Oh, Bob. Nothing on a religious level. So far. The OP asked "Manual or Automatic?" Tony said "I have only towed with an automatic. Best to get a transmission cooler." And I added "A tachometer is nice so you will know what is going on because a transmission cooler won't save your transmission."

Nobody was saying bigger is better. The only reason you would need a big crew vehicle is if you have lots of support equipment that won't fit in the trailer with the glider. That is why I have a full size van. The gas mileage sucks, but I deal with it. And, I just got done removing the extra transmission cooler the previous owner had added to my van. He use to pull travel trailers and guess what? I got to have the transmission replaced. Even with his added cooler. The van also now sports a tachometer. Those who are unaware laugh at this add on.

I agree with you and much prefer a manual transmission. That way, you KNOW what is happening in that part of the drive system. Pulled all sorts of things all over with my V-6 Camaro with its 5 speed manual. In and out of fields, up and down hills, and all around. Never any brakes on the trailers.. And only once was there ever a problem. Not transmission related.