Why Not Automatic?!

Last night i had to fix something on my trailer.
It meant lying under it in an akward way for more then 1 hour.
Result is that i have sour rightshoulder this morning.
Guess who is happy that he doesn't have to shift today.

 

If someone has problems Shifting, than that is just the reason you should not be in an Auto Truck. You need to be shifting till you can go up, down all around, right? Thats part of the Job. If you are a Driver don't you want to be the best you can be?

 

I would argue, it is only part of the job, if it is. If a company was all auto, what would it matter (aside from newbies future employment prospects). Personally it makes me a bit nervous when i see newer people not watching the trailer tandems because they are so fixed on thier tach. I would rather new people start on autos, get comfortable making turns and then go on to a traditional transmission.

Then again, I am biased towards autos, but not biased enough to buy my own truck over it, so I will stick to my 10 speed for now.

 

I wrote that it is PART of the job. I understand your point but if a person can't shift and maintain his truck position at the same time well......
I think it is important for new drivers to learn to control the truck with the transmission, just my view though. I am the kind of person that is not happy if I can not do something. So if I can't shift like a champ then I will shift as much as I possibly can until I can.

 

My personal opinion is that you should learn on a manual.
A 9 or 10 speed is good to learn on.
Shifting a manual is not hard.
Just look at some that can do it , it obviously is not that hard.
Just takes some time and practice.
If an able bodied person is unable to master shifting after some time and practice then they should not drive a truck.
After they can shift competently then I'm all for automated transmissions.

 

I just passed my state exam today with my road test being in a town ive never driven through. While auto transmission would be a neat novelty, I personally like having the total control over my gears. Shifting has actually been one of my strengths all through school and I dont really find it that difficult. If you cant get good at shifting fairly quickly, you're probably getting into the wrong profession.

 

Autos are great in the LA traffic

 

I think the issue is similar to using a GPS.
They are great but you have to know how to use a atlas or paper map.
Also when to use which and when to override using your brain.

 

I disagree with manual being distracting at least after it comes 2nd nature which should not take long at all. I can see students having a problem from switching from truck to truck but once you get settled in your own truck and get the feel of how it drives you wont ever think about shifting or look where the RPMs are at, it just gose in gear just the same as an automatic dose without a thought, plus you save more fuel then you ever will with an auto at this point and time.

 

If there is a truck with stick shift but very soft clutch pedal, I will never buy automatic.