Those of you who tow--did you spring for HD radiator, oil cooler, tranny cooler & power steering cooler like the 2011 Ridge adverts brag on?
Did you go Honda or aftermarket other brands?
I'm finally going to buy a camping trailer. Looking hard at Trailmanors around 3200# dry.

Those of you who tow--did you spring for HD radiator, oil cooler, tranny cooler & power steering cooler like the 2011 Ridge adverts brag on?

There is no need to spring for any of that stuff. It's standard equipment on all Ridgelines. The only equipment that would be optional on your 2007 RTS would be the hitch and wiring harness.

Did you go Honda or aftermarket other brands?

You should get the Honda harness -- it adds electrical protection to keep any trailer wiring issues from messing with your truck's systems. I'd get the Honda hitch too, because it's probably more resistant to corrosion than an aftermarket one. Best wishes on your purchase!

I'm finally going to buy a camping trailer. Looking hard at Trailmanors around 3200# dry.

The weight (if the trailer is properly loaded and balanced) won't be a problem, but wind resistance might be. A long test drive is warranted.

Ian hit a home run with that answer.

Thanks--I thought I read that somewhere but I've been out of the Ridgeline loop and wanted confirmation. It's a Honda thing to include all the good stuff!

There is no need to spring for any of that stuff. It's standard equipment on all Ridgelines. The only equipment that would be optional on your 2007 RTS would be the hitch and wiring harness.

You should get the Honda harness -- it adds electrical protection to keep any trailer wiring issues from messing with your truck's systems. I'd get the Honda hitch too, because it's probably more resistant to corrosion than an aftermarket one. Best wishes on your purchase!

The weight (if the trailer is properly loaded and balanced) won't be a problem, but wind resistance might be. A long test drive is warranted.

You'd think that with all that included HD stuff, Honda would have made the hitch and wiring as standard equipment too. Oh well, it is now, from 2009 and up (except for the RT which lacks the wiring.)

Thanks, Larry.

Osvidar, you are welcome. :-) You can catch up on Ridgeline towing in this very long thread: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12327 .

I'll also summarise from what I have read in various threads about towing what for the Ridgeline are larger and heavier trailers (say, over 3500 lbs): those who have well-balanced trailers tend to just have wind resistance as a concern. If you go into hilly areas, you'll have to put up with some high RPM's that those with big V8's don't, but the engine can tolerate it.

For those who don't get their trailer balance quite right, adding equipment for trailer sway or even a Weight Distributing Hitch should cover up that problem. Honda recommends against a WDH, but a couple of people here have reported them to work well; just don't adjust the front-axle load to be very high.