How about the sand

[Robalero]

Greetings, this is my first post in with the ROC and this Monday I will have had my Ridgeline for one week. I purchased an RT in Nimbus Grey and I am so thrilled with it. Having purchased and driven nothing but Ford Pickups for the last thirty years I decided to purchase the Ridgeline.

I live in South Texas and will use it to drive to work and back of course, but I will also be using the Ridgeline to go hunting and fishing. I am not to worried about the hunting aspect, but I do go to the southernmost point in the country to do some serious fishing, the mouth of the Rio Grande River. While the drive down the beach is not bad, as one gets closer to the mouth, the sand becomes more treacherous and I was wondering, how will the Ridgeline handle it. Has anyone driven in extremely loose sand, does the 4X4 kick on automatically in the sand, do I have to watch my speed? I know, lots of questions, I will read the owners manual again, and with that said, I cannot wait to get the Ridgeline on the beach.

I am so happy that I found this forum. Just reading the previous posts has been a tremendous eye opener.

Robalero

[csimo]

There are others who have posted their detailed experience with sand. It can be very tough to deal with.

I suggest you search out the other threads before you hit the beach (and end up walking).

[Robalero]

Joe,
Can you provide me with a link, I just did a partial search, and every single post seemed to be pretty positive. Honestly, I can't wait to get it out on the beach.

Robalero

[Robalero]

Wow, lots of info in the archives. I gather from what I have read that I must disengage the VSA and that the maneuvering seems to improve or be superior with it off. Anything else I need to know.

Robalero

[csimo]

Yes, you're on the right track. Lower tire pressure and pull the VSA fuse will give you the best results.

Beware that it's easy to overheat your transmission in the sand. There is a warning light, but once its illuminated the fluid is history and must be changed. Sand is brutal on transmissions... be kind to your transmission.

[boxsky]

What did you do with your other trucks?

I find the Ridge handles much like others if not better in the same circumstances. Snow, Rain , Sand and Mud.
Not that it won't get stuck but if I had to lower pressure for the sand in the Ford then I will in the Ridge.

[Robalero]

Box,
This is my first 4X4, and the last four pickups that I owned were small Rangers. I would run the sand at a fast speed, the Rangers were light enough that they would not sink. I never had to deflate the tires and once I would get close enough to where I was headed (when I fish at Boca Chica Beach I fish on the surf just fifty or sixty yards from the mouth) sometimes I would have to run a hundred or so yards in the really bad stuff, sometimes it would be two to three hundred yards or so, it all depended. My Ranger never got bogged down in the sand, though I was always prepared with shovel, etc. It was kinda funny because in all the years that I fished the area, I must have seen border patrol agents get stuck in the sand at least twenty or thirty times, and they drove 4X4's first suburbans, and then explorers. Honestly, I can't wait to get out there. I never ventured out there when there was a storm in the gulf because the tide was high, though I did go out there with a buddy who drove a jeep, and man, when there is a low pressure system in the gulf, it's like the fish are gorging themselves, grand slam time, trout, redfish, and snook.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Robalero

[csimo]

Originally Posted by boxsky

What did you do with your other trucks?

I find the Ridge handles much like others if not better in the same circumstances. Snow, Rain , Sand and Mud.
Not that it won't get stuck but if I had to lower pressure for the sand in the Ford then I will in the Ridge.

Unfortunately the VSA system will work against you in some circumstances... like sand.

I had an issue just over a week ago in deep snow. I unfortunately tried to make it up a hill and forgot to turn VSA off. Big problem. I was lucky, very lucky, to be able to get out of the situation without wrecking.

VSA is great for normal driving, but in some situations it can be a nightmare.

If you lower the tire pressure for sand traction the VSA will not turn off. The result is that you can't move the truck, or if you do it will bog down and sometimes even kill the engine. The only way around the problem is to pull the fuse.

The VSA software is not able to adapt to certain extreme conditions. Pull the fuse to dumb it down for sand.

[FLA-Vyk]

I have driven my Ridgeline on the beach in Daytona Beach, it was tricky at the on/off ramp, but no problems. It was nice with the windows open and enjoying the cool breeze off the ocean. Just wish that I could have been able to drive the full lenght from Ormond Beach to Ponce Inlet, like we could back in the 60's, that would have tested it.

[Robalero]

So Csimo, are you telling me that anytime the situation calls for a 4X4, I should always turn off/disengage the VSA?

And once again, thank you so much for all of the replies and all of the feedback.

Robaler