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Colorado owners, how does the Honda do on most "off road" trails?

5K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  John32070 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi!

I will be moving to Southern Colorado very soon (foothills, not the plains). I have narrowed down my vehicle selection to a Ridgeline or an Xterra. If you've got a minute I'd really appreciate your take on what vehicle might work best for me.

This vehicle will be a daily driver. It must get me to work in all weather conditions.

I do not enjoy running over boulders for its' own sake, but I do enjoy wildlife photography and camping. I also plan to hunt 2-3 times a year. I'm not the guy concerned with bragging rights, I just want to get to the campsite and/or chase down that turkey like an idiot. Is the Ridgeline sufficient for these tasks?

Is a lack of 4hi/lo severely limiting in this part of the country? Am I excluding myself from the best "Wild Colorado" has to offer?

Finally, has anyone driven an Xterra in CO snow? How badly does it suck? Is the rwd with body on frame going to have this noob sliding all over the place w/ white knuckles?

Anything I'm missing?

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Can't tell you about CO off roading but would like to point out one key difference.

The RL has a bed you can hose off after it gets bloody. The x-terra does not lol...
 
#3 · (Edited)
You've found the "Off-roading" section of the forum. There are lots of posts and lots of pictures that should answer your questions. Search using the word "Russia" and check out their videos.

In summary:

The RL is capable, but has a bit less ground clearance than some prefer.

It is not a rock crawler.

Can lift it 2" max.

If mudding, you'll want a more aggressive tire.

Is mind-blowing excellent in snow up to 8". Above that, most daily drivers have issues.

One thing that doesn't get mentioned much is that the RL is a tad wider than the XTerras, Jeeps, and maybe the 4-Runners. You might find yourself pushing the brush back on some of the lesser-traveled trails, and the RL paint will tell the tales.
 
#5 ·
I just did most of the trails in the Ouray/Telluride/Silverton area back in August. The Ridgeline CAN get you anywhere you NEED to go off road. I would highly recommend adding the 2" lift at the least for the extra ground clearance and possibly the front and rear aftermarket skidplates just for the extra piece of mind. You don't want to get stuck at 12,000 ft because you accidentally drug the rear differential over a rock.

The transmission with it's lack of 4lo is the Ridgelines only limiting factor in off road mountain passes. This will be the only area that Xterra will outshine the Ridge because it has 4low for the long steep climbs at high altitude. Only way that may help the Ridge compensate is to add a secondary transmission cooler and fan on a manual switch to help minimize overheating the fluid. I would also recommend changing trans fluid more often then recommended. The Ridgeline's lack of a low range means the trans really struggles on long low speed steep climbs and will really start to cook the trans fluid quickly at high altitudes. Many areas this can be overcome with a "running start" but many trails have switchbacks that eliminates that option.
Engine power and the VTM-4 are non issues.

As for on road capabilities the Ridge will out drive the Xterra in every possible condition and be a much more livable daily driver without a doubt.
 
#7 ·
My previous vehicle was a 2007 X. I can say that if you are looking for a rock crawler, the X would be better, but not the vehicle for you either. If you want something for mountain roads and snow, the RL is far superior IMHO. The RL is the best vehicle I have ever owned and driven in snow. I have lived in N UT most of my life. The RL is a fantastic vehicle in the snow. It holds its own just fine on mountain roads and rough terrain. I have not yet swapped out my stock tires or added a lift yet, but will be doing both soon and that should only make it that much better.

+1 on being able to spray out the truck bed. When I traded my X in I had marks all over the back gate and top of the seats from feeding lumber in there. I also get @ 1-2MPG better gas mileage in the RL. Mountain roads in UT can get dicey just like CO I am sure, but unless you are going to move up to something with a rear locker and other serious off roading capabilities, you are not giving up much if anything from the X, and gaining a lot in return (comfort, space, ride, snow handling, mpg, bed) I haven't once missed my X. I owned an Xterra Off Road fyi.
 
#8 ·
I'm going into my 3rd Colorado winter with my Ridgeline, having come from a '99 Ranger 4x4 for 10 years before that.

A few observations:
The automatic 4x4 system on the Ridgeline is awesome in the snow. You are always in four wheel drive when you start moving from a stop, and then it transitions to front wheel drive once you get going. It will automatically engage the rear wheels if it detects any slippage at the front. This is drastically better than the more traditional system where you have to guess when to turn your 4x4 on and off based on road conditions. Takes the worry out of it for sure.

