Towing - Honda Ridgeline vs. V6 Tacoma w/ Tow Pkg

Hey Gang,

Just wanted to get your opinions on the above. I don't really want to get into the whole 'Ridgeline isn't a truck' because its actually more of a truck than most folks know or give it credit for. However, it does have its limitations (as do all things).

I currently drive a '12 Ridgeline. I used to tow a 2500 pound pop-up camper, and you could not tell it was back there except for the higher reving to get the whole thing moving. I recently upgraded to a 3100 pound (verified) (3500 max) hybrid travel trailer. My cargo carrying capacity of the trailer is pretty weak, so I need to be able to put more 'stuff' in the truck. I have a max 570 pounds allowed on the ball of my Ridgeline given my passenger load, and the manual does not recommend a WDH. My tongue weight is approaching 450 pounds, perhaps 475, and that makes the ass end squat a bit more than I'd like.

Keep in mind I also would like to throw some crap in the bed since I can't load down the trailer very much.

Would I gain a decent or significant upgrade by going w/ the V6 Tacoma w/ tow package? I really don't want to buy another new truck, and I'd rather not go to a Tundra or Tahoe for the 3 season recreational towing I'll be doing. Seems like it'd be a waste. Will the Taco buy me enough of a upgrade here to make me feel like I spent the money wisely, or is this upgrade minimal and tantamount to pissing in the wind?

Thanks all !!!!

 

Well, from what I remember off the top of my head, my '13 Tacoma is rated to tow up to ~6,500 lbs.

So far, I've towed a 5x12 maxed out Uhaul trailer with my bed filled to the max and my interior cab filled to the brim as well. I wasn't at the 6,500 lb max, but it was heavy. The rear-end dropped maybe an inch and a half. It drove like a champ.

I think it'd be worth the upgrade.

Oh, and mine is a '13 double cab 4x4 shortbed. Unloaded, I'm averaging 20-21 mpg.

 

I'm no expert in either one but I do have the Tacoma w/ tow package and it sages like a bbiiitch when I loaded approximately 100lbs of firewood in the back. I upgraded my shocks to Biltein 5100s and it seemed a lot better. I'd stay with the ridgeline and just upgrade the shocks/leafs to the best you can fine on the market. I doubt you'd gain a ton of benefit by going from Ridgeline to Tacoma. Well, unless you want to feel like you're actually driving a truck than I would definitely consider the Tacoma Here's a pic of mine with towing package.

 

No leaves, just this

 

Ridgeline: 3.5-liter VTEC V-6 engine with 250 hp and 247 lb-ft tq, 5,000 lb towing rating.
Tacoma: 4.0-liter VVT-i V-6 engine with 236 hp and 266 lb-ft tq, 6,500 lb towing rating.

Ridgeline: built like a car.
Tacoma: built like a truck.

Very near equal specs. I would think the Tacoma would handle the weight better though with it's solid rear axle and leaf springs vs. the Ridgeline's independent rear suspension and unibody construction.

 

Yes the Tacoma will be a good truck for you since you will be towing and it gets better fuel economy than the ridgeline

 

You can always upgrade tacoma's rear suspension with more springs or airbags, doesn't look like those are options on the ridgeline.

 

Guys, the RL is a decent enough 'truck', I'm just wondering if the Taco gives me more of what i'm looking for.

Straight from Honda when they introduced the RL:

Towing

The 2006 Honda Ridgeline was engineered to provide compact truck levels of towing capability with simplicity and minimal amounts of additional equipment required to utilize the maximum capacity. As a result, the Ridgeline has a long list of standard equipment geared exclusively to towing duties including automatic transmission and power steering fluid coolers, pre-wiring for both 4-pin and 7-pin trailer wiring harnesses, a dual fan radiator and heavy duty brakes.

The Ridgeline's towing capacity of 5,000 pounds allows it to haul medium-sized boat trailers, camper trailers, cargo/box trailers, personal watercraft, utility trailers and much more with confidence and ease. Engineered from the ground up with towing in mind, the ladder frame has seven crossmembers that provide bending rigidity more than 2.5 times stiffer than the best performing compact truck body-on-frame competitor and rear torsion rigidity more than 20 times stiffer. The ladder frame/unibody construction translates into towing toughness with strong load- bearing paths positioned throughout the vehicle. The transmission features a low final drive ratio, high capacity bearings, heavy-duty clutches and stronger shafts. The engine has a fresh air intake to supplement good torque production in hot weather.

