pros and cons of a manual vs automatic for a 1 ton hauler

Hey its all your choice, swapping an auto in and out is not hard to do without a lift. There is a guy out of AR that builds the E4od and 4R100 trans in the powerstrokes and he does not use a lift. I was amazed when I brought mine down there. He blocks the front wheels, lifts the rear under the pumpkin and put a couple stand under it. Trans and T case are out in 45 minutes tops!

 

This is going to sound like I'm being a wanker here but... You asked for advise. The question was basically, "I am getting a 05 or 06 Dodge. One has an auto and one has a manual. Which one will be better for hauling RV's across the country"?

You also mentioned one has 50k more miles than the other. Not really a factor in a relatively high mileage truck that will soon have even lots more miles. Especially if you do not have full history of prior usage and maintenance on both vehicles. From what you said both trucks have already been used professionally so you can (You must) assume both have been "Ridden hard and put away wet". You can also assume that in the last few months before they were traded in the maintenance was probably allowed to slide, (Since the truck was soon to be somebody else's problem, why spend a lot of $ keeping it well maintained)?

Here are my observations after reading every post in this thread.

#1 Your hung up on getting more cash back for your current truck. In my mind this is improper thinking. The amount of the difference of cash back in the 2 trucks is really minimal in the big picture. This should not really be a factor in the decision. The suitability for your application, long term durability, and future repair costs of the vehicle your purchasing should be the driving factor.

#2 Every single person that has given you a direct answer about the trans has suggested the manual and most have given very good reasons. Not a single person has even hinted that maybe the auto might be acceptable.

#3 You also seem to be hung up on the inconvenience of driving a manual. Dude, this is a JOB. It is called WORK for a reason. Sure, driving a manual in city traffic all day every day is a real PITA. But your not doing that! Your driving 95% on the open highway. Yes, there will be times when traffic is backed up and stop and go even on the highway but that is a small percentage of the time. Man up and get over it.

In addition to the advise already given by others I can tell you that I do not personally know of a single person using a Dodge auto in the car hauling business and we haul max GCVW all the time. You will likely be pulling somewhat less weight but still, the Dodge auto is not capable of living long while being used in a professional hauling rig. If you put a huge external cooler on it and change the fluid before the recommended service intervals you can help it live somewhat longer but still, when it goes out, and it go out, will it will cost you about 3-4x to rebuild than a manual and the manual will outlive it by a very large margin. (From my above comment about future repair costs: If you get an additional $2,600 (Or so) now and then in 6 months have to spend $5,000 or $6,000 more to repair an auto than you would have for a manual (That your likely not going to have to repair for another year or two anyway) how have you made out any better?

Again, I do not mean to sound like a hard ### here but you asked for advise and have been given very clear non-conflicting information by every single person who posted an answer, (Including now myself). (And by the way, having every person that answers a question on an internet forum agree with not a single dissenting opinion is like... unheard of...! That in and of itself should tell you something!) I fail to see where you have any further confusion as to the proper course of action.

So... the ball is in your court. Best of luck!! Post up a few pics of the new truck once you get it, and be sure to let us know if you shift it or it shifts itself...

 

Sir,

No disrespect in any way intended here. You may take this as rude, so be it. It is not intended that way either. Simply straight to the point with no BS or pussyfooting around. I have only been professionally driving less than a year and I'm fairly new on this board, (But I have been around professional hard working trucks and worked on them myself more times that I can even begin to count, for most of my adult life). Maybe I should not have said anything in the first place, but now that I have, and you have responded with what I feel is not exactly correct and accurate information I'll follow up.

You will note that in my very first paragraph when referring to your original question I said, "Which one will be better for hauling RV's across the country"?" This clearly shows that I did in fact read and understand your position.

Also, I said "I do not personally know of a single person using a Dodge auto in the car hauling business and we haul max GCVW all the time. You will likely be pulling somewhat less weight but still" Clearly, I indicated here that I am in the auto industry and that, "You will likely be hauling less weight" I guess I should have said, "In the RV industry you will likely be hauling less weight because most RV's weigh less than a trailer full of cars. I'm sorry I was not clear enough for you.

