2014 Ridgeline towing Livin Lite 14db questions.

[Cairn_terrier]

I have about dialed in my preferred "rig" to be assembled.

Have a new 2014 Ridgeline. Will get a brake controller installed
Will most likely purchase a 14db Livin Lite at 2500# dry weight, and add no more than 1000# of additional weight including water and everything, basically putting my lightweight backpacking gear in the trailer. 3500# is my target max weight. Hopefully much lighter as we are looking to be upscale backpackers.

Questions: is there a brand of brake controller that is preferred.

Next, it comes with electric brakes with surge brakes listed as a $910 msrp option. Which do I want/need?

My Ridgeline book notes to NOT use a weight distribution hitch. Anyone with experience in this area with a Ridgeline?

Does an anti-sway controller system even exist, and is this recommended or different than a weight distribution hitch.

Constructive comments and links to more info welcome.

Thank you.

[jonaz]

I have been towing my travel trailer for 6 years with a WDH. NO problems. I previously had a Ford Exploder which had lots of problems (I still love to see Fords win however).
I have abused my Honda Pilot till no end, towing out in the desert, and elsewhere. They can handle it. I live in the mountains, and I tow severe inclines on hot summer days, again no problems. I have never had a check engine light come on, and I have 175,000 miles on my Honda. Get the AWD. Its great for low traction situations especially when merging onto a road with lots of dirt or gravel.
HOWEVER, if you plan on upgrading to a bigger trailer in the future, consider a truck with a V8.
BTW, the advisory about not using in the manual refers to an improperly installed WDH. Yes, an improperly adjusted WDH can cause breaking problems. Honda is just being overly cautious.
Take Care

[rexlion]

That should be a very good combo. You would have slow going up the Rocky Mtn passes, but otherwise you will probably enjoy the setup. Like the others, I doubt you need sway control but a sway bar is an option of you want it. And yes, get electric brakes instead of surge! You'll appreciate having the ability to adjust your braking force from the tow vehicle on the fly, and it's also a safety benefit that you can slide a switch over on the controller to activate trailer brakes without using the tug's brakes; if you ever did have sway, this is the way to straighten it back out. Can't do that with surge brakes.

[Mvander]

I think you will be dandy with just a good quality BC. My parents tow a similar size unit with a Montana and have no issues. Be sure to set the draw bar height so the front of the trailer sits a little lower than the rear.

[Campfire_Time]

I had surge brakes on 2 different large PUPs. I hated them. Get the electric brakes and a Prodigy brake controller.

[bikendan]

Honda's anti-WDH stand was the main reason we decided not to buy a Ridgeline, even though we loved the vehicle.
they are the only auto manufacturer that takes such a stand.

what this told me was Honda doesn't really trust their vehicles for towing a travel trailer, which WDH are almost always needed for a tow vehicle with a 5000lbs. towing capacity.
it basically says, yes the Ridgeline is our truck and can tow a popup or boat but we don't think it should tow anything bigger.

as was said, go to the Ridgeline Owners Forum. a lot of Ridgeline owners ignore Honda and use a WDH anyway.

and go with electric brakes and a Prodigy brake controller.

[Biker1mike]

At this weight you most likely do not need a Weight Distribution hitch. You may want to look at sumo-coil for the rear springs. Helps a lot. I would not bother to get the sway control until you pull it a few times.
Yes on the electric brakes and a moderate priced controller. No need for top of the line for such a light tow.

Try the Honda Ridgeline Owners forum where many of us Ridgeline owners hang out.
This topic has been talked about there many times with several experts that know the trucks frame and handling.

[BenK]

Cairn terrier wrote:
snip...

My Ridgeline book notes to NOT use a weight distribution hitch. Anyone with experience in this area with a Ridgeline?

Welcome to the forum

The Ridgeline is derived from the Odyssey, as is the Pilot. All three
share the basic platform and are monocoque (Unibody). Though the Ridgeline
does have a sub-frame of sorts that adds to the platforms torsional
rigidity

Understand how a WD Hitch system works and that they are generally NOT
advised by OEMs for their monocoque (Unibody) vehicles.

Once you understand how a WD Hitch system works, next is to understand
the difference between a ladder frame architecture vs monocoque (Unibody)

Your proposed trailer is in the grey area of needing/required to have
brakes and WD Hitch setup.

