Ridgeline performance in Colorado

Hi All,

I go to Colorado every year for the color change. I hope my RTL will make it over the last half mile of Engineer pass outside of Ouray. Has anyone here done that stretch of trail yet? I am worried about sharps rocks and no skid plates. For the last 20 years I have done it with a Montero. If you have a RidgeLine and have crossed any passes in CO, I would love to know which ones and how the truck did on them. I am sure that others will want yhe particulars for many of the pass roads in the state.

Hey Dave,

I've taken my Montero to Colorado and run a 4x4 road southwest of Buena Vista near Chalk Creek. My son and I had a blast, though I too would be curious to see how the Ridgeline might handle it.:eek:

My biggest concern might be clearance??

Last time I was in Lake City we headed west and hiked up to Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre peaks, what a blast!

Chip

Hi Chip,

I think Montero's are one of the best off roaders around, atleast for an urbanite like me. I wanted to bring my 84 xr500 with me and NOT have to use a trailer, so I bought the ridgeline. I go to lake city every year. So can a ridgeline cross the backside of engineer??? Who knows??? There is a lot of exposed stuff under there! Yikes! :eek:

We won't be going over Engineer with our Ridge, but there are plenty of tamer roads that get you into fabulous scenery in CO. One of the best things going for CO is the ratings they give to their roads and the great off road maps that are available there. The thing I like the very best about CO is how dog friendly it is. It's almost as good in that area as Canada.

We did a good chunk of exploring in our Trooper. There were roads I wouldn't have attempted in the Trooper. There are roads we won't be going on again in the Ridgeline. This truck is intended to last us. We are not going to beat it up or see how tough it is.

There are places I will go back to in CO in the Ridge and lots of places I haven't seen yet there. There are few roads as lovely as Owl Creek Pass, for instance and a passenger car can make that trip in good weather. CO remains one of my favorite destinations.

Sorry I don't know Colorado well enough! Sounds like fun!

I did drive to Craig, CO last fall in my RL with no problems. Towing a U-Haul and helping our friends move out there. Weather was good so no snow, etc. Can't say the state highway roads were any challenge, but surely not what you are looking for.....(Colorado is beautiful country though!)

Any problems with the RL climbing through the passes in CO that are paved? I am thinking of driving out this fall from the midwest during hunting season.

I am positive the RidgeLine will do an excellent job in Colorado on both paved and gravel roads. It will also climb most any vertical grade, the clearance and soft under-belly are going to be the issue. I will be on Engineer Pass as well as others in Colorado the last week of September. The Colorado State Legislature appointed me "Chief Inspector of the Color Change", (25 years ago) so I am required to be there each year. A duty I have never shurked!

We could plan a a ROC meeting in Lake City, CO. 9/23/06 So if anyone is interested, we should hook up. Wouldn't it be cool if the largest ROC meeting were to be in Lake City, CO.? Please post some replies so I can guage the interest. If it is high, we can start a new thread.

Here is a pic
http://www.lakecity.com/images/LCSumRecGuide0601.jpg


Make reservations early if you plan to sleep there.

http://www.lakecitymusicfest.org/

The 2006 Lake City

Wine & Music Festival


The 2006 Lake City Wine and Music Festival will be held Saturday, September 23rd.


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Come join us for fantastic music, wonderful wine from National Distributing and Southern Wine and Spirits of Colorado, Ska Brewing beer, a variety of food, art, crafts, and the glorious fall colors of Southwestern Colorado. We'll see you here in September!

OK one more link to the Lake City Colorado idea. This is a great group of photos that show off the town. I'm readu to go rigt now. Great 4 wheeling and Im putting my XR500 in the back of the RTL

Prepare to have your breath taken away;
http://sangres.com/places/lakecity.htm

Fellas, I LIVE in Colorado. Took it out everywhere. Up on the passes, on the snowy roads, the biggest stuff around, and IT IS AMAZING!!! Of course there is pressure on hte car when you're driving up a very steep hill with almost no oxygen, but it still pulls really well. Once had a lot of snow and had to work up in the mountains, so took the RL, the road had a couple passes. I got up there with no problems and the car felt stable, Very stable. Have a buddy that goes up to the ski resorts all the time in his RL, says that it was superb. So no worries, Colorado or NY, it is great whereever it is.

Hi Shapiro,

Many thanks for your post. You wrote;
"Up on the passes, on the snowy roads, the biggest stuff around".

Can you tell me some of the trails you have driven? Are you speaking of paved or off-road? I know most of the old un-paved pass roads in SW Colorado. Have you done Taylor, Engineer, Imogene, Cinnamon, Black Bear, or any of the old mining roads?

I am trying to determine if the Ridgeline will need a lift kit and larger diameter tires to make the trip this fall. I have not been able to find any posts regarding the RidgeLine performance in this environment. . . . only people talking about what they don't think it will do. . . .

I just moved to Colorado from Texas. This truck rocks! I cross the Raton pass often and it will hold its speed at 70 MPH on cruise control. I live on a gravel road with a big uphill. When you punch it in the gravel to get up the hill it really hooks up and goes. The rear wheels kicking in are seamless. This would be a fun truck to off road race. Just turn off the O.D. I did get a flat and I do not know if it was gravel or road debris. I am looking at A.T tires now with more plies. I live on a hill top and we have an emergency fire road to get us down if needed. My Kawasaki 110 will not pull me up it. When I get my tires I am going to do it in the Honda. I will post pictures and a video. Hopefully it will make it. Here is a picture of the truck in the front yard.

Cool front yard.:cool:

You should see the back yard. ;) Pictures to follow, including "the Hill". I am just afraid to try much with the stock tires.

What part of CO are you in? We plan on exploring more of CO in the future. It's such a great state.

Wow Motoman, Awesome view from the front yard! Congrats on your new bike carrier and a warm sunny west coast welcome to this great club. Ride safe…:p

You should see the back yard. ;) Pictures to follow, including "the Hill". I am just afraid to try much with the stock tires.

Hey Motoman,
I also had concerns about the stock tires as I run around a ranch on weekends with my RL and other than some scuff marks I have not had a single issue with the LTX's. Being from Texas, you know we have tons of cactus, mesquite and nasty jagged rocks and so far none of these have put a hurt on my tires. 19,000 miles and still rolling!:D
I sure do love the quite, smooth ride on pavement also.

So far I have had one flat. It could have been from road debris for all I know. hopefully I will not have to change tires as these are really nice on the road. I drove a small way down my hill and reversed back up it. (call me Chicken)

5S Dude, thank you for the warm welcome.

Wow! looks like you could make yer own track right there in your "yard"! Very Kewl! :p

Truckin'
We live on a 17,000 acre Ranch between Trinidad and Raton NM. We are on the downhill side of the Raton pass. We are at around 8000' and I really can not feel the altitude when driving this truck. My motorcycle feels like a mini bike up here though. It feels like a 450 in Houston and it feels like a 250cc up here. It will be so nice when all dirt bikes have fuel injection like the truck.