Test drove one of these today

yes, think of it like a freightliner but without all the leaks and rattles and they usually come with a higher resale value. Authough it's still plastic so I'm not interested.

 

AutoShift and ultraShift = poor fuel mileage

 

whats the difference in the 587 and the 387, they look the same, does the 587 have a bigger motor or something?

 

The 587 replaced the 387 just like the T700 replaced the T2000 in the Kenworth line.

KH

 

I wonder what the tare weight is on that Petershaker?

 

I've always wondered about that. I assumed that the regular tranny would give you better mileage, like you get in a four-wheeler, but I've never done any research on it; just wondered if it held true for the big trucks also.

Thanks!

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack.

 

On a 4 wheeler you get an automatic with a torque converter like a Allison automatic . There is no positive lock and other additional frictional losses. This leads to the lower mileage then on a manual transmission.

The automated transmissions used on trucks are really just normal transmissions with the shifting taken over by servos and solenoids.This is all controlled by a computer.Like all new technologies there were teething problems.The newer ones are a lot better.They are not suited to all applications and I have my pet hates with some of their idiosyncrasy's. The truth however is that at least 95% of the complaints you here about are because drivers don't know how to operate them properly and just plain ill informed BS.
They provide better mileage then a manual because they have all the info available several times a second to determine the best gear for mileage 24/7 365 day a year.They never get tired and are not susceptible to influences humans are.Where they are at a disadvantage is in terrain that changes rapidly from flat to incline to down to hill to flat etc.This is where you switch them to manual override and as a driver use your ability to anticipate and control the shifting as in a normal manual truck.

 

I drove a autoshift for about 1.5 years w/TransAm and it had a clutch but shifted by itself. I liked it okay, I could not imagine not having a clutch at all like the ultrashift trucks do. Looks like you would hit the docks a lil too hard. The clutch was nice when backing up, you could control how fast you were backing up better I thought.

I didnt realize the T700 was replacing the T2000, that T700 looks nice but kind of reminds me of the Cascadia.

 

Lack of control at idle is my biggest complaint as the automatic clutch disengages when you lift off at idle.
I believe you can override this on some models though.

 

I have a autoshift with clutch i like this lees troubles and better for you feet,the mpg is ok not to bad and when you stocking in the trafic is very very nice to drive with this