Lack of Manual trans on new trucks

[CHConner]

I tow with a 2012 Ram 3500 with a 6 speed manual. Looked for months to find one available with a manual tranny. Works great for me and my wife as well but my father hates the clutch action on this truck. I will say it is a odd feeling clutch at first and takes some time to love.

After driving mine, my pops bought a 2013 3500 with the Aisin and it is a sweet setup. Pulls like a beast and downshifts perfectly. He can pull me on hills slightly but has a few more hp's to the rear wheels with his setup.

Either one works well it really just depends on what flavor you like.

[larryo]

I have both. 2 ram 3500 duallys. 04 with 5.9, 6 speed manual and an 07, 6.7, 6 speed suto. I actually pull rv's for a living. Both trucks have WAY more miles than the average person would put on. I would go with the auto. The 6 speed auto can be shifted manually and with the engine brake there are no problems in the mountains.

[Oaklevel]

Bottom line is there is no demand for manuals ............ I even got better deals on my used 2000 & 2010 Mustangs because they were straight drives , the dealers were having trouble selling them. Taught both boys to drive on straight drives.......... a 86 Mustang & a 94 Ranger..... One son still has a Honda with a manual but the other had to give his Mustang up because the DIL would not drive one. My 70s F150s were manuals but gave up trying to buy my trucks with them. (I rarely buy a new truck usually buy used.)

[KyDan]

Can't believe no one mentioned the advantage of a TOAD with stick shift??

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by KyDan

Can't believe no one mentioned the advantage of a TOAD with stick shift??

What advantages?

[TURBS]

Good post.
We currently have a manual shift Pontiac solstice and before that Ms amy had a manual shift jaguar.
In my household "7" of us, if you can't drive a "stick" you can't drive a car till you do.
Needless to say they all learned how to drive a std gear box!
My first car was a 72 nova ss 400 sb manual.
With all that being said I love a std gear box but not for my tv. [emoji12]

TURBS
08 duramax tuned n modded, 32bhok Sabre
2015 camping "2 nights"

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by f5moab

What advantages?

A stick shift car can be towed with a tow bar- all wheels rolling. Right???

[Stormrider151]

My first truck was a "57" Apache, long bed, step side, with an in line 6 and a column shifter. I loved that truck. I wish I still had it. It wasn't much for towing but fun to drive.

[MtnGuy]

Out of our 3 vehicles, 2 have manual transmissions......our truck having the only automatic. I like having that extra pedal on the floor.

When truck shopping for our 1 ton (hopefully buying within the next year), I found that Ford and Chebby/GMC no longer offer manual transmissions in their 3/4 and 1 ton series. It is a sad day when you can't get a manual in a heavy duty truck. Ram still offers a manual, but as others stated the tow ratings are down-graded.

I would still love to have a truck with a manual transmission, but regretfully I have to think years down the road. Advanced age tends to work on knees and backs, where driving a manual is not as comfortable as driving an automatic.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by CHConner

I will say it is a odd feeling clutch at first and takes some time to love.

I always heard that about Toyota clutches- they are just weird. But, I also used to believe if you could drive a Toyota stick shift, that you could drive any. Worked for me for a long time.

Being about to drive a stick shift let me drive my wife to some school dance in her Mom's Supra. I loved that car.

[Filthy Beast]

My wife has always driven manual transmission cars. She got a good deal on her last one, a 2007 Subaru because no one really like to drive them. I would have loved a manual in my last truck, a 2008 Chevy 2500HD but the dealer told me that GM doesn't offer them anymore.

[KyDan]

Last summer we were trying to get back to KY from Tybee Island GA. It was the weekend before July 4th but it was a short week and apparently half the population on the East coast decided to start their traveling early
We went from speed limit to dead stop to creep along several times. My drive time increased from scheduled 8 hours to almost 11 buy the time we reached our stopping point.
I would NOT have wanted a clutch for those grueling hours and miles of interstate!

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by KyDan

I would NOT have wanted a clutch for those grueling hours and miles of interstate!

My disdain for clutches was solidified on a snowy/icy night where a 1 hour drive took 3 in my in-laws manual Civic.

[comfun1]

In the eighties I had a new ford truck with a manual trans and at every campground I went you could smell burning clutch by the time I got the camper backed into place. I have driven manuals since the late fifties and still have one of my cars with a manual today. For me an automatic is the only thing to pull a camper with.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by JLeising

Interestingly, believe stick shift still dominate in Europe. Glad I could drive a stick ten years ago when I was frequently over there and renting cars.

Same applies here. My first car I special ordered in order to get a stick shift, despite only ever having driven a stick once before in my life. I figured it was the easiest way to force me to learn, by not having a choice.

About a 1/2 a year later I got a job where I had to travel to Europe a lot and all the rentals over there were manual. I was very thankful I forced myself though that learning curve weekend and got used to driving a stick. Up until that point I was protective of my car and was scared to do that so I would just stop in neutral before shifting back to 1st. So I then proceeded to use the rentals to fine-tune my driving for things like downshifting, getting it into the upper power bands, etc...

Since then I had always driven a manual, and when I started dating DW I made sure she knew how to drive one too. But when I went looking for my current Ram they just weren't available anymore and I was forced back into an auto.

It's a shame really. Yes, auto's are getting better these days, but there is one thing I always appreciated about my manuals. Since so few people in North America drive them, I always viewed the manual as being a form of theft deterrent. I figured teens looking for a joy ride were going to bypass my vehicle cause they wouldn't know how to drive it.





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[LANShark42]

My new F250 has a manual mode. Next best thing...

[meck51]

At work we have an antique truck where the clutch and brake are reversed compared to what is standard today. Considering I only drive a manual once in a blue moon as it is, driving that thing takes me a minute or two to reboot my brain to drive it.
Overall I'll take an automatic just about any day, towing or not. Only exception is such as old coot says, hot rodding.


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[MC9]

Taught DD to drive on my old Jeep. She was the mail girl at a GM div. while putting herself through college and never knew what vehicle she would be using. Manuals didn't scare her.

[SKnight]

Another reason folks don't know how to is the simple lack of available vehicles to learn on. Both my step kids had six different vehicles to drive when they were learning, my truck is the only manual in the bunch and being big as it is scared them. They've since learned how, not much practice but they have the concept.

The opportunity to learn simply isn't there.

[thebrakeman]

I have only had 3 daily drivers in my life, all were/are 5-sp manuals:
'88 Mustang (90hp 4cyl) (1987 - 1995)
'89 Probe GT (190 ft-lb turbo ) (1995 - 2005)
'04 Mazda3 (160hp 4-cyl = not bad) (2005-current)

I love driving a sporty car with a stick every day to work and running errands. That said, I'm not interested in a manual for a tow vehicle, especially if it doubles as the family vehicle.

Why manual tow vehicles are rare?
a. Most people don't want to drive a stick.
b. Most that DO like to drive a stick (like me) only want that in a sporty car, not a utility vehicle.
c. Automatics have come a long way, and the torque convertor greatly increases their durability under high loads. More heavy rigs are now getting automatics.
d. Manuals that are strong enough to tow significant loads need a very strong clutch, which is not fun to drive.