Manual vs Automatic transmission in TV

I have a manual and it is rated for 2000 lbs less towing capacity than the automatic in that same year.

So the question is why the "de-rating" of light trucks when equipped with a manual tranny as an option? I know one of the "weak links" is the clutch assembly in a light truck manual transmissions. That could be easily overcome in the mfg process. Personally, I would prefer a manual tranny when it comes to towing. You just don't have it as a viable option in today's light trucks.

Ram offers a manual transmission. However, the G56 is rated for 660 foot pounds, the Aisin automatic behind the Cummins is rated for at least 865, quite a penalty just to own a manual transmission. Unless you just love the stick shaker it doesn't make much sense losing about one quarter of the engine's potential power.

OP, how old a truck are you looking at or is it new? It was not 30 years ago, it was 12 to 15 years ago that a manual was better than a automatic. My 02 F350 with the 6 spd manual tranny came stock at 275 HP while the auto was 255 HP. With a low hole gear getting moving is not hard on the clutch unlike the previous 5 spd without a low hole gear.
Yes, shortly after that is when Allison took over the auto tranny market. With their locking torque converter in higher gears their efficiency rivals that of a manual tranny. With the tow/haul mode they have pretty much idiot proofed pulling a trailer. I did not say towing as some still have problems stopping.

I'd buy a minivan with a manual if I could, but I think I'm the only one in the world that would. :) Would it be better? No. Just more fun.

Not reading all the posts above, I think I might just be repeating some great advice again.

Manual transmissions are de-rated to a weight limit well below the automatics because of hill gradeability. So in first gear, on a 6% grade, you need to get the whole GVWR moving without to much burning up the clutch. So if you only have say 75 HP at 1,200 RPM and it takes moving the RV at 4 MPH to get the engine up to 1,200 RPM, then you have very few HP to get the RV up to speed in first gear.

Once you are up to say 3,000 RPM and are making 300+ HP, you have plenty of power to move a huge load up the hill, but need to shift to second gear now, and might drop the RPM back to say 1,400. This limits max HP to only about 100 HP again, and the truck might not have enough to get a load over 15,000 pounds GCVWR to accelerate at that small HP rating.

The automatic transmission solves all these problems, because it can let the engine turn say 1,800 RPM even when the truck is still. Once at 3,000 RPM, a shift into the next higher gear, and still stay in the 2,000 - 2,200 RPM still making 200+ HP!

Good luck with your selection!

Fred.

Either one will get you up steep grades just fine.

I've had several of both but still prefer the big NV5600 6 speed tranny in my Cummins.

However very few serious tow vhicles like vans/pickups/suv/etc left out here have or offer a manual other than the Dodge Ram with a Cummins.

After market tranny builders have said a big auto like GMs Allison/AS69RC or Fords 6R140 take around 40-50 hp to operate over a manual 6 speed tranny so not much actual power at the rear wheels difference.

DesertSpooners wrote:
Thanks for the information. We will need to match a TV to a TT which will be used in the mountains during the summer. We will only use it for a few nights at a time and are considering 25 to 28 feet. Nothing fancy but we will need to be able to climb without overheating.

Overheating should not be an issue. If you find yourself in low gear and losing speed you may need to regear the differential but the automatic is fine. Especially the new ones with 6 or more speeds.

No and it's nearly impossible to find a new truck with a manual anyway - with very limited exceptions.

My last truck was a manual transmission. Thought I might miss it when I bought my new truck, but I don't.

As others said, there are not a lot of options for a manual transmission tow vehicle anyway. The main one I can think of off hand is a RAM, and you give up around 50 HP and 200 ft/lb of torque with it.

chevor wrote:
660,000 miles and counting on GMC with automatic Allison Transmission.

That's nothing. Our local airport shuttle has one International bus with over 3-million on the original Allison transmission. I suspect its probably a 2000 series though. They rebuild the engine every 1-million miles.