Auto Tranny Off Road?

I will be doing the Trans Canada Adventure Trail in the spring in a first gen. That's over 9300 miles, most of it not paved. I did the American version, Canadian border to Mexican border previously in a 2nd gen with a 6 speed and I got tired of shifting. So is there any reason an automatic tranny wouldn't hold up to that kind of abuse?

 

robbob, I don't have an answer for you, but I do tip my hat to you for the adventure ahead of you. I will follow this post as it will be of interest.

 

Shouldn't be a problem. Don't see why not. Oh and don't forget that your L gear helps with downhilling provides engine braking. And your 2 gear can be useful in mud and uphill, also switching overdrive off helps on uphill climbs if need be.
And if the 1st gen has a rear locker then you're good to go.

 

why wouldnt it be fine?

 

Thanks for the replies. I really don't want to go with a manual. The reason I asked is to find out from the off road pros is an auto tranny can't handle all the shifting that hour after hour and day after day of off road travel will make necessary.
Robbob

 

It will be absolutely fine. If you are climbing steep grades and the trans is constantly shifting in and out of OD, then turn off the OD to lock up the torque converter to keep the temps down. Otherwise nothing to worry about.

 

when off roading in a automatic. i don't off road but i just got my info from hunting and around the farm but anyway u will be amazed in the power differents from drive to low or 1st even in 4 high. go up a steep hill going about 5 mph or so and drop it down its like night and day differecne

 

Won't be a problem assuming your trans is in good shape.

While i have never ran the trail I did have a chance to drive to Alaska back in 06. A buddy moved up there and it wasn't hard to convince me to go considering I had been looking for a reason to make the drive.

Not sure what the roads are like today but back in 06 a good portion of the trip was on gravel and badly maintained " highways". My 03 Tacoma had no issues with the trip but I did find myself running a good portion of the trip with the OD off as the trans was hunting for gears but we did have a lot of weight in the truck. THe trip back was much easier as the truck was about 800lbs lighter.

 

This ^^^

Went to the Alpine Loop last month and spent two days wheeling out there at 5-10 mph all day. Up at 12k ft you need 4LO more often than not as I was down on power. On road between Silverton and Durango, I was more worried about toasting my brakes going down hill. I kept it in 2nd down hill and going up I had to keep the OD off. It's also way cooler up there I had no issues with the auto. 1st gear in 4lo was my best friend all day long.

 

Do you know what many competition rigs run these days ? Automatics !! That tells a lot.

From my own experience, it works as well, if not better, than a standard, while offroading.

On one rock-crawling trip in the Mohave, with most other guys having a clutch and crawler gears, they were surprised at how well I did with my auto, stock gears, and stock transfer case. When going over an obstacle, they would be spinning tires, riding the clutch, and stalling. With the auto, there is no stalling or revving up the motor. Autos really make up for not having a crawl box.

I've never had a problem with overheating either, after 4 years.

Just my personal experience.