Those with Manual Transmission...why?

It varies from vehicle to vehicle, but usually it's a 2-3 second delay above 1,500 RPMs, and some vehicles have a minimum speed limit as well. You should feel a slight jolt if you're coasting and the RPMs drop below a certain level - that's from the injectors cutting back on, so that's how you would find the bottom threshold. If you have a scangauge or something similar that gives you live feedback you can let off the throttle and watch that. I think that gives you an injector readout, but I may be misremembering.

 

Burned through my first tank of gas.

With manual I can actually tell the truck what gear and how much rpm I want all the time, and while it is not a fast truck, it certainly isn't slow if you give it some rev.

 

Looking forward to driving my '17 Taco with the MT again. It's been two whole days now driving my '97 F350 with AT just to keep the batteries happy and oil/grease where it needs to be on the moving parts. It's a good 'ol running reliable truck for the heavy work around my house, but I just don't drive it much because it's long, has the steering radius of a school bus and boring with the AT.
It just rolled 129,000 miles on the OD as I pulled into work Monday night. Looked up and saw that I had last changed the oil last April at 128,300 miles. At this rate the 7.3 will become an antique before I could ever wear it out.

If I could have found this same truck with an MT back when I bought in 2003, I'm sure it would be over 350,000 miles by now just from getting to row my gears.

 

Those late 90s f350 are great trucks! Didn’t the make the 7.3 with a manual?

 

Yeah, they made them in manual but none of them seem to make it into the used market. I bought this one with 56k miles on the clock back in 2003 to tow a big toy hualer with, but could no find a single used manual 7.3 at the time. I did get lucky and it had the factory vinyl floor option instead of carpet. Soooo nice for keeping spills from turning to mold or just holding dust and dirt. Wish we had that option for the Tacoma. Side note for 1st Gen Tacoma, there is an aftermarket company or two that make vinyl floor (carpet delete) kits. Might dow this for my '97 Taco my kiddo drives now. The carpet is getting pretty ugly.

 

Yeah, I guess nobody wants to sell those bad boys. I saw a late 90s early 2000s dually Cummins with a manual and just drooled


I would looove a vinyl floor instead of carpet. IMO it just makes so much more sense in a pick up.

 

I’m with you; my tow rig is an ‘04 Silverado. I rarely drive it around town but it’s my go-to for my monthly trips to the mountains or the desert where I need to tow something it’s a tough truck to beat!

My first work truck was supposed to be a late 90’s Super Duty with a 7.3 and a stick. It had a ton of miles, a gazillion hours, had been wrecked and put back together but it still worked (mostly). I ended-up moving into a newer rig but I remember that truck staying around for a long time as a spare/yard truck.

 

OK, now looking at a 2015 MT V6 and a 2020 MT V6. Former has about 45k, latter about 7k. The 2015 has the 4.0 the 2020 the newer V6. I've heard some people complaining about the need to wind the new one up more for torque, but with the MT that's controllable. Merits of each? About 10k price diff.

 

It limits who else can drive my truck!!!

 

Why not both?

 

If it were me I'd go with the '20. Way nicer interior and better features then a '15. An extended test drive will tell you whether or not the 3.5 V6 is for you or not. I drive my 'Taco in the mountains once a month or so which requires driving from sea level, over an 8,400' tall pass then driving (and usually four-wheeling) in and around a valley which sits at ~6,500' I've made this drive empty and fairly well loaded-down and don't have any complaints about the 3.5 V6 and rarely have to rev past 3K RPM. YMMV

 

Unless you're looking to save money, I would go with the 2020 all day. Way more creature comforts and upgrades. To be fair I never drove the 4.0 but I really don't see why so many people moan about the 3.5. Especially with the manual which eliminates any gear hunting issues, the 3.5 is stout. It is true that it likes higher rpms to really come alive, but most times that's not necessary. But like @Kev250R said, drive em both and you'll know for sure!

 

I owned a 2015 prior to my 2017, yes the powerband is a little lower in rev's but it's not some dramatic difference. The 3rd Gen will be far more comfortable, quiet, and get better MPG but l would recommend taking an extended or overnight test drive to see if you like it though.

 

The only problem i have with my 20 is the reverse gear ratio. Backing up a steep hill or even backing up a small incline with a trailer is a pain. The reverse ratio is way to tall. But other than that it drives like a manual should......

 

That's a good point for sure. Not sure why they felt the need to make it so tall?

 

4.0 does the same thing. My garage is pretty tight right now and have to back up an incline to get in and unload. Reverse speed is about twice what I would like it to be.

 

The tall Reverse is my only complaint as well. I bought a 2LO Mod kit but have yet to install it. I’m hoping it helps.

 

The 2LO mod helps immensely

 

I have not heard of this "2LO" mod kit. Please explain, unless there is an ever knowledgeable TW thread on it.

 

Nevermind, I found the thread.