F-250 4wd - Auto, or Stick Shift?
 

New on here, but it looks like one can gather up pretty good advice around the board.

I'm fixing up a '78 F-250 4wd manual shift to use around our place and occasionally pull a goose neck no more than a couple hundred miles and back. Most of the time the truck will run locally - very local 'til I get around to really tightenin things up.

My question is this: Do you prefer a manual shift or automatic in these trucks?

This one will not be a daily driver. I'll use it around the place in the evenings and on weekends to do chore work, pull out the neighbors, and haul stuff home from a sale or two a year. I'd like it to be dependable enough for the wife to drive it to town if she needed to.

I'm looking at another truck like it that has an automatic transmission. I can't decide which tranny I'd rather have.

what do y'all think?

Mitch

I am a MANUAL man all the way, reasons why; if your battery is dead you can push start it, no tranny lines to get hooked and ripped off and kill your tranny, Granny gear!
anyone can drive an auto, clutch goes out you can always get it home under its own power, and I just think they are more durable over the long run.

I like the manual option, but it's up to you in the end.

Manual tranny is definately better for pulling those big goosenecks as you can start out in Granny Gear easily and no need to worry about burning up your automatic. Also, better for pulling out your neighbors. :-D Automatic is great for cruising around, but your not wanting a cruiser. But, if your in a lot of stop and go traffic or something like that, than an automatic will be best.

Welcome to the site :)

Automatics are the preferred Transmissions for towing a travel trailer
I can see some people liking first gear for yanking a work trailer out of a hole but once on the road... Not ...

Ford doesn't even list a standard trans in their towing specs.

A C6 is all you need.

Maybe check the Towing forum for this info you need.

That's what that forum is actually for.

I have towed heavy loads with both,personally I liked my 4spd better got off the line better was easier to slow down. I feel the c6 robs to much power and if you know how to shift a 4spd it can be just as smooth.

i like my c6 personally, it seems to tow things extremely well, I havnt had much problems at all with it, its all about preference, i prefer auto because im in stop and go and c6's are great for towing in my opinion, also for traveling well for me its 30 miles into the closest towns and I take hills and all that, and i like not having to shift

just preference

I'm mostly gonna be crawling around 45 acres in this truck. I have rolling pasture - that's slick when the dew is on, some bottom land that has a couple mud holes in the winter time, soft woods roads, and new road up a pretty steep hill - my 2wd prolly won't climb it in dry weather without a running start - and there's no room at the foot for a running start.

All I've ever owned has been 1/2 ton, short bed trucks. I bring a company truck home every night now, so I bought this old work horse to ease the load on the haftonners. For once in my life - I want one truck that I can have a loaded cross-over box, my fuel tank, my chain saw and all it's pairfenalia (sp?), my chains & binders, shovels, bush hook, garden hoe, tool box, jacks, oil buckets, blocks, beer cooler, cheater pipe, WD-40, half a roll of barbed wire, 22 rifle, 20 ga., coveralls, jumper cables, lug wrench, sledge hammer, wire strecher, crow bar, . . . well, you get the point.

So far, the heaviest load I pull is a 35 horse tractor and a brush hog, or disk. Short hauls over to one of the other places I help take care of. A load of lumber now and then. Bumper pull now, but would like to step up to a goose neck in the future. I can borrow a dually if the load gets too heavy for the 3/4 ton.

You'd think I worked a thousand acres by the way my truck looks. I get called on to lend a hand by a lot folks. They know I can get'er done. And I like being ready. Plus, I'd like to have my nice clean half ton waiting in the car port for Saturday night.

I love shifting gears. I've never done chore work out of a stick though. Ain't skeerd to try it. A man can get used to anything . . . . . but hangin'.

Thanks for bouncing it back fellas.

Mitch

I perfer the auto with a good tranny cooler. But since your manual works fine Id leave it alone. I wouldnt switch it to auto unless it crapped out. Both trannies have advantages and disadvantages.

Then a standard trans will be better Mitch.

If you even need to rock it to get out of a bad spot yuou will have the right tranny.

Well, it looks like it's gonna be a manual shift. The deal on the truck with the automatic doesn't look like it's gonna happen. So, I'll continue tinkering with the truck I have.

I did just buy a good '73 2wd 1/2 ton body for parts. I gave less for the whole thing than the glass I need would cost me. Gotta go fetch it tomorrow.

Mitch