sdmartin65

Na...he's one of those you say nick he says knack. You could say Troll but I felt bag licker more fitting!
These units have been around for a while, if there were a jackknife problem it would be on the net. Overall payload capacity and tongue weight will always be a problem when towing with these light-duty trucks.

If you were to throw four people, gear and luggage in one of these F150s there is no way you have room for more than a couple hundred pounds of tongue weight. The problem with my dad's Ridgeline when doing the same thing, is the rear suspension distorts. It takes a little time for the wheels to straighten back out which can't be good for it.

xcntrk

Preaching to the choir there, we all know just how limiting the F150 payload can be. Now, let me get back to F250 internet searches and daydreaming that I bought the right truck from the get go..

jeffinthebag

Troll, get the fuc..... Out of here. If you pull a 5k trailer with a toad attached to a Honda Ridgeline. You 100% be be over weight on the gross combined weight! If a emergency maneuver is required by you or the the vehicle in front of you, what would happen if you stood on the brakes!!!
What if your kids or grand kids are in front of you? Would you. Still be pulling that 5k trailer with a toad in a Honda Ridgeline behind them?

sdmartin65

Common f150 Forum troll response, "I'm just thinking about others on the road, because you don't. "

Thanks but spread hate and discontent elsewhere.

jeffinthebag

SDmartin65, grow up..........

smokeywren

The Trailer Toad reduces the hitch weight on the tow vehicle TV), but it adds gross weight to the rig. So a tow vehicle with limited GVWR can tow a heavier trailer by using a Trailer Toad than without one, without exceeding the GVWR of the TV. But the GCWR then becomes the limiter, and the weight of the toad adds to the GCW of the rig. So you must still use the CAT scale to see where you stand. Never exceed the GCWR of your TV.

Assuming the trailer Toad weighs 500 pounds, then here's the real-world numbers for my F-150

GCWR 14,000
GVWR 7,100
Curb 6040 (3200 steer + 2840 drive)

Towing empty cargo trailer with WD hitch
Steer 3260
Drive 3540
--------------
GVW 6,800
Trailer axle 1900
----------------
GCW 8700

Loaded cargo trailer for long trip, plus bed full of stuff, covered by Leer shell (without Trailer Toad)
Steer 3280
Drive 4740
-----------
GVW 8020 (920 pounds over GVWR)
Trailer axles 5400
----------
GCW 13,420 (580 pounds under GCWR)
=============

(actual tongue weight 700, distributed 34/44/22%, or 238/308/154)

Loaded cargo trailer for long trip, plus bed full of stuff, covered by Leer shell (but estimates assuming the Trailer Toad hauls the hitch weight)

Steer 3280 - 238 = 3042
Drive 4740 - 308 = 4432 (+~50# for estimated hitch weight of toad) = 4482
-----------
GVW 7525 (425 over GVWR)
Trailer axles 5400 - 154 = 5246
Toad axle 1150 (700 trailer hitch + 500 toad weight - 50 hitch weight)
----------
GCW 13,921 (79 pounds under GCWR)
=============

So on that trip, the Trailer Toad would have reduced the overload from 920 pounds down to 425 pounds. And GCW would have increased from 580 pounds under GCWR to only 79 pounds under GCWR. So we're not overloaded as bad as without the Trailer Toad, and we're still not exceeding the GCWR of the tow vehicle.

smokeywren

Excluding Max Tow Pkg, 4x2s have 7,100 and 4x4s have 7200. All F-150s with HD Payload Pkg have 8,200 GVWR

sdmartin65

Thanks for the helpful responses.

My dad is very diligent with the weight calculations, last trip he figured he was 1500 below gcwr and 300 below tongue. But that Honda has a trunk below the bed and he had all kinds of heavy crap packed in there. After seeing that I figured he was probably right at max tongue and started looking for a Toad.

Honda Ridgeline specs.
Curb 4500
GVWR 6000
GCWR 10,100
His trailer is 4000 or a little over, so it will do it without the toad just got to be careful how you pack.

The Toad is strictly to save wear and tear on the suspension. It handles fine towing but hopefully set up properly the Toad can improve that also.

The guy we bought this from got the toad as part of a package deal on the double stacker car hauler. His tow unit was a GMC Topkick with air suspension and a air cushion hitch. I'd never seen one of those before.

Wannafbody

I'm pretty sure the same thing could happen without the trailer toad.

zx12-iowa

Just remember my honda odyssey has the same frame and engine and tranny as the ridgeline which will be maxed out. Or it will be the equivalent of an f150 max tow pulling the full 11,400 lbs limit.

So the toad is just a band aid to thevthoughtbthat the ridgeline is at its liberal limit. That said be careful and best of luck to both of you.