The real ultimate is an automatic fitted with an Extreme valve body from
Wholesale Automatic Transmissions
Then you can get a torque converter lock-up from the same people.
All the advantages of an automatic, which you can lock in a particular gear when doing severe off road descents etc.
I liked the auto in the Sand, and towing a trailer it outperformed a manual 60 series which wasn't as loaded as mine. This is only relevant in very soft sand as all cruisers with decent tyres will cope well with sand due to the low down torque of the 4.2 engine.
Here is a clip of my rig descending Van Zyls Pass in Namibia. Low range 1st. This is without the TC lock up mentioned above.
YouTube - Landcruiser and Trailer Decend Van Zyls Pass
A friend has recently had issues with the AT fluid overheating while doing an overland. He has since improved his driving style and the problem has cured itself. So really at the end it all comes down to how you drive and what you want to do with it...
Good luck
Graham
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