Driving Impressions 6.7 Manual?

[AHarris]

How is this beast to drive?



Is it like driving a dump truck or can you actually shift well with this beast and keep up or beat traffic with it? I realize it might not be like driving my German Spec 5-speed VW Passatt 1. 8, but I was hoping it wouldn't be like driving a 1967 Peterbuilt dump truck!



As I sit here in Germany getting ready to buy a truck I've never driven sight unseen with a huge diesel and a 6-speed manual I could use some help.

 

[jelag]

I know that I own 3 3500 dually's..... and they are a lot different to drive than your VW..... I also own a Jeep that I drive as a daily driver with the Hemi and auto because I get tired of parking the beast and shifting all the time... On the other hand I own a large Navstar (IH) straight truck with 2 drive axles that grosses 46K lbs... . and the pickup is a breeze to drive over the big truck... .

You'd have a wonderful time with a dually in europe but here in the US its not so bad!!

I was in a shop the other day an this large muffler was on the floor, actually 2 of them..... I said what do those fit... . the Cummins dealer said they were off a 34L (not a misprint) 34 L V12 with 1 muffler for each side... . now thats got to be a large truck???

 

[AHarris]

Clarification

Actually the truck I'm getting will be delivered to me in the USA... it'll never see the Autobahn. We're PCSing back to the States in several months. It's a SRW 3500 QC short box.



Just checking to make sure it will cruise on the Interstate and not be a slug in city traffic.



Jim... enjoy your 5500 when you get it.

 

[Tom Schuster]

I drove a 2500 short-box 5-speed for 8 years before getting my 3500 MegaCab 6-speed and I love my new truck! I drive about 7 miles on a winding road to the highway, then 10 miles into town where it's the usual traffic. I don't find shifting to be an issue at all. I like to think of my truck as my big sports car. It doesn't drive like a dump truck, trust me.



Janet (the Mrs. )

2007. 5 3500 MegaCab

 

[ESchoon]

I just bought a 2007 6. 7L 6spd manual 3500 DRW 4x4 and the shifting is great. To me it's smooth and very easy. Course I live in a town with only 80K+ people so traffic is not something I have to deal with very often.



I would say if you like shifting gears you will love this truck with a 6spd manual!!

 

[AKaiser]

The G56 is a very smooth, relatively short throw transmission. It's not a racecar transmission, but you knew that. From what the guys who had NV4500s and NV5600s say, it's smoother. It's only a pain in city traffic because you have to shift alot. Having said that, you could rev it up a bit and skip every other gear. Unless I'm on a steep hill, I always start in 2d, as the first is a very low gear. It would be very easy to shift 2, 4, 6 with this engine. Most times in the city, you could shift 2, 4, 5. One thing I've noticed, you really need to level out your revs before you shift, or it gets lurchy.



Of note, the new G56 OD gear is a . 74. Mine has the . 79, so a 3. 73 on it is like a 4. 10 on the NV5600s.

 

[professor39]

I agree with everyone I love my new truck and would not trade it for an auto any day.