Manual vs Automatic Transmission: Which Is Easier to Learn?

Auto is just like a car put it in drive and go. Some older automatics have a clutch that you just use to start and stop, but you have a very low chance of getting one of those.

The truck school will teach you probably only in a manual, and if they just use autos you should find another school.

Some megas are getting into autos, but still the majority is manual.

 

@scottied67 Check out his vids trying to back an auto! lol

 

Manuals is nice. Wind engine out, she quits pulling, next gear up. And so on until you hit top gear and cruise. If it's slowing down you allow engine to lug and then kick her into next gear down and repeat until you either clear the slowdown in front of you, come off the mountain and turn off the jake or something else. Some days in winter on split ice with interlock in at 15 mph you never come out of low range.

Automatic is real nice in traffic. But it would need a manual option for mountain work.

Auto helped my wife learn the truck. She then learned the 13 speed manual which made her cry a time or two until I taught her easy up until she quits pulling then next gear. It did not do well with the fuel mileage but we filled daily so we did not care about mileage. 300 gallons please. Thank you.

That auto we had (2001 century rockwell on a paddle with a 500 detriot) was really good when we had a tractor jackknife on ice one winter near knoxville. She broke loose and I hollar at the spouse to freeze whatever power she had on her foot. Just turn the wheel a smidge get the tractor back and let the auto decide which gear to pick and keep moving.

One of our trucks in the convoy slid backwards using his power on the drives to keep straight and his load upright on his flatbed as the whole thing fell into the canyon backwards. I never did find out if he was ok or not. There was 8 of us that day. the first three made it, the rest did not.

In a manual, a jack knife usually slams the clutch in and you did what you have to do to break it then you picked a gear approprate to your new slower road speed and get back to cruise.

 

You need to learn in a manual, just in case that's what you end up testing with or even driving at your company.

If you can drive a car with auto tranny, then it's no different with a big rig, save for you height above the road, your ability to view is much better and you're obviously longer than a car.

As far as needing a manual option with the auto trans in trucks, they all have that, BUT YOU DO NOT NEED IT. If you end up with an auto trans in a truck, especially Freightliner DT-12, there is no need to ever switch to manual......in the mountains, on flat terrain, whatever. It's an automatic.
You definitely don't know better than the truck's computers when to down shift or up shift. These new DT-12 transmissions take all the guess work out of the equation. You'll never stall, miss a gear, or grab the wrong gear.

I was apprehensive about buying an automatic, but I don't regret it. I'm in cruise control almost all the time (except city driving and winter conditions) and the truck performs great.

 

Unfreaking believable

 

Manual isn't hard it just takes time. You won't double clutch once you're on your own but you should still learn to do it. Hardest part is not hitting the clutch brake if you're used to driving a manual car.

Auto is easy, throw it in drive and go. Learn a manual though, most small companies will have manuals and I think some megas do.

After a few weeks you'll be a pro, I don't even touch low range anymore unless I'm loaded. Makes getting going a lot faster.

 

My right thumb is worn out from splitting gears. Can I get a auto?

 

Try to learn in a manual first, please. Think about this: you go to a mega and drive an auto for a year. Then after that experience is gained you get offered a potential gig doing linehaul making 100k a year but you can't get past the road test bc you don't know how to shift.

 

That's what happened to me. Well I learned to drive on autos for a mega recycling company. Said efff this crap.

Got offered a job at a mom and pop fuel company making twice as much. Luckily they were nice enough to teach me 10 speed while paying me. It's been great working here.