Automatic or manual for towing

[LordVngr]

So I'm looking at the spec sheet up here on 08 rangers and I see something that makes no sense to me. On the spec sheet it ahows that a 4.0 4x4 ranger with a manual has a max tow capacity of about 3150 to 3250 lbs.

Same setup but with a automatic is rated at about 5600 lbs. Thats a Big Difference. Whats that all about. I always thought a manual was better for towing. and even if the auto is better why such a Huge difference in total towing capacity....

 

[engdept]

Most people don't know how to tow with a manual. The clutch in Rangers is the weakest part. In stock form, the clutch doesn't have that much holding power.

 

[Will]

I was riding with my brother in his new Mazda3 and after observing his style, I'll tell you why they are rated so much lower. It's more than just holding power.

Let's say you had a 5,600# trailer behind a 5-speed Ranger. You get it going from a stop and that warms the clutch up quite a bit because you expect it to get the hell going and have lot of revs and are taking a lot of time getting the clutch clamped. Then you run it up to 3500 rpm, shift and let the clutch back out. Your transmission wants to see the engine at 2100rpm and you have the engine still over 3000rpm--and you are pusing the accelerator with the rpms mismatched to boot, making it worse because the clutch can't fight the tranny back down to 2100 when you are pressing on the gas. So you heat the clutch up massively more while it tries to pull the engine down to 2100rpm and you won't let it. Every gear a person used to driving a Mazda3 hits, the clutch is suffering, badly. When you are pulling something, you really only need to let the clutch slip when you start from a stop. Then you let the engine fall to where the tranny is before letting it back out. The clutch never has to get hot--when you figure the rpms out you can pop the clutch up hard and not feel it engage. When you first take off, be merciful--use lots of clutch and let the engine's low rpm torque work. After it's engaged, accelerate. It doesn't take a whole intersection to get it going. I'm almost lugging it at first. Then it's zoom up, clutch in, pause for the needle to fall, clutch out, zoom up. If you hack at it like my brother, and add a 6,000# trailer, your clutch won't last.

Since an auto shifts instantly and has a converter to double your 0 mph torque, it's better. But you can drive a manual to last longer because the auto Ford put in the RBV is a stinker. They took the one that was easier to adapt for overdrive and a lockup converter and no the stronger one.

 

[Ranger44]

holding power.

Careful with that word...lol. Don't make me get MAKG.

As for manual trannys, I prefer them for towing. The clutch behind the 4.0 is a nice big clutch. The other engines, not so much....

An auto is easier to tow with, but are more prone to failure due to overheating, etc. Many combat this with oversized tranny coolers.

As for Rangers....go with the manual. Auto's in the Rangers suck.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the vehicles tow ratings have nothing to do with "holding" or "clamping" force. they have everything to do with the driver.

your average joe driver has a basic understanding of how to make a manual transmission equipped vehicle move...but he has no idea how to really use a clutch. to avoid replacing hundreds of thousands of clutches (a very time consuming, and therefore, expensive job) under warranty, many vehicle manufacturers downrate their manual transmission vehicles.

what it boils down to is this: if your comfortable with a clutch and are willing to accept a shortened clutch pack service life as the nature of using your truck for what it was meant for, get the 5 speed. if you want to throw it in drive and let your local ford dealer worry about any damage incurred from towing...get the auto.

 

[Will]

A clutch pack is an auto tranny term.

If you know how to drive a manual, the clutch will last longer than the motor.

I've described how to do it.

And I prefer an auto because it's a pain in the ass to drive a manual correctly. And an auto is still better--except for a wiffle auto.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

actually i was referring to "clutch pack" in a parts supplier term...refering to a kit containing a clutch disk, pressure plate, TO bearing, ect.

 

[mkpecor]

im all for manuals the are a much stronger tranny and more reliable as well, i tow alot of stuff with my rig and never once had a prob. it all comes down to what's going to fit you best your gunna be the one doing the towing.

 

[Will]

actually i was referring to "clutch pack" in a parts supplier term...refering to a kit containing a clutch disk, pressure plate, TO bearing, ect.

Parts suppliers would call that a clutch kit. A clutch pack would be a stack of alternating plates and steels.

I knew what you meant, I was just being a burro.

 

[Will]

im all for manuals the are a much stronger tranny and more reliable as well, i tow alot of stuff with my rig and never once had a prob. it all comes down to what's going to fit you best your gunna be the one doing the towing.

Manual shifts are not stronger. Auto's rarely fail do to a busted part. They fail for the same reason clutches fail--heat. Letting a motorhome with a C6 hunt back and forth on a hill means a lot of time is spent with the clutch packs releasing and engaging which builds up a lot of heat. Combine that with the converter chewing up that fluid while it's multiplying torque under a lot of load. Pretty soon the clutch plates are loosing their friction and taking longer and longer to get clamped as the tranny starts suffering from the abuse, just like a clutch in a manual. Then one day it gets really hot when a pack doesn't clamp and it smokes the shit out of something and you're on the horn to AAA. An oversized cooler helps, but even that isn't going to keep a mellonfarmer from smoking an auto. A towing, RV auto should have additional plates in the packs, a shift kit that is more in tuned with harder clamping pressure at lower rpms and shift points that help keep it from hunting--which is the tow/haul mode on electronically controled newer ones. And if it does start to hunt, it should be pulled down a gear. And a lock-up converter is almost a must. If you don't have a lockup converter you should downshift when you are using a lot of pedal and the engine rpms are flashing up and the truck isn't accelerating. The converter makes a good extra gear on a short hill, but you don't want to go over the great divide beating up your tranny like that.

 

[AllanD]

nO, automatics don't fail from a broken part very often but thos internal clutches just aren't as durable as steel gears in a manual.

Manuals can get hot running at full load in any gear except 4th.

Remember that in 4th the GEARS aren't loaded at all because the input
shaft and output shaft are simply locked together.

You can drive, towing any load, forever, in 4th gear.

Mostly because "4th gear" isn't actually a "Gear" at all,
but a synchronized locking collar.

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[85_Ranger4x4]

Clutches are the weak link in either of them, but it is harder to change the clutches in an automatic in your driveway.

The 5 speed automatic in the newer Rangers is a pretty good transmission, far and away better than the time bomb A4LD.

 

[Hahnsb2]

Another consideration they take is that the manuals don't absorb shock loads like autos do so it's more likely to break something.

 

[thegoat4]

My dream transmission would be a stick shift with a torque converter in first gear.

 

[gw33gp]

Another consideration they take is that the manuals don't absorb shock loads like autos do so it's more likely to break something.

That may be good advise for off-road but I can't think of how that relates to towing. I guess if someone was trying to destroy a transmission while towing, that advice could be useful.