It's finally here!

I'm going to pick up the Ridgeline today at 2 PST. I put a down on this truck already and I've secured a deal for MSRP. The funny thing is another dealer I was working with also received a shippment this morning and he told me I could look at his inventory...he too was willing to sell at MSRP. I decided to go with the Steel Blue (the other dealer had the Silver Billet). I'm planning on installing the OEM Back-up Sensor and OEM Fog Lights. I'll save some money and do the install myself...I'll keep everyone posted on the outcome. Thanks to all the contributors to this forum...you really helped me solidify my decision to purchase the Ridgeline. I was looking at the Tacoma as well but I concluded that I needed truck that was more like a SUV/car than a "real" truck. Also, I've owned an Acura and a Honda in the past and I've been a true believer on how well they build cars.

I also have a chance to go for a steel blue with moonroof/RT-L today. I'm just not sure about the color? I'm anguishing over this right now. I hate this waiting. Congratulations on your new RL.

You lucky dog! You should enjoy it over the Tacoma. I talked to my dealer yesterday and the vehicles with build date of the 5th are already showing up. What was your build date Bongus? Mine's the 10th, so any day now.

Enjoy

Congratulations. Mine has a build date of March 26th so I have a ways to go.

Enjoy your new truck.

I too looked at the Tacoma and Frontier and came to the same conclusion.

Congratulations. Mine has a build date of March 26th so I have a ways to go.

Enjoy your new truck.




I've got the same build date for my black RTL. The anticipation gets worse everyday.

Okay, I got it home...I went with the Silver. The dealer I bought from sold me all the accessories I was looking for...they matched the lowest prices I could find on the internet. This is what sold me was they will install everything for $300. I figured that was worth it for me. I'm sure the install for the sensors and fog lights alone will occupy at least 7 hours of my time. They tried to sell me the 7 year 100k warranty for $1700...I promptly said "No" and I did not mention that I found someone in this forum that is willing to sell the same exact warranty for $1075...what a joke!!! During my drive home, I got a pleasing knod from an Avalanche owner and Chevy Malibu driver. Getting lots of looks at the stoplight...BTW this is my build date March 5. I live in Northern California. Good luck to all and enjoy! I look forward to contributing to this forum as a proud owner of a Ridgeline. As a side note, I have not noticed any of the problems previous owners were having with their new Ridgelines.

bongus,

you and vertrkr and I should get together and do a photo of all three RL in one shot for the home page.

I considered the silver but Red just stood out alot more. but silver does not show dirt so you made a good choice.

Hello Blue,

I'll be in the bay area this Saturday. My accessories will not be installed until Monday. PM me and we could set something up. I guess Vertrkr lives near Berkeley. How do you like your Ridgeline so far? I got the call for mine this morning. I got to the dealer before they were done with their PDI (PreDelivery Inspection). I was debating between the Blue and Silver but once I saw both in person, I went with the Silver. My rationale was the Blue just did not look "truck" enough...go ahead and laugh but that's the way my brain works...it's still all Ridgeline under the color!!!

bongus,

you and vertrkr and I should get together and do a photo of all three RL in one shot for the home page.

I considered the silver but Red just stood out alot more. but silver does not show dirt so you made a good choice.

Heh... if you guys get together for a group pic or two, just send me the photo and I'll put it on the home page - gladly. ;)

Thanks to everyone for being a part of this great, growing club!

Perhaps we could meet at the top of Mt. Diablo. That would make for a hell of picture. I may or may not have my truck Saturday. Goes in Friday to the dealer, they think it's a one day job but ya never know. I'll post Friday night the outcome.

Perhaps we could meet at the top of Mt. Diablo. That would make for a hell of picture. I may or may not have my truck Saturday. Goes in Friday to the dealer, they think it's a one day job but ya never know. I'll post Friday night the outcome.

I've been to the area several times and I agree, the picture of all three from there would be great! :) BTW, did all your dealers have the accessories you needed in stock or did they have to backorder. I'm still waiting on the window visors and bug shield.

I've been to the area several times and I agree, the picture of all three from there would be great! :) BTW, did all your dealers have the accessories you needed in stock or did they have to backorder. I'm still waiting on the window visors and bug shield.