The trailer brake requirement varies from state to state. So check your
DMV's rule book. I'd have them regardless, as it just ups the safety factor
or margin

The need for WD is up to the TV and receiver vs the trailers actual
tongue weight.

Using a WD on a Monocoque will NOT have the spot welds fail instantly,
but will sooner than later. Also dependent on how you drive, where
you drive and a host of other attributes (speeding over RR crossings,
pot holes, etc that dynamically increase the tongue weight)

Sway control is up to you. All trailers, small to big, can and do
sway at some time or another. Magnitude is the issue and the TV's
ability to manhandle (control) the goal.




Check out these old posts that apply to your decision making. My opinion
and you will find opinions ranging all over the place. The decision
is yours and the end setup is the responsibility of the driver (they
get whatever ticket might to issued...speeding, etc)


WD hitches and unibody


Wt Distr Hitch is not recommended for our vehicle

[goducks10]

I wouldn't worry about sway control with that short of a trailer, especially if your keeping the weight near 3500lbs. As long as you have the correct tongue weight it should tow fine behind the Honda. With the tandem axles and being 18' long it should be rock solid.

If you need sway control you could use this http://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Draw-Tite/7390.html

And this http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Curt/17200.html

[p220sigman]

Having pulled trailers with both electric and surge brakes, I much prefer the electric for a TT application. If it were a boat trailer going in/out of the water, especially salt water all the time, it would be a different answer. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for surge brakes in this case.

As far as controllers go, I have a Tekonsha P2 in both my vehicles and have been very happy with them. For me, they offered the best of both worlds in that they work great but are still reasonably priced.

I can't answer for the WDH system for a Ridgeline except to say that if you need a WDH to transfer some of the tongue weight from the rear axle to the front axle, there isn't really a substitute for it. With our setup that is about the same weight you are looking at, we don't need a WDH because I have little to no unloading of the front wheels when hitched. But I'm also towing with a much heavier duty truck with a much longer wheel base.

I do run a friction sway control like the one pictured above mainly as cheap insurance. I've never experienced any sway with our set-up even without the sway control, but given the relatively low cost (as low as $40-$50) of the system and ease of using it (adds maybe a minute to the hitching process), it didn't make sense not use it. It only has to prevent one incident involving damage to more than pay for itself.

[ib516]

HOW A WD HITCH WORKS & WHAT IT IS - VIDEO

WD and SWAY CONTROL FAQ

This should answer a few of your questions.

[rhagfo]

No experience pulling a small TT, but did pull a tandem axle U-Haul box trailer loaded to the max (about 4,600#) 1,200 miles to Bolder, CO form Portland, OR with my daughters 06 Ridgeline. Truck did fine i was quite impressed about 500# hitch weight, her and I traded off driving and it did great no WD no sway bar just correctly setup for the trailer. The U-Haul had surge brakes that did fine, though I would lean to the electric with in TV controller.

[ChooChooMan74]

Welcome to the forum!!! I see that you're fairly new.

Brake controllers, there are several types. 1st, the most expensive, are the types that hook up to your vehicle and know how much brake pressure you are using and applies a proportionate amount of brake pressure. The DirecLink brake controller, at over $300, fits this.

2nd type uses a sensor to determine how much you are slowing down, and to give a proportionate amount of trailer brake. The old ones used a pendulum, and the new ones use potentiometers (spelling??). The good ones are the ones made by Tekonsha, mainly the P2 and p3.

3rd type, which I would avoid, are the time based ones. These slowly give more trailer brakes the longer you hold your foot on the pedal. These are the cheapest, and I suggest not to use.

Electric vs Surge Option, I would go electric. I don't like surge brakes. There is no way to control them. As you slow down, the trailer coming into your tow vehicle activates a master cylinder and gives you some braking.

As far as using a WDH, I would go over to the ridgline forum and talk to people there. Quick google search shows people using a WDH. I think they can best answer you.

You can get anti-sway without a WDH. eTrailer.com is a great source for all of this stuff. It is basically a friction bar that helps to prevent sway.

[ib516]

Surge brakes do not require a brake controller in the tow vehicle. They activate when the trailer pushes on the tow vehicle as the tow vehicle stops. I have no experience with them, but I don't think they are the way to go.

I'd suggest a Prodigy P3 (~$200) as a brake controller. I had one, they work well.



There are many types of anti-sway systems, I'd look into a friction bar type. They are about $100 or less.



Here is one installed, the other bars you see are the WD system.