Hi to all you fellow Ridgeline owners. I have been reading posts on the ROC forum for over a year now, and have learned a great deal. Many thanks to all of you who take time to share your experience and knowledge.
I thought it was my turn to share my own experiences, since I have a bit over a year living with my Ridgeline, which includes recently towing a trailer for a bit over 4,000 miles.
I read with great interest the experiences of those who were towing various trailers, along with the discussions concerning Honda's stance on equalizing hitches.
Here is what I found from my own experience.
My trailer is a Fleetwood Orbit Ultra-Lite. As equipped and loaded it has a tongue weight of 490 Lbs., and a tow weight of about 4150 Lbs. (with 1/2 tank fresh water, and everything loaded for a long trip.
My first experience towing it was the drive home from the dealer. The hitch (all Honda) was too low for this trailer, and it made the truck appear to be overloaded, and by the time we got home, it was dusk, and most people driving toward me thought i had my brights on, due to the trucks tail-low attitude.
A few weeks after, we set up a shakedown cruise for the purpose of checking everything out. I flipped the hitch and re-mounted the ball, so the hitch height was much closer to the height of the (level) trailer tongue, and the truck dropped about 2-1/2 inches when the trailer was dropped on it. Looking at the truck, it appeared to be improperly loaded, but it drove fine. Driving at freeway speed was okay, but passing semi's did cause sway that was somewhat disconcerting, but easily managed. For info., I have a Tekonsha P-3 brake controller.
After reading some of the experiences on this forum, I decided that I would try a different hitch. I replaced the hitch with a Draw Tite SC Pro equalizing hitch. I adjusted it (by tilting the ball & torsion-bar mounts downward) such that the truck hitch height was 1/2 inch below the unloaded height when the torsion bars were put into the friction mounts.
This made a world of difference. The truck handled as if there was nothing attached. We drove from the S.F. bay area through Arizona (I-40); New Mexico (down to I10); into the heart of Texas; back up to Colorado, over to Utah, through Nevada (I50) to N. Calif., and back to the bay area. The trip was a real pleasure. The Ridgeline was a joy to drive. We almost always had the air on, and several climbs required the gas peddle be held to the floor for 5 mins. (4500-5500 RPM) to keep up with traffic. The temp. guage barely moved. I used about 1/8 qt. of oil for the entire 4,000+ miles, and the gas milage was 11.23 using 90-91 octane.
The truck is my commute vehicle, and my average mileage (23 fill-ups) is 19.43.
I use Amsoil 0w-30 oil, Amsoil Universal ATF, Amsoil 75w90 EP GL5 in the transfer case, and I changed the transmission fluid (3 drains), differential and transfer case all at 9,000 mi.
The only other truck I ever had was a 1971 GMC 3/4 ton with a granny manual transmission, so I can't really compare the Ridgeline to any competive truck, domestic or otherwise, but I look at it as a nice 4-door SUV/sedan, which can do some neat other things.
Thanks again to all who shared, and in doing so, made many things easier to do and understand.