Don't whine if you're about to get an automatic shifting truck!

That's what I drove pulling tanks. Not near as stressed out at the end of a days driving with the auto.

 

i now drive a school bus with a small cat motor,and 6 speed auto its ok,but to this day three years later still find myself reaching for the stick. i do not like when it downshifts on its own on snow packed roads. its just hard to figure out when its going to shift is the real problem for me. be safe out there

 

Or let off right before it shifts and it will surge between the two gears. I don't miss driving school bus

 

After having driven one I would go back also and I use to be a naysayer. Havent been on snow or ice though and might still have concerns hauling a tank where surge is involved but......knowing how you feel at the end of a day, especially doing local work all day, is a blessing

 

I had about the same experience. same as you drove everything from an 8 speed to a 18 speed. got an automatic truck. didn't think I would like. turns out I loved it. any road I wanted didn't matter how many stop lights were on it. long story short. lost the job. so I ended up in a truck with a 10 speed that been preselected for the last 250k. really miss the automatic. especially in the city and on roads jammed with stop lights.

 

Yep. 16 years driving and got a Mack with ultrashift 2 pedal in March. Worried when I got it. I'll never go back. And my left knee has never felt better!

 

All the trucks I've driven are automatic to me .. I don't think or realize I'm shifting I just go by sound and feel.. If I ever get so out of shape that shifting tires me I better retire lol PS if I drop a clutch I can limp it to a better area I've seen a few guys get towed away from shippers dock when something went in clutch .. I do agree auto's have their place I don't miss getting stuck behind guy miss shifting on 2 lane mountain roads

 

I see no mentions of backing in your op.
How you like it then?

Maybe one day I'll get the feel but I want my manual back when I'm going backwards. Definitely feels more precise.

 

i will have to disagree. i drove a prostar (Maxxforce) with an autoshift. HATED it. drove it for several thousand miles. i will keep my manual

 

Yes. Volvo autos are in a completely different class then the other garbage offered by allison. The OP's going to be pissed if he's ever moved into a Freightliner with an auto.