Towing 2020 E19 w ridgeline

[BigPapa]

Good afternoon beautiful people! I honestly cannot believe how generous folks are to take so much time to write such comprehensive messages. What kindness!

Heres my story and query. Just go a used E19 and towed home with my brother f150. Easy peasy. Looking at a used truck like a Titan or Tundra or f150 but mileage sucks so bad. I have a daily commute of about 20 miles so that would add up just to fast. I dont want to destroy the earth just so i can see it in a camper🤣🤣


So i am thinking i could use a ridgeline as a daily driver and a tow vehicle because it looks like some folks have had luck with that. The feedback on trucks and tow vehicles is so mixed from “i would never tow with less than a superduty” to “i tow with a civic”,

Any thoughts? Live in san deigo so pretty urban driving.

[brroberts]

I have a friend who tows his 19 with a Ridgeline. He says it’s okay, not great and added a transmission cooler for towing in the mountains. He doesn’t usually tow a lot or very far, and he likes it as a daily driver, but it’s a mixed bag towing.

[Mike G]

Iowa Dave tows his Escape with a Highlander, I believe, which has similar hp and torque to the Ridgeline. It can be done. If the vehicle has a 5000 lb tow rating and sufficient payload for the hitch weight & everything else in the truck, it should be able to tow a 4000 lb (or less) E19. I will say that the Ridgeline will not win any speed races up the mountain grades, so if you expect to charge up every hill at 65 mph, get something with a turbo.


If it were me in the Ridgeline, I'd lock out overdrive whenever towing. And when traveling up and down long, steep grades I would slow to perhaps40-45 mph (depending on the situation) and downshift another gear (or sometimes 2). That avoids excess stress (think heat) on the transmission in particular.

[BigPapa]

Do you tow with your Ranger? Hows that?

[brroberts]

I do tow with my Ranger, but it has significantly more payload and towing capacity than a Ridgeline. I’d guess the Ridgeline is a more comfortable commuter, but the Ranger is more of a truck. I’ve pulled my 19 up 17% grades, but not real fast because it was a narrow road with curves. I’ve had no trouble towing anywhere yet with the Ranger as I have it set up, and that includes carrying lots of camping stuff in the truck at the same time.

It is a computer on wheels, so time will tell how reliable it is. 35,000 miles so far mostly towing. 15 1/2 to 16 mpg average while towing the E19.

I knew I was buying close to a 5000lbs trailer, and that I would travel long distances and lots of days in all kinds of places. That’s different than local weekend camping a few times a year. For me, the Ranger was the only midsize with the capacity to do what I needed. I already have a full size when I need it, so I didn’t want another full size. Based on payload, towing, combined capacity, and torque band, I only found one choice to work for me. Otherwise I would have reluctantly had to buy something I really didn’t want.

[salmo7000]

Originally Posted by BigPapa

Good afternoon beautiful people! I honestly cannot believe how generous folks are to take so much time to write such comprehensive messages. What kindness!

Heres my story and query. Just go a used E19 and towed home with my brother f150. Easy peasy. Looking at a used truck like a Titan or Tundra or f150 but mileage sucks so bad. I have a daily commute of about 20 miles so that would add up just to fast. I dont want to destroy the earth just so i can see it in a camper🤣🤣


So i am thinking i could use a ridgeline as a daily driver and a tow vehicle because it looks like some folks have had luck with that. The feedback on trucks and tow vehicles is so mixed from “i would never tow with less than a superduty” to “i tow with a civic”,

Any thoughts? Live in san deigo so pretty urban driving.

I can’t comment on a Ridgeline as I’ve never driven or towed with one, but I do share your concern about destroying the earth!! If you could find a used Chevy Colorado or GMC Canyon with the diesel, I would consider it. Even the 4X4 versions get amazing mpg… mine gets 30+ mpg not towing and 18 - 20 mpg towing my 19 up and down the mountain grades of the Pacific Northwest. In GM’s infinite wisdom, they dropped the diesel from these mid size trucks in 2023, so they are no longer made. The new ones have a 4 cylinder turbo charged gas engine that I’m sure would make a wonderful tow vehicle, but sadly, the combined mpg not towing is something close to what my diesel gets towing. They do look really nice though…

Other than that, I would look hard at a Ford Ranger… they are very capable tow vehicles (rated to tow more weight than a Ridgeline with far higher payload) and get pretty good mpg, both towing and not. Also, don’t discount an F-150… I’ve seen folks here report very good mpg towing with both the 2.7L and 3.5L EcoBoosts, something like 15 - 16 mpg. And I think upwards of 23+ not towing?? Perhaps some of them will chime in!!

