Towing with Auto vs. Manual opinions. Looking for a TV

huron52 wrote:
I tow with a stick.... I think it might be a little slower on the take off only because I like smoother shifts. For backing in I have manual locking hubs so I can put it in 4lock (not so much riding the clutch) with out any driveshaft wrap.

Would I buy another stick again for towing..... yes

X2,Agreed!! Backing up especially on a small grades.

I have been looking on CL and Ebay, CL being a much better lead. I see one 500 miles away that looks like an excellent fit. It has 226K mi but looks virtually brand new, might be worth a closer look. I will wait and travel to get the right tool. I don't want any regrets while I'm dragging my house around the Midwest!

I am seeing a fair amount of manuals out there, maybe 1 to every 5 autos I see that would otherwise fit the bill. Prices range from very reasonable to flat out absurd depending on region. Unless something I cant refuse comes up I will wait until Dec when I get back from the Philippines to buy rather than let it sit here rotting while I'm gone. Getting excited as the time nears. We have already been looking at 5ers to try and get a feel for what we would like.

I always get ramped up when there is a road trip coming!

Tony

Too Young to Retire wrote:
You can't drink coffee while you're driving if you have a manual tranny.

Why not? I always did.

As to the original question, if you can find a nice truck with a manual at a good price, I would take it. We just picked up a 2001 but it's Auto because we only came across a couple Manuals and they were in rough shape.

I think I would go either way. I can live with the pros and cons of 2x or 4x. My real world use will probably be a great deal of rural and boondocking, I will probably never see an RV park and as little of the interstate as possible. I have heard no trouble with transfer cases and not sure if manual cases are out there but if so I would absolutely prefer manual transfer case, I will twin stick it if I can as well to choose HI/LO independently of 2/4wd. This truck will have to serve ALL truck needs aside from towing a 5er. Manual hub conversion with out a second thought.

I feel like I have already refined what I want enough to make finding the right truck difficult. I cant budge on the SRW long bed diesel crew cab part. I might consider an automatic if the trans has already been bomb proofed. Truth is I really do like manuals and have been driving them all my life. I don't care about the color or option package. I'm actually very happy to hear of a few folks here doing this with a manual and SRW. The input is infinitely valuable.


Tony

I hAve friends with 7.3 6spdsandthey are great towing and get mpg like my dodge

Tony, your original post made it seem like you were weighing the 2wd vs 4wd. If you don't need 4wd and can go 2wd you will save MPG over auto vs manual. I need to get manual hubs but most trucks now adays have hubs locked all the time with a lot of extra drivetrain rolling and therefore wasting fuel.

This is a lot of the answer for auto vs manual tranny too. Look at us, as a society auto makers think we are too lazy to get out and lock hubs, or perhaps too stupid to unlock them. Probably much the same train of thought went into the surge of autos out there.

That being said I bought a Cummins that had a Dodge wrapped around it. Every vehicle I own has a manual tranny. When I ordered the truck I told them I wanted a manual tranny and a manual T case. I can replace a clutch, but I know a new/rebuilt auto is going to cost thousands of $$$ vs a clutch. I also have a pacbrake and I love the ability to hold whatever gear I want, but I know a lot of autos can hold gears too.

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2003 Ford 7.3 non-dually automatic driver here. My auto lasted about 40k miles towing our 5er before it started slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear. This was with a larger cooler installed. I do have a chip which increases power and I don't baby my truck. I bit the bullet and went with a John Wood transmission and am not looking back.

My opinion and experience tells me that if you're going to tow heavy with a 4r100, plan to have to rebuild it at some point. And when it needs rebuilding, you need to spend the money on either a John Wood or BTS trans, any other rebuild is going to leave you stranded in short order.

The 6-speeds in these trucks are stout if you can find one and want to drive it. Keep in mind that the clutch on these trucks is much more taxing than on your smaller vehicles.

In a Corvette Z06 I must have the stick shift!!!!
In my truck I want an auto to do the work?
World of difference!

I have a 2001F-250 7.3 and it has 125,000 miles on it. No problem with the transmission to date...I change the trans fluid every 30,000 miles and try not to abuse the truck. Pull a 10,000 # fifth wheel.
You might consider an exhaust brake.