Towing vehicle

Originally Posted by Steve Leonard[_2_]

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.

I have towed various objects on trailers with both manual and automatic transmission vehicles...both transmission types have worked fine.

One observation I've made is that having more weight in front of the hitch is preferable to having it behind the hitch. Driving a 4,500# vehicle in front of a 4,500# sailboat was a real treat in a crosswind!