SRW or dually.

mkirsch wrote:

ol' grouch wrote:
Automatic transmission are a weak link for pulling loads. RV's will be lighter than I normally work with but I've seen automatics fail under medium towing. Add in the lack of a dip stick anymore and failures are becoming more frequent.

Do you have data to back up this assertion?

You've been in the business for 40+ years so you've seen automatic transmissions in heavy hauling go from being a joke to nearly universal. GM hasn't put a manual in a pickup truck in 10 years. It's been 8 years for Ford.

If these transmission failures were "more frequent" how come we hardly ever hear of them on this forum?

Really, I think you're basing this bias of yours on pre-2000 automatics, mostly the feeble early attempts of the '70s and '80s.

The group I hang around with (racers, car collectors and so on) have a variety of equipment. A Ram 3500 just got a manual conversion due to the transmission failing, again. I know of several Fords ranging from late 90's to about 2008 that have had transmission failures. Usually high speed runs on grades that cook the unit. Since I've been looking at equipment, I've heard of Duramax engines chipped up that spin the crankshaft out and have to be rebuilt. I took a chip out of my '97 F250 after it failed and shut the computer down.

The OTR trucks at work have mixed feelings about automatics. The do seem to get a little better mileage dead heading. Loaded though, the automatics tend to lag behind. Mostly automatics are in company trucks and owner/operators still run manuals.

When some miles are on the equipment and there's a mechanical failure, you definitely want a stick. We often have to push start a truck to get it started. With an automatic, forget it. Cars haven't had rear transmission pumps since the early 60's. Trucks don't have them either.