[radtech91]

I was wondering if anyone has ever hauled gravel in the bed of the Ridgeline?
I was thinking I could get like 1/2 ton or a little more in there with the payload. Only thing I'm scared about is with who ever would be loading it. Has anyone ever had this done? Did you get any scratches on the paint? (Don't care about the bed, thats what a truck is for). I'm mainly concerned with someone dumping it in.

 

[mike099]

I was wondering if anyone has ever hauled gravel in the bed of the Ridgeline?
I was thinking I could get like 1/2 ton or a little more in there with the payload. Only thing I'm scared about is with who ever would be loading it. Has anyone ever had this done? Did you get any scratches on the paint? (Don't care about the bed, thats what a truck is for). I'm mainly concerned with someone dumping it in.

I have hauled almost all the way to the top of the bed a couple of times. The guy had to use a smaller scoop. I turned my head the first time, but he dropped very little down the side of the truck. There is no way his standard size scoop would have worked on my truck.

Sure does beat buying the bags.

 

[Major Tom]

Yes, the gravel and stone company use a small front loading bobcat to load my Ridegeline. The large front loader had a bucket that was to large and the gravel company did not want to side load. They loaded 1,100 pounds in the truck. No problems hauling it home for the contractor.

 

[Jim D]

I loaded up gravel in the bed on top of an old tarp. Wish I would of done a better job placing the tarp. I had gravel lodged in the tailgate lock and had to spend some time picking gravel out of all the nooks and crannies.

 

[Glider]

I second the tarp idea. It is a drag to clean out the trunk channels and tailgate if you don't use one. Make sure the tarp comes up the sides of the bed. Otherwise it has worked okay for me, but I usually haul that kind of stuff in a utility trailer. I have one and have found it is a lot easier for hauling gravel, topsoil, bark, etc. I use the truck bed for other materials.

 

[donuteater306]

Last summer I hauled 1/4 yard of drainage gravel. That was maxing-out the payload capacity when factoring-in my own weight. It was interesting to watch the rear end slowly drop as the loader slowly emptied the gravel into the back. No problems with scratching of paint. They loaded from the side of the truck, lots of dust, but nothing spilled over.

 

[gmcguire]

I haven't hauled gravel, but triple mix soil. They loaded it with a bobcat, and had to do it with the bucket at a slight angle, diagonal to the bed, so they didn't hit the sloped bed rails. worked fine, but you have to make sure the operator knows the bed rails are sloped etc so they don't hit it with the bucket when dumping into the bed. And dump slowly!!

it took a load up to the bedrails, and you could feel it when driving, but it didn't feel overloaded at all.

 

[RidgeLI]

As they bed is not very wide I shoveled the gravel out of the bucket of the bucket loader. Use a tarp as the gravel gets in around all spots where the bed panels meet such as the trunk and the bed floor and side panels.

 

[radtech91]

I'm still a little nervous with them loading it. I wonder if I could find a good cheap utility trailer that I could just tow the stuff. Then I could get more at the same time as well....


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[xd9x19]

Last year I rented a utility trailer from U-haul to haul 5 yards of cedar bark. I think it cost $20 to rent for the day. More convenient than making multiple trips and a bit easier than getting all the stuff out of the nooks and crannies of the Ridgeline's bed.

 

[beatle]

I've hauled gravel. First time without a tarp. Second time with the tarp...

Side load via a dingo. Had to load with the tailgate down, then shoveled it into the box and closed the gate. MUCH easier with the tarp.

 

[Ourfarm09]

I have hauled mulch, dirt, bricks, logs, pallets, animal, you name it. Why because its a pick-up truck and that's why I bought it.

 

[Matt08RTL]

Last year I rented a utility trailer from U-haul to haul 5 yards of cedar bark. I think it cost $20 to rent for the day. More convenient than making multiple trips and a bit easier than getting all the stuff out of the nooks and crannies of the Ridgeline's bed.

this, or buy a trailer, I got a 6x10 high side landscaping trailer new for $1300. worth every penny. The ridgeline bed has a lot of good use but when it comes to raw materials like mulch or stone a trailer is the way to go. Higher capacity, easy to load/unload, no risk of damage.

 

[John's Ridge]

I agree with the trailer idea! I have hauled gravel in my Tundra bed and could not avoid the scratches. I now have an old military trailer to haul gravel, sand, mulch etc. What I would really love is a small twin axle dump trailer. The RL will pull it with no problem. :act024:

 

[Highboy90]

The ridgeline bed has a lot of good use but when it comes to raw materials like mulch or stone a trailer is the way to go.

Bingo! :act024:

 

[Uncle Festus]

The Ridgeline bed won't hold as much material as a trailer, but on the hand the Ridgeline bed offers something that the trailers don't which could be priceless to those of you with a bad back (or those who enjoy doing things with minimum effort): A side opening tailgate which leaves the load near waist level.

With the simple expedient of slapping a cheap tarp in the back, you can avoid gravel, sand etc getting into the nooks and crannys of the bed, trunk etc. Back the Ridgeline up to wherever you want the material dumped. Open the tailgate sideways, and the tarp can be folded down over the bumper. Then you can use a shovel to unload with no bending necessary, or (better IMHO) use a rake or hoe to just rake it out, either directly to the ground or into a wheelbarrow. No fuss, plenty of muss, you'll get dirty, truck will get dirty, all good.

It is amazing how much less pain this inflicts on the back compared to trying to unload a full-size truck bed across the width of a tailgate.

Important note: If you have a sunroof or like to drive with the back window open, remember that the airflow is INTO the cab from that back window if your sunroof is open too, it will suck dirt and debris out of the bed into the cab and leave you pretty grimy. The tarp helps avoid such misfortune by leaving your bed nice and clean....

 

[eurban]

I have hauled gravel, sand, rocks, bricks, and just about any building material you can think of. The Ridge is a truck . . .Why not use it like one? Forget the trailer and use what you have already bought!

 

[Ourfarm09]

I have hauled gravel, sand, rocks, bricks, and just about any building material you can think of. The Ridge is a truck . . .Why not use it like one? Forget the trailer and use what you have already bought!

Amen to that, It's not a sissy truck.

 

[Dnick]

..... and the tarp does help get those last defiant bits all out easily .... just by pulling the tarp out. I've enjoyed that e-z clean-up on many an occasion.

 

[radtech91]

I know it can handle it. Just nervous about the one doing the dumping. Don't want them to hit the sails of the bed or drop gravel down the side of the truck.....


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