auto vs manual?

hi, I had a talk with a friend of mine today who does a lot of offroad. She said an automatic wouldn't have low enough gears in 4wd to make it up some hills. Is this true in the 90's trucks? I'm looking at Tacos now and trying to find one in my price range that is not beat to death. There are a lot more auto's out there than manuals and the manuals look pretty well used...

And I'm also wondering how steep. She goes up some obstacles I wouldn't, even if I had a tractor.

I'm also wondering how the 4wd works in a Taco. I drove an automatic 96 T-100 a few times and it had a separate stick for 4wd lows. It seemed lower than the regular driving low, but she said it was tied into the same gearing or something. I didn't quite understand what she meant OR what that would mean as far as a trucks capabilities. Does a Taco have the same sort of shift sticks and or the same sort of gearing as a T-100? I'm not a gear head so please- anything very technical will go over my head... I basically want to know what it will do, not so much why it will do it.

 

autos are fine in 4lo. Manuals are fine in 4lo it's about preference. They both perform great offroad if your new to the style of driving I'd go auto, if you go manual be prepared to melt a clutch or to until you get a feel for it.

 

OK, in my opinion the auto is much better for most 4WD situations, in that it takes less skill on the part of the driver. Sticks can be tricky, especially restarting a stalled engine on steep incline (although most sticks come with a dash switch for this). The auto has plenty of low end capability in the gearing.

On the newer 2nd gen Tacos the 4WD system is electronic and just a knob on the dash. No longer do they have a mechanical leaver to engage and disengage. Also, the 2nd gens auto-lock the front wheels so no need to get out and turn a manual hub locker on the front wheels. So pretty simple.

For most off-roading conditions this system works great.

Also, you'll hear about a host of "quality/reliability issues" with the manual transmissions in the 2nd gens. Not sure if that is as wide spread as it seems. But it scares me away from them.

I can say the auto in the 2nd gen Taco was borrowed from another vehicle with a V8 option. So the transmission is overbuilt and rugged and designed for a long service life.

I've owned three Toyota trucks over the years and this is my first auto. Took some getting used to the sloppy sometimes abrupt shifts and overall lack of control you get with an auto - but now I love it and would never go back to a manual (in a truck anyway).

 

Thanks all. I like the idea of an auto taking less skill. I'm not into offroad so much for the sport of offroading, but more just to be able to get places I otherwise couldn't. I drive a stick now but would rather not while going up anything remotely difficult.

What I'm looking at is "Bobby's Hole" south of Moab. I don't think I ever want to drive elephant hill, but I'd like to get to Chesley Park in Needles. I'll look and try to post a pic of that hill. I showed her and she said auto might not have low enough gears to go up it.

 

Honestly driving stick really isn't that hard on our trucks. The first gear is already low as hell and then 4LO makes it even lower. I've gone up some really steep stuff with loose rocks/mud with 0 issues once in 4LO and Ive only been driving stick for a year or so.


I find it 1000000x more enjoyable to drive than an auto offroad but that's personal preference.

 

OK, here's a few of pics. I think this is probley at it's worst. From what I've read it washed out and was impassable in 2013 and might be fixed- whatever that means, this year.



A video of someone going up it;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMWY5XIw25E

 

thanks Cheeseit. I like driving a stick better too, but have to say for me I'd rather drive an automatic for 4w if it would work. Plus with my budget I have a better chance of getting a good truck if I buy an auto.

The question is, can a ***90's**** auto make it up this hill if driven by a person who doesn't have a lot of 4wd skills? I mean, I have common sense and can navigate pretty well, but have never gone up anything like this. I think I could do it if the truck didn't struggle too much. The hill is a bit steeper than these pics. I couldn't find the pic that showed the length of it.

And no, I didn't take these pics- just found them online.

 

Video was no good for me. Copyright bs. Anyways judging by the pics you've provided, you would have no issue getting up that hill in an auto.

 

Thanks Germ! Would love to see others weigh in on this as well and will double check in the Moab forum. This hill is what I am buying a truck for.

 

this topic has been beaten to death repeatedly

 

A auto will have no problem, the only issue you could have with a auto by offroading is getting the trans temp to high, but you just install a trans fluid cooler in front of the radiator and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

Nice! Thank you. I did sort of cross post in the Moab forum already. I figure some people on that subforum will have gone that route before.