On Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:42:42 -0400, DerbyDad03 wrote:

I have heard that ridge vents only work well if there are wide soffits,
like 12" or more.

On houses with narrow soffits, box vents are recommended.

Any truth to this?

Don't see how the size of the soffits would matter. The area of the vents
(equivalent opening) certainly matters. While they're related they're not the
same. A 12" soffit isn't all that wide though.