Yes, another midsize truck thread. Colorado/Canyon vs. Ridgeline?

kevlarcorolla said:

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

kevlarcorolla said:

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

To be honest I doubt the Canyon is enough truck for current trailer even empty.

 I'd ask for another test drive and do a trailer pull.

My old GMT800 Tahoe had less power,  a worse transmission and a shorter wheelbase than the Canyon I'm looking at.  I'm trying to keep in perspective that back in the day I wouldn't have hesitated to pull this trailer with that Tahoe.

I'm not 'merican so don't think I expect tent trailers should only be hitched to brodozers :).

 But since they aren't giving new trucks away for back in the day money I'd hook it to the trailer I wanted to tow before assuming it would be amazing and sign on the dotted line.

I hear ya, and your comment definitely has me thinking I need to do more diligence on this.

That said, it has me thinking about the trailer now.  It looks like I could fit the Radical into a 7x16 cargo trailer with a 6.5 ceiling height, reduce the frontal area by almost 25%, lose about 1000 pounds, and still have 4 feet in the trailer for stuff.  Hmmm...

I've towed my open trailer with my 2019 GMC Canyon and it'll tow at 75-80mph. Loaded trailer is in the 4500# range, maybe a bit higher. I like the truck, but it's the only one I ever owned, so nothing else to compare to. My previous tow vehicles were two Chev Astros, so the GMC is a big step up. Mine is the long box version and I got that just because I felt the longer wheelbase would be more stable towing. I find it a bit of a pain to park, but my cars are a MINI and a Miata and I don't drive the truck a lot. I've done nothing but oil changes to it since new five and a half years ago.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

I personally prefer the smaller trailer even if a larger truck was being used,easier to zip in for fuel,less space in the driveway,less area for cross wind to push me around,better fuel economy and the list continues.

 Getting creative with storage solutions for track stuff makes a BIG difference for sure.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

The a 8 x 16ft I use for the Datsun works well. The Datsun is 60" wide by 12' 6" long, so probably around the same size as your radical.

I have the car positioned with 12" behind the car and 30" in front of the car. There is enough room in front for a pit bike. Any spares are in cabinets on the front wall and totes on the right side wall. With some careful planning I can fit anything I will realistically need. 

I don't do major work trackside. If it can't be repaired in around 90 minutes I'm calling it a weekend. 

I used to endurance race a Miata out of a 7.5x16' trailer....

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, I used a Pro-Series chain-style WDH with the 282QBXL on my 2016 Colorado.  I also installed and used a second friction swaybar, which notably improved sway in crosswinds compared to using the single swaybar it came with (and certainly not using any swaybar!).

I had zero issues towing at 70mph on flat or rolling ground.  Obviously took a bit to get up to speed and you can't be afraid of turning 4k RPM (peak torque for the LFX) to get there or pull grades, but honestly I was kinda impressed.  It drank fuel towing of course, 9-10mpg IIRC.

For 2017 I think the Colorado/Canyon switched to the LGZ engine, which very modestly bumped HP/torque compared to the LFX...not sure if the torque curve is any different.

flyin_viata said:

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, I used a Pro-Series chain-style WDH with the 282QBXL on my 2016 Colorado.  I also installed and used a second friction swaybar, which notably improved sway in crosswinds compared to using the single swaybar it came with (and certainly not using any swaybar!).

I had zero issues towing at 70mph on flat or rolling ground.  Obviously took a bit to get up to speed and you can't be afraid of turning 4k RPM (peak torque for the LFX) to get there or pull grades, but honestly I was kinda impressed.  It drank fuel towing of course, 9-10mpg IIRC.

For 2017 I think the Colorado/Canyon switched to the LGZ engine, which very modestly bumped HP/torque compared to the LFX...not sure if the torque curve is any different.

Thank you for the feedback- very useful.

Update- The dealer wouldn't come off their listed price, which was not great for a three year old vehicle with over 50k miles and no warranty.  For only $4k more than they're asking, I could get a brand new Colorado Trail Boss with the much torquier turbo 4 (430ft-lb vs. 275ft-lb in the V6), a factory warranty and a bunch of other nice-to-haves.  I've decided I'm going to hold off until I re-home my Radical into a 16x7 trailer and re-assess my needs in a few months.  Towing a 3700lb trailer with 25% less frontal area than my current one opens up a bunch of other possibilities.  At that point I think the Ridgeline, Tacoma, and any number of SUV's are completely viable.  I do still really like the Colorado/Canyon platform though.

Tom1200 said:

A bit of a tangent on towing speeds:

I manage to just barely average 60 mph on my longest tow which is 300 miles with my heavy low powered van.  If I upgraded to something that would do a 70 mph average I'd save a whole 45 minutes.

I also have to negotiate some long grades. My van with the enclosed trailer is down to 35 mph on the last 6 miles of Baker's grade. If I were able to maintain 65 mph I would save a whopping 4 1/2 minutes on the climb.

 

This is a perfect example, as well, of why it's really not advantageous to go over the speed limit. Unless you're going to be doing triple digits in the hopes you don't get arrested. 

