn't think much of it until some other people starting to point out the similarities and feature that the Rancho show truck had.

• Red Rancho lift (Rancho never sold red ones that I am aware of, only their show trucks had them)
• Same exterior color
• Same wheels (recently powder coated black but you can see chrome in some areas where there is chipping)
• Same BFG tires
• Same Dynomax exhaust

I did contact Rancho on their Instagram but they said they didn't have the VIN to verify it but that it appeared to be it. Sad to see something that was pretty iconic ending up as a parts truck but either way, it was about to be neutered.

I removed the front Rancho lift and it cleaned up very nice, powder coat was in excellent condition and I bought some new Bilstein shocks for the front, new Timken wheel hubs for the H3T and new bushings for the Rancho lift.



I swapped the parts from one to another.



And finally the H3T was lifted, but sitting on the H3 wheels temporarily. New tires and wheels were on the way!

New wheels came in, Black Rhino Armory wheels in 17x9.5. I thought the Hummer caps fit nicely with these wheels.



Test fitting an extra cap.



Finally got the new wheels on with General Grabber ATX in 37"

Awesome write up! What's funny is I read part of this earlier tonight and was thinking...."I swear this is the H3T on facebook that swapped the H3 rancho show truck lift over but why are there no pics and no mention of this rancho kit swap over?"...now I see I arrived too early lol

Some recent shots of Coxey Trail near Big Bear.

SlcHummer said:

Awesome write up! What's funny is I read part of this earlier tonight and was thinking...."I swear this is the H3T on facebook that swapped the H3 rancho show truck lift over but why are there no pics and no mention of this rancho kit swap over?"...now I see I arrived too early lol

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Haha, yeah, I bet a few people probably looked at the first post and figured that was it. I had been wanting to do a write up but kept putting it off, figured I finally would get around to it.

Awesome rig. One of the best T’s I’ve seen


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Very nice!

Nice photography as well.


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Really nice transformation!

Nugget (goin way back) had a red Rancho on a silver H3. It was in Australia.

4speedfunk said:

Nugget (goin way back) had a red Rancho on a silver H3. It was in Australia.

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From what I understand, his vehicle was also used as a demo Truck from Rancho.