I have always wanted to get a H1 and finally this past December I started looking for one, I decided that the 02 or 03 was the year I wanted.
As you can figure out from my nick I live in Sweden and there are not that many H1s around over here, most of them 98 and older so therefore I have not had the opportunity to test one out.

Anyway I caught a flight to Chicago in March to start my search, I was aware that the H1 was a noisy ride and that it is 100% raw but after test driving one I had to consult with myself if it was a little to rough given that there are not a whole lot of off road opportunity over here and it will spend a lot of time on the road, and second the day I want to sell it the market is really limited for a truck so on-road friendly so I decided to pass.

Still refusing to give up my dream I have started to look at the Alphas, a lot more money but from what I understand a whole other truck, the thing with the regular H1 is that at 45 I thought to myself is this thing going to blow up
How is the Alpha compared to the regular as a ride when it comes to the engine noise and ride ability? I am fully aware that it is not a Bentley but would it be reasonable to have an Alpha as almost a daily driver? Or should I stay with sissy cars and trucks

I am looking at open tops only.

 

Anyone?

 

What year model truck did you test drive? Also the condition of the tires, suspension has a lot to do with the ride quality. The Alphas are by far the quietest and best ride among the H1 models. A stock 6.5 TD will easily cruise at 70 mph on flat roads and while a little nosiy isn't that bad. The later the model the better the insulation package. The Duramax is also a pretty quiet motor, especially compared to the old NA and TD motors of the early model. Most of the Alphas came with Goodyear MTR tires on them. They have a tendency to cup and become very noisy and rough if not rotated religiously. The other OEM tire was the Goodyear GSA, which is a better street tire, but also has a tendency to wear unevenly if not rotated every 3000 miles or so. Having owned quite a few H1s and driven quite a few more I think you had a bad experience. Did you only drive one truck?

 

I only drove one, I testdrove a 03 open top the tires were very worn but I think the major noise came from the engine, feeling like it didn't shift up.
I have always heard that the H1 is noisy so I was expecting it but this was worse than I thought. The thing is that I live in Sweden and I only went over to the states for a week to find one and the one I test drove was the only one in the area for sale that were open top at the moment (Chicago).

It felt like it was just going in low gear.

So from what you are saying I could give it another try on my next trip to test another one.

 

Definitely would. The 6.5 NA is a loud motor. The 6.2 NA is quieter. The 6.5 TD isn't bad and the Alpha is actually pretty nice.