Buyers remorse-Honda Ridgeline

[SHalim88]

Thanks AlbertF!
From airstream site stated the FC20 max weight trailer is 5K, but from what I heard they recommended not more than 80% capacity from the towing truck. Honda Ridgeline max towing capacity is 5K, so 80% of my Ridgeline is 4K towing. I am not the expert of this, just worry about driving up or down hill. I still love the Bambi 16, it’s so adorable!! :-)

[twbucksr]

We tow our 2015 Sport 22FB with our 2014 Honda Ridgeline equipped with an Andersen WDH and Doran TPMS.

Here is the Cat Scale sheet from our trip to Louisiana this past summer for a wedding.

Trailer weight represents empty black and grey tanks and full fresh water tank and gear.

Truck weight includes the wife and I in the front seats with my golf clubs under and a loaded Yeti 65 sitting on top of the back seat. Nothing in the bed. Pancake air compressor in the bed trunk.

We chose the 22FB because it fell within the towing specifications of our Ridgeline and have safely done so for approximately 10,000 miles to 11 different states over the past 2 years.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by twbucksr

We tow our 2015 Sport 22FB with our 2014 Honda Ridgeline equipped with an Andersen WDH and Doran TPMS.

Here is the Cat Scale sheet from our trip to Louisiana this past summer for a wedding.

Trailer weight represents empty black and grey tanks and full fresh water tank and gear.

Truck weight includes the wife and I in the front seats with my golf clubs under and a loaded Yeti 65 sitting on top of the back seat. Nothing in the bed. Pancake air compressor in the bed trunk.

We chose the 22FB because it fell within the towing specifications of our Ridgeline and have safely done so for approximately 10,000 miles to 11 different states over the past 2 years.

Attachment 296181

Thanks for posting. I assume this is with your Andersen fully engaged so what we're seeing here is one of 3 crucial measurements to understand how the setup works.

The two other pieces that can give you a more complete story are:

1) the Ridgeline itself (loaded as you described with passengers and the Yeti - which just made me think of that Jack Links commercial with the "Yeti" - hey, you want a ride???? [emoji3])

2) the rig connected BUT with the WD capabilities of the Andersen disengaged.

Those two additional measures will show you:

- the weight of the steer axle of the truck when unloaded (presumably heavier than when the weight of the trailer sits on the truck's tail)

- the impact on both truck axles of attaching the trailer (again, you'd expect to see your steer axle get lighter and the drive axle to get heavier)

- then with the data in this ticket you showed, you can see what your hitch has done to restore weight lifted off the steer axle and to push weight off the drive axle of the truck and place it on the trailer.

It's fun to do! I love it! And then real experts in these forums can give you a lot of insight from their analysis of the numbers.

Just be careful - Ron Gratz was able to accurately identity my body weight when he looked at my first CAT scale tickets and noticed an anomaly he later figured out was because of my being in the truck for one weight and still standing at the buzzer for another weight. That was only slightly embarrassing since I'm the size of 2 average people - but fascinating to know there is that level of engineering expertise here to help!

Good luck!

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by twbucksr

We tow our 2015 Sport 22FB with our 2014 Honda Ridgeline equipped with an Andersen WDH and Doran TPMS.

Here is the Cat Scale sheet from our trip to Louisiana this past summer for a wedding.

Trailer weight represents empty black and grey tanks and full fresh water tank and gear.

Truck weight includes the wife and I in the front seats with my golf clubs under and a loaded Yeti 65 sitting on top of the back seat. Nothing in the bed. Pancake air compressor in the bed trunk.

We chose the 22FB because it fell within the towing specifications of our Ridgeline and have safely done so for approximately 10,000 miles to 11 different states over the past 2 years.

Attachment 296181

Thanks for posting. I assume this is with your Andersen fully engaged so what we're seeing here is one of 3 crucial measurements to understand how the setup works.

The two other pieces that can give you a more complete story are:

1) the Ridgeline itself (loaded as you described with passengers and the Yeti - which just made me think of that Jack Links commercial with the "Yeti" - hey, you want a ride???? [emoji3])

2) the rig connected BUT with the WD capabilities of the Andersen disengaged.

Those two additional measures will show you:

- the weight of the steer axle of the truck when unloaded (presumably heavier than when the weight of the trailer sits on the truck's tail)

- the impact on both truck axles of attaching the trailer (again, you'd expect to see your steer axle get lighter and the drive axle to get heavier)

- then with the data in this ticket you showed, you can see what your hitch has done to restore weight lifted off the steer axle and to push weight off the drive axle of the truck and place it on the trailer.

It's fun to do! I love it! And then real experts in these forums can give you a lot of insight from their analysis of the numbers.

Just be careful - Ron Gratz was able to accurately identity my body weight when he looked at my first CAT scale tickets and noticed an anomaly he later figured out was because of my being in the truck for one weight and still standing at the buzzer for another weight. That was only slightly embarrassing since I'm the size of 2 average people - but fascinating to know there is that level of engineering expertise here to help!

Good luck!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The reduction in engine output with altitude is (as mentioned above) something that happens to all engines on all vehicles. It also applies to generators and chain saws. You might make up for it a bit with a turbo charger or a super charger.

Tow ratings are a sum of a bunch of things. Axle weight limits are one. Receiver design weight is another. Brakes, steering, cooling, get into it along with a bunch of other nonsense.

Past ratings is performance. Aerodynamics of the trailer do matter in the "how fast can I go" department. Trailer brakes matter a bit in this department (unless you are crazy ...).

On top of all this is the "I want to bring along ....." department. Simple answer there is to reconsider your list or (maybe) move some of it to the trailer. You can quite easily come up with a list that no practical TV can handle, even without the trailer involved. Been there / done that

If indeed, after adding everything up, you need a new TV, Hondas generally have really good trade-in value ....

Bob