manual transmission

Don't let this scare you off. Lol.

No, really.

Just remember, you will use both the clutch pedal and throttle sparingly. The clutch, you'll only use like the first (top) inch or two, no more than that, unless the truck is stopped. The throttle, you want to learn to treat the throttle like a lady, easy does it, not "pedal to the metal."

 

You got this....

 

Please post the companies in this thread

Companies that still have manual transmission vehicles

 

For what it's worth, I prefer a manual to auto for a number of reasons.
More control over speed, especially in crappy weather.
Enhanced braking ability reduces wear on brakes.
I don't have to worry if it's gonna shift at an inopportune moment when I really need it to hold in gear to perform a specific maneuver in a controlled fashion.
I can creep slowly if the ground is soft, preventing getting stuck.
It may sound strange, but a tennis ball or racquet ball can help you learn the coordination for the clutch and stick...
Bounce it back and forth from right to left hands, bouncing it off the ground.
Once you get smooth (it's fairly easy, but smooth takes practice) sit on a stool and tap your left foot each bounce.
Very similar to clutching, mechanically speaking.
Then, learning the speeds and rpms to mesh gears comes... Feeling the truck, listening to the sounds it makes, and developing the instinct of shifting up and down just takes practice.

 

It took me a couple of weeks. It got a lot easier after I sat down and memorized the gear ranges/speeds. Once you know without hesitation that, for instance, you want to downshift into gear 8 at about 35 mph, or downshift into gear 4 at 8 mph, life gets better!

 

As a former shop foreman for for a fleet of trucks that were automated transmissions.
I hated them, from software issues, internal issues, clutches grenading prematurely. Now granted some of that was was from the greatest truckers who ever graced the seat of a truck.
But you can’t really rock them to get out of snow or mud. Can’t pull start or let it roll down hill then pop the clutch,


nope where is my 18 always faithful and reliable. stuff the technology acronym KISS ( KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID). Just learn a manual not rocket science. Good luck