Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

Rich, guys like you are the reason car salesman are starving..g I am
driving a 1993 Dodge Dakota with 166,000 plus miles..





I fish therefore I lie

Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

....with the arthritis I've got in my left knee, I'll never have another
standard transmission. City driving used to kill me. said Huck

Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

In 1968 I bought my first tow vehicle with an automatic. Loved not having
to clutch for 20 miles of stop and go traffic. Towed a race car and leaving
Laguna Seca raceway after the race, meant very tired leg by the time we got
through the Hwy101 bottlenecks. Tow with an automatic 99 Expedition and
looking at new Duramax of Ford 6.0L trucks. Will still go with the
automatic. Have owned stickshifts in the intervening years, but the tow
vehicles have remained automatics.
Bill

"RichZ" wrote in message
...
My wife has never driven a vehicle with an automatic, other than the GMC I
had that was stolen.

I live in very hilly country, and have no desire to drive an auto.
Shifting
and using the clutch has been 2nd nature to me for 40 some years. and I've
never had to put a clutch in any of the vehicles I've towed with.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

Stick shifts: one foot on the gas and brake, the other on the clutch and
a hand on the emergency brake, welcome to 2003..





I fish therefore I lie

Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

Andrew Kidd wrote:

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in message
...

"Rich Conley" wrote in message
.. .
Just kinda curious as to why you guys all suggest automatic
transmissions.

(Our current tow vehicle is a Ford Econoline 350 Diesel Van. Its a
stick.)

It used to be that automatic transmissions couldn't handle the added
stress of towing and that
standard transmissions were recommended for that task. Now, transmission
technology has improved
and they are able to tow without difficulty.

I think the major reason that "everyone" recommends automatic
transmissions is they're "easy". No
more drifting backwards on steep landings, no more smell of burnt clutch,
engine revving and the
whole works lurching up the ramp. People have gotten used to driving
automatic transmission
equipped vehicles and have forgotten how to drive a standard transmission
(for the most part).

I've had both types of transmission and successfully towed boats. It is
considerably easier to
apply the power to the drive wheels with an automatic, just press on the
gas pedal harder. And I've
gotten lazier in my old age as well. I like simply socking it in drive
and taking off... :)

Right with you on that one Steve... I've used both, and have definitely
gotten spoiled by the automatic. That uphill take-off from the algae cover
ramps is all the convincing I need. I haven't forgotten how to drive one,
but I sure as hell don't want another one. IMO, I can't imagine a reason
why someone would still want a manual transmission, except maybe being
stubborn and stuck in their past ways, or they don't want the spouse driving
their truck. As you've mentioned, current technology has made the need for
them practically obsolete, not to mention making them a tougher sale when
you're ready to move into a new vehicle...
--
Andrew Kidd
http://www.amiasoft.com/ - Software for the rest of us!
http://www.rofb.net/ - ROFB Newsgroup Home

One of the major reasons I drive a stick is this: My brother and I both have the
same car. His is an auto, mine is a stick. I get 30 mpg, he gets 22. Mine is
faster than his, and I can hold a turn better because I can downshift.

Rich

Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

haha. I hear you there....
Got a 93 plymouth duster with 220K,
88 Econoline 350 with almost 300K.

AJH wrote:

Rich, guys like you are the reason car salesman are starving..g I am
driving a 1993 Dodge Dakota with 166,000 plus miles..

I fish therefore I lie

Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

"Rich Conley" wrote in message
.. .
One of the major reasons I drive a stick is this: My brother and I both
have the
same car. His is an auto, mine is a stick. I get 30 mpg, he gets 22. Mine
is
faster than his, and I can hold a turn better because I can downshift.

Rich


Hi Rich,
I'm curious. We're talking tow vehicles here...how fast do you take a
turn while towing your boat? :-)

Seriously though, do you and your brother have the same driving habits?
That could account for a lot of the difference. You downshift into a stop,
he just brakes into it. When do each of you let up on the gas? How fast do
you take off out of the hole at a stop light, etc etc etc...
I won't deny that a stick might get better gas mileage then an auto, but
I would need hard data to prove it's that big of a gap without some
differences in the way you both drive...

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/gasmileage/

Above link shows some interesting gas mileage comparisons. It surprising
the spread of mileages over the range of vehicle, engine and transmission
types. Especially when you look at the 4wd suv's and standard pick-ups.

Some more interesting stuff can be read at:

http://money.cnn.com/2002/12/17/pf/autos/shift_wars/

....with an equally interesting opposing viewpoint...

--
Andrew Kidd
http://www.amiasoft.com/ - Software for the rest of us!
http://www.rofb.net/ - ROFB Newsgroup Home

Tow Vehicle Features Needs and Wants
 

Yeah..got a little off topic with the normal cars, but even when I drive his
car, I get worse than in mine....

What I want to see more of, and I think will be the best of both worlds when
they get em working correctly, is those 1-speed cone driven transmissions...just
seems like a really good idea to me... you can keep the engine in its power band
100% of the time.

Thats what I want. A big slider on the console, that I can slide as I
accelerate, and change the gear ratio.

Andrew Kidd wrote:

"Rich Conley" wrote in message
.. .
One of the major reasons I drive a stick is this: My brother and I both
have the
same car. His is an auto, mine is a stick. I get 30 mpg, he gets 22. Mine
is
faster than his, and I can hold a turn better because I can downshift.

Rich


Hi Rich,
I'm curious. We're talking tow vehicles here...how fast do you take a
turn while towing your boat? :-)

Seriously though, do you and your brother have the same driving habits?
That could account for a lot of the difference. You downshift into a stop,
he just brakes into it. When do each of you let up on the gas? How fast do
you take off out of the hole at a stop light, etc etc etc...
I won't deny that a stick might get better gas mileage then an auto, but
I would need hard data to prove it's that big of a gap without some
differences in the way you both drive...

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/gasmileage/

Above link shows some interesting gas mileage comparisons. It surprising
the spread of mileages over the range of vehicle, engine and transmission
types. Especially when you look at the 4wd suv's and standard pick-ups.

Some more interesting stuff can be read at:

http://money.cnn.com/2002/12/17/pf/autos/shift_wars/

...with an equally interesting opposing viewpoint...

--
Andrew Kidd
http://www.amiasoft.com/ - Software for the rest of us!
http://www.rofb.net/ - ROFB Newsgroup Home