I order all my stuff online, get the best price that way:

http://www.handa-accessories.com/ridgeline.html
http://www.collegehillshonda.com/ridgeline/06_electronics.htm

Perhaps we could meet at the top of Mt. Diablo. That would make for a hell of picture. I may or may not have my truck Saturday. Goes in Friday to the dealer, they think it's a one day job but ya never know. I'll post Friday night the outcome.

Sounds good...hopefully you will have your truck then...depending on the time, I might make it over there. I will be in the Hayward Hills for a party in the evening. Would that place make for a better photo op? I'll wait for your response on Friday. BTW, I found a missing part on the driver's seat...the dealer missed it on the PDI.

hey ...... congrats ..... and enjoy.... :cool:

Anybody in Columbus, OH want to take a group photo??

I'm happy for yal who have your truck. Here in the Richmond Va. area nobody has a red rt-l anywhere. Maybe by the end of April somebody might get one in. I've talked to several dealers and I think I can buy for $500 below msrp. Does anybody know how far in advance a dealer will know what truck they will be getting and when?

hi, Bongus and vertrkr:

I am all for Mt. Diablo or Hayward Hills, but I will need 2 day notice to detail the car for the photo. This weekend is out because Tahoe is forecasting snow and I am heading to Kirkwood , this maybe the last ski weekend.

Bongus, how often do you come to the Bay Area? Remember, this whole weekend is rain soaked so photo will be a little wet.

Let us know when you are coming next time so we can get ready.

hi, Bongus and vertrkr:

I am all for Mt. Diablo or Hayward Hills, but I will need 2 day notice to detail the car for the photo. This weekend is out because Tahoe is forecasting snow and I am heading to Kirkwood , this maybe the last ski weekend.

Bongus, how often do you come to the Bay Area? Remember, this whole weekend is rain soaked so photo will be a little wet.

Let us know when you are coming next time so we can get ready.

I visit the bay area frequently. I'm orginally from Fremont. I heard about the weather forecast as well. I'm willing to reschedule another day...do you or Vertrkr golf? Maybe we could schedule a golf outing.

I visit the bay area frequently. I'm orginally from Fremont. I heard about the weather forecast as well. I'm willing to reschedule another day...do you or Vertrkr golf? Maybe we could schedule a golf outing.

Sounds like a plan. Let's shoot for next next weekend then and see how that shapes up for everyone. Would be nice to have a sunny day for the pic and give others more of chance to come. Still think the top of Mt. Diablo is our best bet plus we get to see how the truck handles some windy roads :)

PS. never golfed although my mother said I should have always learned how for business contacts.

I'll pencil it in for next weekend...will keep you posted.

Hi, Folks:

I will keep 3/27 open for our photo meet at Mt. Diablo. Let me know by 3/24 so that I can detail the truck on 3/25. BTW, weather report is forecasting rain on Easter Sunday 3/27. I will also keep 4/3 open.

I just got back from 3 days of driving in snow at Tahoe. The weather was ordered for a Ridgeline experience. We had 20 inches of snow in 3 days. There was chain control on all major roads. I witnessed several cars without chains skidded off the road and could not get out the snow bank. 4WD did not require chain and I had no problem on snow, ice and sleet. Return from Tahoe, I went through a thunder storm near Sacramento. The following are my impressions:

The truck performed admirably in all conditions except heavy rain. In heavy rain, Ridgeline did reasonably well but since the tire was not designed for rain, RL is not as sure-footed. But this is the trade-off, I needed the all-terrain tires to plow through the powder snow on a 10% incline to the cabin. My buddies with mini-vans had a little trouble even with chain. So I would prefer all-terrain tires and driving slower in heavy down pour rain.

For a trip like this, I definitely needed an bed cap and will be getting one before next winter. obviously, it was a little chancy to put all the travel stuff in the bed without any cover or tie down.

Our passengers in the back started to compalin the back seat was too hard after about 3 hours of riding. As a point of reference, I would give the Ridgeline a maximum of 4 hours of riding in the back per day for a 160 Lb. person. After 4 hours, expect some moaning about sore butt....

