2021 Honda Ridgeline: 2 ½ Year Review - this truck is AWESOME!

[@lawdog516]

Just took delivery of a 2023 Ridgeline RTL (USA) and I’m in love!!!. Had 30 vehicles in the past and I think I hit the jackpot with this one. Not going off road, Overlanding or rock climbing, it’s a Home Depot,grocery getter and camper pulling vehicle. I have a 3000 lb camper the Ridgeline laughs at. I wish it came with a brake controller but no problem. Love the arm rests (captains chairs) and the comfortable leather seats, back seat storage, and bed trunk !!! How can you not love this vehicle, it does 99% of everything I need a truck to do with comfort. I’ve had F150’s & F250’s and this does everything I need. Yes, it is a truck for all you haters !! It’s not like the bigger the truck the bigger the member!!! Just saying, I love your channel so I subbed!!

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Thanks for your support!

[@josephpetrizio78]

Wow I'm jealous. Took delivery of my 23 Ridgeline and I would sell it back to the dealer for half the price if I could. Love the brand Honda owed many of them but this Ridgeline fell short from day one. From bad vibration from front end, The driver's window sometimes never wants to go up or down, and the fact that I have a transmission that shifts and does whatever it feels like on every other day. Going to bring it to the dealer and have everything documented hopefully it continues to do so so I can claim it as a lemon. Hope you get enjoyment out of yours and many years to come but good use as mine must of built on Friday if you know what I mean.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

@josephpetrizio78 wow I’m sorry to hear that yours was such a dud.

[@zechssiguro7476]

​@@ridgelineoutdooradventurethanks for the review, a few questions, is there any model that comes with a stock tonneau cover, or tonneau cover and roll bar?

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Tonneau cover is always a dealer add on. I’d go with Peragon as the Honda cover doesn’t fold right up so the front. ⅓ of the bed stays covered unless you remove the entire cover. Roll bars are kinda old school. Definitely not available from Honda.

[@ronangevine4778]

I had a 2017 with 170,000 miles . Zero problems. Now I have a 2022 RTL-E , very nice truck just a lot of $$$. That’s life in our modern world 🌎

[@bexxISM]

So much better than my 150. I regularly pull a small camper and a mowing trailer. By far the best truck driving in bad weather. It's so good in snow. I drove from Vermont to Minnesota during a raging storm last winter and she was so steady while everyone else was off in ditches.

[@chiefman8316]

Thanks for your time making this review, I am ordering a 24 Black Edition this spring, Leaving my 2010 F150 with 170K miles trouble-free, Wanted to go mid-size, and Ridgeline seems the best fit for me Your Ridgeline looks great, Thanks again. From South Ga.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Be sure to send some pics when you get your 24

[@jaystevens8122]

Wow, your vids are really "getting there"! This is a really honest and helpful look at the Ridgeline, and not set up like your typical review. Like!

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Thanks Jay!

[@CT-gc1ck]

I can't wait to see what the remodel is going to look like! Thanks for the video and honest review.

[@jaystevens8122]

rumour has it we won't see any really changes for a few more years. We hoped the Ridgeline would get the "Pilot Treatment" for 2024 but that's looking like a pipe dream :(

[@eliseojrmallari6599]

I own 2022 sport model with HPD and I agree with everything you said.

[@GetOutBeHappy]

For someone that is considering a Ridgeline, you have a lot of good information. You helped make my decision more realistic to get the Honda and skip the 4x4.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Glad I could help! If you buy a Ridgeline be sure to send me a pic!

[@Go4It123]

Nice Video! Can't wait to see where it goes and what it looks like in the next couple of years!!

[@JNguyen-f4m]

So glad I found your channel. I love my Ridgeline and I mountain bike. I also have two school aged kids. They fit in the rear great. Way better than the Tacoma. I have a 1.5f/0.5r lift and the updated 265/60/18 cooper road+trail AT tires, which have replaced your cooper 4s model. I’m confident it will get me to any MTB trailheads here in North Carolina. Appreciate your commentary in your videos, I enjoy it and will plan to watch more content. I started off with your overlanding build walk around and similar videos which were excellent. If you’re not in the owners group on fb, join it! I saw your video linked in there and that’s how I found the channel. Cheers and happy new year

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Thanks for the props! I’m in several Ridgeline FB Groups.

