Clearance When Towing w/ Tailgate Down?

[jambie]

Hello all,
New to the board but don't have a Ridgeline yet. When the lease is up on our Pilot we'll get a Ridgeline to tow our very small (1200#) teardrop camper. The issue is how much clearance I'll have when I put my Husky dual sport MC in the bed with the TG down. Can someone help me out w/ the following measurements?

Height above ground of bottom of TG when down

Distance from center of ball to either corner of TG when down, using a standard draw bar.

My worry is that when towing w/the TG down, it'll hit the tongue mounted propane tank on the camper when turning. A receiver extension might solve this problem, so if anyone uses one of those, I'd like to hear about that, too.

TIA, and cheers!
Tom

[firefighter3666]

I'll have to track down the tape measure to help with your request, but first two questions. What is the length of the bike? Will you be loading anything else? The reason I ask is you might be able to get away with loading the bike on a diagonal and closing the tailgate.

[jambie]

I'm pretty sure it won't fit diagonally. The distance from the front of the front tire to the contact patch on the rear is about 74". Also, we've got a scooter to fit in there, too.

I got some measurements from the camper builder, so I'm gonna take my draw bar down to the Honda dealer and look at some clearances on an RTX.

Cheers,
Tom

[firefighter3666]

Ok, it took me a few days to get back to you..... but I have what you were looking for. My truck has an aftermarket hitch by Drawtite, I don't know if the dimensions will be the same as the OEM, but I'ld assume it's close.

Pic 1: Rear profile, Tailgate down.
Pic 2: Side profile, Tailgate down.
Pic 3: Overhead, Tailgate up.
Pic 4: Overhead, Measurement from tag to hitch ball.
Pic 5: Overhead, Measurement from tag to tailgate (tailgate down).

[firefighter3666]

And some more....

Pic 6: Rear profile, Diagonal measurement from hitch ball to tailgate corner (tailgate down).
Pic 7: Closeup of measurement on Pic 6.
Pic 8: Side profile, Measurement from pavement to bottom of tailgate (tailget down).
Pic 9: Rear profile of Pic 8.
Pic 10: Rear profile, Measurement from pavement to hitch ball top.

[jambie]

Hey FF3666,
Thanks for the detailed info! That's exactly what I needed, and I pulled the trigger on an '08 RTX. Picked it up yesterday...

Thanks again. I'll post a pic when I get the camper.:D

Cheers,
Tom