[Akfishman]

[QUOTE=BigPapa;468438]Good afternoon beautiful people! I honestly cannot believe how generous folks are to take so much time to write such comprehensive messages. What kindness!

Heres my story and query. Just go a used E19 and towed home with my brother f150. Easy peasy. Looking at a used truck like a Titan or Tundra or f150 but mileage sucks so bad. I have a daily commute of about 20 miles so that would add up just to fast. I dont want to destroy the earth just so i can see it in a camper🤣🤣


So i am thinking i could use a ridgeline as a daily driver and a tow vehicle because it looks like some folks have had luck with that. The feedback on trucks and tow vehicles is so mixed from “i would never tow with less than a superduty” to “i tow with a civic”,

Any thoughts? Live in san deigo so pretty urban driving.[

[Akfishman]

If you’re looking for mileage and towing ability take a look at the ford Ranger. I get 15-16 mpg towing at 60-65 and 22-24 mpg not towing. It is a 4;cyl turbo. so has a lot of torque and tows very well even accelerating up steep hills. The the ten speed transmission really helps towing too. I’ve driven mine 9000 miles on an east coast adventure and driven to Alaska and back for the last two years at 6500 ea trip. And the truck has never burped. Only issue I’ve had was last week when camping a ground squirrel chewed my wiring! Made it home and really happy I had 100$ deductible on my comprehensive coverage!

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by BigPapa

Good afternoon beautiful people! I honestly cannot believe how generous folks are to take so much time to write such comprehensive messages. What kindness!

Heres my story and query. Just go a used E19 and towed home with my brother f150. Easy peasy. Looking at a used truck like a Titan or Tundra or f150 but mileage sucks so bad. I have a daily commute of about 20 miles so that would add up just to fast. I dont want to destroy the earth just so i can see it in a camper🤣🤣


So i am thinking i could use a ridgeline as a daily driver and a tow vehicle because it looks like some folks have had luck with that. The feedback on trucks and tow vehicles is so mixed from “i would never tow with less than a superduty” to “i tow with a civic”,

Any thoughts? Live in san deigo so pretty urban driving.

A couple of months ago I got into a bit of a jam, my truck and camper sank deep in a mess.
I pulled out of it but it took everything my truck had, including hitting 4Low.

I don’t think those of us using full size trucks to pull a camper or for our work have destruction of the planet as a goal. Where I live the skid steer rental businesses won't rent to you in anything less than a full size truck.

Assuming you will be taking your camper more than a few hours away I would say it’s best to be on the safe side.
So many different situations and terrain you can run into out there, many miles away from home. That’s what happened to me, I was so thankful to have a beast for my TV.

[iamunique127]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

A couple of months ago I got into a bit of a jam, my truck and camper sank deep in a mess.
I pulled out of it but it took everything my truck had, including hitting 4Low.

So many different situations and terrain you can run into out there, many miles away from home. That’s what happened to me, I was so thankful to have a beast for my TV.

There is no denying a full size truck, or at least 4 wheel drive, has its benefits. We got into a tricky situation last summer in the mountains in Washington state. It's too complicated to explain it here but I tried to get out with 2 wheel drive and couldn't. 4H got me out but the wife described to me later that only the wheels on one side of the 5.0TA were on the ground as I was pulling out of where I had been stuck. It was a bit rugged.

I suspect I'll hear about being careful and not getting into those tricky situations but sometimes stuff happens (and it sure was a nice place to camp.)

[BigPapa]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

A couple of months ago I got into a bit of a jam, my truck and camper sank deep in a mess.
I pulled out of it but it took everything my truck had, including hitting 4Low.

I don’t think those of us using full size trucks to pull a camper or for our work have destruction of the planet as a goal. Where I live the skid steer rental businesses won't rent to you in anything less than a full size truck.

Assuming you will be taking your camper more than a few hours away I would say it’s best to be on the safe side.
So many different situations and terrain you can run into out there, many miles away from home. That’s what happened to me, I was so thankful to have a beast for my TV.

Oshkaboo, thats a really sweet rig!

You got me��. I dont even know what a skid steer rental business is although i could probably imagine! I didnt mean to imply that anyone is actively trying to destroy our world ��. What i meant was that i live in the city and dont have a daily need for a big truck AND that my goal is to minimize the impact on mother earth while maximizing fun and safety. I doubt people on a forum for camping are ones that hate nature, quite the contrary. All of the responses i have gotten have been so helpful, including yours re: having a vehicle that can get you out of a jam. I think my current vehicle can get me into one unfortunately.

Thanks for the help!