10 bikes in a ridgeline?? pics??
all that work and they put in a 9 year old $99 Sony radio.
a lot of people build pre runners with autos. hell, a lot of TT's are autos too
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Toyota Tacoma.
- Thread starter Uncle Cliffy
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- gayer than harleys tacos
Wish I had a pic, it was the first day I took it to our local DH trails and I made the mistake of being the only person to show up with a truck. We had 7 across the tailgate, 1 laying on it's side across the and 2 bikes standing vertically between the back tire of the ones across the tailgate and the front of the bed. 7 people in the cab and 3 hanging on for dear life in the bed. It wasn't the safest method...
I did the same thing with my jeep. Kept buying cheap-o crappy stereos until I found one that didn't get killed within 6 months by all the silt/dust/sand/spilled beer.
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having sold that radio in the pic from my retail days, i cant believe its still working
Not wanting to be pulled into the "it's almost a truck" vortex, but I do keep coming back to the Ridgeline. Hate the height of it though. Tall car.
I get that the Ridgeline is a good choice for what most people actuly do with a truck, but I can't stand the tall bedsides. For loading/unloading from the side, it seems like a total PITA.
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Edmunds slams it and lauds it at the same time. If Honda would just jack it up a bit and get rid of those dorsel fins, it would be a killer. All the magazines slam it for it's lack of major savings in terms of fuel economy versus full size trucks. Test driving that full size yesterday was so nice to sit in, but it getting the girls in and out happens twice a day every day.
Dozens of others dads at our school drive the extended cab Silverado's. Don't know how they put up with it.
Dozens of others dads at our school drive the extended cab Silverado's. Don't know how they put up with it.
Well if you are on a budget you have to make sacrifices. If you are worried about fuel economy get a smaller car. As for the fins who cares I am sure you can everything in and out of the car. For me reliability is always my number one concern as I like you have no way of doing it myself.
I was in the same boat...deciding between the taco and ridgeline. I wanted a truck chassis. Aftermarket support is better with the tacoma. And in my mind, pretty good reliability. It was also a tad smaller
you mean "almost all" TT's are auto.
Get a crew silverado. Same mileage as a smaller tacoma.
It's really not that bad, I'm 6' 1" and can easily reach over the sides to get anything. Honestly the truck has so much storage that the amount of time you would actually need to reach over to get something at the front of the bed is less than .01% of the time.
I was a little put off by the "lack of jack," but when you really think about it how many times do you need 14+ inches of ground clearance? I was big into 4x4s when I was younger and always thought higher was better. I was 90% convinced I was going to get a tacoma but I took the Ridgeline home for an extended test drive and it was just too versatile and the the ride was so nice that I completely did a 180 and suddenly the tacoma wasn't even on my radar. I have to drive on jobsites a lot and I've taken my ridge everywhere my co-worker with a lifted Ram has gone and I've never had one issue. If the extent of your "offroading" is access roads in Pisgah then I wouldn't be worried about the "lack of jack."
As far as MPGs, I get about 22mpgs which is better than I was expecting. A couple guys on a ridgeline forum get almost 24mpgs. I know some of the newer full size trucks boast higher MPGs but all the real world drivers of those trucks (F150 included) have said they don't get anywhere close to the Manuf. MPGs.
There may be less lift kits and aftermarket suspension options for a Ridgeline but at this point in my life I'm over doing anything that could hurt reliability on a vehicle so that wasn't a concern. Anything that a average person would want for a truck is available for the Ridge i.e bed extender, tonneu cover, racks, hitches, OEM motorcycle mounts, rubber mats, etc.
I also think the truck chassis thing is over rated unless you're using it for heavy duty truck activities like hauling big load or towing something massive, which you can't really do with a taco anyway.
Another huge plus I discovered with the Ridge after I got my Dakine pad is that the Dual action tailgate allows you to slide the Pad on without undoing any of the straps. I can put on and remove my Dakine pad in less than 20 seconds. It also fits perfectly under the rear seats so I can store it in the truck at all times.
