Any companies still have manual transmissions?

Mostly owner operators have manual transmissions, these days. Big trucking companies go with automatics because so many drivers can’t shift properly, so to maximize fuel efficiency and lower wear and tear on the transmission, they go with auto shifts.

 

I saw a Stephens Transport truck yesterday that was banging through the gears after a red light. It was a Stephens logoed truck but could still be an owner operator I suppose.
I'm just looking to get into trucking, but I too wouldn't mind a company that still has manuals. It keeps you more in control, seems like a gas saver, and definitely seems more enjoyable.

 

A manual don't save fuel any more than an auto does. They go through the gears the same way. A manual doesn't give you any more control than an auto does. You have the ability to control speed in both. The only reason drivers want a manual is too fit "a look." Whatever they think a trucker us supposed to look like, many want to fit the movie mold of a driver. Whether it's a manual or an auto, a driver had to learn how to drive any truck he gets in. In many ways they're all the same, but there are intricacies that create differences between them.

 

As a new driver, I preferred a manual for backing, being able to control my speed by feathering the clutch. With experience, it's become less of an issue so I'm OK with automated transmissions.

 

all the big companies go with automatics because a lot of drivers cant shift right but smaller companies still go with manuals or owner operaters

 

Also depends on the truck and which Automated it has. I find the Eaton Ultrashift is more jerky than the Volvo & Detroit transmissions. And also it’s all about how they’re tuned.

 

Price
Interchangeability
Troubleshooting

Manuals are simpler

 

Say what you want....think what you want.....but shifting in stop-n-go, rush hour, bumper-to-bumper (so to speak) traffic pretty much blows.....

-- Lual