Well when i look for a Gen4 4Runner i want something that has a V8. Beyond that... i'm going to bounce it off rocks and haul motors with it, so it being super nice and loaded and minty fresh becomes a liability, not a feature. :P

Basically i'd want my Green Montero, but with a V8.

 

Took the new '17 Ram dually to a CAT scale yesterday to get axle weights... weighed 8600lbs empty with a full tank of gas... Almost 700lbs more than the '04 Ram dually!

I was always a fan of manual transmissions for towing, but I'm really impressed so far with this Aisin automatic. Acceleration to highway speed is much better (of course), but the auto downshifting under braking is really impressive in tow/haul mode. With the exhaust brake on, it almost doesn't need brakes for normal stopping. Speed holding down grades is really impressive as well...

 

Is there a reason you prefer a manual over an auto for towing? I have a manual 7.3L F350 and it works well towing. A bit annoying when I have to reverse or stuck in traffic. Just curious as to why manuals seem to be liked more?

 

I never even considered a manual when I was shopping for my truck. If I actually have to drive my next truck myself, I'll be pretty pissed off, actually.

 

Never have to worry about it hunting for a gear with a manual. You just get more control over what the truck is doing. I wish my truck was a manual, or at least a much better automatic.

Well, you have an Allison, that's cheating. :P

 

This... until fairly recently, the auto transmissions in diesels were way behind the capability of the engines. I much preferred a manual, especially since I live in the mountains. Better for up and down the grades. The manuals were also a lot more durable.

But the new autos are incredible. With this Aisin trans, I don't miss my manual at all...

 

I guess that makes a lot of sense. The only towing I have done so far is in the east coast mountains. I had the truck in 5th gear and it gave zero ***** if I was going 45mph or 70mph pulling up or down the mountains.

 

Fun fact, the capability of the ISB is still not close to tapped, torque always has to be limited due to the capability of the auto transmission.

 

Then you've got a case of serious tow-rig overkill.

My 98 GMC with the 4-speed auto and 305 engine would benefit tremendously from another gear ratio and more control. I hate this transmission when towing.... well, I hate it all the time.

 

Agreed. The only serious towing I've done is with my Duramax/Allison combo, and I have never wished for a manual in my truck.

Overkill/cheating? Perhaps, but these trucks can be had for under $10K these days.

--Ian

 

Yes a F-350 7.3L dually towing a u-haul trailer and Mazda2 to is a little bit of an overkill.

 

A good Duramax for under $10k? Haven't seen it.

Definitely overkill, but overkill is nice when towing. The Allison is just cheating with how good it is. Love those transmissions.

 

$10k is a bottom-of-the-barrel Duramax. Maybe hi-miles 01-03 trucks are that cheap. My 255k mile '05 is worth ~$12k. '06s add another 8-10k of value for the 6sp Allison and the extra power.

 

Ian I thought the internet said your trans blew up with a +10hp tune.

 

For my specific truck that I wanted, going with an auto is retarded. Manual is better in every single way for the 7.3l F350's. If I would have settled for an auto it wouldn't have taken me like 6 months to find a truck and have to travel out of state to get it.

The 4 speed auto they have is not strong, they regularly grenade and transmission rebuilds are common and cost a lot to do it properly. The 6 speed manual (ZF6) is pretty much indestructible. Also having 6 gears instead of just 4 is nice for holding it right in the sweet spot for EGT's while climbing hills. With the auto, you really only have one option, 3rd gear while trying to get the TC to lock up.
When towing heavy, you can't use cruise control with an auto. Every slight change in incline, it wants to unlock the torque converter or drop to 3rd gear and and go to what seems like almost wide ******* open and then temps start to climb. With the manual, too bad, it's stuck in the gear you decided to put it in. Cruise control all day.
With an auto, I always hated playing that game of how much throttle can I roll in but still keep the TC locked so the trans doesn't start overheating? And sometimes once it unlocks, it's tough to play with the throttle enough to get it to lock back up without killing your momentum up a hill.

I'm sure the more modern trucks are way better at most of these things but I still think I'd want a manual. The only time it becomes a little annoying is in traffic, but I usually just put it into 1st gear which is a crawler gear for getting moving with a heavy load, and then just idle along.

 

They slip clutches with anything more than a +60hp tune, but they are bombproof at stock power levels. A "cheap" trans-in valve body upgrade lifts that limit, though. One of the many reasons my truck has stayed completely stock.

 

In over 4 years at a dealership I've yet to see a major internal problem with a Allison. Had a few control modules on later trucks and some leak trans fluid out the electrical connector but that's it. Gm has a 2 day diag and rebuild course for the Allison. Supposedly they only have it every other year or so since there are not many dealers that want to pay to train a tech on something they have no problems with.

 

Mine is an LB7, the model with the iffy injectors. I've seen them in running condition for $9-10K at 150-200K miles, especially for standard/extended cabs rather than the crew cab. Savington's LLY is worth a bit more because it doesn't have the injector service time bomb floating around, and the LBZs (2006-first half 2007) are worth high teens.

As for tunes, after I had my injectors replaced at the dealer, the truck seemed to be making less power than I remembered it doing before even though it's running better. I think perhaps one of the previous owners put a tune on it, and the dealer may have reflashed the ECU when they were working on it, so I looked around at the tunes that are out there for them. The reputable companies were all recommending a very, very conservative tune for heavy towing use in order to preserve the transmission, limited to about a 20-30 hp gain on a 300 hp motor. The tunes are switchable on the fly and offer a lot more in non-towing modes, but I basically only ever use my truck for towing so a 10% gain didn't really seem worth the effort.

I use cruise all the time when towing with my Chevy, no problems at all.

--Ian

 

Probably one of the smaller tow vehicles around. 3.0L Toyota diesel with no turbo makes for some slow climbs, but it's happy to cruise at 70mph between the hills.

 

Nice to see a rig were the Miata is a little larger than a spec of dust compared to the tow vehicle