Auto!
Had an 05 with a stick, this 07 with the auto is the only way to fly !!!
Toyota Tacoma stick vs. Ram auto
Apple and orange, yeah,... but there are principles involved:
Backing uphill with the max trailer weight (3500#) on the back of a little Tacoma 4WD. Wanted to use the small truck because space was tight, with some turns, etc. Started in 2WD.
Had to go very slow because precise control was the issue.
So, ... feather the clutch to keep rpms/power up, speed real slow.
Is a cloud of blue smoke and a funny smell coming from the clutch a bad thing?
Let the poor little critter rest awhile, then switched to 4WD granny, and managed to go the last bit of distance smoke-free. Not sure about plate-glazing, etc. Hoping I didn't abuse that nice little truck too badly.
Drove it to the store later, seemed OK.
Fast forward 2 hours: Same backwards uphill run, this time '07. 5 Ram 6. 7, 68RFE, 4WD (using 2WD) pushing 20 foot sailboat, roughly similar weight.
Absolute pleasure! Plenty of "creep-power", slow-as-you-want-to-go, concentrate on steering, "fast idle" if you need it for some more power, and if you're gonna feather something, it will be the brakes, to get exactly the groundspeed you need for control.
More comments on "stick"-shifting here:
https://www.turbodieselregister.com...5/186621-6-7-minor-problems-any-one-else.html
Auto for me!