A note to the anti-auto crowd

alright you two,whats the diff.? i havent seen or drove a mack or volvo that is worth a crap since the 80's.they both are good trucks,they just had more style back then. if you like driving a overgrown ford taurus,thats you choice.

 

Wha? My 2008 r480 was egr! The r730 is a combination of both! Most engines here are now a choice between! Hp are torque are calculated the same, the units may differ but they are the same! You can't say one engine is putting out less shaft power cos of the emissions gizmos and the other more yet they are rated the same, that doesn't make sense! They either put out the power or they don't!

 

Couple of points , when all those gizmos are put on a motor the power numbers might be the same. However the powerband and throttle response suffer!

2nd point have you ever tried to teach an auto only driver to drive a 18 speed manual. I have and it was a painful experience .


Ps. Play nice now

 

Hey Bulldog, a few years ago, I drove for an american tank company that had no power steering. Good thing they still had A/C, but the camel backs were just evil!!
They were mack day cabs, we used to run them from coast to coast.
totally unnecessary.......lol.

 

That used be the case here when egr was introduced but they have overcome most issues now.

I drove a feightliner and an iveco with crash boxes, I found them akward for the first 20 mins cos our manuals are syncros ( like a car ) but I did get the hang of them but I played a few 'tunes' for the first few mins.

Ps. It hard to deal with complete ignorance! lol

 

The arrogance of ignorance is what makes it hard to swallow.

It is true that good modern automated boxes make lower skilled drivers change like top notch provisional drivers with years of experience.
It is also true that they change the same way even if the driver can change like an expert.
So the conclusion is obvious that fleets would want this.
For those with horror stories about autos , I can tell you I also hated them when they first came out.
Now I find them to be better at most things and I don't even own the very good ones.
If you don't like them that is totally your prerogative but if your reasoning is unreasonable then you must be a supertrucker.
Sometimes is is better to keep your mouth shut and thought dumb then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

 

Here's mine for what its worth. I think all drivers should train and learn on a manual trans. The new auto's I am sure are miles better than the one I tried out back in 96. I have talk to driver on both sides. Comes down to a matter of preference. I perfer a 13 over anything else.

This does not make me anything. 3 Millon plus miles woth zero accidents, thats experience with a good deal of luck and prayers getting me threw. As far as emergency situations, my transmission has little to do with getting me thru them, experience, watching for potential bad situations before they unfold, and following distance.

The most important is following distance, this is the only thing you can use to by time to react. If you have to think about your transmission before reacting your in deep trouble anyway.
s

 

I couldn't agree more, I hate to 'jinx' myself by saying it, but I've been fortunate as well, thru good luck, a bit of skill, and leaving following distance and driving slow, and not trying to be a 'hero' on the road.

I preach and preach to any new drivers I bring on, that when its snowing/freezing rain or foggy, you only drive to your safe ability. If your not comfortable then pull over and shut it down. Believe me, I don't push my driving abilities, truck sliding all over, I am done, find a nice spot and call it a day. I'd rather drive 90km/h for 5 hours than 30km/h for 8hrs stressed to the max. I trust my ability, its the other idiots doing 100km/h texting to their buddies how bad the roads are but they've got their truck locked into 4x4.. LOL

I tell everyone I hire that it costs me 7500.00 in deductibles alone, plus the average of 1 to 3 months of downtime, for repairs or for insurance to decide to write the unit off.

Take 2 months of income, combined with 7500 in deductibles for truck and trailers, and that 1000.00 load can be late or not be hauled altogether is my opinion.

 

I fully agree.
I have twice had to go tell drivers wives that their husbands had been killed in accidents.
Both were good men with children.
I suspect fatigue may have played a roll in on of the accidents.
I never ever want to have to do that again.
I tell my drivers if you are tired then rest I will deal with the customers.
It really is not life or death if a load is a few hours late.

 

If that were the rule instead of the exception throughout the industry, the roads would be a hell of a lot safer.