5 Speed or Automatic

[GAM321]

I am looking in to purchasing a truck just for my lawn business. I currently have 97 F 250hd with 7.3 Powerstroke ,At. Lease is up in Jan. No plowing any more. Truck will be pulling 7x16 trailer with 2 48" wb's and misc eq. I found a nice looking 94 F350 7.3 Powerstroke vynal seat rubber floor 150K miles for around $10k, perfict work truck but it is a 5 speed. I am looking for the pro's and cons of a stick pulling a trailer. Any input welcome. Thanks.

[Eric ELM]

I would rather use a stick shift for pulling a trailer, but I would rather use an automatic for plowing, so I got an automatic the last time. Plowing with a stick shift will wear out your left leg after about 18 hours. :(
With an automatic you don't need a left leg. ;)

[CMerLand]

Whats the buyout on the lease and is it an extended cab??? Exactly the truck im looking for come winter only I'd need it two months sooner then January.

I will always try to avoid sticks because not everyone can drive them. If your going to grow your business and not just buy a job then someday your employees will have to drive these trucks.

CMerLand

[Bob_McNaughton]

I love sticks for trailers personally. I like to be able to have more control over my gearing and torque the stick gives me.

[Guido]

What your going to concentrate on. If it was a dump and you did a lot of hauling and pulling large loads, etc, I would definetly go with the stick. On the other hand, like Eric said, unless your plowing roads or LARGE lots in the winter, I would go with the Auto.

Another good point brought up was if your going to have employees tearing the clutch out of your vehicle or not, its something to be considered!

Basically I just repeated the previous posts, but thats my opinion on the matter.

Hope the input helped!

[GAM321]

Thanks everyone. No employees yet but a good point to keep in mind.
Cmerland current truck is an extended cab. Buyout is 17k I thout about buying it out but if you look at how much the truck cost all together it makes you sick. Pluss like i said i am buying a truck just for working. I will get a car for cruising to the beach every weekend.

[1stclasslawns]

The way that autos are being made nowa days the only benifit too a stick is downshifting on hills. If you havee trailer brakes you dont even need that too much.

I myself hope I never have to push in another clutch! I guess I drovee a truck too long.

Heck ,the fire engines I drive even have autos now the only stick we have in the dept is an 85 1/2 ton pickup!

Jim

[strickdad]

hmmmm lets see if you have to put a clutch in it it will run about 425.00 dollars (parts and labor) if you have to have that automatic rebuilt it will cost between 1500.00 and 2000.00 (parts and labor) ***special note this is why tractor trailer trucks dont use automatics.... if you have time call the local ford dealer to verify my prices ..

[Bob_McNaughton]

Gotta agree with Strickdad here. Clutches are super cheap and easy to put in and manual trannys never wear out. Autos are super-duper expensive, and can get ganked on plowing and heavy towing.

[Rooster]

I hate to blow your bubble, but the tractor trailer trucks ( truck tractor) now are coming out with automatics.

The young (cowboy) drivers don't seem to know how to drive with a manual transmission.

Even the large trucks that the city I live in buys now are automatic.

I guess that is call progress........

[CMerLand]

Some more bubble blowing.

Have been plowing for years with automatics and sticks and can tell you Ive yet to lose an automatic while plowing. Ive smelled clutch all over the place while teaching or watching new guys plow and had to replace one between storms back in 96, just because it was worn out. I dont have the knowledge or garage to do that work myself so it cost me a whole lot more then 425 bucks.

No less an authority then our own John Allin will tell you he pays more for plow trucks with automatics in them because they are so much faster in reverse while plowing.

True story about an employee driving a stick. Good employee and had worked several summers with me. He said he had learned how to drive stick and decided to go get the lunch for the crew. Made it out of the development okay but musta got nervous at that stop sign with the slight incline. Apparently he upped the rpms to not roll back, dumped the clutch and proceeded to rip the u-joints out of truck. (Joints replaced about 3 weeks earlier) That was bad yes but worse was that the driveshaft somehow managed to rip a nice whole in the gas tank that had been replaced only the previous winter. That one really hurt.

Good news, no fire or anything and I still have that truck. However, automatics are the only way to go if you have employees.

CMerLand

Cur

[strickdad]

no bubble to bust here you are right "some tractor trailertrucks" have automatics less than 1% on the road right now.the reason i know this is i was a diesel mechanic long before i mowed grass for money. the bottom line is in a plowing app. autos are a lot smoother to operate but they are more expensive to operate and maintain. they do however bring a higher resale value this is why you are paying more for them its because they bring more... you will get better fuel mileage with a straight gear somewhere around 2 or3 miles to a gallon this is a substantual savings when you are talking about putting on 150,000 to 200,000 miles on a vechicle over its life.... overall is personal taste if you like the auto go with it . if you like the stick go with it

[Guido]

more than 1% of CDL applicable trucks are auto's!! I know it! Most city, state, and federal agencies including the military are all going to electronic shift automatics. Most firms that have multiple drivers are going auto too, and soon enough when the new generation of trucker's ruin enough rigs trying to figure out a simple 15 speed shift pattern, their owner's will be buying auto's also!

How fast does a clutch go on average compared to an auto trans?

I'm driving a 1979 Mercedes Sedan until my new rig arrives here in Germany and it has the original auto trans still after more than 230,000 Miles and 9 owners!!

Its all in the care!