Too old for a manual transmission?

[Ponderosa]

I am considering a HD pickup that has a manual transmission. I have plenty of experience driving a stick, so that is not an issue. What is on my mind though, is whether the aches and pains of an aging body eventually make it hard to manipulate the clutch etc. The cost of this truck is such that it will take me into my 70s to pay it off, god willing I live that long, and then I may be at the point where I would not want to trade and get a new one. So, is it possible to drive a stick into the sunset?

[blofgren]

The new Ram trucks with the manual transmission are very easy to drive. The clutch pedal takes very little effort to push, the clutch engages very nice, and the transmission shifts very easily. To top it off the Cummins has tons of low end torque. This, combined with the zero throttle launch feature makes them a beautiful truck to drive.

I just bought a new 2013 Ram 3500 Megacab dually Laramie with the 6.7L Cummins and G56 6 speed manual on Sunday and I do not regret the decision at all. In fact my wife is now planning on taking driving lessons on a manual transmission so that she can drive it! She wanted the truck even more than I did!

If you like the manual I say go for it; I highly doubt you will regret it. That truck will also be very easy to sell in the future because the Cummins with the manual is a very desirable truck.

[C_Schomer]

My FIL is 84 and very much still camps and drive his 6 spd manual. Craig

[colliehauler]

If you have doubts now it will only get worse as you age. You know what you can do better then any of us.

[Jarlaxle]

My uncle's tow vehicle is a standard shift: an old T-19 with a (heavy) mechanical clutch. Like most HD transmissions, you don't need the clutch when maneuvering, because first and reverse are such low ratios. He floats gears and only uses the clutch if he is stopping. His daily-driver Ranger is also standard shift.

For the first time since I was 16, I do not have a vehicle with a standard shift. 😞

[Fordlover]

My father was born in '44, and still enjoys his standard trans. I prefer to commute in my 6 speed manual sports sedan over my Automatic SUV. It's a personal choice, at least until they stop selling manual transmissions...

[JIMNLIN]

Sport45 wrote:
Age has nothing to do with it.

I had my left foot operated on last year. If my truck didn't have an auto I'd have been grounded for at least 12 weeks. No thanks.

Hell I had my right foot operated on and couldn't drive my manual or auto tranny trucks/car for 2 weeks.

Folks can think up all kinds of excuses to drive what they own.

I'm 72 and have no problems with the NV5600 behind the my Cummins.

My son in law had a manual tranny small car years back and said he could drive my manual tranny truck. He found out rather quick a big heavy 6 speed manual tranny truck had nothing in common with his experience with small cars.

The OP would be wise to drive one first. Their not for everyone.

[Sport45]

Age has nothing to do with it.

I had my left foot operated on last year. If my truck didn't have an auto I'd have been grounded for at least 12 weeks. No thanks.

[McDonoughDawg]

Too old? NEVER

[coolbreeze01]

Hard to take modern stick shifts seriously having been raised on quadraplexes. Have fun.

[rhagfo]

45Ricochet wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
When I ordered a truck in 2002, I ordered a Ram with the NV5600 because it had a higher towing capacity and more power than was available in the automatics. Now the opposite is true. You give up a substancial amount of hp & torque if you decide to go with a manual.

When I got my 2012 I thought I might miss rowing gears on my own. Well, I don't. Not even a little bit.

What is it about the manual tranny that you are drawn to?

X2

Your giving up a BUNCH of HP/TQ. No thanks

5.7 Hemi (Gasoline) 383 @ 5,600 400@3,950 66RFE six-speed automatic
6.4 Hemi (Gasoline) 410 @ 5,600 429@4,000 66RFE, opt. ASC69RC
Cummins Diesel 385 @ 2,800 850 @ 1,600 Aisin ASC69RC (Ram 3500)
Cummins Diesel 350 @ 2,800 660 @ 1,500 Six-speed manual
Cummins Diesel 370 @ 2,800 800 @ 1,600 68RFE six-speed automatic

I believe that autos have come a long way in the last several years, they have been built to handle the torque of the modern diesel. What Ram is afraid to do is put a real clutch in the Ram. I would love to have a 385 HP 850# Cummins with a six speed backed up with a Dual Disk clutch, that would hold the extra HP and torque.

[Tiger4x4RV]

After about 50 years of driving stick shifts by choice in both cars and truck-based RV's, I drove my last one at age 67. I do have mobility issues, but the main problems with sticks were availability and my getting very cranky in the ever-increasing traffic jams around here. Over a year after the big change, I've finally come to accept my two new 6-speed automatics.

[Fast_Mopar]

My 83 year old father drives a BMW Z3 5 speed stick. If you like sticks, get one.

[Lessmore]

I'm older, have some knee and a right arm problem. Mostly due to aging and parts wearing out.

All my vehicles and work vehicles, from about the time I was 16 to around 31 years of age....had standard transmissions.

Since then , except for motorcycles....they've all been automatics. Others in my immediate family either prefer not to drive manuals, or don't know how to do so. Generally others in my family, don't have the interest, or the amount of experience that I have with shifting.

Having said that, yes I would drive a standard on a regular basis if things were different. But I need to share family vehicles with others....and that's fine. We all have compromises in life.

I miss the added control of a vehicle shifting gives me in mountain and winter driving. I also just plain enjoy shifting, working the clutch. I find using a manual affords a lot of pleasure to the skill of driving.

With a manual, I recall enjoying watching and using the tachometer to keep the engine in it's power band....whether I was riding my motorcycles, driving a commercial truck at work or whipping around in my '67 Camaro RS 327 V8.

Now I know that sounds nuts to those who just like to pop a vehicle in drive...but so be it.

So my answer to the OP....if you feel up to shifting and want to do so and there are no other issues you need to think about...then ....why not.

[Lowsuv]

Auto .
I like sticks , also .
But the aging process is accelerating .
Think about backing into a tight spot , and so forth .