I might go 5-10 over just to keep up with traffic. But I don't do the 100-110 down the turnpike when making a 200+ mile drive anymore. 

In reply to z31maniac :

One thing I now put more value in is the tow vehicle being comfortable and having a long range.

If you can do 5 hours at a stretch and the vehicle doesn't need to stop that really cuts down on the driving time.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to z31maniac :

One thing I now put more value in is the tow vehicle being comfortable and having a long range.

If you can do 5 hours at a stretch and the vehicle doesn't need to stop that really cuts down on the driving time.

Well, A Canyon/Colorado likely can't do 5 hours. I would think I'd run out of gas in less than that with a 21 gallon tank ,pulling a trailer at 70ish. I have done 450 miles without the trailer.

^ yeah, frequent gas stops are just going to be a reality with a 21 gal tank. That is one advantage of the F-250, with it's 35 gal tank and 11-12mpg pulling the trailer. The reality is that I'm safer when I stop to stretch my legs every 2-3 hours anyway, so I look at this as a small compromise.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

As my van is an RV; I just set the cruise control and go in the back for a pee.

With the new enclosed trailer I have to stop at the 4hr mark for fuel.

With the open trailer it was just on 5 but as it's an older van I really wanted to get out of it by that point. 

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

My gas tank has a greater range than my bladder, so it's not an issue.

I bought a Ridgeline RTL in Sept 2024.  It was a 2024 "leftover" and frankly got an amazing deal.  Between all the incentives, discounts, and such that was given on it, I wound up just under $40k for a new truck.  

With this steel trailer, fuel jugs, and spare tires (~4500lbs) I wind up averaging 15-17mpg.  No towing I'm averaging 20-24mpg depending on driving.  The newer Ridgelines have the 9speed ZF transmission which I think helps a lot compared to the older 6 speeds.  The big thing that bites you on the Ridgeline is 5000lbs of trailer means you can't carry much in the truck at all as the combined weight rating is right at 10,000 lbs.  If you go by the book, the GCWR derates 2% per 1,000 ft as well.  I really need an aluminum trailer but it hauls this combination just fine without issue in the east coast mountains.  You will be looking for fuel every 200 miles or so due to the 19 gal gas tank which does suck. 

I was previously towing with a 2008 F-250 5.4 V8 gas, this thing is way more comfortable, I get double the MPG, and it's way easier to live with as a daily driver.  It hauls my combination just fine without any issue.  I can go up 6% grade at the speed limit.  It does not struggle and is stable.  I do not have WDH or sway control because it simply does not feel like it needs it, and the manual specifically calls out that it is not necessary.

Definitely not for everyone but if you have a light enough setup it's a strong contender IMO.  If something happened to mine I'd get another one.

In reply to bb_11 :

What is the "occupants and cargo should never exceed" (payload) weight on the door jamb sticker of your Ridgeline?

In reply to Driven5 :

Payload is 1477 lbs, so quite good for a midsize truck.  The GCWR rating is what hurts it.  Honestly, the GCWR is an issue on other vehicles as well, I just don't think people look at it very closely. 

In the case of Ridgeline:

GCWR = 10031 lbs

Trailer = 5000 lbs

Truck = ~4540 lbs

Remaining weight capacity = ~491 lbs

Mind you this must be derated 2% per 1000 ft per owner's manual, so this is absolute best case scenario.

If you have a 5000 lbs trailer, there's no way you can actually load up 4 people and their stuff, and you better have nothing in the bed.

With the setup in the picture above, this is how the weight numbers work out with me and all my stuff in there, of note my trailer axles are actually rated at 7000 lbs but I dropped it down so I'd be in capacity of Ridgeline when doing math (4500+500 tongue=5000lbs).

Here's relevant data from owner's manual and such...

In reply to bb_11 :

This is the reason I should have built a smaller trailer years ago. Instead, I did the expedient thing and bought a typical steel car trailer. Eighteen foot deck, 3500# axles, probably weighs 1700# and I used it to haul 2300# race cars. I could have built a trailer under 900# to haul a Miata and had more wiggle room in the tow vehicle for stuff. I wish there were more size choices for open trailers in general. A small car will go on a 6x12 deck.

Example: My first autocross car and trailer...5x10 deck...I pulled it with a 1983 Pontiac 6000....

In reply to bb_11 :

Good info; calculating for the most amount of stuff I would ever put in my trailer, plus passengers a Ridgeline would have 700lbs to spare.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

For years I ran the smallest traier possible; the last one was 800lbs and my Datsun is only 1600lbs. This was a great set up.

Of course once I was gifted the enclosed trailer I've become a complete sell out. The enclosed is only 16' so it's still small relative to most enclosed trailers.  It weighs 2500lbs and while that's not heavy it's further degraded my speed up hills.   

Sooo. The canyon was available with a duramax option for a while. I'd love to get one. I love heard good Things about their mileage.   Someone on here used to have one. 
 

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2016-chevrolet-colorado-z71-4x4-duramax-long-term-verdict/