Honda Ridgeline

[Cornfed]

Originally Posted by Yoshi

I have a Ridegeline I bought in 2016. It has been faultless. One set of tires in 52K.
Change the oil and put gas in it.
I have had 2 Tacomas and a Tundra. The Ridgeline is superior for comfort and driving. Waaay more comfortable. Lots more room for 4 inside. Seats in back flip up and I carry my bike inside for solo road trips.
Carries 4 people and all their crap for ski and bike trips no problem.
If they would make an electric one I would buy again no question.

Almost identical experience. Had the 2006 and loved it. Drove it into the ground over 14 years and never once went to the shop. Loved the way it drove, the capacity inside and out, and adored the trunk. Can't figure out why no one has copied that feaure. Invaluable. I was all set to buy the new version but was completely disappointed by the design. Anyway, if they go electric and change the design, I'd buy one in a heartbeat, as is, I'll wait for the electric F150 or Rivian.

[nmrt]

Thanks for all the responses. What i also am wondering is this:

I plan to use the Ridgeline (or the Taco) to carry a popup camper. Now, the payload of the Taco is 1100 lb and the payload of the Ridge is 1500 lb. How on earth are the Taco people carrying a popup camper weighing around 1000 lb (I presume) and then have a few people in the truck?

Anyone who owns a short bed (5 ft) truck and has a pop up camper care to shed some light?

[p nut]

Originally Posted by nmrt

Thanks for all the responses. What i also am wondering is this:

I plan to use the Ridgeline (or the Taco) to carry a popup camper. Now, the payload of the Taco is 1100 lb and the payload of the Ridge is 1500 lb. How on earth are the Taco people carrying a popup camper weighing around 1000 lb (I presume) and then have a few people in the truck?

Anyone who owns a short bed (5 ft) truck and has a pop up camper care to shed some light?

They’re basically overloaded. Unless you go with something like a GFC and keep everything light. Think weight weenie.

Get a domestic 1/2 ton, or better yet, 3/4 ton if you’re going to a slide in camper. Toyota trucks downright suck for payload.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by nmrt

Thanks for all the responses. What i also am wondering is this:

I plan to use the Ridgeline (or the Taco) to carry a popup camper. Now, the payload of the Taco is 1100 lb and the payload of the Ridge is 1500 lb. How on earth are the Taco people carrying a popup camper weighing around 1000 lb (I presume) and then have a few people in the truck?

Anyone who owns a short bed (5 ft) truck and has a pop up camper care to shed some light?

are you talking about a slide-in bed camper or towing a pop-up?

if the second thing, you may be confusing the payload and towing capacity. the payload refers to how much weight can sit in the truck and not how much it can safely tow, although the towing capacity goes down as the actual payload goes up.

for example the towing capacity of the ridgeline is listed as 3500-5000 pounds, depending on configuration. which is pretty standard for a light duty suv/pickup. those numbers generally assume minimal payload, but there are ways to calculate safe towing capacity based on expected payload.

[nmrt]

Not towing the camper. But looking at pop up camper for the truck. Hence, payload capacity comes into play.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

are you talking about a slide-in bed camper or towing a pop-up?

if the second thing, you may be confusing the payload and towing capacity. the payload refers to how much weight can sit in the truck and not how much it can safely tow, although the towing capacity goes down as the actual payload goes up.

for example the towing capacity of the ridgeline is listed as 3500-5000 pounds, depending on configuration. which is pretty standard for a light duty suv/pickup. those numbers generally assume minimal payload, but there are ways to calculate safe towing capacity based on expected payload.

[cinema]

in the truckbed, unless your very 'large' family likes to sleep in the popup camper while you're driving down the road, i don't see the issue. their figures are very conservative in america especially due to litigious culture. if u exceed payload while stationary camping i wouldn't worry about it. people in europe do some crazy things with very small vehicles.

go for the tundra / honda/ or a diesel if going for the big kahuna 2k lb camper. i think you would get much better mileage as that engine is doing less work then the v6 to carry same weight

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by nmrt

Not towing the camper. But looking at pop up camper for the truck. Hence, payload capacity comes into play.

gotcha. can you post a generic picture of the type of camper you are thinking about, out of curiosity?

[choke]

Originally Posted by cinema

in the truckbed, unless your very 'large' family likes to sleep in the popup camper while you're driving down the road, i don't see the issue. their figures are very conservative in america especially due to litigious culture. if u exceed payload while stationary camping i wouldn't worry about it. people in europe do some crazy things with very small vehicles.

A vehicle's payload includes any added weight like people, gear, etc. regardless of where it's located. So if there's an 1000lb camper in the back and two 200lb occupants in the front that's 1400lb.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by cinema

their figures are very conservative in america especially due to litigious culture.

Caveat is, if you end up getting in an accident, being over GVWR could hold you liable.

[nmrt]

This is what I have in my mind.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

gotcha. can you post a generic picture of the type of camper you are thinking about, out of curiosity?

[cinema]

very true. dont listen to me.
people also really like current gen gm v6 and ford v8. chevy using isuzu platform very popular across the globe. mazda set to release theirs on the same platform. lots of interesting competition now the market is primed for it as people move away from smaller vehicles

[Mikej]

Originally Posted by choke

A vehicle's payload includes any added weight like people, gear, etc. regardless of where it's located. So if there's an 1000lb camper in the back and two 200lb occupants in the front that's 1400lb.

And tongue weight has to be added to that as well.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by nmrt

This is what I have in my mind.

yea, got you now.

honestly, having driven the taco on stock suspension, i think adding much bigger rubber and running the payload near capacity would make driving it on the highway, and especially in the mountains a real drag.

[nmrt]

true. but then the bigger truck than the taco (say, F-150 or tundra) are huge. that will be only only car as we are are one car family. i have no idea how i will drive it around town and park while running errands etc.

as an aside, i love small cars. The E46 BMW wagon was my ideal family car, or the Audi A3 hatch, or the GTI all were my ideal family car. now imagine my mental turmoil trying to go from that size to a tacoma. then imagine the shock of going even bigger...tundra!

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

yea, got you now.

honestly, having driven the taco on stock suspension, i think adding much bigger rubber and running the payload near capacity would make driving it on the highway, and especially in the mountains a real drag.

[Jeckel30]

Originally Posted by nmrt

true. but then the bigger truck than the taco (say, F-150 or tundra) are huge. that will be only only car as we are are one car family. i have no idea how i will drive it around town and park while running errands etc.

as an aside, i love small cars. The E46 BMW wagon was my ideal family car, or the Audi A3 hatch, or the GTI all were my ideal family car. now imagine my mental turmoil trying to go from that size to a tacoma. then imagine the shock of going even bigger...tundra!

If your ideal family car is an E46 wagon(I agree and miss mine) you will vastly prefer the Ridgeline to a Tacoma. I have had a bunch of full size trucks for towing purposes and they do great. As soon as I was done towing what I needed I sold them as I hate to drive them on a daily basis. I moved on to a Tacoma which was great and isn’t overly big but I wouldn’t classify it fun to drive. I currently have a 1st Gen. Ridgeline which is a much better daily driver. I have a Land Cruiser for off-road and an E36 M3 when I want to go fast.