The question here is not the Dodge vehicle itself but the combination of the Dodge brand AND the (Dodge) automatic trans. Therefore my statement "Dodge auto". Yes, the "Dodge manual" is indeed extremely popular in both the RV world (Your place) and car hauling world, (My place). As well as hauling horses, bricks and lots of other things. The Dodge auto.... not so much. Especially for people using the truck Professionally to haul at max load all the time and putting a crap load of miles on it.

You also said, "The dodge is the perfect and most popular truck used for this over ALL others". Just for the record, personally, I feel that the 5.9 Cummins is likely the best small diesel engine ever put into a light duty (pick up) truck. However, Just as legendary as the 5.9 is, The Dodge automatic is just as legendary for not holding up to the motor, especially when used in professional hauling and even more especially when routinely forced to haul heavy loads. This is not in any way a Dodge vs Ford/Chevy argument in my mind. Your question was not what brand of truck, it was "In a Dodge what transmission". In no way did I attempt to indicate any other brand of vehicle to you. In accordance with your original question, my only focus here was, and remains, selection of a Dodge with either the automatic or manual trans.

As far as Dodge being the "Perfect truck"... Well it has been well established that they are very hard of front end components, the automatic trans is not up to the task and there are like 2 decades of Dodge trucks that you can not find a single one whose dash has not crumbled away like an old cracker. However, I DO NOT want to make this into a brand way in any way. I like the Dodge. I really wish the dash issue were not there I wish the front ends were a bit stouter, and I really really wish the Dodge automatic trans had been replaced by something stronger, but that is a whole other set of questions. Overall the Dodge is up to the task as much as either of the other 2 primary competitors (Ford/Chevy). This is and remains a Dodge transmission question thread and nothing more. Not a single response, (Including mine) tried in any way to dissuade you from the Dodge platform in any way. There is no reason for you to need to say the Dodge is the prefect truck.

I went back and (Quickly) read all of the responses again. I must have missed the post, (Again) where somebody said, "Get the auto because it is as good or better". As I saw last night and again today, the person immediately before me said, "Hey its all your choice, swapping an auto in and out is not hard to do without a lift." I hardly see where you can qualify that response as being a positive vote for the auto. At best he is saying that if you do get an auto when it does go out it is not that hard to exchange for another one. And of course he is correct. Removing a dead automatic transmission from a truck (Especially a 2wd one vs a 4wd) is in fact pretty easy and can be done by 2 people in a home garage without a lift in a couple hours.

Of course his post did not mention the fact that when an auto goes out it is usually a sudden, unannounced complete and catastrophic failure. Meaning that one minute your moving down the road, the next your not. This results in a (Large) towing bill, likely in a location very far from home where you will have no choice but to go to a normal garage and pay full price and hope that you picked a good one that does a quality job with hopefully a national warranty so that you can get it fixed wherever you are should it go out again without having to tow it back to that particular repair shop. Not to mention the customers RV that you are towing at the time. What are you going to do with it while your truck is DOA for a couple days in the repair shop? Your going to have to pay to have that RV towed as well and likely storage fees.

Conversely, with a manual, usually the problem is the clutch and normally you have some warning that the clutch is failing and some time to schedule a repair. And that repair will be far less expensive than anything to do with an auto repair. Even if it is the trans itself and not the clutch, often you can still nurse the truck into a repair shop without a towing bill. You might even be able to complete your delivery and then get to a repair shop. And again, even that complete manual trans rebuild will be but a fraction of the cost of an auto rebuild.

And as "easy" as it is to remove/reinstall an auto, a manual is even easier, smaller and way lighter. A buddy of mine did his alone without any kind of lift or jack. Granted, he is a mans man but it can be done. No way your going to do that with any auto.

Also, he did not mention the cost of the auto repair that as has already been (Repeatedly) mentioned is far in excess of that of a manual.

Further, you said, "However if an auto is more reliable, lasts longer, and significantly cheaper to rebuild then the answer is clear and hence why I dragged this thread out," What the... what?? Every response here has said EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE. (Except of course the one "Recommendation??" that said swapping a dead auto is not that hard).

