Can the RDL go on the 4x4 trails in Utah national Parks?
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Or simply means some people are much more into customizing and tuning their cars than others. Just a matter of preference. If you love your car as is ( you must have loved it enough to buy it) but you need that extra 2-3 inches of clearance (1-2 inch drop/ 15 extra HP/cool looking wheels, etc), it's easier than buying a new vehicle. In some case a new vehicle will mean sacrificing some features for which you did buy the current vehicle.
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I myself wouldn't do more than gravel or basic dirt road.We use our renegade for anything more and it dont even have the clearance for serious off roading.
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As others have mentioned, it does NOT have an adequate auxiliary transmission cooler like every other truck does when you buy the 4WD packages. Mine overheats when pulling my boat in summer which is well below the tow limit, never mind off-roading.
The Ridgeline also does NOT have skid plates. Another unfortunate oversight by the Pilot engineers who designed this thing.
I have had a personal experience with ground clearance being an issue. (remember, a little Subaru Crosstrek has over an inch MORE of ground clearance than your Ridgeline - and Subaru even makes skid plates for the Crosstrek!). I was in a line of pickups on a narrow hilly road coming back from the lake (we had dropped the boat at the locker, so no trailer in tow). A large box truck came in the opposite direction on the narrow road forcing the line of pickups to swerve SLIGHTLY off the road. There was a rock protruding from the ground, but not by much - you could barely see it... the F-150 went over it no problem, the Tacoma went over it no problem, my Ridgeline went up, not quite over, got stuck and ended up with $8,000 worth of damage! And that wasn't even "off-roading".
What you have is basically a Honda Pilot with a truck bed on the back. Other than gravel roads that any crossover SUV could handle, the Ridgeline is not meant for "off-roading" at all.
Ford earlier this week showed the right way to build a unibody truck with the new pint-sized Maverick. It comes with a true off-road package including AWD and associated driving modes, skid plates, AT tires, transmission oil cooler, heavy duty engine cooling fan, heavy duty radiator, upgraded drive ratio. Hopefully Honda engineers were paying attention.
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Every Ridgeline with all-wheel drive comes from the factory with an auxiliary transmission cooler.
The optional final drive ratio is part of the tow package - not the off-road package.
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311 Posts
I got a rear diff overheat warning this winter when I was buried on right side hanging off a ridge at 9000' msl, snow had a layer of ice where tires had burned down to spinning. I idled it for a while and dug it out. Snow was over 2' deep on right side. The truck is capable but delicate and front end will push snow, mud, ice slowing progress and hanging you up. I have never had to be towed out and I purposely tested this 2020 sport in nasty stuff this past winter here to determine if I needed more aggressive MT tires, and I do. I have a set of chains as recommended by my OM but I never used them. Yesterday we went out to a moderately rough road, rocks and washouts along a major creek and I wouldn't say this unit in stock form is capable of very tough terrain. It does great unless you bottom it out and the aluminum crossmember pan aft of transaxle will bend quick.
Funny I can back into deep snow and rough stuff and make way. Of course all around I love the 24.4 mpg ( computer) I am averaging now for the life of the unit at 7700 miles.
I can also attest the rear diff and front transaxle will bottom and leave you like a turtle on a fencepost.
Funny I can back into deep snow and rough stuff and make way. Of course all around I love the 24.4 mpg ( computer) I am averaging now for the life of the unit at 7700 miles.
I can also attest the rear diff and front transaxle will bottom and leave you like a turtle on a fencepost.
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The Ridgeline is not designed for rugged offroad use. It has low ground clearance. I bought it for its other strenghts: best ride comfort for commuting, plenty of room for storage, Home Depot runs with bed extender, kyaks and for towing my two snowmobiles. For off road or towing more than 3000lbs, look elsewhere. Mine is a 2017 T model with 60k miles… never had a problem.
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The full time AWD on the Ridgeline is more of a performance feature vice meant for hard core off-roading.Quoting Honda"Intelligent Variable Torque Management feature is designed to keep you safe by maintaining traction even when road conditions get challenging." By challenging I take that to mean conditions you would encounter in normal driving. I have used my Ridgeline on crappy dirt roads and lightly muddied roads and light sand on beach accesses with no issues. I wouldn't even consider hitting the rock trails in MOAB.
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If you have the new 9 speed ZF transmission you’ll have less of a problem. Torque converter goes into lockup a lot earlier and first gear is super short if you leave it in sport so less friction in the torque converter (which is where most of your heat builds up in your transmission)
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Like my dad always told me, "did you learn anything". Happy Trails....That looks like it was a great escape......
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Hi - I have a 2019 Ridgeline Sport - my husband drove the truck out to the cow pasture (which we have always done with our GMC 4x4) but unfortunately he hit something (ditch, rock who knows) the damage was a new differential and a $3100 bill - so obviously there is not enough ground clearance and I guess I will be investing in skid plates -
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We have a stock 2019 RTLE with Continental Terrain Contact tires is stock size. We went to Utah in September, 2019. Arches, Zion, Coaral Pink Sand Dunes, Capitol Reef, Escalante. We drove dirt roads and a few 2-tracks. Burr Trail road was fun including the switchbacks. We were careful where we went and avoided sand if possible. Better tires do make a difference and help for sure. Muddy areas were sketchy and if we could we went around those. It is a beautiful state for sure. We went to Joshua Tree in January 2019 and did several 2-tracks there as well. The Ridgeline is quite capable if you take it easy. Be safe and have fun!
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I wish Ford chose a better name than “Maverick”. That name conjures up bad memories of their POS sedan years ago. Lol
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One of my father's beaters when I was a kid was a light blue Ford Maverick/Mercury Comet "hybrid" that I called the "vomit Comet" because I was embarrassed by it. It was created by welding the front half of a Ford Maverick that was rear-ended to the back half of a Mercury Comet that rear-ended another vehicle. My uncle still has his mother's dark green 1970 Maverick that she bought new and keeps it in running condition.
I suspect that most buyers of the 2022 Maverick weren't even born until after the original Maverick was discontinued and don't even know it existed.
maverick (adjective) - unorthodox, unconventional, or nonconformist
I suspect that most buyers of the 2022 Maverick weren't even born until after the original Maverick was discontinued and don't even know it existed.
maverick (adjective) - unorthodox, unconventional, or nonconformist
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10 Posts
One of my father's beaters when I was a kid was a light blue Ford Maverick/Mercury Comet "hybrid" that I called the "vomit Comet" because I was embarrassed by it. It was created by welding the front half of a Ford Maverick that was rear-ended to the back half of a Mercury Comet that rear-ended another vehicle. My uncle still has his mother's dark green 1970 Maverick that she bought new and keeps it in running condition.
I suspect that most buyers of the 2022 Maverick weren't even born until after the original Maverick was discontinued and don't even know it existed.
maverick (adjective) - unorthodox, unconventional, or nonconformist
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79 Posts
On those body on frame trucks their lowest point is the rear diff. More critical components are even higher than the states minimum clearance.
On the ridgeline lowest point is the oil pan and other critical drive line components. So if national park service says 2wd high clearance you can try it. They tend to be very conservative.
I accidentally turned onto a jeep road north of mono lake in California, had to do a 12 point turn to turn around. Not fun
On the ridgeline lowest point is the oil pan and other critical drive line components. So if national park service says 2wd high clearance you can try it. They tend to be very conservative.
I accidentally turned onto a jeep road north of mono lake in California, had to do a 12 point turn to turn around. Not fun
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