Probably not a good idea. You easily exceeded the vehicle's payload rating.

 

A one time 20 minute transport, no harm done, hey, good on the Ridgeline!

(It does bring back memories of overloading my El Camino once and breaking out the shock mounts! )

Bill

 

Good to know. Definitely, Ridgeline pulls its weight. Not something I will duplicate, but it makes me feel better about pushing the limits with bags of mulch this spring.

Assuming 20lbs per 2cu ft bag (more if wet) 50 bags will be my weight limit. It would be nice to load a pallet up, but typical pallet is 70 bags. Which is 1400lbs if dry, but you can't count on that.

 

Good to know. Definitely, Ridgeline pulls its weight. Not something I will duplicate, but it makes me feel better about pushing the limits with bags of mulch this spring.

Assuming 20lbs per 2cu ft bag (more if wet) 50 bags will be my weight limit. It would be nice to load a pallet up, but typical pallet is 70 bags. Which is 1400lbs if dry, but you can't count on that.

Last time I hauled 2 cu ft bags of mulch in my G1 RL, 35 was about max. Bags were wet and weighed about 40 lbs each. That's almost 1500lbs. Had a little bit of room left but not much. Think 50 bags would be a stretch even with the extra 4" the G2 provides. I did buy a full pallet (70) and had it loaded on my trailer, which I towed with the RL. That's potentially approaching 3,000 lbs. Truck had no problem but the pallet is stacked so high that it's very top heavy.

 

Curious did the facility ask you to sign off before putting that load on the truck?

 

Everyone in the yard was impressed.

Did you take a survey?

 

Picked up a pallet of pavers today. Should weight around 2,340lbs.

From the owner's manual:

• The maximum allowable loading weight on the pickup bed Is 1,100 lbs (500kg).

 

The payload weight max is 1,583 pounds

 

Wow folks, unless I am missing my guess, you all are taking the OP's post way WAY too seriously. Yes, maybe he did load it down this much for a one time only 20 minute trip across town, but I seriously doubt that he is advocating doing this on a regular basis!

Bill

 

I don't think so Bill. I don't think the OP knew any better and took a HUGE chance and failed to read and understand the limits of his truck. 20 minutes or not, this could have done some serious damage...happy to see it worked out in the end as no one on this forum would want to see a major failure.

 

Exceeding design limits might have unforesee consequences. Might be there's enough wiggle room there's no problems, might be you suffer substantially shorter life span on your bearings and stuff.

Edit, Geeze I can spell.

 

Holy crap, 80 MPH down the Interstate I could understand, but a 20 minute slow cruise across town? Besides, it is already said and done and there were no mishaps!

Honestly, some of you really do need to get a real life outside of dictating to others on the Internet!

Sheesh!

Bill

 

Holy crap, 80 MPH down the Interstate I could understand, but a 20 minute slow cruise across town? Honestly, some of you really do need to get a real life outside of the Internet!

Bill

OK Bill...who said it was a "slow" cruise"? In the world I live in, the unexpected can happen in a heartbeat (slow cruise or not) and you never know when that time will be

 

LOL, I am simply willing to give the OP the benefit of the doubt that he understood the risks he was taking. I grew up in a farm/ranch setting, you city slicker- arm chair-know-it-alls have absolutely no concept what overloading a vehicle consists of!

Bill

 

you city slicker- arm chair-know-it-alls have absolutely no concept what overloading a vehicle consists of!

Bill

We all know what happens when you "assume" Bill. And the same could be said about you country bumpkin front-porch-swing-know-it-alls

 

In the towing discussions this is usually the point in the conversation when someone says, "insurance won't cover you if you get into an accident". Then someone else say, "That is not true, insurance covers you when you do all kinds of stupid things, like drinking and driving".

 

I'm sure a lot of people have driven their vehicle overloaded just by transporting the whole family and some luggage in the trunk. Not saying you should overload your vehicle, but I would be a little surprised if that is a factor in any significant portion of accidents in non-commercial vehicles. I'm not sure if any stats exist on that specifically but if anyone has any resources for it please post a reference. I'm curious now.

In any case, it's better to know the design limits and stick to them when possible. I certainly won't cast any pavers though as I have definitely overloaded my vehicle on occasion.

 

Meh, I don't see anything wrong with it, I've done much worse if its a short drive away. Hes not hauling blind orphans in an overloaded school bus over the rockies, it was a 20min slow jaunt home.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

 

Meh, I don't see anything wrong with it, I've done much worse if its a short drive away. Hes not hauling blind orphans in an overloaded school bus over the rockies, it was a 20min slow jaunt home.

Ya but what about Hillary Clinton? It’s been reported that she drives her pickup overloaded every time she drives.

 

I don't see a problem.......

At what point is it wrong to overload the Ridgeline?

I've had to haul 2000 lbs (in the bed) in my 2006 Ridge on several occasions be it gravel or most recently 1 ton of wood pellets. I've noticed each time it really puts a strain on the Ridge and it seems to get a little shaky when we do this - of course the back end drops pretty low to the...

www.ridgelineownersclub.com

 

What is so hard about making two trips instead of over loading ?

 

The transmission won't mind - it's designed to pull the weight of the vehicle plus 5,000 lbs.

The issues with overloading the the bed are:

• Stopping distances are longer with 1,100 lbs. in the bed and exponentially longer with 2,304 lbs. in the bed. You might stop from 60 MPH in 140 feet unloaded, 160 feet with 1,100 lbs. in the bed, or 200 feet with 2,304 lbs. in the bed.
• The bed floor, structure, and suspension components might withstand a static load of 2,304 lbs., but if you hit a bump you suddenly have 6,000 lbs. of force which could damage the vehicle.
• A 2,304 lb. load might come right into the cabin if you hit something.