Get yourself a good set of All Terrain tires if you will be doing any off-roading and for winter snow driving. I have the Firestone Destination A/T's on mine, and the difference in snowy weather traction is like night and day over the stock Michelins.

Be aware that sometimes the VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist) system will want to cut back on your throttle if it detects too much wheel spin from the front tires. This can be a bad thing in deep snow when tire spin is actually beneficial to help you maintain your momentum. I tend to turn off the VSA in snowy weather when I'm driving on back streets or any stop and go situations. Once I'm out on the highway, even if it's snow packed, I turn it back on and it does fine.

Finally, do a search on this forum for problems with snow building up at the base of the windshield wipers, causing the motor to overheat and fail. There's an easy fix for this which involves adjusting the "down" position of the wipers up a little bit higher so they are above the accumulating snow, not down inside of it. I did this my first winter and have not had any issues with wipers failing in heavy snow as has been reported by other owners.
 
#11 · (Edited)
snip

Finally, do a search on this forum for problems with snow building up at the base of the windshield wipers, causing the motor to overheat and fail. There's an easy fix for this which involves adjusting the "down" position of the wipers up a little bit higher so they are above the accumulating snow, not down inside of it. I did this my first winter and have not had any issues with wipers failing in heavy snow as has been reported by other owners.
Can you post a pic of where you positioned the wiper blades to alleviate this issue?

Here's a pic of the normal positioning of the blades (as they came on my RL), dead center in the heated area.
driver side:


passenger side:


Compare these to schwejo's pic from another thread and his seem much lower than mine (although I can't see his heater grid).
 
#9 ·
The Ridgeline will do awesome. I bought mine to drive in the Colorado mountains for a mobile job 3 years ago. I've been to just about every mountain town in all types of weather. I do how ever carry snow chains just in case. The RL has great power to get you up and over the divide and gets better MPG then an Xterra. How ever, the off raiding capabilities are a little less. (just no rock crawling) But I have taking mine off road a lot. I have about 190K miles and besides normal maintenance, I've only spent $35 to replace a part that broke. (and i'm not easy on my truck either)Hope this helps
 
#10 · (Edited)
3 winters of winter driving in RL. awesome ride on snowy/icy roads but stay on the road, RL is not off road vehicle. colorado trails can get ugly even without snow.

why x terra may i ask. why not fj cruiser or 4runner. i'd rather get used land rover for of road hunting vehicleit is way superior to x-terra.
 
#13 ·
Mike,

I just assumed the positioning of my wipers in the center of the heated zone was the factory setting common to all RLs. So yours came from the factory set low in the zone? I wonder if that's a common factor for those complaining about accumulated snow jamming the wipers.

I'm not sure I understand how moving the wipers up an inch or so alleviates the problem. Won't the snow just continue to stack/pack up to the bottom of the wiper sweep?
 
#15 ·
Thanks wa2be. I've seen that thread... even participated towards the end. But I don't recall having seen a pic of the wipers repositioned for the fix... relative to my pic of the OEM wiper position posted above, where you can clearly see the heated zone and where the OEM position is relative to the heated zone.
 
#16 ·
If i think of it during the Thanksgiving weekend, I will take a pic of mine and post it on here. I've been through some very heavy snowstorms and have not had any problems with the wipers. But, to be fair, I did this modification the first weekend I owned the truck so I've never driven it in heavy snow with the blades parking lower. Mine were towards the bottom of the heated zone when I purchased the truck.
 
#17 ·
That would be good to see. I'd also like to see your homemade bed extender.
 
#18 ·
Living in Michigan, I see all weather conditions. I got my Ridge new in '07 and that winter we had a GOOD snowstorm.....I had to go into work on a Sunday before the road trucks had been out much. Where they had gone, they had piled the snow up to 3' (feet) in intersections and such. The backroads I was on had 1.5' - 2.5' (feet) of snow. I had NO trouble getting through any of it. In fact, I was the first one to work.....my bosses had big full sizes Chevy and Ford 4X4's and were having a hard time.....they lived closer and had better roads to go on too! SNOW....teh Ridgeline is a MONSTER in the snow! Hands down the most competent vehicle I have had in the snow.
 
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