Industry practice is to boast a high maximum tow rating, even though some sacrifice of passengers and cargo may be necessary to suitably accommodate such a trailer load - in some cases limiting the vehicle to one passenger to accommodate the maximum specified towing capacity. The Ridgeline's 5,000-pound rating is calculated to include up to two passengers and 200 pounds of cargo.

To help ensure that customers will be able to move a maximum-rated load up a grade from rest (such as pulling a loaded boat trailer up a launch ramp), engineers sought out the most challenging entry roads and launch ramps in the country. Through extensive field testing, they verified that the Ridgeline can handle extreme conditions.

The Ridgeline's tow hitch and other hardware needed for the job are factory engineered for dealer installation. The dealer- installed trailer hitch is a Class IV receiver-type design that bolts on with no drilling, cutting, or bumper-cover modifications. A short harness to provide electrical power to trailer lights and aftermarket trailer braking systems plug into a connector provided at the rear of the vehicle.

 

Based on this I would get the Tacoma. The solid rear axle has a bunch of options to increase towing capability if you need more than what's listed.

If you trade snag the rear window motor out of the RL for me

Lastly this is a Tacoma Forum so we're biased anyways.

 

In general, I think that the closer to the weight limit you are towing, the shorter and flatter your trips need to be for your own survival as well as the truck's. I would look hard at the tow ratings in the owner's manual of each vehicle and run the numbers using your known cargo weights. No amount of anecdotal conjecture by people who aren't towing your load, on your route, can replace this most basic research. Neither the Ridgeline nor the Tacoma will perform well near the limit of its capacity, and moving to a Tacoma may not be much of an improvement.

Mike

 

Tacoma def has the advantage regarding actual weight capacities both towing and hauling when equipped with the tow package. The taco also definitely has weak rear springs which will sag just as much as the Ridgeline, but this can be easily remedied with some RideRite airbags, which I don't think are available for the RL.

 

dude. rear leaf TSB. dooooo eeeeetttt. factory rear leaves in 05-11 tacos SUCK at weight handling - you know, actually using your truck like a truck and not a grocery-getter.

OP: the tacoma is a body-on-frame truck. the ridgeline is a beefed-up unibody minivan with a bed. sure, you can put higher spring rates & heavier-duty shocks on your RL, but then you really don't know what kind of weight you can handle. your suspension might survive, but the tranny might pukes instead since it wasn't designed to handle the increased load that your suspension could newly support. i'd say if you need something "like" a truck, get a truck. my $0.02.

 

tacoma will handle it better, does the trailer have electric brakes

 

This is simply not true. Even installing one-ton springs and axle would not increase the towing capacity. The best you can hope for is to keep it level. Airbags, air shocks, and weight-distributing hitches are common leveling components. They do not increase towing capacity. Exactly the opposite, in fact. They decrease the cargo capacity by the amount of their added weight.

Mike

 

Trailer does have electric brakes; I have a brake controller currently.

 

You going for the power rear window?

 

The rl might be an ok utility vehicle but it is what it and there is little you can do to improve it. Taco you can add leafs, supercharger etc. the taco is a truck in every aspect where the rl is not. No doubt the rl can tow but the tco can haul, and there is a big difference.

 

I believe Sandman614 said doing those things would increase towing "capability" rather than "capacity." You may not be able to make the truck safely tow more than it is rated, but you can make it work better while towing under the rating. Airbags, air shocks, and weight-distributing hitches will improve your towing experience.

 

I think you guys are missing the point. Neither truck will have any issue towing the 3,500 lb trailer. The issue isn't the trailer has a GWR that only allows 400 lbs of cargo meaning more cargo needs to be put in the truck rather than towed. If it were me, I'd load up the trailer and keep the weight out of the truck. If you put 600 lbs vs. 400 lbs in the trailer, it's not going to spontaneously combust. If you're carrying more than 600 lbs of gear camping then you need to pack more efficiently

I wouldn't buy the Ridgeline because I don't trust the independent suspension, too many moving parts to maintain vs. a solid axle. If you were looking new, I'd avoid it. Since you already have the Ridgeline, I don't think you gain much by going to the Tacoma in this regard. I think the Tacoma has some nice features and offers some things that the Ridgeline can not, but looking at it strictly from a towing standpoint for your specific case, I'd keep the truck you have.