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Fun in the mud

12K views 33 replies 23 participants last post by  Real 4X4 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, I guess there comes a time when you just need to see if all the stuff works on your new ride before the warranty runs out. We had a really good rain yesterday, so I thought I'd take it up the canyon and actually see how VSA and VTM-4 lock work in these slippery muddy conditions.

This was an off-road road. after the rain, parts of it were submerged in water and the rest was mud. This was a bad looking muddy road. This was just not a challenge for the Ridgeline. I'll have to find a road in worse condition obviously. The Ridgeline slid a little in parts, but handled it as easily as driving down a paved road. I stopped in the mud and also stopped in the submerged parts hoping to get some kind of traction problem going, but to no avail. It just drove out easily. I find myself looking for impassable roads just to give the Ridgeline something to do. I did some minor fiording with no trouble.

The next task was to try to challenge the VTM-4 lock. I found a steep muddy hill, turned off the VSA, shifted to first, engaged VTM-4 lock. I slowly approached this steep grade. It would have been insane trying to approach this with any kind of momentom. The Ridgeline walked up this grade with no problem, but there came a point where the driver couldn't really see the road any more because of the steepness of the grade. This is where in this case, the Ridgeline had more ability than the driver had courage. Yep, I backed down the hill. My impression is there was still plenty of torque to make it to the top. I found some other deep rutted muddy hills that the Ridgeline handled quite competently (VTM-4 off, VSA on). The bottom line is: I think this truck will go where any sane person would want to go. I'd like to think of myself as sane anyway...........rather than a chicken. :D
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Ridge, get the rear splash guards. Look closely at your picture. All of that stuff behind your rear wheels will eventually damage the paint. I know you washed it off, but every mile of road driving throws stuff up in that spot. It will wear away the paint!

Sounds like you had fun. I jealous
 
G
#4 ·
Ridge said:
Well, I guess there comes a time when you just need to see if all the stuff works on your new ride before the warranty runs out. We had a really good rain yesterday, so I thought I'd take it up the canyon and actually see how VSA and VTM-4 lock work in these slippery muddy conditions.

This was an off-road road. after the rain, parts of it were submerged in water and the rest was mud. This was a bad looking muddy road. This was just not a challenge for the Ridgeline. I'll have to find a road in worse condition obviously. The Ridgeline slid a little in parts, but handled it as easily as driving down a paved road. I stopped in the mud and also stopped in the submerged parts hoping to get some kind of traction problem going, but to no avail. It just drove out easily. I find myself looking for impassable roads just to give the Ridgeline something to do. I did some minor fiording with no trouble.

The next task was to try to challenge the VTM-4 lock. I found a steep muddy hill, turned off the VSA, shifted to first, engaged VTM-4 lock. I slowly approached this steep grade. It would have been insane trying to approach this with any kind of momentom. The Ridgeline walked up this grade with no problem, but there came a point where the driver couldn't really see the road any more because of the steepness of the grade. This is where in this case, the Ridgeline had more ability than the driver had courage. Yep, I backed down the hill. My impression is there was still plenty of torque to make it to the top. I found some other deep rutted muddy hills that the Ridgeline handled quite competently (VTM-4 off, VSA on). The bottom line is: I think this truck will go where any sane person would want to go. I'd like to think of myself as sane anyway...........rather than a chicken. :D
NICE!!!! :D
 
#7 ·
steveberger said:
Ridge, get the rear splash guards. Look closely at your picture. All of that stuff behind your rear wheels will eventually damage the paint. I know you washed it off, but every mile of road driving throws stuff up in that spot. It will wear away the paint!

Sounds like you had fun. I jealous
Steve - I'm assuming you have the rear guards. Do they actually come out enough to retail the splash? It looks like they might contain some but the RL body dives in so that a fair amount of the tire is exposed and throws up every on the bumper.

Ridge - That definately sounded like fun. I would have wanted to get up that hill so I could have turned around to come back down.

