I guess with 1102 miles on her it was about time to throw her in the dirt. Since my last posting, I powder coated the wheels a dark gray and finished the caps in black and put on a set of 33" Hankook MTs. I also fabricated a rear ladder and a collapsable floor for a tent I had that was the perfect size for the top of the Hummer. An inflatable mattress gave the floor of the tent its rigidity and the rear ladder was perfect for getting in and out. I went for a 3 day test drive to Anza Borrego Desert and had a blast. Everything worked great! Here are some pics from the trip:

 

And a few more Pics:

 

Cool pic's!!! and setup with the tent, good stuff man

 

Its about time you got it dirty.

Anza Borrego is fun..I head out there often. I heard Weseloh Hummer in Carlsbad is having their next Hummer Happening out there ( Ocotillo Wells).

Did you get a chance to open it up on any of the roads or wash's?? The H3 does amazingly well off road at high speeds. I'll get up to 60-70mph in some areas out there and feels like your in the Dakar or Baja 500. Very Fun!!!

 

Awesome pics! That tent's really wild. I think my fat *** would flatten the roof.

H34me

 

That ladder you fab looks really good! Looks similar to the Gobi one (i.e. very professionally done)!

 

Great pics. Any damage to the nerf bars? I was supposed to go down there with some guys this past Saturday but had to bail out at the last minute.

 

I did copy the Gobi ladder...couldn't find one in person but with a few photos and their installation guide I was able to get a reasonable copyt. I'm sure Gobi's ladder has a more pro finish(welds). I didn't save a whole lot of money making my own...maybe $150 bucks but I did get the same finish to match the rack.

mfish: I didn't really open it up too much...a few short bursts. Most of the places I went was to curvy...Coyote Canyon to Sheep Camp, the Grapevine and Blair Valley. I might had been a bit timid of my speed since it was the first time out.

H34me: I had me and my girl up there and we didn't just sleep! None of the weight hits the center of the roof, its all distributed to the roof rails. What was really cool about it was how level you can make it. I hate an out of level bed. By just digging a couple of small holes for the wheels on the high side to drop into, it leveled it right out.

 

I though about taking them off for the trip but they were too handy for getting to the stuff on the rack. I heard a bit of a rub on one, right about where the picture was taken of me coming down the rocks, but no damage.

 

Looks awesome! Nice pics!!!!!