Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Manual or Auto trans for hunting/working truck?

I plan to get an older pickup truck for hunting, back country chores (firewood hauling) and fairly high mileage on and off-road use. Not much in the way of towing will be needed.

I started a separate thread on what vehicle to choose for this. Already got some great ideas from the forum on that question.

My primary requirements for the vehicle and transmission are ruggedness, reliability, economy, utility/capability and repairability (on the spot with what you got).

With this as background, based on your experience (and putting initial cost differences and personal driving preferences aside) would you choose a manual transmission or an auto trans?

I'm really interested in your choice and even more interested in your reasons for the choice. Also would be interested to hear about any specific trannies you think are really good, and any you suggest to stay far away from. As always, your input is appreciated.

I've had both. For ruggedness, it's hard to beat a manual. For climbing over stuff, the auto will let you slowly ease over rocks, etc. without slipping the clutch. It's smoother trip with auto.
Coming down, drop the auto into 1 low and you'll have to use the gas to keep it moving. I don't see where auto gives up much under compression if you use the low gears.

Dick

they both have their high points. figure about 60k on a cluth and bout 120k on a auto trans so the cost can come close to balancing. i prefer a manual but i take what i can get. There are some "bullet proof" trans' out there the SM465 in 80's GM's is one hell of a trans (some syncro problems) the old t-18 in fords were great too the NV4500 series in 90's GM's and dodges were great 5sp trans but the 1 st gear is on as low as the SM465.
the mazda trans in the 90's fords were hit or miss some were wonderful and some just came apart. so it all depends on just how old you want to go. avoid the 80's dodge manual it was junk. now with autos the TH400 was a great gm trans along with the th350, th700r4 and the 4L80e and 4l60-e gm autos are good ones the torqueflight 727 in some dodges good but the 777 and the 797 torqueflights were garbage the ford c-4,c-5 and c-6 were excellent but the for AOD trans' were not nearly as good good luck finding a truck

KPO,
If you are buying an older truck keep in mind that an automatic transmission is much more expensive to repair.
In Minnesota it is common for people to get stuck in the snow and then rock themselves out. There are transmission repair shops in every town. (Hint)
These automatics heat up when you shift back and forth between drive and reverse.
I would try and find an older truck with a six cylinder and a stick shift. (manual) Old Toyotas are pretty tough.
I can't get Pearl Harbor out of my mind so I drive a Ford with a 5 Speed manual.

Manual if your in the mountains or in the mud.

Other than that a Auto.

Spot

Spot, Whelennut, WyoCoyboy and Rockcuck: thanks for your posts - very helpful.

One follow-up question to WyoCoyboy's informative post on which trannies are good and which aren't:

On older trucks (70's, 80's, 90's) beyond knowing the make, the year and the fact that it's a manual or auto trans what's the easiest way to determine what specific trans a truck has?

I've found that sellers often don't include that info in the description and upon follow up many do not know the exact trans that's in the truck they're selling.

All F 250 from 1988 and up were running Z-F 5 speeds.Mazda trans came in the F 150.

this kinda falls to the truck you decide for example if you chose a newer dodge 94 and up the auto tranny's are not that good some have luck with them but more people end up having to rebuild them more often so if this truck get a manual in the 80's ford had a new process 5 speed manual that first gear was way to high so you go through clutches faster.Myself it depends on vehicle i find to find the best truck for my money it don't matter wether it is manual or auto.Then if you are gonna let other people driv this truck you might want auto so they don't fry the clutch prematurely or is it buy the manual so the wife don't drive it.

basically it comes down to preference and the truck

I have both autos and manuals in my vehicles. Used to be I thought manuals were better. If you truly have a tranny failure both are going to be expensive.

These days I prefer an auto with an additional cooler and the tranny lines reran up out of harms way. Basically if you use whats between your ears the auto won't be a disadvantage.

For simplicity and to keep repair costs in check try to avoid the electronically controlled transmissions. They are a work of art when they are working, they are a money pit when it comes time to diagnose/repair them.

A clutch at 60,000? You're supposed to keep your foot OFF that pedal unless disengaging.....

My toy is still going on it's first clutch at 266,000 miles.... FWIW, Dutch.

I had all manuals until the late 80's when I bought a Jeep Wagoneer that had an auto. Until then, I figured that a manual was the only thing that would handle the rough stuff. I got educated in a hurry. That auto climbed anything because I could ease it into a bad rock or log instead of having to bounce over it. I could drop it in low range and it had all the compression braking I ever needed. The Jeep itself had some weird design issues - like the low range lever under the seat and the transfer case lock in the glove box (who was the total idiot who designed that monstrosity?), but the auto was great for offroad.

ya i agree but most people get about 50-75k on one. i had a through-out bearing seized and got about 5k on a napa gold cluth pissed me off

no gm had a NP ford ran t-18 untill '87 then zf in 3/4 ton and a mazda in the 1/2 tons

It all boils down to what you're able to run comfortably.

Me, been driving maunals since my Pop taught me how to drive the 51 Chevy 3 on the tree PU.

I've been a stick man since.

For what you want, manual all the way. Nothing against autos, but nothing climbs like a manual in 4L and granny gear.

Bill

+1 to that, had an 88 Toyota, dad bought new, I drove it all through high school and college, sold it with 300,000 on it and still original clutch. The master cylinder kept leaking fluid to it, but nothing a bottle of brake fluid behind the seat couldn't fix....

The last 130,000 miles have been in an 03 GMC with an auto. Makes for nice city driving, but I miss the convenience of a manual when rolling through the pastures.

Manual. I have owned both and prefer the manual. Plus the added advantage of a push start - something to think about when on the backroads and you have issues.

my son has the gm sm465 mated to a jeep 4 banger in his wrangler. talk about grunt ...

Always park facing down hill. Let her roll and pop it, if necessary. It amazes me how often trucks won't start, for one reason or another. Especially after the 'lectronics been bouncing on the back roads for a couple of zero degree days.... FWIW, Dutch.