Auto vs Manual

last summer while touring in the Ghost wilderness in south west Alberta, I was left dead in the water, "literally" My clutch with 30k on it popped while crossing one of the several already crossed river fords in the "post" 2013 flooded Ghost river. I was way out of reach of any off-road recovery, so I was really left with that shallow empty gut feeling. however, knowing I could sync with the Rpm's, I was able to limp out of the Ghost and back to civilization. Toyota in Red Deer took care of the destroyed clutch, via
warranty. the truck had 70,000km and a new clutch when I bought it. I managed to cook the new clutch, off-roading with around 98,000km when it popped. i'm wondering if a 6 spd was a wrong choice for reliability when off roading? what do you guys have to say?
the attached photo shows me at km marker 28, off the beaten path when she died!

 

One thing good about a Stick is if your battery dies you can still bump start it. Auto your farked.

 

1 good pro vs con so far1

 

Jump pack

 

Search thingy works like a charm . I agree with the poll
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/216184-auto-vs-manual-one-stronger.html

 

^Never bothered to look at the poll before. Damn! 13098 votes and the auto is rated stronger by 96% of voters.

Interestingly, is DCSB offered with auto in Canada?

 

thanks for the link

 

Nope

 

True

 

Second gens must be a different animal... I got almost 200k out of my stock clutch and I beat on it.

 

It's a religious war.

I drive a stick because I like it.

And ultimately, the best course of action I recommend to anyone is, "drive what you like."

That said, for off-roading in 'modern' vehicles, an automatic is often recommended because:

1. torque converter torque multiplier at low rpms
2. two foot braking when creeping over obstacles (right foot on gas, left on brake)
3. go as slow as you want without stalling the engine
4. you can 'lock it down' in park and with parking brake on while engine is still running

Yeah, you can't 'bump/push start it' But you can carry a jump pack - which I do anyway even with a stick. There's LOTS of terrain where a push start would not be practical, safe, or even possible.

You can't 'in gear start' an automatic on a climb. But that's OK - you won't have killed the motor in the first place.

To reiterate:
#1 first criteria: buy what you like.
#2 if you're not committed to one or the other, pick the automatic for off-roading or towing.

 

PS: it's very weird to fry a clutch with only 30K. Something: either clutch, installation, or driver clutch technique was probably defective. With no data at all to go on - I make no hypothesis or judgement about which one it might have been.

 

Before I bought the vehicle, I looked at the service records and the truck had been in before for a clutch replacement on warranty?

 

Pretty rare that a clutch will shit the bed with zero warning.

Which is better? It largely comes down to personal preference. Manuals are fine. You got out alive, didn't you?

 

I drive the 6 speed, and still always take one of these when I am heading out to somewhere remote

 

If the 1st gen DCs came with a stick, that's what I would have gotten. It's just more fun to drive

 

Stick is harder to drive off road. But I will take it all day long over an auto. I like having more driver input when going off road. Anyone can drive a auto..

 

I really like my manual trans. I really enjoy it a lot off road too. It probably is harder to drive off road but I feel like it is much more satisfying.

 

My first Gen Tacoma was a manual and way better than the 4 speed auto IMO. But the 5 spd auto in the bigger 2nd Gens is pretty nice and seems to fit the character of the truck. I was indifferent when i bought my 2nd gen, I bought the first white DCSB TRD OR i could make a deal on and it was an auto. A manual would have been much harder to find.

 

Auto, I dont want to worry about shifting or using clutch on a tough hill climb.