why does everyone seem to dislike auto trans

Excuse the typos... sitting at a meat plant waiting to be loaded and doing this from a phone.

 

So you ran the M915/M915A1 and M915A2? Had a chance to try out that Cat 16 speed a couple times (though not with any regularity, as it wasn't my MOS). Can't say I'm any more fond of it than you are.

 

love our ultrashift

 

We have a winner... ding ding ding... M915 it was.

The full auto was an M931 though.

It was my MOS... drove around Europe in the early 80's... permanenty TDY orders... great duty!

 

p.s.- That's my M915 in my avatar.

 

I learned on a two stick Mack, used a 10 speed for the CDL test and now I drive both sticks and autos. I like the auto better in traffic or with all of the stop signs or traffic lights we have. It really is a personal preference but I would suggest that you learn on the stick.

 

My biggest concern with auto is handling heavy loads in tricky conditions. Such as any adverse weather and grades. I've never driven an automatic, so I don't really know how they handle, but I hear them go through truckstops and they shift super fast into the higher gears.

Is there a way to 'manually' shift them? That might help with the control concern that any of us that are used to manual transmissions might have when it comes to giving auto shifts a chance.

 

M931... is that a five ton variant?
I enlisted in '98 as a 91B (the old MOS for Combat Medic), and that later got folded into the new 68W MOS (Healthcare Specialist, which I especially hated as a line medic, since it made me sound like a paper pusher). Four active (98 - 02), four Guard (02 - 06). Didn't reenlist in the Guard because they pissed me off, and I actually ended up with 88M as a secondary because of it. Turns out, if you have a CDL for two years or more and you're in one of the reserve components, they can pencil whip you into an 88M without having to send you to AIT. After my tour in Iraq with the Guard, I moved from Mississippi to North Carolina. I had no interest in the NC Guard (mech unit.. don't know tracks, don't really care to), but I still had an obligation to complete, so I joined the Virginia National Guard. I get a set of orders in the mail one day telling me I have 88M3P2BQB secondary MOS.... suffice to say, I was less than thrilled. So that pretty much guaranteed I wasn't going to reenlist.

 

They can be manually shifted. Also the shift points can be adjusted by an allison dealer.

 

The M931 was the 5 ton tractor. The M927 was the cargo version that replaced the Duece and a half.

The MOS was actually 64C when I was in, it chabged to 88M some time after I got out in 85.