banditman

I am looking for a truck for my grandpa. He is getting on in years and wants a newer truck and has finally seen the light and wants a dodge. He has always had five speed fords but now he wants a newer 4 door short bed dodge to pull with. What i am worried about is that all the newer manual trucks are a 6 speed trans and i am not sure he will really like that because it is a lot of shifting and the gears are a lot closer together. So what years of dodge have the best automatic? Or should we just stay with a manual? He doesn't pull a lot but when he does its pretty heavy and on a lot of dirt roads. I am pretty nervous about an automatic having had lots of trouble with the early 4 speed autos but have heard good things about the newer 6 speed automatics. So just looking for opinions. Im looking in the price range of 20 to 30 thousand max 4x4.

SOhappy

The new 6-speed autos (68RFE and Aisin) are much better than the old 47/8RE. By better I mean more efficient and more reliable, with stock power. Problem is, 6-speed autos came with the 6.7 and so you have to put up with the idiotic emissions if the truck is stock. So there's the trade- Reliable, efficient trans but poor fuel economy, regens and frequent check engine lights, oil changes and trips to the dealer for sensors and such that will drive you nuts. The answer is a "deleted" (no emissions) 6.7 with the 6-speed auto, but still with stock power settings, if you live in an area where you can get away with it. It's a reach, but you might be able to get a deleted and gently used 4th gen 2010-2012 4wd Crew Cab 68RFE for around $30k. If not there should be available 2007.5-2009 trucks (3rd gens) with the 6-speed auto that would do the job and meet your budget. Get one that hasn't been abused and can show proof of proper maintenance and it will treat your Grandpa right.