From Denver

PSAG

My name is Patti and we are looking at a 2021 XL We have a 2018 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E that we will be using a tow vehicle. Any pointers or experiences you can share would be great? We live in Denver - so a lot of mountain driving and trips to the Northwest are planned. Not sure if sway controller and others are needed to tow safely and with ease. Thanks and I look forward to hearing your many experiences and feedback as we go through this adventure from tent camping to more of a house on wheels.

HikinMike

Welcome. I'm sure you will enjoy your new T@G. There are several topics on this very subject under the category, "Trailers & Towing". Enjoy!

Michigan_Mike

You shouldn’t need sway bars on the trailer. As long as your vehicle is rated for the load you are pulling you should be fine. From what is noted in the link you have a 5K pound towing capacity which should handle the trailer easily.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/honda/ridgeline/2018/specs/ridgeline-rtl-e-awd-395581

Best advice I can give you is to assure the trailer is properly hitched. Maintain a safe distance between you and the vehicle ahead. When in the mountains keep the speed down, try to stay off the brakes as they can fade if they get hot. It’s always best to be courteous, if traffic starts to gather behind you find a pull off area and let the vehicles go around you and proceed again after traffic clears. Switch-backs can be challenging for new owners pulling trailers. Slow up in the switch backs, stay in your lane and allow the trailer to remain in the lane as some people will drift over into the oncoming lane.

It will be helpful to take a few short shake down trips in your area, practice backing the trailer into parking spaces in a large, unoccupied parking area as this will be beneficial when you go to camp. Practice makes perfect! The “scoop” method of backing is helpful and I always tell people that while backing the smaller trailers up, to do it slowly as they react quickly to movement in the steering wheel. The video below should help.

https://youtu.be/RLtfrBWzNCw