well, sometime in october, or sooner if i can find a good deal, i'll be buying a 2nd gen hd ram
i pretty much have most of it figured out.
this is what i want to look for
1997-pre 1998.5... gotta have the 12v (might go 1996 but only if a really good deal)
4x4
ex cab or quad if i'm lucky
long bed
srw

now the part i can't decide on.... auto or stick

october 31st i will start classes at Universal Technical Institute, automechanic school
it's a 20 mile drive each way on highway and i hope to get the morning classes because i will be on the road around 5:45 am (no traffic... yay!) i'll attend the school for 1 full year
also, later on down the road, i will lift the truck and put bigger tires on it,and use it to go mudding with, and even later on down the road, possibly tow with it. but it will still be my daily driver saving my other truck from gaining miles and wasting gas

so for a daily driver with what i would say a 60/40 mix of hwy and city and also a truck for use in mud (big reason why i'm asking... cause from what i know muddin is easier with a auto) what do you think i should have in mind first... an auto or stick?

i know what it is like driving both... but i have not had the pleasure/pain of driving a stick in heavy traffic

also... i'll probably do some bombing for now(intake, exhaust, plate, etc)... and more later down the road

 

Go with the 5-speed. There are a few issues with them, but all much cheaper than the auto. And nearly any problem can be taken care of your self (if you but the parts) if you have resonable mech apptitude. I have seen some from better schools than UTI that don't. If you can get the trans out then you should be fine with what breaks.

Randy

 

I 2nd that. A 5-speed is alway beter for towing over an auto to me. Much more reliable and easier to repair. Plus if you puncture your tranny out playing in the mud, you can always limp home on it. Auto you would be up the creek with out a paddle. no good. Just my thoughts.

 

thanks for the advice... after posting it all i could think of is how much fun it would be to shift instead of just pressing the gas and go!

the main thing that had me worried was the difficulty of goin muddin... didn't want to burn the clutch up or nothin, but 4lo probably helps out a lot

it can't be all to hard to take a trans out as long as you have the right eqipment and knowledge before you go taking bolts off

i like to think that i'm decently mechanically inclined... while in high school auto mechanics i've helped someone remove and install a motor in a lil toyota car... helped put a t-56 transmission back into a 2000 trans am, helped my friend do a valve seal job on his s10, i did the work to lower my truck, helped my friend with the s10 to put air bags on it...(lowered stuff.. i know... lol) basically if someone needs help doing somethin to their vehicle... i'm there i like to go through new experiences... only way i'm gonna learn

 

We don't do much mudding out here. More off-roading. But when I'm 4 wheeling, I would much rather have a stick than an auto. I want total control of when my rig is going to shift.

Driving in mud is a lot like driving in deep snow or sand. There's nothing worse than working up some momentum and starting to get on top of everything and moving good, and then the tranny upshifts and you bog down. Then you press the go pedal and the RPMs jump and you're just spinning. That sucks.

I know you can always use the gear shift to keep it from up shifting, but I've seen guys go to move from 2nd to 3rd and accidentally go to neutral. That's not good either.

I just really prefer the control of a stick in of-road situations. I can shift pretty quick when I need to. A lot of times, I find shifting unnecessary. If you don't get in a hurry, a constant speed will usually get you there.

 

Just so you know, a diesel is a whole different animal in the mud than a gasser. I for one hate to rev a diesel high enough to clean out the tires so they will dig, just something to keep in mind. If you want to tow, get a Cummins. If you want to go muddin, get a 360.

 

thecatsfan yeah that's what it basically comes down to is off-roading... i just know that there is gonna be a lot of mud on these trips :-D

the whole muddin thing won't be daily... or weekly... maybe once a month if i even have the time for it... and it definitly won't be any of the deep stuff... with some modification it probably won't be to bad to use it to go muddin with... heck my brother in law had a 88 or 89 ford non turbo diesel f250 and used it muddin every so often.... had 180 on the ticker when he had to get rid of it for money... still goin strong

i won't be towing much, nor will i be mudding much... it'll be more of a daily driver... i love diesels... love the natural sound they make... love the smell...the smoke... fuel economy... longevity... there's just so much that i love about em... that's why i want one

i got a 360 in the little truck that i got... nice engine.... sucks down the gas..(10mpg is what i see for city and town) if i travel anywhere on a weekend i can go through a tank or 2 in 2 days and one during the week.... plus to get more power out of them you got to drop a good chunk of change for it

 

stick.period

 

Devinly inspired statment!!!

Randy

 

The 1000lb. motor over the front wheels can't help the muddin' much either...probably sink pretty fast.

 

Like I said, I don't really do any mudding, but the speed of your tire rotation has nothing to do with engine RPM. It's all gearing. I can spin my tires real hard in mud or sand with the engine never getting above 1800 RPMs.