[@benoitrealestate]

I agree, excellent review.

[@deanmay338]

Another exceptional video. Love your expertise and your passion for the RL. I still plan to buy at the end of 2024 to tow our 2,900 lb Casita travel trailer. Don’t need an “off-roader” but do travel some forest service roads while camping and occasionally need a vehicle that can perform in snow. I also value reliability and safety. Looking forward to the 2024 refresh. TrailSport trim will be interesting. LOL, I don’t like chrome. Ironically, imo, the best looking RLs are the Sports (least expensive) or the Black Editions (most expensive). Thanks again for a great video.

[@dougsmith7195]

I’m surprised another KZbinr tows a 21’ Escape (similar to Casita) with a Ridgeline. He says it does really well. Find his video on the Escape Trailer channel.

[@deanmay338]

@@dougsmith7195 we are Escape fans. We attend 4 to 7 molded egg camper rallies per year. We have several friends with Escape 21s. The new Escape 23s are super nice, too!

[@dougsmith7195]

@@deanmay338 We had the 19 but didn’t love the bed configuration, someone on FB made an offer for more than we paid so we let it go. We will eventually buy the 5.0 or maybe an Airstream.

[@deanmay338]

@@dougsmith7195 We know several couples with the Escape 5.0 that just love them! Of course, Airstreams are iconically beautiful!

[@BackDoor_Adventurer]

That’s a proper Honda

[@whippersnappercc]

I found your videos trying to talk myself off the ledge from ditching my Ridgeline. I have a 2020 with 70,000 miles on it and have recently started seriously venturing into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, having a great time exploring, but I have pushed my stock Honda to the limit. I got a fresh set of pinstripes and a couple of close calls this weekend. I don't go looking for trouble, but I end up going down some pretty gnarly trails in the quest to get to some obscure summits. I have been debating whether to pour money into mods for my Honda, which I love and has given me zero trouble, or ditching it for a proper 4x4. I don't have the space to have multiple vehicles, just one for me and one for the wife. My thinking was that if I am going to put a bunch of money into mods and then ending up getting crap highway mileage (I have a 30 mile commute to work on the highway), then I might as well get a 4Runner or something (I've never owned one before). It is fun seeing guys like you making it work! Like you, I didn't buy my Ridgeline planning to do crazy stuff but here I am. Just trying to do the math. I own my vehicle outright, so I have that going for me 🙂. Thanks for the ideas and inspiration, and I'd love your input! Subbed!

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Thanks for the support! There is a growing community of Honda Off-Road enthusiasts! Be sure to check out Ian Lupo / No Lo Designs, Camping Randy, JonDZ Adventuring, and Emmanuel “K20 NART Pro” as they have done way more mods than I have, and have given me lots of ideas. You do lose some MPG’s with all the mods, but that’s with any 4x4. The Ridgeline is already so much more fuel efficient, that even with my mods I’m using far less fuel than a stock Tacoma or Gladiator. Get yourself a 2.5” lift kit and some 265/60 18 AT Tires. That’ll make a huge difference in capability while still riding nearly as good as stock and remaining a great daily driver.

[@enthusiastsreview6459]

Really nice video Jason. A lot of good info.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Thanks for the encouragement! That means a lot coming from someone who used to review Hondas!

[@joshuaroberts5784]

I encourage you to look into the course motorsports phone mount. I have one for my accord and looking into buying a ridgeline.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

I switch everything to MagSafe a couple months ago when I got a new iPhone.

[@joshuaroberts5784]

@ridgelineoutdooradventure they have a mag safe charger. Will you be doing a video on your mag safesetup?

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

I don’t generally review tech unless I have something outstanding. My MagSafe chargers in the truck and house were just basics from Amazon during their Prime Days in October. That said - you may be onto something here, as I’m also using MagSafe to connect to my new DJI OSMO 6 Gimbal. Hmmm…I have a lot of videos in the queue, and several on deck, but I think I’ll add this to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@joshuaroberts5784]

@ridgelineoutdooradventure if is bracket that wrap around the clips on the cars dash garnish. You can also get the extension arm. That brings your phone away from the a/c. I would love to know your thoughts. Also they have dash cams for the ridgeline. Fitcamx in particular. I'd also be curious what you think about that.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

My favourite part about my setup is having the phone right next to my 11” Kenwood Head Unit. This way I can use my phone with a greater degree of safety and legality as it’s mounted, it’s centrally located, and I can rest my hand on the Kenwood screen to operate my phone. On the hottest of days I will raise the height of the phone to allow more air to flow through the vent. As for dashcams I’m no expert. I have a JS Innovations unit about the size of a golf ball tucked up behind my mirror. Most of the time I forget that it’s even there!

