Community Forums

Magic Bus · 08-29-2011, 04:35 PM

Wondering if there is a difference in towing a Jeep with a manual transmission vs. automatic?
Is it "better" to be towing a manual? Does the tranny behave the same between the two? Wear and tear the same?
Is the manual a natural for this task? Does it really matter? Just curious. Thanks!

dashdriver · 08-29-2011, 04:40 PM

Doesn't really matter, the transfer case is going to be in neutral either way so your tranmission is out of the loop.

tncruiser · 08-29-2011, 06:17 PM

i toad a 2010stick and now a 2011 auto
no difference
brianj

Skip426 · 08-29-2011, 06:18 PM

MHO. Biggest consideration would be re-sale of the Jeep down the road. You pay extra for an automatic, your fuel mileage is less , and most people looking to buy a little Jeep are looking for a standard trans. So a few years down the road you have to discount your unit to sell it.

Ask a salesman what percent of Wranglers have automatics; in Canada I'd guess at about 3%. I know that the dealership I worked at, wanted a non-refundable deposit to factory order one.

hawgguy · 08-29-2011, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip426

MHO. Biggest consideration would be re-sale of the Jeep down the road. You pay extra for an automatic, your fuel mileage is less , and most people looking to buy a little Jeep are looking for a standard trans. So a few years down the road you have to discount your unit to sell it.

Ask a salesman what percent of Wranglers have automatics; in Canada I'd guess at about 3%. I know that the dealership I worked at, wanted a non-refundable deposit to factory order one.

Just looked at and test drove 2012 Wrangler Unlimiteds. Every one was automatic. Go figure. Ordered a Rubicon auto because my wife refuses to drive a stick.

Mr_D · 08-29-2011, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dashdriver

Doesn't really matter, the transfer case is going to be in neutral either way so your transmission is out of the loop.

Transmission will be in Park for the auto or 1st gear for the standard as I remember. My Grand Cherokee was auto so I'm not sure about the sticks for the gear it's supposed to be in. I do know you want to keep the gears from turning while moving.

Cruzer · 08-30-2011, 07:02 AM

In our area most Wranglers are autos. Our new 2012 Rubicon Unlimiteds come with the 5 speed Mercedes autos versus the 4 speed autos of 2011 and earlier and that makes a huge difference. If it's the popular 4 door Unlimited resale won't be great on a stick shift. On a 2 door unit, especially something like a Rubicon destined to see more off-road use either tranny would be fine. My personal choice is the new automatic because the torque converter makes it easy to climb over rocks with ease and control.

If you are looking at a new Wrangler be sure to test drive a 2012 before settling on a 2011 leftover. The performance difference with the new 285 HP Pentastar engine and Mercedes 5 speed is amazing when compared to the old 205 HP 3.8 V6 and 4 speed slush box and the fuel economy jumps up as well.

hawgguy · 08-30-2011, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruzer

If you are looking at a new Wrangler be sure to test drive a 2012 before settling on a 2011 leftover.

I did - glad I waited & ordered (I wanted the supplemental front seat side airbags).

Not to hijack the tread... What baseplate do you use for towing?

bronk · 08-30-2011, 02:00 PM

We tow a 5 speed manual and have had no issues in over 10,000 miles. We prefer the manual because the gas mileage is a little better, plus a more control while off-roading. We put the transmission in 3rd when in the tow mode.

Good luck with whatever you chose. It's more fun in a Jeep!!

Bronk

sadiebug · 08-30-2011, 02:03 PM

It's not a "jeep" unless it's manual.

tncruiser · 08-30-2011, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Transmission will be in Park for the auto or 1st gear for the standard as I remember. My Grand Cherokee was auto so I'm not sure about the sticks for the gear it's supposed to be in. I do know you want to keep the gears from turning while moving.

you put it in park YOU DONT WANT the gears turning thats why when you have a transfer case with N you can tow 4 down
brianj

phranc · 08-30-2011, 07:57 PM

do what Dashdriver said .. easy as pie with either tranny

Cruzer · 09-03-2011, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawgguy

I did - glad I waited & ordered (I wanted the supplemental front seat side airbags).

Not to hijack the tread... What baseplate do you use for towing?

No baseplate! They can get hung up on rocks and with my TJ that was always a concern. I ordered a set of Rockhard bumpers for the new Rubicon. The Rockhard bumper (like most aftermarket JK bumpers) have 4 bolts at each frame rail end that are used to attach the bumper to the frame rails. Rockhard makes adaptor brackets that bolt to those 4 bolts locations that you can connect your tow bar to. They make them for either Blue Ox or Roadmaster and they don't interfer with the D ring shackles either, which are in a different location. The full width version also relocates the OEM fog lights and will take my Warn Powerplant winch/air compressor. It's a great bumper. I did buy a hitch receiever riser from RVupgrades though to allow fior the higher height of the Jeep's towbar connection points. You don't want the towbar at an angle.

Rock Hard Jeep JK Wrangler Full Width Front Bumper

Note that the 2012s have some sort of module that is located in the way of a bumper with an integral (low) winch mount so you will need a relocation bracket to relocate that module to allow the winch to fit.

hawgguy · 09-03-2011, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruzer

No baseplate! They can get hung up on rocks and with my TJ that was always a concern. I ordered a set of Rockhard bumpers for the new Rubicon.

Thanks for the link. They look like quality products for sure. Just a little to rich for my blood. $550 for a shorty bumper, $900 for a full width. VS $350 for a blue ox baseplate.