Ok guys, I will be starting to look for a new truck. I know I have a F350 or F450 4dr cab, long bed, 4x4, 7.3L diesel, Maybe a flat bed. I plan on pulling a 3 to 4 gooes neck horse trailer and a 25 -30ft 14,000lbs goose neck trailer, for hay and moving farm equipment. That why I want a big trailer. So with that I plan on doing: gauges, chip, stage 1 injectors, 5" exhaust. I want a nice towing set up. So would I be best off with a 6sp stick trany or an auto? I will be doing most my towing in the hills around lancaster, P.A.

Any Input would be great!

 

I take it you will be buying a '99 - '03 because you are posting in this forum. You need to check the towing capacity for the truck you look at. With what you are saying you will be towing, a F-550 may do you better.

 

Personally I would prefer an auto in these trucks. To me the Ford 6spds are kinda sloppy......that being said towing that much a stock auto may not last long..........but IMO a built auto with a tugged kit is hard to beat!

 

How old are you? Got good knees? Haha. Right now if I was to buy another truck I would try and find one with a palm shaker in it. Mainly cause it's my preference but to do alot of towing and I'd lean even more to the 6speed. So if your just wantin a vote and not opinions, 1 for 6spees!!

 

I value the votes and Opinions and I'm just 20! Dad owns a horse farm. And I have ok knees LOL. I a stick 18sp dump truck some times in work with a manual clutch.

From what I know that the 6 speed is really a 5 speed with low right?
So L-1-2-3-4-5 and reverse?

 

For towing I like the Manual but for normal daliy driving I seem to like a auto better now days maybe that just because I am getting a little older. I always liked the stick shift.

 

I prefer the handshaker myself . Plan on a good clutch if it hasn't all ready been done and you should be in good shape towing up and down those hills in PA. Yes your right about the 6-speed , I rarely use granny or low as you put it except with a heavy load or a steep hill from a dead stop.

 

6 speed here, Got rid of a 97 obs because of the E4OD pulling a camper in the mountains.

 

I drove standards when I was young, I now prefer autos. With the BTS I have, I don't worry about the tranny.

 

After more than a million miles swappin gears and growing muscles on my clutch leg I don't care if I never shift again. I recently bought a used bug with a 5 speed only because it was a deal I couldn't pass up. Now I remember how much fun it is to start on a hill and work your way through stop and go traffic. How easy we get spoiled!

 

So what exactly is a BTS tranny? The trany in my 96 is starting to shift hard and slip a little.

 

A built tranny by brian's truck shop. And a really good one at that! Look it up. I'm sure someone has the link?

 

A BTS is a trans built by (BRIAN'S TRUCK SHOP). This tranny is used in drag racing, truck pull, heavy towing trucks. Brian told me, I can't break this trans. lol

 

Doug Im sayin get a stick shift for what you're gonna use the truck for.

 

My vote is an auto with a BTS. The zf6 is pretty sloppy with long throws where you lose too much boost between shifts IMO. At least that's how my 95 with zf5 was. A good towing setup with a BTS rocks