As you may have noticed, we are a huge fan of Thule products. In our latest product testing, we combined the following:
Thule Tepui Explorer Autana 4 Tent
Thule T2 Pro XT/XTR Hitch Bike Rack
All of these great Thule products were combined on the 2021 Honda Ridgeline, a combination that has never been done before, or at least nowhere we were able to find on the internet.
Take a look at the setup in the photos and you’ll see that everything fits together well. On the Ridgeline, it is a close fit, but it fits nonetheless. Even fully loaded, the Ridgeline still averaged 21.6 MPG over 1200 miles. With AWD and a combination of off-road and highway, this isn’t bad. It is better MPG than we were able to achieve with the Tacoma, at much higher comfort levels and higher cruising speeds, backing up our strong opinion of the superiority of the Ridgeline over the Tacoma for this type of purpose.
The previous week, we did a full backcountry camping route using an off-road-optimized Tacoma and stock Subaru CrossTrek. While the Tacoma was without a doubt a superior vehicle for this type of terrain, the CrossTrek turned the other few heads we saw on the trail, since the only other vehicles were ORVs like side by sides and ADV bikes with knobbies.
This Thule cross-product compatibility test trip was a success and provided comfort and ample room for 4 people. With the Tepui Annex seen pictured hanging from the tent to the ground on the side of the truck, there is plenty of room for dog or extra camp cot below too.
For storage in the truck bed, we are huge fans of the DeWalt Tough Chest.
This Lifetime 65 Quart High Performance Hard Cooler kept things cold for 7 days with the initial set of ice packs.
The bike rack is great due to how it tilts down and is also easily removable for truck bed access.
Questions about the setup? Feel free to contact us and we’re happy to share advice!
