Ridgelines

[Mcm]

Wondering what is anyones experience with Honda Ridgelines as tow vehicle? We have had no opportunities finding a fiberglass RV yet, but we are looking at a lighter tow vehicle. thanks for any input. Mike

[AnnieSnyder]

We tow our 13' Burro with a 2008 Ridgeline. The Ridgeline has no problem with towing.

[kootenaigirl]

Great, have towed everything from Scamp 13 to Escape 19 no issues apart from poor gas mileage with the bigger ones lol.

[Dave Fish]

We towed our 17' Casita with our 2008 Ridgeline with tow package. Probably visited 40 states with it. It's a great, comfortable tow vehicle. We used neither a WDH or a sway control.

At 186,000 miles, we are still towing the Campster with it.

[tractors1]

A few of these are fiberglass: 5 Lightweight Travel Trailers You Can Stand Up In

[John in Santa Cruz]

do note, the Ridgeline is a primarily FWD vehicle with rear assist rather than a RWD with 4x4 front drive. The Ridgeline is built on a beefed up Odyssey minivan chassis, shared with the Pilot SUV

FWD is not optimal for pulling trailers because the trailer weight on the hitch UNloads the front wheels, reducing traction.

That all said, if the trailer is small/light enough, go for it.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

do note, the Ridgeline is a primarily FWD vehicle with rear assist rather than a RWD with 4x4 front drive..

Which is pretty much the case with all the AWD SUVs on the market today.
If required, a weight distribution hitch will shift weight from the rear axle to the front axle of the tow vehicle and to the trailer.
Or, you could tow with a Ford F250 4X4.

[Mcm]

Thanks for the ridgeline info. Mike

[Delmitch2]

We have a 2013 Ridgeline (Gen 1). Great vehicle, tows our 18' Suntrek nicely (no sway bar used).
Everything you need to know about the vehicle is here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Ridgeline

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Which is pretty much the case with all the AWD SUVs on the market today.
If required, a weight distribution hitch will shift weight from the rear axle to the front axle of the tow vehicle and to the trailer.
Or, you could tow with a Ford F250 4X4.

I agree with Mr Baglo , the Ford F-250 4x4 makes a great tow vehicle with plenty of power and room . If you can find a good used one you’ll have a winner for a reasonable price .

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I agree with Mr Baglo , the Ford F-250 4x4 makes a great tow vehicle with plenty of power and room...

Which is funny because the remark was, I believe, sarcastic and meant to convey exactly the opposite.

If you do go with a Ridgeline, I prefer the first generation because it does not have the VCM (cylinder deactivation) technology. I have VCM on my '11 Pilot and, while it does improve highway fuel mileage when not towing, I'd rather it didn't. One, there have been enough issues to bring about a class action lawsuit and settlement from Honda. My impression is that failures aren't widespread, but it's concerning. Two, it produces a slight but unpleasant rumble right around 70 mph, which is a common freeway cruising speed (not when towing, of course). It requires some complex (think $$) engine mounts to isolate vibration when VCM is active, and it seems like something is getting through right around that speed.

However, as I said elsewhere, I would wait until you have purchased your trailer before considering a vehicle swap.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Which is funny because the remark was, I believe, sarcastic and meant to convey exactly the opposite..

I cannot speak to the purpose or intent of Mr Baglo’s post , I am not that perceptive . I still believe that the Ford F-250 makes an excellent tow vehicle and would choose it over a ridgleline any day . My BIL bought a ridgeline and I was not impressed and evidently neither was he , because he traded it off 11 months later ( With a rather large loss / he bought a Ford F-150 )

[Jon in AZ]

The context is the poster already has a fairly new Ford Expedition with tow package, is planning to buy a "small" molded fiberglass trailer, and finds the Expedition too large a vehicle for daily use. So yes, I find the suggestion that he should trade the Expedition for an F-250 humorous.

I would not counsel a Ridgeline either at this point. "Small" is relative. Trailer first.

[Steve Carlson]

I'm sure it is just a coincidence that I see a Honda Ridgeline ad on the right side of this page...

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlson

I'm sure it is just a coincidence that I see a Honda Ridgeline ad on the right side of this page...

Big Brother is watching...

[ATHiker]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I cannot speak to the purpose or intent of Mr Baglo’s post , I am not that perceptive . I still believe that the Ford F-250 makes an excellent tow vehicle and would choose it over a ridgleline any day . My BIL bought a ridgeline and I was not impressed and evidently neither was he , because he traded it off 11 months later ( With a rather large loss / he bought a Ford F-150 )

Honda Ridgeline's are consistently in the top 10 for resale value.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by ATHiker

Honda Ridgeline's are consistently in the top 10 for resale value.

There are two sides to the high resale value. If you buy used, and keep your vehicles a long, long time, then high resale value just means you pay top dollar for a used one.

In my case, I bought a sued F150, 12,000 miles on it. Price was HALF of what original owner paid new (talk about depreciation!!)

[steve dunham]

The idea that I would buy a vehicle I don’t need , want , or like based on some imaginary resale value off in the future does not compute for me .
If I could buy a Ridgeline and then sell it ten years later for the original purchase price , I still wouldn’t buy one because I have no use for one and they have no appeal for me.

[Jon in AZ]

I will agree with that. Buy what you truly need.

Other things equal, though, higher resale value is sometimes- not always- a clue that a model also has good long-term reliability. I do rate reliability pretty high on my list of vehicle attributes.

With the Ridgeline, of course, there is no "other things equal." It is in a category by itself with no direct competition.

[Evergreengirl]

We’ve been very happy with our 2009 Ridgeline which we bought used and which now has just a bit over 100,000 miles on it. Very comfortable ride - much nicer than any of the other makes of trucks we test drove. Great reliability and it has easily towed both our former 17’ Bigfoot and our current 19’ Escape. We’d buy the new redesigned model if we could justify spending the money and if our current model wasn’t still going strong.

BTW, our owner’s manual recommends not using a weight distribution hitch and so we never have. We did use a sway bar with our Bigfoot just for peace of mind, but have not felt the need for even that with the Escape.