I'm sure I would have been really happy with a Taco but I'm really glad I went with the ridge, and it wasn't until I took one home for a weekend that I realized how good it was.
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I couldn't handle using a Ridgeline around here. I'm afraid I'd break it on the shuttle roads I drive...
You know they're based off this right?
You know they're based off this right?
Uhhh... I think it's actually the same base as the Acura MDX and Honda Pilot. They Odyssey doesn't even offer an AWD model. They probably all share some features...I couldn't handle using a Ridgeline around here. I'm afraid I'd break it on the shuttle roads I drive...
You know they're based off this right?
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yep. still a unibody though
hopefully your tailgates dont have a problem with this:
Sure. I doubt it'll break on rough shuttle roads, though. Unless maybe they are truly nasty 4x4 roads.
Or driven by idiot.
it probably wont break... but it will surely develop a "loose and rattly" feel in no time.
Why is that? My two body on frame trucks were much more "loose and rattly" and had a harsher ride than my ridgeline and I've driven the ridge on more shuttle roads, job sites and it has 30k more miles.
For what Butch is talking about doing the Ridge is more than enough, haul kids comfortably, get decent MPGs, 4wd for winter, can haul a bunch of bikes, has tons of practical storage for tools/gear, good reliability, and it will drive up and down shuttle/service roads all day long no problem. The independent suspension is incredibly comfortable on and offroad (that's why baja trucks use it) and is more than enough for anything short of true 4x4 trails. If Butch said anywhere about needing a truck to go on "offroad" trails then yes the Tacoma with it's solid rear axle, suspension lift options, body on frame and added ground clearance would be a better choice, but for what Butch has described I think he would be surprised how good the Ridge is.
You said Baja wait a minute I know what he should get.
hahaha, let's not go that far
My buddy in college did have one of these
My buddy in college did have one of these
We had a customer buy that exact color one and everything with a LOT of miles on it for $9k. He then had to dump about $1500 into it and promptly traded when the next $1500 came up.You said Baja wait a minute I know what he should get.
Here's the fun part...he traded it for a Kia.
Got an appointment at the Nissan dealer I bought the wife's car at new for service tomorrow AM. My final attempt at a vehicle will happen there. An '08, '11 and brand new Frontier with lots of rebates are gonna be played out. If any of you backsliders had a heart, I'd ask you to pray for me.
I'd stay away from the frontier if I were you, my dad's 08 has been nothing but trouble. It's had 5 recalls and he's spent over 5k in service since be bought it. Everything from the car not starting cause of a "miscommunication" with the key, corroded gas gauge line, completely rusted through exhaust, torched alternator, I could keep going...
Married with two active kids and needs to haul sports/biking gear, groceries, etc. If only someone made a vehicle just for such purpose.
on a body on frame, the body rests on rubber, isolating some of the high frequency vibrations on the cabin.
most unibodies i´ve driven for more than 1000 miles on dirtroads (07 hyundai santa fe, 10 jeep grand cherokee, 10 nissan xtrail, 09 subaru forester) have developed rattles quite easily.
on the other hand, other traditional body on frame trucks like the toyota hilux, mitsubishi l200, toyota 4runner and land cruiser prado i´ve driven extensively, have not developed such rattles and general looseness.
not to mention the relatively more heavy duty A-arm mounts, ball joints, steering knuckles, shocks and tie-rod ends; which i had broken at least one every 1000km of dirt roads on unibodies.
or it could also be our concepts of "dirt roads" are much different.
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they did....40 years ago....
buy a 94-97 landcruiser....live with the sh!tty gas mileage....and enjoy the smug satisfaction that if it snows....and you are even remotely competent as a driver....you won't be stuck.
