[jcfairport]

I was at Herb Chambers Honda in MA to have some service done on the CRV. I asked the service manager about the new Ridgeline because my 08 is going to be traded soon for something. He said "we don't have the towing specs but it will be set up to plow snow because it is not a traditional unibody since they have separated the cab and bed." This could be really interesting.

 

[jonesbb630]

The Ridgeline current or G2 not designed for plowing. Some have been able to plow with a small plow in very little powdered snow, but beware. I would be extremely surprised if it even came with plowing specs.

Scary to have a service manager say that. Unreal...

 

[Hamhocs]

This is why I only let service people touch my truck only when it is necessary.

 

[jcfairport]

He said "Honda told them it would allow for plowing."

 

[murderlicious]

No. Just no.

 

[jcfairport]

I would never do it. I was asking about towing. In fact I wouldn't plow with any vehicle that cost me more than $15k. It is brutal on vehicles.

 

[toddyridge]

No - even the new F-150 is far from ideal for plowing.

As much as I love the Ridgeline...........for plowing > NO!

 

[DisplacedHokie]

There are light duty setups that would be OK. My father put a blade on a 1978 Subaru Brat. Doing your driveway a few times a year, sure. But not commercial plowing.

 

[jcfairport]

I was surprised to fund an entire discussion on this site about plowing with the Gen 1. They were plowing signifying snow in Canada and ME with them but not commercial just a few driveways.

 

[RidgeLI]

Sounds like your dealer is misinformed (I'm being cordial). Unless they made some major changes I doubt it'll be an ideal plow truck. The bed from what I read is not separate. Honda added a seam to give it that appearance; it is still a unibody. Of course I don't know everything.....

 

[Ruskie007]

I was surprised to fund an entire discussion on this site about plowing with the Gen 1. They were plowing signifying snow in Canada and ME with them but not commercial just a few driveways.

There are a couple of youtube clips with ridgelines plowing snow. Fun to watch on someone else's vehicle. :act024:

I'm not super technical with automobile stuff so not sure why a separate cab/bed is better for plowing than a unibody.

 

[Dnick]

...... The bed from what I read is not separate. Honda added a seam to give it that appearance; it is still a unibody. Of course I don't know everything.....

Sorry RidgeLI, but this is an unfortunate & persistently recurring error in reporting. And now, like so many others, you have also been misinformed. Not your fault.
The bed & cab are in fact "separate". And yes, the overall structure is tantamount to "unibody", even though that term has a wide variety of meanings. The RL structure is far more robust than the average unibody structure (has it's own "frame" built in). Bottom line, Honda did not "add a seam to give it that appearance. The bed & the cab body sections are separate from one and other, but they are in very close proximity, thus allowing that "seal" to give a very clean look from the side. But this is NOT a continuous panel as it was in G1.

'Sure will be good to get cut-away images of G2 when they become available.

 

[DrZew]

I read that the seam on G2 was in place for both 1. reduce the cost of the double stamped one piece side body panel and 2. avoid the stress and buckling on the one piece side panel found on G1. On the subject of plowing I plow with a full size Chevy K5 blazer and it took a toll on that heavy duty truck ...Pass on the ridgeline plow G1 or G2

 

[plex]

Who cares if it is or not, it doesn't affect anything negatively being that the panels are separated. I don't understand why this would even be discussed as if its an issue? Seems like a lot of senseless negativity lately, it tells me overall the vehicle is so good that all people have to moan about is armrests, panel seams, tires, and VCM (which we now know can be disabled 100% with VCMuzzler II).

 

[jonesbb630]

Dude. The current or next gen RL is not made for plowing period. You need F-250 Diesel ++ to do that. Anything less is prone to damage and voids any warranty.

 

[emartin00]

I don't think anyone is arguing that the Gen II will be the ideal truck for commercial plowing. The OP simply said, it will be capable. For a couple of driveways, and a light duty plow, you don't need anything too rugged.
If you expect to plow commercially, you need at least a 3/4 ton pickup. Even half tons aren't designed for that kind of work.

 

[IanRTL]

Anything a dealership service or sales person says about the new RL is complete and pure speculation at this point. For him to say that it's not a traditional unibody is misleading. It's most certainly a unibody that is designed in a way to allow for multiple configurations. Could the 1st gen RL plow? Absolutely it could. However, you had to find a way to rig up a plow to it. It certainly wasn't designed with plowing in mind, but it's been done. Yes, you likely will be able to tow with the 2nd gen, but expect more of the same necessary MacGyver engineering to retrofit a plow onto it. Even then, I wouldn't want to be plowing with a mid size truck or, as was said, anything that costs more than $15k or so. Everything that is used for plowing, including heavy-duty trucks, will break at some point.

 

[eurban]

GenI's ladder frame came pretty far forward and could be used for mounting something like a plow. The GenII will not have a ladder frame in addition the unibody like the GenI did so it may be less retrofitable. . .

 

[northernlights]

Not to be an a$$ but I see posts that some no nothing about plowing. You can rig up any plow on anything if you really wanted to but I would not on any RL. Save your money and just get a good blower. That bein said I would plow with ANY other half ton trunk before any RL. And if you want to get real tech. because there are many out there that know everything about the RL I would not plow with anything under a 3/4 ton.

 

[oarnold]

I'm not saying the RL is going to crumple, but I'm sure it is not a good idea.

In addition to what others have said, I suppose there is a different energy transfer from the transmission through the frame hauling or pulling a load, versus the energy transfer of the transmission pushing through the front frame which is designed to collapse in the event of a crash.