So, was the Ridgeline a great truck for twisting windy snow driving at 8000 feet? Oh, god.. yes. I felt so confident about the trip, my wife was even happy now I made the purchase. 10 days ago, she thought it was just a toy. At kirkwood, people walked by the snow-covered truck and said, " that's a Ridgeline!" One of the snow patrol even came by to see it.

The heated side-mirror and wind shield wiper area worked fine. But only the right side of the wiper area are heated (where the blades are ). The left side in front of the driving remained icy. i also wished there was a rear window defogger. I had to slide the rear window see in the back some times.

Anyway, for those who wants to know about driving in snow, I have given you some confidence boost in Ridgeline experience.

Thanks for posting your snow experience. You can read my sand experience in the off road section. It seems okay in heavy rain to me though.

Blue,

Thanks for the snow report and the altitude, sounds like 8000' was no problem, both good to hear since I live at 7000'

How do you know it was not so good in the rain? Was the VSA kicking in? were you hydroplaning or slipping? Else I'm not sure how one would tell if the tires aren't so good in water.

My experience in the rain (probably the same rain Blue experienced) was good. I thought the truck behaved well and I did not notice any slipping. The one thing I noticed was the wind really whipped the car around. It was tough to keep it straight. This is my first truck so I don't have any comparisons besides my Mazda MPV...it seems the Mazda handles better in the wind. But, if you see the two automobiles side by side, the Ridgeline is huge. Hope this helps.

Hi, vertrkr:

I did not experience hydroplaning or slippage in heavy rain, nor did VSA kick in at any time. I am going strictly by feel of the road. I went to Michelin and tires.com website and there is a expanation that the weight and tread should be on the rear tire of the vehicle in heavy rain. Ideally the front wheel is for steering and back wheel is for traction. In Ridgeline's case, the front wheel is pulling and I had a empty bed because I had no cover for the truck. So the weight ratio is probably 70/30 with front wheel drive. (4 passenger/ a dog and loaded luggage). This is not the recommended condition for driving in the rain.

I am a careful driver with the whole family inside so I did not want to take any chances. Also, I am comparing to driving a Sienna and Acura TL, so Ridgeline may be equivalent to other truck. But I still think Michelin is correct that front wheel drive will make a difference in heavy rain with 70% of the weight in the front. So I think a combination of things are at work here that makes driving in the rain more difficult in my case:

1. Front wheel drive -- Under normal conditions for RL
2. 70% front weight -- Correctable with a cap to carry more luugage.
3. All-Terrain tire -- Preferable for snow, but does not for rain.
4. High vehicle height vulnerble to high wind - common to all truck

Bottom line: So really the only thing that I can do to improve traction is to get a bed cap whenever it is available so the weight ratio will be distributed to the rear of the truck.

Pick up my new silver RTL with moonroof and installed hitch on Saturday from Russ Darrow Honda, Brown Deer, WI. after driving Jeep Grand Cherokees for the past 9 years. Paid MSRP, although they did include the Ridgeline in their current sales promotion, so I get an RCA 52" rear projection HD TV as well. Get to use the truck for hauling right off the bat.

Can't wait!

P.S. This forum is great.

Pick up my new silver RTL with moonroof and installed hitch on Saturday from Russ Darrow Honda, Brown Deer, WI. after driving Jeep Grand Cherokees for the past 9 years. Paid MSRP, although they did include the Ridgeline in their current sales promotion, so I get an RCA 52" rear projection HD TV as well. Get to use the truck for hauling right off the bat.
Can't wait!
P.S. This forum is great.


Son of bitch! (not you, just exclaimation) you get a HD TV with your truck for free? wow, I'm most jealous. I didn't even get a car wash, drove mine home dirty.

You lucky dog. A double plus, got to use your truck to haul it and a monster TV. Man, I'm using that plug today against my salesman.

You lucky dog. A double plus, got to use your truck to haul it and a monster TV. Man, I'm using that plug today against my salesman.

There is a another post in this forum about getting $1200 off MSRP. This has got to be a regional thing because the dealers in my area are not moving much on what they are asking for.