[@tl4633]

I have a 2020 Ridgeline RTL-E and I love it. I love it even more now that I installed the VCM Muzzler - Man that V-6 has come to life. Gone are the constant shifting and delay in acceleration. I am nit sure about the oil usage and the plug fouling yet but will check that soon. I'm never going back.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

I went with the pedal commander to deal with throttle lag…love it!

[@faustinoreyes5914]

Hey Jason, can you make a video on how you tide down your extra tire on the bed please

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

That would be a pretty labour intensive video for a fairly simple explanation. I installed Unistrut all the way around the truck bed, using existing bolt holes. From there I used a unistrut nut and a long bolt that literally runs through a tire lug hole and into the unistrut nut. There are lots of vids out there are how to use unistrut on trucks. Not sure I could any anything valuable to that discussion.

[@shj2000]

Please, please tell me about your rooftop tent rack! I've been searching for a solution to put a rooftop tent on my own 2021 HPD. Yours looks great.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

It’s actually not even a tent rack per se. Soon after buying the truck I also bought with a VanTec P3000 Ladder Rack to carry kayaks. When I got into Overlanding i realized I could put my tent up there. I then started customizing the rack to be able to put gear on the side. Strut channel between the towers, and then molle panels to step it up another notch. I store the tent on top of my utility trailer on a custom rack I built. Sometimes we take the trailer, other times just the truck. Easy enough to slide the tent back and forth between the two. Most people use a proper overland rack. Fastening them to a Ridgeline bed can be a trick, but I think Camping Randy sells a couple racks that fit, otherwise you can put strut channel on your bed sides and fasten a rack to that. I highly recommend having strut channel all the way around the bed. Super versatile!

[@shj2000]

@@ridgelineoutdooradventure Thanks much!

[@AUTOGUYDIY]

Nice truck! And glad to hear no big problems with it so far. I will be driving mine on hwy a lot. About 40k miles a year I estimate. I have 5k miles now since new and Love it so far! Your right about the slow transition from reverse to drive. It’s kinda slow. I have the BE. Love the heated steering wheel

[@ChopOn414]

That looks like an aftermarket screen in there, how big of a pain was that? Did you lose any functionality with it? I can't stand that standard screen and OS

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

I did a full replacement and major upgrade on infotainment. It is a Kenwood 11.6 inch display. Details are in the video description. You do lose a bunch of advanced settings, so I set up things like door, locks, settings, and light timers to where I wanted them and then that’s it.

[@BlueStratMatt25]

Where did you get those rubber mats for the bed? What size are they?

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

These are just a generic anti-slip mat that I purchased at a couple of different hardware stores. They were a 4‘ x 3‘ but I cut them to fit the truck. I’ve also glued some together for other purposes using superglue. I do have a review of these on my channel.

[@BlueStratMatt25]

@@ridgelineoutdooradventure thank you!!

[@roylee7193]

How many inch your lift in front and back?

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

2 1/2 upfront, two in the back, and a 1 inch sub frame drop

[@go5582]

Hi handsome, I have a 2023 honda ridgeline rtle and it's really loud ,what brand did you use to do this :Full soundproofing: doors, floors & bulkhead? My truck is really loud.

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

Noico 80 mil (2mm) 36 (3.4 sqm)... www.amazon.ca/dp/B00URUIKAK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

[@ridgelineoutdooradventure]

I’m surprised to hear your truck is loud. Mine was quite quiet right from the beginning, but soundproofing is good for a high-end stereo install.

[@phunkdoctaspock]

"It ain't no Jeep" That's actually it's best quality, lol.

[@davidwelty9763]

That reminds me of one of my favorite sayings: “A Toyota 4 Runner is a Jeep that doesn’t break down”.