Honda Ridgeline

[douglasfir]

Don't laugh... I spend a lot of time at work driving full size body-on-frame trucks on Forest Service roads and four wheel drive has saved my butt in a number of situations. Not as familiar with "all wheel drive" and what it's capable of off the pavement. I know the Ridgeline is a series of concessions compared to a "real" truck, but for a number of reasons I'm considering one.

How limiting would a Honda Ridgeline be on the rough Forest Service roads of Western Colorado compared to a basic F150 with 4x4 low?

 

[wingmaster]

I like my Ridgeline and haven't had trouble for some light to moderate offroading. Putting on skid plates, A/T tires, and maybe a 2" lift could make it extremely capable. For heavy-duty offroading I'd opt for something else.

Might trade it in next year though, I really liked the under-bed trunk for storage when I first saw it but it's actually a pain to access when I load up my bed with heavy coolers and gear. Another downside is a full-size A/T tire doesn't fit in the spare tire compartment in the trunk. I had to find alternative ways to store it, none of which are clean solutions

 

[JFK]

Don't laugh...

I think you already know the answer to your question.

 

[Broomd]

Like the idea, but if your FS roads are anything like ours in ID, it's a bridge too far.

The boulder stretches are just too much without some real ground clearance and serious suspension.
Overall the RIdgeline is a great vehicle, I'm in the market to upgrade wife's Lexus RX 350 and I've been more than tempted to get her into a loaded Ridgeline for our rough roads and for the hauling she does with her gardening, feed, grain etc. for the livestock and layers.
Honda's proud of the new one$ for sure.

 

[GunsAreFun]

I would think ground clearance and approach angle would be your limiting factors more than 4x4 vs AWD, especially in dry conditions.

Any reason why your not looking at the more traditional light trucks? I’m not an off-road expert…far from it…but the Ranger and Tacoma both have better clearance and approach/depart angle and available with standard 4x4. I honestly sometimes wish I had a Tacoma instead of a Tundra for some of those less maintained roads. The more narrow and shorter wheel base would be quite handy.

 

[PathFinder]

Some guys will also put this in the laugh category, but it's unlikely they're spending much time in 4 low themselves...
A Subaru will do it better if you don't need the bed. Why? Manual trans has the better AWD system. Add a Torq locker, 2" lift, A/T or M/T tires and a small winch. It will go about anywhere a stock pickup will go, and has more ground clearance than a stock GM. On paper, it has more ground clearance and bigger tires than some SxS.
If dead set on the Ridgeline, it will probably go most places with a quality A/T under it. AWD system is a bit limiting but it takes a bad trail or a substantial amount of snow to cause a real issue.
I have a Tacoma on 37s and almost never use it except during lion season because the Subaru can go just about anywhere most of the year. I didn't think I'd be able to hunt out of the Subaru as much as I do, but I only needed the Tacoma for two trips out of a couple dozen this year.

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[Beagle1]

In a badly rutted road or in deep snow clearance will be your biggest problem.

 

[antlerridge]

I’ve been pondering a ridgeline also very rarely do I use 4x4 most is driving from state to state, they make a lift and add AT tires it would be capable. There are some YouTube videos of ridgeline going off road.


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[180ls1]

Minor limitations that would hardly be a hindrance.

 

[Beagle1]

If you do a lot of driving you will like the ride and handling. Off road clearance will be the main problem. And if you keep your truck for a long time it is very reliable and you should expect to easily put 200,000 to 250,000 miles on it.

 

[Yoder]

It's funny until you get 300k miles with hardly any problems.

 

[antlerridge]

It's funny until you get 300k miles with hardly any problems.

Any mods done on yours?


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[Yoder]

Any mods done on yours?


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I have a 2012 Pilot, pretty much the same thing. No mods, just good tires. I don't do any crazy off roading. If I did anything, it would be a lift. It's been a great vehicle. Only 155k so far.

 

[signing off]

I had an experience in our driveway with snow and my wife's Ridgeline. Early generation/06 model.
I was attempting to rock back and forth with as much traction as possible. So, that includes the diff locking button right? Turns out that is only active in drive 1 or drive 2 and deactivated every time I shifted back and forth. We are seeing this issue more often with the computer programming that "knows better" than what we know works. Vehicle software can ruin things in a hurry nowadays.