Thinking about a Ridgeline...

[Sheniferous]

Independent Suspension: Good enough for the US military. Not enough for the average Joe!

[Outfitter]

Originally Posted by Dale

I have the same concerns you have. I haven't bought a new truck yet so I can be impartial compared to the other guys. I had a Ridge for two days to try out. It has beautiful handling, great ride, and a very safe rig. The storage is incredible. You could put three rifles under the back seat and more gear on top of them. The trunk would hold as much as the whole back seat in the tacoma. But I just can't get past the ground clearance issue. I do a lot of hunting and if I want to go down a road, I'm going down it. The ridge is terrible on rutted logging roads. Edmunds.com has one on a long term test. they beat all the shocks off the truck on a long ruff trail. Then they took the tacoma over the same trail without any problems. When I had the ridge out it would drag on stuff where my buddy's Tundra would not hit a thing. I washed it up and took it back hoping everything was OK which it was.We get so much snow here the clearance is a real asset. Some posts talk about 6 inches of snow. here in canada nobody would even mention that snowfall. I had the dodge truck from work in so much snow I couldn't get the door open! That snowfall was about 36 inches. On one other truck comparison test, the ridge dragged so much they couldn't complete the course. It's just not made for that kind of off-road. Even though I love the storage, ride etc. I have to go with the Tacoma or Tundra. Good luck

Dale,
I understand your concerns. I bought the RL after being positive I was going to buy the Taco. I am also a big time hunter and meeting my needs for this activity was one of my primary concerns. My son has an older Taco an it will go just about anywhere on our place (within reason). I needed a daily driver that I could also have clients ride in comfortably. I use ATV's primarily on the property but still I have to get into camp which is about 1 1/2 miles of rock,dirt/mud with a couple nasty bogs. I do run the RL around the property when I need to haul feed and or stands/feeders etc. For the record, I had my front right strut go bad after the second trip running around the place and I would not consider how I drove it to be abusive by any definition. Do I have concerns? Yes, but I have not had any more issues with the struts and now have 14000 miles on mine.
Ground Clearance is an issue and I do drag the bottom occasionally especially if I have 1000 lbs of feed in the back end. But, like some of the test comments, I have had no damage and have never come close to getting it stuck by high centering it. Good driving skills, good judgement, picking your line carefully and understanding your vehicles capabilities are all part of the equation.
Where the RL really shines is the 2 hour highway drive listening to tunes with minimal road noise and enjoying one of the best handling and most definitely the safest vehicle I have ever driven to and from the camp.
Nothing else came close in in storage and how it handles all my gear.My guns, clothes and groceries go in the back seat area. My tools, tow straps, air compressor and emergency supplies in the trunk and coolers, gas cans and a 40 gal tank of water in the bed.
The bottom line is exactly what you concluded, the RL was never meant to be a total off-road truck but its a hell of a pleasurable drive getting there!
Good luck with your choice and it sure is great that we have so many wonderful choices to choose from.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Outfitter

Dale,
I understand your concerns. I bought the RL after being positive I was going to buy the Taco. I am also a big time hunter and meeting my needs for this activity was one of my primary concerns. My son has an older Taco an it will go just about anywhere on our place (within reason). I needed a daily driver that I could also have clients ride in comfortably. I use ATV's primarily on the property but still I have to get into camp which is about 1 1/2 miles of rock,dirt/mud with a couple nasty bogs. I do run the RL around the property when I need to haul feed and or stands/feeders etc. For the record, I had my front right strut go bad after the second trip running around the place and I would not consider how I drove it to be abusive by any definition. Do I have concerns? Yes, but I have not had any more issues with the struts and now have 14000 miles on mine.
Ground Clearance is an issue and I do drag the bottom occasionally especially if I have 1000 lbs of feed in the back end. But, like some of the test comments, I have had no damage and have never come close to getting it stuck by high centering it. Good driving skills, good judgement, picking your line carefully and understanding your vehicles capabilities are all part of the equation.
Where the RL really shines is the 2 hour highway drive listening to tunes with minimal road noise and enjoying one of the best handling and most definitely the safest vehicle I have ever driven to and from the camp.
Nothing else came close in in storage and how it handles all my gear.My guns, clothes and groceries go in the back seat area. My tools, tow straps, air compressor and emergency supplies in the trunk and coolers, gas cans and a 40 gal tank of water in the bed.
The bottom line is exactly what you concluded, the RL was never meant to be a total off-road truck but its a hell of a pleasurable drive getting there!
Good luck with your choice and it sure is great that we have so many wonderful choices to choose from.

Thanks for the real world info. Your post has me rethinking the ridge, as you say there are many choices out there. The tacoma is really overpriced compared to the ridge with VSA, six airbags, and that trunk is sooo neat.

[Outfitter]

Originally Posted by Dale

Thanks for the real world info. Your post has me rethinking the ridge, as you say there are many choices out there. The tacoma is really overpriced compared to the ridge with VSA, six airbags, and that trunk is sooo neat.

Dale,
My pleasure, and I plan on taking some pictures this weekend with the RL off-road and I will try to post them on Tuesday( may need your help Ladyridge).
The other thing I forgot to mention in my prior sermon was that I love the large cabin in the RL, especially compared to the Taco. I am 6' & 230lbs and with full camo and layering it seemed like it would be a lot easier getting in and out of the RL and now owning one, I sure don't have any complaints in that department.
On a side note, As I have previously posted, the land owner next to our place also bought a RL about the same time I did and let me tell you that he has taken his in places I would have thought twice about going in my old Jeep and so far he has only knocked his lower front air cowling off (popped it right back on)and cut the sidewall on one of his tires.
Good luck, there is no right or wrong decision with your choices as they both come from mfg's with great track records and both can probably satisfy your needs.

[ghost writer]

Originally Posted by shovelhd

Thanks. He did say flex, not articulation, so your explanation makes a lot of sense. I can also see where the Ridgeline, in extreme conditions, would be on three wheels, and a live axle rear would not, due to the moment arm of the axle forcing the other wheel onto the ground. IRS can't do that. But I wouldn't call it flex, unless this is some kind of jargon or technical term. If so, forgive me.

i don't understand this whole "flex" thing
with a solid axle, if one wheel goes up the other goes down - no flex
that's why the ride is not as nice as the ridgeline