All - I found a small cleaning nightmare last night after my off-road experience. It turns out the rear bumper cover is open underneath so all kinds of nasty can get up in there and harden. Maybe the splash guards will help prevent this.
 
#9 ·
We've only gotten slightly muddy so far. I'd love a photo of the area you took it into. I'm hoping to find out how we do off paved roads fairly soon.

We put the rear splash guards on (extremely easy self install) and I have a question if anyone can offer an explanation: Why are the rear guards concave? The front ones have a relatively smooth surface, but those back ones are just going to pack with mud.
 
#10 ·
I thought I had read somewhere that in Japan there are "off road courses" that are already set up with various scenarios (mud, hills, rock course, water, etc) that people pay to get in (kinda like Seaworld, Disney, etc) and you can go try out your off-roader on the different courses. Maybe I was just having a flashback from too much acid in the 60's, but I could have sworn that I read about this. Maybe the US has something like it? Anyway, your adventure sounds fun.
 
#11 ·
steveberger said:
Ridge, get the rear splash guards. Look closely at your picture. All of that stuff behind your rear wheels will eventually damage the paint. I know you washed it off, but every mile of road driving throws stuff up in that spot. It will wear away the paint!

Sounds like you had fun. I jealous
Yeah, I'm going to get those rear mud guards soon. Did everybody remember to wax that area before you installed them?
 
#12 ·
I paid MSRP for the truck in mid-March (couldn't wait) and got the trailer hitch thrown in free. I paid for the rear spash guards and they installed them for free (5 mins. of labor!) when I went back for the hitch work.

They work real well on the side paint, but some stuff does still get thrown up under the bumper.
 
#14 ·
pbear said:
I thought I had read somewhere that in Japan there are "off road courses" that are already set up with various scenarios (mud, hills, rock course, water, etc) that people pay to get in (kinda like Seaworld, Disney, etc) and you can go try out your off-roader on the different courses. Maybe I was just having a flashback from too much acid in the 60's, but I could have sworn that I read about this. Maybe the US has something like it? Anyway, your adventure sounds fun.
There are lots of off road parks here in the US. Do a search on Google and you'll find pleanty. But I wouldn't recomend taking your Honda Ridgeline to one, it won't make it through. You'll need a real 4X4 like a full size Chevy.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Uh.....formed frame rails are used in unibody construction...


http://www.hondanews.com/CatID2135?mid=2005020140012&mime=asc
Engineers started with Honda's Global Light Truck platform and transformed 93 percent of the components into a mission-specific platform with seven high strength steel cross members that create a fully boxed ladder frame structure with full integration into the unibody frame.





What you have are formed frame rails that are integrated into the unibody. Cross members were added to stiffen the package. That means that you do not have a separate frame. It's integrated. Toyota 4Runners, Landcruisers, Tacomas, and Tundras use chassis off frame construction which is far stronger as you are not relying on the sheet metal, roof and door pillars to hold the truck together. The Ridgeline was not designed for anything more than gravel roads and ski trips into the mountains.

Enjoy it for it's intended use. If you want an offroad truck, you need to look into a Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Chevy or Dodge. Why do you think Toyota Landcruisers are the top selling vehicles in Africa and Australia? They are built for the terrain.

Keep your Ridgeline on the road and it will last for years. Come play with the big boys and you'll find out quickly that your unibody construction was not made for 3rd world country roads, much less real offroad trails.

I'm not here to flame anyone, I'm just recommending that you don't get in over your head and break your expensive truck trying. The design wasn't intended for anything other than malls, ski trips, and National Park trails. It's capable on the gravel and occasional muddy road, but put it on a real world offroad trail and you'll be sorry.


Assorted Landcruiser pics taken in Utah and Tellico.
 

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#17 ·
A 2005 Land Cruiser is a lot closer to a Ridgeline than these ancient, modded up relics shown here. A new Land Cruiser is $55K+ where the Ridgeline starts at $27K. Next time try a thoughtful comparison. Until then, go home to your relic.
 