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I'd love to get a 40 some day.they did....40 years ago....
buy a 94-97 landcruiser....live with the sh!tty gas mileage....and enjoy the smug satisfaction that if it snows....and you are even remotely competent as a driver....you won't be stuck.
If you don't need a solid front axle, I'd go with a 100 series. Newer, nicer, more power.
Pulled into the grocery store, parked...and realized I was between two Ridgelines. Eery.
Today, I went to the Nissan dealer to see what was up with the wife's tranny...$1500 in repairs. Yayyyy.
Buying a truck is like playing Hero's Duty (kid movie reference).
Today, I went to the Nissan dealer to see what was up with the wife's tranny...$1500 in repairs. Yayyyy.
Buying a truck is like playing Hero's Duty (kid movie reference).
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First off I am not a ridgeline lover, but saying the unibody is an issue is kinda funny.
Jeep Cherokee's have been unibody for years. They last plenty long as offroaders and shuttle trucks. I wouldn't not buy a ridgeline for that reason. I'd not buy a ridgeline because I would want a true 4wd drivetrain and suspension set up and I use a truck to haul significant weight, where I think the ridgeline would lack the most.
I would however still give the nod to a toyota tacoma (best in its class) a frontier, ranger, s-10, etc. before I would consider the ridgeline.
Jeep Cherokee's have been unibody for years. They last plenty long as offroaders and shuttle trucks. I wouldn't not buy a ridgeline for that reason. I'd not buy a ridgeline because I would want a true 4wd drivetrain and suspension set up and I use a truck to haul significant weight, where I think the ridgeline would lack the most.
I would however still give the nod to a toyota tacoma (best in its class) a frontier, ranger, s-10, etc. before I would consider the ridgeline.
08 Taco just popped up that would be perfect but is absurdly priced at $22,595
All Tacos are absurdly priced. Sharpen your negotiating skills, and get a better price.
Yeah, that's more than what I paid for my 08 two years ago.
It might be worth considering new. Everything I've read has said that it's best to buy used and let someone else take the hit on depreciation. However, the last couple times I've looked at used cars, this wasn't the case.
We bought our TDI Sportwagen for $26.9k. One or two year old ones with the same trim and were selling for almost exactly the same price, but they had up to 30k miles, and because they weren't new, came with higher interest rates on their loans. I checked the other day and according to Edmunds, ours currently has a private sale value of $25.2k and at retail it would be $26.5k. It would be crazy to buy a used one for $400 less than what a new one goes for.
It was almost exactly the same situation when I looked at Tacomas a couple years ago. Used ones were sitting on the lot with 20 or 30k miles next to new ones and were usually just a thousand or two less. Same again with Subarus.
Buying from an individual in any of those cases probably would have been a bit less, but if you're already that close to new, you may as well get a warranty, the off gassing toxins, and know that it hasn't been abused.
If you want a Tacoma, I think you're just going to have to pay for a good one, or take your chances on a cheap one, and hope it works out better than the last one. They're expensive trucks.
You know, frequently, you can negotiated down an asking price for an used car...
You'd think so. It's ironic that dealers think that you should buy a vehicle that they have listed at "retail", they give you a "discounted" price on it, but then try to tack on all their "fees and cost of doing business". When you're done talking, you're gonna pay more than full retail. They smile when they tell you this.
QUoting me because it's exactly what I did. Paid full pop for 2005 burgunday 4wd Xterra with only 40k miles. Got reamed. No surprise.You'd think so. It's ironic that dealers think that you should buy a vehicle that they have listed at "retail", they give you a "discounted" price on it, but then try to tack on all their "fees and cost of doing business". When you're done talking, you're gonna pay more than full retail. They smile when they tell you this.
It's too late, but you should negotiate your price with all fees included.You'd think so. It's ironic that dealers think that you should buy a vehicle that they have listed at "retail", they give you a "discounted" price on it, but then try to tack on all their "fees and cost of doing business". When you're done talking, you're gonna pay more than full retail. They smile when they tell you this.