A truck buyer who is looking to replace his Ford F-150 was wondering if the Honda Ridgeline can tow his recreational vehicle (RV) as well as his F-150 could - or, at least, if the Ridgeline can handle the weight.
Based on the response from Ridgeline owners, it seems he will have no problems. Yet some still encouraged him to buy a full-size truck.
Here’s What The Honda Ridgeline Can Do
The truck shopper asked about Honda Ridgeline towing capacity in the LIV RV Travel Trailer Owners Group on Facebook. Here’s the post, lightly edited for grammar and clarity: “Thinking about switching to a Honda Ridgeline as a TV. Towing a 2025 201qb, loaded last trip at 3500lbs. I know it's within the ratings but how well does it do with towing your 201 series...Update: I currently tow with an F150 3.5 eco which is more than adequate. The F-150 is due to get replaced is why I'm looking.”
“TV” here stands for “tow vehicle”, by the way.
The current-generation Honda Ridgeline’s towing capacity is 5,000 pounds, just for reference.
It takes a bit of scrolling passed some comments from users chiming in with what their non-Honda-Ridgeline vehicle can do in terms of towing, but eventually you do get some helpful answers.
One says a Ridgeline will handle the ask, no problem.
“Towed a trailer with toy hauler on front weighing 2800 lbs 5,000 miles through the mountains with no trouble using the Ridgeline.”
Others pushed back, suggesting an F-150 or similar full-size truck like a Ram 1500 might be the better choice.
“I'd go back with the F150. Economy will be little difference while towing. Plus, you have the added security of knowing for sure your tow will handle whatever you want to throw on it,” one said.
“Yes, it will do it, but to be honest, if I was looking at getting a truck, go with a half ton. Going from an Explorer to a Ford F150 Eco Boost made towing much easier. I normally tow fairly long distances and making that change was night and day. It is not the weight, but the draft it creates behind you, the parachute effect. When I would tow in a headwinds, it made it so much harder, I don’t have that with the half ton truck. Just a thought,” another added.
One commenter’s contribution was simply to show their first-generation Honda Ridgeline parked next to the trailer they had just towed.
Always Research Before Purchase
It seems like it should be easy to figure out what the truck you’re looking at can tow - specs are easily searched. So, it shouldn’t be hard to see what a truck’s towing capacity is and match it up against the weight of your trailer.
But getting a sense of the real-world experiences that others have had is helpful. Especially in terms of fuel-economy and driving dynamics with the trailer attached.
And that’s not even getting into the weeds of what trailering features a truck has, like a camera for lining up a tow hitch.
It definitely seems like this shopper can tow his trailer with a Ridgeline, but it also seems that the larger full-size trucks, which generally have more-powerful engines and higher towing capacities might have an easier time handling the job.
It’s not surprising to see that while a Ridgeline could handle a trailer that weighs under its capacity, it might not do it was as much ease as a larger truck with a higher capacity.
Perhaps the better comparison is between the Ridgeline and another mid-size truck, so we’ll keep an eye out for real-world comparisons between the Ridgeline, Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier, or GM twins to see what actual owners are experiencing when it comes to towing.
Images: Honda, public Facebook user
About The Author
Tim Healey is an experienced automotive writer and editor from Chicago. He has covered automotive news at Consumer Guide Automotive, Web2Carz, AutoGuide, and was the managing editor at The Truth About Cars. Tim is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. You can find him on Facebook, X/Twitter, and on LinkedIn.
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