Manual or Automatic Transmission?

Well now, I'm presently driving an automatic in a 2012 Mack. It's Ok I guess. The shifts are much different than what I'd do,etc. But it's what the company wants and I ain't paying the shot so.....

But I've spent a lifetime learning what a truck with a manual trans is capiable of in severe conditions. Many times I've brought a heavily loaded rig through places and conditions that should be near impossible.

With a computer controlled auto, I'm tied to whatever some programmer thought was optimal. There's no "working around it" anymore.

"Generational" issue? Yup. Computers were intended to be a tool that works how we want them to. Instead they've become "Here's the program... adjust you to what it says." My generation sees something intrinsically wrong with that; yours think that's fine and normal.

 

sorry but i remember back when auto's in car's were optional and a/c wasn't available in all cars and not all cars had backup lights

no i don't think that computers are the almighty answer to everything.....

 

because they are not considered cool to some. Forget about the gas you save. They just want to grab a stick and shift.

 

Yep you nailed it. These complainers just want to look cool grabbing a stick shift: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...174095-freightliner-auto-trans-questions.html

Ever try rocking your STUCK truck out of a rut with an auto?

Guess I'm just trying to be cool and all.

 

The tried and true 13spd for line haul. Heavy haul...... 15 or 18spd.

We had an auto-shift 12spd in a 387 Pete and it sucked! Anytime I was started off any any kind of an incline, the was a long lag time and then all of the sudden the tranny would kick in and cause the cab to jump up and down. Plus way too long of a lag time between shifts. Not good when your pulling 80,000 lbs and trying to climb a hill.

 

people might enjoy 5x4 or road-ranger but for long time enroute an auto reduces driver effort so it has to do with whether moving the shift lever is what you want to do

 

I drove a Volvo for Tyson and I loved the Automatic once I got used to it.

 

one of the issues we had with our sterlings that had auto's.

You could release the parking brake and the thing would never go into gear.

You could be sitting stopped, idling with your foot on the brake and put the truck into neutral. It would never go back into gear.

The only way you could get it to work, you'd have to shut down the truck and restart it.

 

Automatic is fine for 20k loads, but consider this. I lease a 2010 Cascadia and I would have saved close to 4k, if it was manual. In 2 years, I have changed 2 XY shifters($2400) and had to be towed to the dealership($1500). My wife loves it, as I bet almost any woman truck driver, but I could surely use that $2000 for other purposes(warranty took care of one towing and one xy shifter ).

 

I guess some auto's are really bad. I wouldn't trade my 2002 Century auto. 3 pedals - it averaged 7.3 for calendar year 2011.