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Location: Athens, Ohio | My old Dodge had the tranny go out on my way back from Cave Ruin to Tony Grant's lodge. I think after 250K miles it's dead. Looked at the Honda Ridgeline yesterday, I was concerned about "only" a V-6 but it looks like it has the same towing capacity as my Dakota and the 6 has 20 more HP than my 8. Anyone have experience with this vehicle? thanks, m | |
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Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | Its built on their minivan platform. The towing capacity is 5,000 lbs, which would cover most muskie fisherman's boats. But, don't' expect it to tow as well as your Dakota. It may have more horsepower, but I've never seen a Honda with decent torque, especially on the low end. | |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | If you can buy American. Even if its made in the US. most of the profits go to Japan.
On the other hand it is a nice truck... Why not test drive it while pulling the Gambler and see for yourself.
Jerome | |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Yeah, it's the torque thing that bothers me, too, but I'm gonna take the plunge and get it. I don't tow all the time anyway and when I do it's mostly my smaller, lighter basstracker. We're gonna break it in rough, getting it Friday then I have to go to Ky. Saturday to get my Gambler back from Tony's. This will be the first non-US vehicle I've owned. I'll miss the old Dakota, but at a quarter million miles it is time for it - and me - to move on. m | |
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Posts: 190
| I have one and I love it. I tow with it all the time and never had an issue. The truck rides awesome. I switched from a tahoe and don't miss that thing a bit. Sure it has less torque, but I'm not pulling a big camper I'm pulling a 3800 boat. I live in chicago and have towed my boat with it to canada, vermillion, cable, and all over the place. I wish chevy could build a truck like this (I'm still kinda a die hard chevy guy). I think the design of the chevy went down hill when they started to designing for soccer moms. I have owned 3 tahoes and am not sure I will never go back after driving this truck. The bed design is awesome with good tei downs and molded plastic covering, and having a trunk is awesome too. Having a bed is better for me because with all the home remodleing projects I beat up the inside of the tahoe quiet a bit.
+'s
The navi system spend the money it is worth it
Trunk
It tows perfectly for the weekend hauler ( driving at 65-70 is surprisingly fuel efficient go over that you can notice a remarkable drop in miles per gallon)
The utilitarian interior is perfect for me. Rubber mats that catch mud, and a nice simple clean dash. A throw area for the passengers phone and other crap.
The armrest is one of the best with its endless functionality.
Dual opening for the tail gate , (why couldn't chevy think of that. Especially on the avalanch)
The four wheel drive is 10 times better than my 2004 tahoe, you can't even get the truck squirlly in the mud or snow
Cons
If your not taking your boat fishing the bed is short for musky rods, but you can still fit a 9 footer in the cab
Plastic bumpers
I keep getting my windshield hit by rocks and it cost 450 to replace ouch
When you buy a ridgeline there are only 3 model (base, high end, and high end with nav) everything else is a dealer add on. I spent 3600 in additional things for my truck. ( front and rear chrome, front wind deflector, wheel flares, roof rack, mud flaps, tray for under the rear seat, remote start, blue tooth phone system, running boards, hitch), but after seeing the finished product it was well worth it.
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | I think it might be iffy for your Gambler. You also have to factor in whether or not your boat will push the vehicle around. I know that I used to think my Durango was fine for my Procraft and it was when it wasn't loaded. I just picked up a Nissan Armada and boy is there a difference! My gas mileage isn't much worse (1-2mpg) and it starts, stops, and merges like the rig isn't even in tow. Not to mention that I got this used with 9000 miles for 1/2 of sticker. When you figure what you can save on the price of a slightly used gas guzzler you can buy a lot of $3-$4/gal gas. Especially when you're paying the difference from 16mpg to 18mpg.
Edited by Muskie Treats 10/29/2008 9:34 AM
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Posts: 734
Location: Watertown, MN | Mike
My biggest concern would be the torque, might not be much of an issue for us northern flat landers. But with the hill and terrians you guys are in, I wish I had a V-10 pulling down there. Like Treats said, I would also be concerned about breaking and if the Gambler will push it specially on steep down hill grades in KY.
Good luck
Troyz
Edited by Troyz. 10/29/2008 9:51 AM
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Yeah, but with a full load of moonshine in the truck, that should add enough weight to activate my surge brakes, don't ya think? I'm not making nearly as many trips to the hill country any more, and when I did with my Dodge, I just had to downshift a bit. I am a bit concerned about having to pull the Gambler up & down those hills during my break-in period, my dealer just tells me to take it easy and vary my speed. The G-boat weighs in the mid-3000 pound range, so Cbuf gave me a good comparable. I do like the Ridgeline's feature of a wheel lock, where I can activate an anti-slip feature coming up out of the ramps. It is the drive-ability of the vehicle that sold me over conventional trucks, I just didn't fit well into a Tacoma.
thanks again for all the helpful advice. I'll let you know Monday if everything worked out. m | |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | Mikie, you may want to rethink how much you're really pulling. On most vehicles they may say 5000# towing capacity. If you read the fine print in order to get to that 5000#'s you need to have an anti-sway device on the trailer. If you put one on you can't have surge brakes. The other thing is that the 5000# includes passangers and gear.
I thought that I was towing much less with my rig then I really was when I broke it down.
Hull: 1800
Motor: 550
Trailer 1200 ish
= 3500# That's stated weight by the mfg and we all know how accurate that is.
Now add:
Boat Gas 50 gal(full tank) 400
Truck Gas 25 gal: 200
Oil and prop (motor weight's don't include the prop or oil): 30
Gear: 300-500 (I'm a pack-rat)
2 passengers: 450#
= 1500# roughly
That's a total of 5000# (I didn't try to get to 5000, just happened). That's maxing your rig and assuming you're not bringing 3 guys or a family's worth of stuff to the lake. Granted I usually never run a full tank in my boat, but sometimes I will. Now factor in a headwind and/or hills and you're going to be putting a lot of stress/heat on the drive train and breaks.
The Ridgeline would probably be doable. I just wanted to point out the total picture before you spend the $. If you're set on buying new I'd find someone who would let you pull the boat with one before you buy. If you're going to a dealership they've probably got a used one you could do this with. Like I said before, I just bought a slightly used truck for a steal because nobody wants the big rigs. I'm still laughing at the deal I got!
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Posts: 65
| I have a 2007 Honda Ridgeline and tow an 1850 Fishhawk without any problems. Gas mileage isn't the best but it was the same as when i towed with the Tahoe. | |
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| Been lurking these sites for a bit. On others using the same name as a reference.
I own a Ridgeline. Yes I take a lot of flack for not having a "real" truck. That is until I get them unstuck (family joke).
I have owned mine since they first came out. I pull a Lund Explorer 1675 with it. About a 2000 lbs package, maybe a bit more? I have no problems with it. Pulls nice, stops easy. Pick up to pass is still there. Up and down the hills to northern Ontario not a problem. The truck has never let me down. I easy cruise the 401 at 110 km/h. Gas milage is not bad. The hills suck it more than anything. I have had worse, but not better, so I cannot compare.
The comfort and features the truck has is amazing. I have the base model and am very happy with it.
[IMG]http://i36.tinypic.com/2re7955.jpg[/IMG]
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Wow, that was a sweet ride home from Kentucky with the boat, I'm not seeing a problem. Love the truck, thanks again, m | |
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Anyone tow with a Honda Ridgeline?