Manual and trailer use

[rodatc]

Hey everyone. I've in the stage of auto vs manual and see the pros and cons of each.

My question goes with the ease of a manual with a trailer. I ask because living the the PNW I will be towing my drift boat chasing fish with my new Bronco. It will certainly give me more power than my 2008 Honda CRV. I'm not concerned about the towing capacity since drift boats are light. I've owned a few manuals but never had to back a boat down a launch with a manual. Just curious if anyone has experiences with boats and stick shift. Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone
Rick

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[kodiakisland]

I find backing down hill with a manual to be no different than an auto. Backing up steep hills can be challenging though.

 

[Laminar]

Ford has a "hill start assist" feature that is supposed to help prevent a vehicle from rolling backwards as you try and start moving up an incline. Looks like that feature is included on all model Broncos.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/attachments/2021-bronco-order-guide-january-19-2021-pdf.80552/

Practice your hill starts and there shouldn't be any trouble launching a boat. Frankly, with the crawl gear you'll probably be able to just let the clutch out while still holding the brake, and you'll have plenty of time to get over to the gas and get moving.

 

[indio22]

I towed a loaded Uhaul trailer 1000 miles cross country with my automatic i6 CJ-7. And also occasionally flat towed a vehicle behind it. Worked great - hardly knew I was towing anything. Wonders of the torque converter.

On the other hand, my 3 speed manual V6 CJ-5 was more of a dog when towing. I attribute part of that to the lack of low gearing. The new Bronco manual trans with the crawler gear should aid in that respect.

But if towing a lot I'd probably go automatic - with a trans cooler. And I mean really "explore the space" and "gotta have more trans cooler" to knock the heat down. Because that CJ-7 auto was overheating until I installed a nice trans cooler.

 

[rtaylor]

I've owned a few manuals but never had to back a boat down a launch with a manual. Just curious if anyone has experiences with boats and stick shift. Any thoughts?

The ONLY thing you need to be worried about is setting the parking brake, turning off the engine, and putting it in gear while unloading the boat. When pulling out, you can leave it in granny gear when starting the engine if you are worried about your clutch work.

 

[MASurf]

Hey everyone. I've in the stage of auto vs manual and see the pros and cons of each.

My question goes with the ease of a manual with a trailer. I ask because living the the PNW I will be towing my drift boat chasing fish with my new Bronco. It will certainly give me more power than my 2008 Honda CRV. I'm not concerned about the towing capacity since drift boats are light. I've owned a few manuals but never had to back a boat down a launch with a manual. Just curious if anyone has experiences with boats and stick shift. Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone
Rick

The ONLY thing you need to be worried about is setting the parking brake, turning off the engine, and putting it in gear while unloading the boat. When pulling out, you can leave it in granny gear when starting the engine if you are worried about your clutch work.

This. I towed multiple small boats with a 1998 Subaru Forester and the total weight ranged anywhere from 1500 to 2800 lbs (including the trailer) No issues at the ramp, but as @kodiakisland points out, backing up a steep hill can be a challenge.

Chris

 

[AcesandEights]

I took your question to be related to backing down the ramp, not related to pulling out of the water, where the hill-start-assist might help. In my opinion, an auto trans makes it much easier to back down the ramp. You can (basically) just ride the brake the entire time. It's easier than having to work the clutch and brake with your head turned to see behind you (yeah, there's a camera for that). Anyway, if backing was my priority I'd say auto. Moving forward, it's kind of six-of-one, half-a-dozen of the other and either trans will work for "towing" the boat.

 

[Aman]

I took your question to be related to backing down the ramp, not related to pulling out of the water, where the hill-start-assist might help. In my opinion, an auto trans makes it much easier to back down the ramp. You can (basically) just ride the brake the entire time. It's easier than having to work the clutch and brake with your head turned to see behind you (yeah, there's a camera for that). Anyway, if backing was my priority I'd say auto. Moving forward, it's kind of six-of-one, half-a-dozen of the other and either trans will work for "towing" the boat.

With the 7MT, can you just drop it into neutral and ride the brakes when you're backing down the ramp similar to the 10AT?

I have no experience in this area, just curious.

 

[rodatc]

Thanks everyone!

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

With the 7MT, can you just drop it into neutral and ride the brakes when you're backing down the ramp similar to the 10AT?

I have no experience in this area, just curious.

Absolutely you can.

Depending on the hill this is essentially what you're doing anyway except you're riding the clutch instead of the brake.

I haven't looked but does anyone know how tall the reverse gear is? I know some vehicles the reverse speed is quite high and can be a challenge to do without riding the clutch or, as other have mentioned, get it going and keep it going reversing uphill.

 

[Murph914]

Thanks everyone!

Pulling out on a steep hill is the only tough part, but the cars today will hold it in place until you get going. Having a handbrake makes it a lot easier, the electric brakes should be fine, but I still don’t trust em. You should be perfectly fine, but keep a bubba rope onboard just in case anyway.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

Towed a 4500 lb boat and trailer with a manual JKUR rated for 3500. No problems. Crawler gear will make it easier on a steep ramp (I drop into 4WL in this case.)

 

[rtaylor]

With the 7MT, can you just drop it into neutral and ride the brakes when you're backing down the ramp similar to the 10AT?

I have no experience in this area, just curious.

Probably safer to have in gear and use clutch/brake as needed. In neutral, you could quickly lose control if foot slipped off brake.

 

[mjcutri]

I took your question to be related to backing down the ramp, not related to pulling out of the water, where the hill-start-assist might help. In my opinion, an auto trans makes it much easier to back down the ramp. You can (basically) just ride the brake the entire time. It's easier than having to work the clutch and brake with your head turned to see behind you (yeah, there's a camera for that). Anyway, if backing was my priority I'd say auto. Moving forward, it's kind of six-of-one, half-a-dozen of the other and either trans will work for "towing" the boat.

With the 7MT, can you just drop it into neutral and ride the brakes when you're backing down the ramp similar to the 10AT?

I have no experience in this area, just curious.

Yeah, I launched my dad's 19' boat with my mom's manual Cayenne dozens of times with no issues. If you can drive a MT and you can drive a trailer, you'll have no issues driving a trailer with a MT.

My boat is too heavy to tow with the Bronco, so those duties will stay with my wife's Subaru Ascent and the hitch will be relegated to bike rack duty. The Ascent has a 2.4L turbo (240HP/277LB-Ft) and a CVT on a unibody construction, but somehow has a higher tow rating (5,000lbs)?!?

 

[kodiakisland]

I took your question to be related to backing down the ramp, not related to pulling out of the water, where the hill-start-assist might help. In my opinion, an auto trans makes it much easier to back down the ramp. You can (basically) just ride the brake the entire time. It's easier than having to work the clutch and brake with your head turned to see behind you (yeah, there's a camera for that). Anyway, if backing was my priority I'd say auto. Moving forward, it's kind of six-of-one, half-a-dozen of the other and either trans will work for "towing" the boat.

Much prefer using my mirrors than turning around and looking behind me.

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