I am not paticularly happy with the auto Dodge I have, the box is too short and the fuel economy isn't very good compared to the old suburbans i used to drive (I have to drive slow to get good mileage and rather not) lots of nickle and dime crap.

So here is the deal my truck is an 01 2wd 1500 4sp auto 01 dodge club cab has 62,000 miles rhino liner, ac, power windows, locks remote start.

The truck i've found is an 01 reg cab 1500 with bench, 5.2, 5sp manual 2wd NO OPTIONS, no carpet no nothing, long box 38000 miles

I am wondering what the rear gear ratios on both would be on both trucks?

Also would you do the trade? I love manual transmission vehicles but can never locate any trucks with a v8 and a manual. Likely since it is a dealership they will screw me really bad, I figure I will go in a bit avante guard since they are asking $6995 which sounds rediculous to me (even up trade or better should happen) I figure since I can't seem to sell the truck for more than $1000 I might as well trade and since this is also a dodge 2wd 01 the likelyhood of them arguing how crappy dodge is to jew me is moot

Basically ideally I would want airplane gears, MT and a 5sp with granny. The above truck sounds close, the options don't matter much (I would like to add AC but am not sure if jC whitney sells ext. ac anymore) I rarely pull (usually lightweight stuff in the bed) so high gears are OK so long as I have a granny for when I move the trailer from the motor home into the spot at the fair.

So anyone know what gears would be in each truck (I may want to swap mine if they are higher than the MT)

Also i would love to trade my auto truck for a manual but can't find any in the wild, this dealership vehicle is the first, any ideas where/who I might locate a 2wd Manual similar to my current truck I might trade for?

Even if there would be a cheap way of making my auto truck into a MT.

My main motivation is,

no more auto maintenance (and risk of failure)

better fuel economy, I know someone with a manual 5.2 and he does as good or better than me and does not drive like grandma

I like driving stick, always have but never find them

Thanx
Ryan

 

shoot bro if it was me i would just keep the one you got and rebuild the tranny nice and strong if (or most likely) when it goes out and they should both have 3.55 gears and about the switch, you would need one of those rare donor trucks to switch alotta parts over. so all in all keep the options and low miles on your truck and when the tranny craps out rebuild it really strong and you should be good

 

I can't really use the truck much, as the box isn't long enough to fit our tables and equipment in, we end up using the old 93 which is falling to pieces (and needs motor work) often because of this.

Also I know for certain I can gain about 4mpg with a MT and regear over the auto and I DO drive fairly long distances during the fair circuit. (I drive oddly and a MT gains the most from it)

Also I really really hate autotragics. It disgusts me that I cannot buy a MT anymore without massive effort

 

i know right i wanted a manual but i like my auto just, im like you. im fearing it will go out (knock on wood it won't but still) well if its what you want go for it. it is what you need but i like options lol. i hate stealerships too. all my cars i buy from private owners.

 

i'd do it in a heartbeat, if you have a donor i'd be all over it, i'm a gear jammer myself but i have to live with my auto until i find me a donor which will probably be never.

 

i would do it 1 just for the milage diffrence,2 its a manaul, and 3 swap a 408 longblock in and rip threw threw the gears !