Ridgeline's can tow (photos)

[NorCalMike]

Originally Posted by 5S Dude

Beautiful camping rig Mike! Thanks for posting. P.S. At least your front yard is nice and green……..Happy Camping!!

Thanks for the compliment. Nash makes some good stuff. The roof is a full walk on engineered truss design with
R-18 insulation, R-7 in the walls and floor, zero particle board (floor is 5/8" residential tongue and groove plywood), solid oak cabinet doors, each axle is rated at 2800#, 46 gallon fresh water tank, 36 gallon gray, 36 gallon black, 13,500 BTU A/C. Have alot of mountains to hike on the agenda.

[NorCalMike]

Originally Posted by Webwader

If you were at 5000 RPM, you were in 2nd gear unless you were doing 92 MPH. 5000 RPM in 2nd gear is 60 MPH.
If you will check your owners manual, you will find that Honda recommends never using the D3 button for anything but engine braking. Prolonged running in D3 can cause the transmission to overheat due to the high gear speeds.

Point well taken. I was worried about my trailer brake glitch and I kept my speed down in D3 coming down the hill. What is the smart way to take on a climb like Donner? Should I have geared down with the column shift lever?

[Webwader]

What is the smart way to take on a climb like Donner? Should I have geared down with the column shift lever?

The recommended way is to leave it in D and let the engine/transmission select the right gear for the grade. Frequent shifting is not going going to hurt the transmission like it did in the old days. Look at Lexus with an 8-speed automatic.
Coming downhill, try to get Grade Logic to help you as much as you can. When you brake, the transmission is programmed to downshift to assist with engine braking, so brake to the desired speed and if the grade is not too steep Grade Logic will try to maintain that speed. It works even better with Cruise Control.
I don't know which way you went to LaGrande but if you came east on I84, you climbed Cabbage Hill outside of Pendleton, which is about 7 miles of 6% grade. I tow about 3,500 lb and coming down I set the cruise at 60 mph because I know I can safely take all the corners at that speed. If I don't have to slow for another vehicle, I don't have to touch the brakes for the entire descent. Grade Logic will not shift lower than 3rd gear so if it gets really steep, it's back to downshifting manually.

[NorCalMike]

[I don't know which way you went to LaGrande but if you came east on I84, you climbed Cabbage Hill outside of Pendleton, which is about 7 miles of 6% grade.

So that's the name of that grade. I passed three semi trucks going up that hill. Thanks for sharing the proper gearing techniques. I did enjoy setting it on cruise and watching the truck find the right gear. I noticed that it would downshift at times when I encountered some strong winds. After I get the trailer brakes checked I'll be heading to Yosemite to hike Half Dome.

[Webwader]

I noticed that it would downshift at times when I encountered some strong winds.

Yes it does that. If I go up the Gorge on a windy day (which can be fairly frequent), I spend more time in 4th than in 5th. It knocks the gas mileage all to heck, but if you are facing a 30-35 mph wind and trying to drive 60-65, its the wind drag equivalent of driving 90-100 mph.

[Honda4X4]

Here is a photo of our Ridgeline towing our Seadoo 215HP. In the backround is Ocoee Lake in Tennessee on Hwy 74. It is located east of Parksvill and Hwy 411 in the Cherokee National Forrest. Very pretty lake.

[NorCalMike]

Hi folks,

I weighed my RL as it is set up in the picture a few posts ago. Front axle = 2600#, rear axle = 2640#, trailer weight = 3480 pounds, and total axle weight = 8720#. Handles pretty good. From your experiences am I within acceptable tolerances and not doing any harm to the drive train? Been towing the trailer around since Friday and dropped it off at the storage today. MAN does that RL fly when it's not attached to my square parachute!!

Thanks for any replies.

[Webwader]

From your experiences am I within acceptable tolerances and not doing any harm to the drive train?

You are within all tolerances that Honda specifies. You are packing close to what I am, just with more frontal area. I'm at 31,000+ miles, 35% of that towing miles. It runs better than the day it was born.

[NorCalMike]

Originally Posted by Webwader

You are within all tolerances that Honda specifies. You are packing close to what I am, just with more frontal area. I'm at 31,000+ miles, 35% of that towing miles. It runs better than the day it was born.

Thanks for the information. What are you towing? I'm at 8500 miles and just switched over to Mobil 1 synthetic. Narry one drop of oil consumed during my 1400 mile round trip to pick up my Nash trailer. When they say Honda is an engine company, I believe it now more than ever.

[Webwader]

I am towing a Fleetwood Highlander Sequoia folding trailer. 19' closed and 26' open. 2,995 lb dry weight, 3,500 with A/C, fluids and gear, 400 lb tongue weight.