Is it true most top trucking companies are switching to automatics

My company is about 95% automatics and almost all straight interstate terminal to terminal runs. I still beat the average by .5 mpg with my 10 speed with 2.64 direct turning 1450 rpms to their 1350. I also make multi stop runs, I did 4 stops today and have 5 Monday. If you know how to drive a truck and shift correctly, an auto loses it’s supposed advantage quickly. We track our mileage daily.

 

This is true in cars and pickups even it's known for years, don't know why people think it's different in a truck

 

top for him/her. there's nothing wrong with low or lower standards

 

yes better gas mileage is a must have.

 

You're right! There is nothing wrong with ending your education at the first grade level.

 

The engine braking power in automatic is very strong on Detroit transmission

 

I figured it was due to a manual becoming an “option” and the autos coming stock now.

 

Twin stick FTW !!

 

My sister was taking mom shopping. They had just left the house, went a few blocks down the street and realized that the street was blocked from a fallen tree. My sister tried to go off-road through someone's yard and got the car stuck (it had rained for 2 days). Others tried to follow her and they got stuck too. The neighbor was livid. Police were called, and trouble began.

I asked my sister why did she do that, and she said that she needed to get out of the neighborhood to the main road. I told her that there were 4 other ways to get out. "Oh! I didn't think of that!"

Why not?

We program our brain to think a certain way. That one way of thinking becomes rapid fire, the first thought to our head. The other paths of thought fade out and shut down. And learning new things becomes more difficult.

What has this to do with trucking, Six?

Having 1 way of thinking, one train of thought, sticking to what you already know and avoiding the unknown, AKA the "Path of Lease Resistance", makes one PREDICTABLE, LIMITED, LOST, EASILY FRUSTRATED, EASY TO BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, EASILY BEATEN.

In trucking, the path of least resistance is to sit at a trucking school and take a sunshine injection in the arse from a recruiter, get a prehire letter and sign up to go to some mega carrier slaughterhouse and get turned into hamburger. Hey, but we can get into a team truck with an automatic transmission, and let a desk jockey do all the thinking for you. What's even worse, is these people will think that they are doing "research" by getting online, joining TTR and watching YouTube. Any idiot can blog. Just because the idiot has videos doesn't mean that he/she/it is not an idiot. It means that idiot has an audience. A following. A modern day Jim Jones and Marshall Applewhite. And you wonder how people can be convinced to drink poison kool aid or cut their nuts off...

"Six, how can I know if the person on YouTube, or who is mentoring me is an idiot or not?"

The goal isn't to get a job, the goal is to be good at what you do. Now, to be good at what you do isn't a 1 time thing. Advancement is eternal. You don't go to kindergarten, be the best kid in class and the next year make no advancement and expect to be the best, do you? Your mentor should be constantly changing, improving...and sharing with you his advancement.

Driving is an art. Don't believe me? Look at the Corvette. Years ago, it wouldn't compare to the high end exotics, but nowadays, you can go buy a car from the factory with world beater performance that will match half a millon dollar cars. The problem is, most of us do not drive well enough to do that car justice.

People ask all the time, "where is the money in trucking?" Is there money in trucking? Absolutely! But you HAVE TO actually be able to DRIVE! The guys at the top make the money. The majority of you think that because you have a CDL, you deserve top money. The guys at the top, they make it look easy, but don't think for a second that they are just sitting there holding a steeringwheel. They are laser focused.

"Six, you normally stay out of transmission discussions. Which do you think is better?"

Like everything else, it depends on the application. In a NASCAR race, they don't just go with 1 setup at the beginning of the year. They set the car up, engine/transmission/gear ratio/suspension according to the track, right? So, if you're based out of Illinois and all you do is run up and down I55 grossing 60k pulling a box, you wouldn't want the same truck as the guy pulling a B train with a heavy 3 through northern Michigan, would you?

Here's the point in a nutshell: if you are an OTR driver signed to a company that roams all 48 and Canada, you want to be able to drive ANYTHING anywhere where they might need you to be. If you can do this, they will pay you for what you know. If you can't handle the every day unknown, you will hate OTR.
If you are a local driver, you want to know all the roads in your area, all the traffic lights and road signs, potholes...etc, like the back of your hand.
IF you are a driver, you can do anything anywhere, any truck, any load, and be good at it. If you have to stick with what you know, STICK with what you know.

But don't be one of those people who can't do who try to look down those who can. If you prefer an auto, but can drive any manual that's cool. But if you cannot drive a manual, don't get into those automatic vs manual debates.

"But Six, autos get better fuel economy than manuals...it's a proven fact."

Sure it is. Take a truck with a manual transmission, swap it over to an auto and put the same driver in it and suddenly, the auto gets much better fuel economy...or did it? See, I'd wager that I could take that driver out of that manual truck and put another driver in and get better economy. The same concept goes with all that lane change cattleprods and tailgating stuff. You take a crap driver in a truck, and look at his safety record, stick him in a truck with cattleprods that ding him every time he drifts into other lanes or tailgates or does a hard brake, and say, "Hey look, cattleprods trucks are safer!" I could put another driver in that same.truck and he could go 3 million miles safely, no prodding needed. So, if you're seeing a big jump in fuel economy just because of the transmission, don't think for a moment that the auto is more efficient. It may just be because it takes out the human error.

All men are NOT equal. Six back quiet.