Had a '01 Dodge Ram with cummins and NV4500 transmission. Loved that truck, but family outgrew it so got a '14 with an auto. The modern electric controlled transmissions are simple and easy to use. Pretty much most manufacturer will let you lock out the gears you don't want to use. If you just want to rod around in 2nd, just lock the auto in 2nd gear, not much difference than a manual. I believe Ford actually has a true manual mode for their autos which have been shown to be very strong and reliable since 2011. I bought an '05 Ford F250 Regular cab with the ZF6 manual transmission for a plow truck. It's a little nolstalgic, turned it into a little hunting rig to, don't mind if it gets some dents. But the modern auto trans are so much nicer with the ability to manual select a top gear, I do prefer them more now. When your coming off a hill with a load and want to drop a gear, just tap a button. As long as the computer agrees the truck won't go into redline, it'll drop the gear.