Manual or auto trans for new Tacoma purchase?

I've never driven a g3 manual. But my g2 manuals gear 1 is borderline a granny gear

 

I wonder how a manual 3rd gen Tacoma does towing on a hill? 3rd gen does not produce a lot of low end torque. Can't imagine a few thousand pounds pulling you down the hill is going to be fun.

 

1st is still too tall for me unless you're in 4lo for getting a trailer moving easily etc. It does make creeping along in traffic at like 10 mph ok though. I don't pull a trailer on a regular basis, but if we do get a small travel trailer, 2lo is going to be a must.

 

I towed up and down the Siskiyou Mtns. and Tejon Pass. You will use 2nd gear at times pulling 3000lbs. Besides that, I could go up the passes at highway speed if I felt like it.

 

Yep, almost feels like a granny gear. First thing i noticed when I drove my truck for the very first time.

 

Are there any stop lights?

I should have said getting started from a stop.

 

Maybe I need to recalculate my low and high gear meter. I had a 1st gen 5mt then a few mt cars and now the 3rd gen. I just feel like it should be lower, especially in 4hi/2hi.

 

Tows beautifully, plenty of torque below 3k.

Ive towed about 4500 pounds with stuff in my bed. Did not go over 3k even up some slight hills. Barely felt it cruising on highway, I was very impressed.

2WD LOW mod was a lifesaver.

 

When getting going from a stop while towing that load it was not super fun........4lo if you are just moving the trailer around in a straight line. If not, off the clutch and give it the beans.

 

I definitely would not want it any lower. I’ve had quite a few manuals and this is by far the lowest 1st gear.

Look into 2WD LOW mod maybe?

 

Starting up hills In
first is not good. Slight hills are ok.

 

If you're frequently towing over 3000 lbs on any hills a Tacoma isn't the best choice; automatic or manual.

 

The Tacoma was an adjustment.

My previous manuals were mostly domestic in line sixes and V8s, there was no need to rev those older engines much as they produced most of their rated torque in the 1500 - 2000 range.

Once I figured out that I paid for the whole tachometer and the engine wasn't going to blow apart if I cranked it up driving got a lot more fun.

 

This

 

Yes! Sure they have an out of this world towing capacity...what 6800lbs or something like that? But for my towing needs I have a full size 1500 or 250.
But for a random towing of some bullshit Tacoma will get you by

 

If I wanted an AT, there are better options than a Tacoma IMO

 

I have towed 5000 lbs, which consists of my sports car on a U-Haul trailer. Furthermore, I have extra 200 lbs of cargo on my truck. I towed in a road that has a hill that had me downshift to 3rd gear doing 55 mph. I did add some gas, but no-where close to full throttle. Going down the hill, it engine brakes on 4th gear just fine.

 

Exactly. Some people might appreciate how other trucks drive on-road more than the automatic Tacomas (I know a few). And the competitors can also have higher towing capacity.

 

I wonder how the new frontier AT transmissions are..?

 

I thought the same thing. Towing my sports car with my MT Tacoma was my first time towing ever and I did not feel anything unsafe. It's not that bad.