#18 ·
I don't believe there are any 4x4s on the market that will operate very well as in these pictures without serious modification.

The stats shows the unibody frame design of the Ridgeline is far more rigid than the old school box on frame construction. Why do you think the bed of "standard pickups" is not connected to the rest of the vehicle - its due to the flex that will occur in the frame with a heavy load which if it was connected would twist and distort the body. Many owners have already loaded to capacity and above in the bed of the Ridgeline with no problems.
 
#19 ·
shovelhd said:
A 2005 Land Cruiser is a lot closer to a Ridgeline than these ancient, modded up relics shown here. A new Land Cruiser is $55K+ where the Ridgeline starts at $27K. Next time try a thoughtful comparison. Until then, go home to your relic.
My "relic" as you call it will go places and do things your Hahahahonda will never, and for a fraction of the price, and yes it's modified, and still less $$$ into it then your Ridgeline.
 
#20 ·
Can I ask what your purpose is here, "Real 4X4"?

It's obvious this truck isn't for you. So why don't you just leave it as it is? Seriously, if you don't like it, fine, we know...

Whatever you drive, I am glad you like it. Obviously, people on here don't need or want the kind of truck you have. I believe most if not all of us here are smart enough to understand our own needs and wants.

So, again I ask, what's your purpose here? to prove something? Because you got nothing to prove to me. I don't need or want a "Real 4X4".
 
#21 ·
the white truck in that first photo has no modifications affecting its ability to do that other than aftermarket shocks and springs (total cost under $700) and bigger than stock tires. Its actually a Lexus LX450 not a landcruiser and I'm not sure a 1997 model year makes it a "relic" just yet.

Here is a photo of a completely unmodified landcruiser from that series with stock sized tires on a lesser obstacle. Can a ridgeline get over that?


I agree that a brand new 2005 landcruiser model is not a fair comparison pricewise to a ridgeline, but the issue was whether it is wise to take a ridgeline off the graded gravel and the landcruiser was offered as an example of something you might take off the gravel. here is a photo of the newer landcruiser series with no modifications affecting its ability to go over obstacles other than aftermarket shocks and bigger tires.



The new 4runner is a fairer comparison on price. So is a chev pickup. I've been offroad with both in stock form and they are both are a lot better choices than your ridgeline for that application. If you want to compare frame rigidity let's see how rigid a ridgeline will be after a few hours on a rutted washboarded dirt road (if you haven't cracked your torsion bars).

now don't get me wrong. I am a big believer in hondas as reliable well engineered durable comfortable vehicles but you need to confine them to what they were designed to do.

in closing, you have a nice site here but you really need some more expressive emoticons. Please imagine two small hands with extended index fingers of either side of this fellow to the right :D
 

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#22 ·
This thread has become asinine. How many people buy a truck to go rock climbing? If you all want to go destroy your rigs go ahead. Most trucks I see are cruising around town.
I didn't buy my RL to climb Rubicon trails. I bought it to do a combination of things. Camping and going on some dirt roads was one of them.
A week ago I went to an airsoft event that most of the people in their SUV's and trucks were scared to drive to the camp site. I had no problem in the RL sure it scrapes here and there but no damage was done and while every single one of the trucks that did come down created a huge dust cloud while trying to park on an incline with a large dip, I eased up without spinning a tire.
O and by the way I was very cozy in my smooth air-conditioned RL while driving to camp and shuffling many people back and forth to their vehicles.
This is what I need it to do and expected it to do and it did better than I expected.
All this blustering about "my rig is better than yours" is Childish GO AWAY
 
#23 · (Edited)
Why do you people that buy "real 4x4" trucks even drive on the road?

Your car was built for off-road, move out to the middle of alaska and drive on all the rocks and permafrost you want, and leave people who bought vehicles for a modern invention called a "ROAD" in peace. geez.
 