Your looking at 2 trucks. One is a year newer (more expensive) with an auto (More expensive) and the seller is going to give you $2,600 MORE on it that the other seller is going to give you for a older, less expensive truck. Gee, I wonder what the reason for this is? You can bet it is not the measly 50k miles on the clock. 150-175k miles is nothing on the motor, but on the trans, especially an auto trans, that is a whole other story! Perhaps the guy selling the auto knows it is not going to be as good of a truck and he is simply trying to move it from his lot to yours. Perhaps it is because pretty much everybody looking for a truck to put to work professionally (Especially a USED truck with moderately high mileage that has already been used hard) wants the manual and his truck is not.

It sounds to me like you want the automatic and your trying to somehow justify it, (either to yourself or someone else). So if you really want that auto then get it. Just be sure to put that $2,600 in the bank along with another $5,000+ so that in a few months when that tired auto gives up the ghost you can pay for towing, storage, rebuilding.

I never realized how difficult it was to drive a manual for some people. Apparently it is pretty troublesome for you if your this concerned about "Regret each time I shift it". All the professional drivers I know never give it a second thought at all.

Again, best of luck, whatever your decision is.

Don't worry, I won't respond here again. I have to go get on the road... Be well..

 

OK, I lied... I will respond...

Good luck my friend! I really do hope it works out for you and that your happy, (And profitable!!). Get some rest. I'm off to the road!

 

LOL HaulinCars, I didn't say the whole thing about when an auto fails that it is sudden just because I thought that was a given. Usually it is a converter or it will just say screw you and puke all its fluid out instantly! Get the manual, no doubt, more reliable and cheaper to maintain! Get the truck, change the fluid to a full synthetic oil in the trans and rear end and once the clutch starts to slip, go buy a nice south bend for it, those are the best ones for a dodge and will outlast the stock clutch by a long shot! I own a auto mated to a PowerStroke but I don't tow! If I was to tow with it constantly, I would probably have a manual or I would have the built trans that I have in it currently which was not cheap to have put in! Like I said before, its your choice but its a big choice! Cost and reliability are the 2 biggest factors and the manual takes the cake on both!

 

Back in the late 70’s I drove a 1972 conventional KW with a 350 Cummins, it had a 4 X 4 married box. In over it would top out just a bit over 100 MPH. I recall one trip running with a fellow from the east coast driving a new cab over KW, it had a big Detroit engine & a Allison chambers auto, least that’s what I remember it being. I started running behind him just west of the 370 mile marker. Each time we went up a hill in order to keep from passing him I had to let off of my throttle. Finally I got tired of this & went on leaving I remember a trip in this truck coming back from California. I got to running with a fellow who had a 425 Cat, I believe he said he had a 13 over. I remember running with him coming through Abilene. I followed him along for a while, sometimes he would out pull me, yet at the same time I had to run off the hills slower than him. I finally got tried of fooling with him & I went on.


I recall too one one west coast run a fellow pulling out from a truck stop hollered at me on the radio. He had a brand new KW with a big Detroit engine. I slowed down & let him catch up & run with him for a few miles, His truck was very pretty & shiny & had polished aluminum rims all the way around it & on the trailer too. His top speed was 67 MPH. I ran along with him for a bit yet I got tired of running so slow & went on.


All 3 of those trucks were newer than the one I was driving & prettier too. The old truck I was driving had about a million miles of it, had bud wheels with steel rims painted white, yet there’s no way I would have traded for either one of those trucks even if they gave me many dollars to boot. There’s no doubt in my mind that a good set of boxes will put more power to the rear wheels than automatics, & some of the other transmissions. Plus if you've got a good driver they will last for many trouble free miles. That old 72 KW had the same engine & transmission that came in it & it was still a fine truck even though it had more than a million miles. Yes, the engine had had a complete in frame overhaul & the transmission had never been opened up. And running down the highways that old KW was very quite to set in.

 

I ran a built ATS in my Dodge with a PacBrak on the engine and it worked well, but keep in mind this was a 1995 12V. It worked great.