 

100% not disagreeing with you about the transmission, but when my 2018 transmission failed, the dealer really pushed overloading the truck as a reason for it. I never overloaded it. Then again, they blamed off roading, towing, and my lift kit for the failure, too, so take everything they say with that in mind...

 

So what's the conclusion - I have some pavers to pick up. Is 2,340lbs OK or should I make two trips?

 

I think you should shoot for 3000 pounds…make it a record!

 

 

I personally found the post reassuring with the added margin of safety that Honda obviously built into the Ridgeline!

Bill

 

Added margin of safety or on the cusp of a breaking point We will never know.....

However, with that being said, it still does not negate the safety factor or carrying such a load and the impact it will have on emergency breaking or a quick maneuver. I may have gone 250# over as a one time event if needed. But, to exceed it by well over 1000#??? As someone had stated...his truck and let him do as he wishes regardless of how dumb many may find his actions.

 

What I've observed in my time on the this blue rock circling the sun.

1. There are those that follow the rules regardless of what makes sense.

2.There are those that adventure beyond the rules and take calculated risks using their experience as a guide.

3. There are those that throw caution to the wind and live on the edge.

I'm not here to judge, but what I will say, is that without risk takers nothing in this world would ever get accomplished. But rules are also needed and serve a purpose.

I get that a lot of Honda owners probably fall into category 1 and there is probably a disproportionate amout represented on this forum but operating out of the posted limits is not out of the realm of normal. For example, we all speed down the highway, breaking the posted limits because we know they're not reflective of reality.

I have no idea how much you can overload the weight limit, but I'm sure most people have done it without any negative consequences. Having overloaded many vehicles myself over the years, I've learned to go slow, leave plenty of breaking distance and be very careful going over any bump.

We can't speak to what this guy did or didn't do, hopefully he was experienced enough to know how to proceed without incident. My guess is he did, because he made it back, created a picture and posting it. Or he got lucky, but I'm betting he knew what he was doing.

Anyway, I'm just trying to get some perspective on the subject. Everybody breaks rules, we just all choose different rules to break.

 

What I've observed in my time on the this blue rock circling the sun.

1. There are those that follow the rules regardless of what makes sense.

2.There are those that adventure beyond the rules and take calculated risks using their experience as a guide.

3. There are those that throw caution to the wind and live on the edge.

I'm not here to judge, but what I will say, is that without risk takers nothing in this world would ever get accomplished. But rules are also needed and serve a purpose.

I get that a lot of Honda owners probably fall into category 1 and there is probably a disproportionate amount represented on this forum but operating out of the posted limits is not out of the realm of normal. For example, we all speed down the highway, breaking the posted limits because we know they're not reflective of reality.

I have no idea how much you can overload the weight limit, but I'm sure most people have done it without any negative consequences. Having overloaded many vehicles myself over the years, I've learned to go slow, leave plenty of breaking distance and be very careful going over any bump.

We can't speak to what this guy did or didn't do, hopefully he was experienced enough to know how to proceed without incident. My guess is he did, because he made it back, created a picture and posting it. Or he got lucky, but I'm betting he knew what he was doing.

Anyway, I'm just trying to get some perspective on the subject. Everybody breaks rules, we just all choose different rules to break.

BRAVO!! Well said!!

Bill

 

@DriveAllNight, I am currently at number 2, and bounced back and forth between 2 and 3 in my younger years. I suspect I'll adopt #1 as I get closer to retirement, and will probably revert back to #3 during my last planned decade. 😁

 

Count me in at #2 as well. I will say @DriveAllNight that going over the speed limit (which a vehicle is designed to do) is far different than overloading a truck with 1000#+ and engineers who designed it with a rating of 1100# would cringe. Can you go 10-20%? Probably. Would I try 10-20%...I may based on the situation and if a second trip was out of the question. But well over 100% of the load rating...sorry...that is not a calculated risk based on experience

 

It would be nice to know the overhead that Honda's engineers have dialed in, but they would never tell us because it varies based on conditions and could introduce liabilities.

My rule of thumb is 30% overhead, and 50% is pushing it, which puts us around 1500lbs in the bed. Comfortable, if you know what you are doing.

I've seen 3x-5x engineered overhead in life-supporting products, such as mountain-climbing ropes (e.g., - a 3000lb rated load strength may actually have a 10000lb breaking strength).

However, as @zroger73 alluded to, dynamic forces can quickly multiply forces far beyond rated capacities, and those forces are difficult to manage on the fly, and impossible to predict. Be gentle if you push it!

 

 

"If it fits it ships!" Oh, never mind.

 

Honda has a truck bed limit that takes into consideration the weight placed on the truck lid. It's not all about overall GVW rating for RL and or what it could or could not handle, even for short duration.

 

Did similar here with roofing shingles and then floor tile....with no issues.

In both cases under 20 miles to get home and took it real easy. There is a massive difference between static and dynamic loads. The rating from the factory assumes dynamic. What that means in effect is a big safety margin if you do what you can to keep that big load static and well distributed. What that means is take it easy and slow and smooth inputs and load tied down so it will not shift....and nothing bad is going to happen.

 

What that means is take it easy and slow and smooth inputs and load tied down so it will not shift....and nothing bad is going to happen.

I am sure that is exactly what the Honda engineers had in mind

 

Y'all pumped up the rear air pressures, right? Right?

 

Yep, I did. Otherwise things feel squishy and squirmy with a big load.