#24 ·
well don't get all huffy. I only piped in after a couple of people suggested that what those trucks were doing in the earlier post couldn't be done on trucks without serious modifications, that the trucks in question were ancient relics, that the earlier poster wasn't making a fair comparison between vehicles, and that ridgelines were somehow mode "rigid" than other trucks implying they were more durable. I answered those comments because I thought they were wrong.

i also never said a ridgeline is not a good vehicle or that mine is better. I actually complemented hondas generally and just said the ridgeline is not suited for rough or sustained offroad use. I wouldn't say a minivan is "bad" or "worse" because it can't go offroad either but I would correct a minivan owner if he thought it could go offroad, much less if he thought a unibody was engineered in a way that made it superior to a ladder/frame vehicle for going offroad!

none of the other posts making these same points have insulted the ridgeline either, even though you ridgeline guys have said quite a few insulting things back!

the ridgeline is fine if it spends its life on a pavement except when you occasionally want to get into a campground just off the highway or something, but it won't do the things that you typically expect from a pickup truck, like hold up to sustained use on rough roads. I would not own it on a ranch, as one example of a real world place you would expect to be able to use a pickup truck. I also would not use it to go camping where I camp and I am by no means a "rock climber" (by which I think you mena a "rock crawler"). Honda has invented something new here. It is kind of a minivan/pickup hybrid or a giant subaru brat. Cool, enjoy...
 
#25 ·
junk's momma said:
well don't get all huffy. I only piped in after a couple of people suggested that what those trucks were doing in the earlier post couldn't be done on trucks without serious modifications, that the trucks in question were ancient relics, that the earlier poster wasn't making a fair comparison between vehicles, and that ridgelines were somehow mode "rigid" than other trucks implying they were more durable. I answered those comments because I thought they were wrong.

i also never said a ridgeline is not a good vehicle or that mine is better. I actually complemented hondas generally and just said the ridgeline is not suited for rough or sustained offroad use. I wouldn't say a minivan is "bad" or "worse" because it can't go offroad either but I would correct a minivan owner if he thought it could go offroad, much less if he thought a unibody was engineered in a way that made it superior to a ladder/frame vehicle for going offroad!

none of the other posts making these same points have insulted the ridgeline either, even though you ridgeline guys have said quite a few insulting things back!

the ridgeline is fine if it spends its life on a pavement except when you occasionally want to get into a campground just off the highway or something, but it won't do the things that you typically expect from a pickup truck, like hold up to sustained use on rough roads. I would not own it on a ranch, as one example of a real world place you would expect to be able to use a pickup truck. I also would not use it to go camping where I camp and I am by no means a "rock climber" (by which I think you mena a "rock crawler"). Honda has invented something new here. It is kind of a minivan/pickup hybrid or a giant subaru brat. Cool, enjoy...

junk... you are an exception. you approached the situation with civility. please note while my comment was a bit "huffy", it wasn't directed at you personally. it's more or less directed at those who cannot see that this vehicle is not designed for the style of off-roading they're used to, nor was it marketed as such.

plus those who come and register on the forum just to flame and troll gets really tiring. i don't own a ridgeline, but i own an element and over at the EOC we had the same kind of people for the first year or so after the element came out... i guess it'll subside, but in any case, thanks for your civility in your post.
 
#26 · (Edited)
shingles said:
Can I ask what your purpose is here, "Real 4X4"?

It's obvious this truck isn't for you. So why don't you just leave it as it is? Seriously, if you don't like it, fine, we know...

Whatever you drive, I am glad you like it. Obviously, people on here don't need or want the kind of truck you have. I believe most if not all of us here are smart enough to understand our own needs and wants.

So, again I ask, what's your purpose here? to prove something? Because you got nothing to prove to me. I don't need or want a "Real 4X4".
Just funning with y'all. I find it funny when people brag about off roading in a stock vehicle. And even funnier when it's something like a Ridgeline. Sure it's a nice little MPG vehicle, but it's no off roader.
 
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