Quote: Originally posted by jjgderbyshire on 26/8/2016
Don't listen to the crap about manual vs auto. Automatic gearboxes are for women and lazy drivers, certainly not suitable for towing.
What utter rubbish, please tell me you were joking! Automatics are eminently suitable for towing, and I have been doing so for the past 30 years or more, as have many thousands of others. I learnt to drive heavy vehicles on a non-syncromesh (crash) gearbox back in the early 1970s, but I wouldn't want to bother today. Most buses, coaches and many HGVs are automatic today, and HGV tractor units don't seem to have a problem towing 30 tonne trailers.
Apologies if your remarks were meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but some may take them seriously and be worried about towing with an auto.
Quote: Originally posted by jjgderbyshire on 26/8/2016
Don't listen to the crap about manual vs auto. Automatic gearboxes are for women and lazy drivers, certainly not suitable for towing.
We have a Volvo XC60 auto and tow a Coachman 545 VIP which is a big heavy caravan.
The Volvo loves it and being auto all is effortless - we could not have chosen a better matched pair.
Without a doubt it's auto every time for us and I have never been caught out in the wrong gear which can happen in a manual.
Quote: Originally posted by jjgderbyshire on 26/8/2016
Don't listen to the crap about manual vs auto. Automatic gearboxes are for women and lazy drivers, certainly not suitable for towing.
Why? What makes them unsuitable for towing?
Absolutely nothing! Automatics are perfect for towing, as the power delivery is so smooth and they are so easy to control. Reversing onto a pitch when you can just let the car do the work, rather than bothering about clutch control, makes the whole thing completely stress-free. You can just concentrate on positioning.
There was a time, maybe 40 years go, when you had to be wary of transmission overheating, but today's vehicles are quite different. My Volvo is 16 years old and I'd tow with it anywhere. I'd be far more concerned about burning the clutch out on a manual. My first automatic tow car was a 1966 Mk 2 Cortina, and I towed a Sprite Musketeer caravan all over southern England with it with no problems at all. I have never had a manual since.
Think jigd must be joking or trying to stir up a hornets nest...i will never drive a manual car again ..autos are eminently suitable for towing providing you get the match correct,as Colin says today's auto boxes are completely different to what they were 30 years ago as long as they are serviced correctly they should last for years
Quote: Originally posted by jjgderbyshire on 26/8/2016
Don't listen to the crap about manual vs auto. Automatic gearboxes are for women and lazy drivers, certainly not suitable for towing.
Total and absolute rubbish. Been driving for 42 years, the vast majority with manual gearboxes, my job, before I took early retirement, had me towing large trailers, boats and a hovercraft around the country plus my caravan around Europe. I have an awful lot of towing miles behind me guys.
Around 7 years ago I got into autos, and now own a 2.0 TDI 180bhp Ford Kuga Auto, and trust me it is far, far superior to any manual for towing.
I did a Trailer Towing course about 3 years ago as a work requirement, we had to do it every three years, so I actually did quite a few over my 34 year career. The course was with a very well known 4x4 marque who train 1000s of people a year at several locations, the question of manual or auto was brought up by my colleague who was an adamant "Manual gearbox" man, due to us discussing/arguing the issue over dinner the night before. The answer from our instructor was a very adamant and firm "Auto any day". no comparison.
So, having towed 10s of thousands of miles with a manual and a few thousand with an Auto..........Auto any day for me too, I am no lady, trust me, and I ain't lazy. But I do know what I am talking about, so don't listen to the "crap" above.
I have been driving since the days when most cars had a choke control sticking out of the dashboard for starting the engine, and in my childhood I remember cars that had a lever on the steering column for advancing and retarding the ignition. Those things disappeared over time, and I'm a little surprised the clutch pedal hasn't gone the same way. I suspect it soon will.
I have never quite understood why it is that nobody wanted to hang onto the advance/retard lever or the choke control, but some want to hold onto the similarly outdated clutch pedal. Still, as I said earlier in this thread, it's all a matter of personal preference I suppose.
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Topic: Newbie advice needed please.
