Towing with Ridgeline?

[jc2bg]

Anyone tow a dual axle rig (3500 pounds or so) with a Ridgeline? Interested in general performance: acceleration, mpg, stopping, and pulling up a steep ramp. Don’t travel too far ( always under 100 miles) and no hills. TIA.

[99R93S]

Have a dealer near by that you can test drive one for a few hours? It’s all I can offer as I don’t have one

[mactlman]

v6 honda plenty of power, the transmission would be what worried me most. buy new and get the honda extended warranty also

[n2ratfishin]

My RT188 weighs 2700 pounds lake ready at a certified scale. The AWD Ridgeline handled it well. I bought an early model that had several nit picky build issues. Those all should be corrected. I am not sure how the new transmission will hold up over time? The 3.5 does have a timing belt that will need swapped out about 100K miles.



I pulled the largest trailer U-Haul offers full of furniture a couple of times with it, no issues. It did everything “truck like” that I expected. I simply missed the full size room and was willing to pay the 5 MPG penalty to go back to a Tundra. The Tundra gets the same exact MPG pulling that same exact boat.

[jc2bg]

I have a full-size truck [Silverado] and a low-mileage grocery getter Civic. Have been tossing the idea of melding two vehicles into one by getting a mid-sized pickup. We are a Honda family from way back: have a ton of faith in their products and service. I also like some of the features of the Ridgeline such as the bed storage. But they are comparable in price to more popular mid-sized trucks and have a lot less torque than my full-sized pickup. Chevy’s new Colorado looks awesome at up to 430 foot pounds of torque, but they won’t be available for a while yet, and the vehicle is totally redesigned, so they *could* be a little quirky. Lots of time to shop vehicles right now, but still not a lot of inventory to look at.

Note: I don’t put many miles on either of my vehicles. Average 5k per year, each.

[Johnnyred]

I have a full-size truck [Silverado] and a low-mileage grocery getter Civic. Have been tossing the idea of melding two vehicles into one by getting a mid-sized pickup. We are a Honda family from way back: have a ton of faith in their products and service. I also like some of the features of the Ridgeline such as the bed storage. But they are comparable in price to more popular mid-sized trucks and have a lot less torque than my full-sized pickup. Chevy’s new Colorado looks awesome at up to 430 foot pounds of torque, but they won’t be available for a while yet, and the vehicle is totally redesigned, so they *could* be a little quirky. Lots of time to shop vehicles right now, but still not a lot of inventory to look at.

Note: I don’t put many miles on either of my vehicles. Average 5k per year, each.

Look at the existing model Colorado. Great trucks that ride better than anything in their class. More than enough pulling and stopping power for your boat.

[Rangerdeepv]

One word.............don't. They are rated for it and will pull it but you will know its back there and the parts wear out quickly.

[CJ1]

One word.............don't. They are rated for it and will pull it but you will know its back there and the parts wear out quickly.

Is this personal experience? Or guessing.

I do know I have towed just under 2000lbs with my buddies CRV without any issues. It "only" had 325k on it before rusting away and only 2 major repairs. 1 timing belt and at just under 300k a rear u-joint assembly failed. Beyond impressive in my book. CJ

[bassfisher444]

I wouldn't use anything FWD based to tow with.

[TomM]

I took my boat to the dealer. They were more than happy to let me hook it up and tow it around.

Tom

[99R93S]

I wouldn't use anything FWD based to tow with.

After 2017 they have a very good 4wd torque management system. Only time it’s gonna be fwd is on a flat highway with cruise set to 65.

[bassfisher444]

After 2017 they have a very good 4wd torque management system. Only time it’s gonna be fwd is on a flat highway with cruise set to 65.

Doesn't matter, it's still a FWD platform, that can't handle loads as well as a RWD setup.

[99R93S]

Doesn't matter, it's still a FWD platform, that can't handle loads as well as a RWD setup.

I would agree if you said it can’t handle a load as well as say a f-150, but that’s why they have different tow ratings. But say vs a jeep wrangler you feel the same? I’m just trying to understand why you feel this way about it?

[bassfisher444]

I would agree if you said it can’t handle a load as well as say a f-150, but that’s why they have different tow ratings. But say vs a jeep wrangler you feel the same? I’m just trying to understand why you feel this way about it?

Yes, not matter how you look at it, a FWD transaxle with CVs isn't as strong and can't handle the stress of pulling as well as a RWD system with a solid rear axle. Unless maybe you are comparing a V8 FWD Cadillac to a GEO tracker.

[ECobb91]

Yes, not matter how you look at it, a FWD transaxle with CVs isn't as strong and can't handle the stress of pulling as well as a RWD system with a solid rear axle. Unless maybe you are comparing a V8 FWD Cadillac to a GEO tracker.

i don’t think anyone is able to say with a straight face that a Ridgeline or any mid sized SUV can tow as well as a full size pickup. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable tow vehicles.

I tow with a v6 AWD Durango and do just fine. In fact I know many many people who tow with Jeep GCs, Durangos, 1/4 ton pickups, Highlanders, even a Maverick pulling an 18’ nitro (which I’ll admit is insane but it’s not my vehicle). Sure a pickup truck will tow better, but people completely write off a capable AWD or partial 4wd when there’s no reason to other than preference.

[99R93S]

Yes, not matter how you look at it, a FWD transaxle with CVs isn't as strong and can't handle the stress of pulling as well as a RWD system with a solid rear axle. Unless maybe you are comparing a V8 FWD Cadillac to a GEO tracker.

Fair enough. Thank you for clarifying your opinion on it. We can agree to disagree no worries . IMO I think for example a Ridgeline would be equally capable to say a new Ranger or Colorado. I would not compare a Ridgeline to a half ton truck. I might have agreed with you 10 years ago, but now a days they are just built stronger. New Rams putting 600-800 ft lbs of torque thru front cv axles. Even all your high powered cars now are rear IFS with cv axles. They can handle it a lot better than they used to imo.

[bassfisher444]

Fair enough. Thank you for clarifying your opinion on it. We can agree to disagree no worries . IMO I think for example a Ridgeline would be equally capable to say a new Ranger or Colorado. I would not compare a Ridgeline to a half ton truck. I might have agreed with you 10 years ago, but now a days they are just built stronger. New Rams putting 600-800 ft lbs of torque thru front cv axles. Even all your high powered cars now are rear IFS with cv axles. They can handle it a lot better than they used to imo.

CVs in the front of a 4x4 don't take most of the load like in a FWD, in a truck even if it's a 4x4 you tow in 2wd which is only the rear axle. You don't pull a boat with a RWD car either, and even if you did the RWD transmission can handle a load much better than a FWD transaxle.

[bassfisher444]

i don’t think anyone is able to say with a straight face that a Ridgeline or any mid sized SUV can tow as well as a full size pickup. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable tow vehicles.

I tow with a v6 AWD Durango and do just fine. In fact I know many many people who tow with Jeep GCs, Durangos, 1/4 ton pickups, Highlanders, even a Maverick pulling an 18’ nitro (which I’ll admit is insane but it’s not my vehicle). Sure a pickup truck will tow better, but people completely write off a capable AWD or partial 4wd when there’s no reason to other than preference.

Durango's, Jeep Grand Cherokees, and 1/4 ton pickups are all RWD based layouts not FWD.