Manual or automatics?

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Driver Eight, Oct 29, 2019.

  1. Echo5kilo

    Echo5kilo Bobtail Member

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    Sep 8, 2019
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    I'm running a 740 Volvo in 6x2 configuration. We are getting more Walker tankers in lift axle configuration. The transmission is legit.
     

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  3. Sinister310

    Sinister310 Light Load Member

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    Oct 18, 2019
    Los Angeles
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    I figure, we all get paid the same........why do more work shifting?
     
  4. Occam's scythe

    Occam's scythe Bobtail Member

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    Oct 30, 2019
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    Because for reasons of safety. Probably the largest part of driving is paying attention and making good decisions. Yes these autos allow many people who shouldn't be driving 40 tons around to drive but ultimately it's down to should a machine tell you what to do or should you tell the machine what to do. When you're staring down a ravine knowing that really sharp turn is coming up fully loaded on the bad part of an 8%grade and the idiot auto decides it really should downshift but during that small moment of it shifting the truck accelerates by 20mph just made life a little more difficult and nobody please say ride your brakes down a mountain for eight miles
     
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  5. Concorde

    Concorde Road Train Member

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    West Melbourne Florida
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    A manual transmission truck you can easily pull start..with an automatic you’ll be calling for a wrecker.
    That’s just one of the reasons I would never buy an automatic transmission truck.
     
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  6. shatteredsquare

    shatteredsquare Road Train Member

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    Manual:
    1. vocalize expletive
    2. put down my coffee cup
    3. service brake hard to knock off 15 mph
    4. get off brake, clutch in revs up catch lower gear while truck starts plummeting like a shooting star
    5. engine brake + service brake, bring that gear down to 800 RPM
    6. engine brake off, get off brake, clutch in revs up catch lower gear while gravity adds 15 mph in 2 seconds
    7. engine brake + service brake, bring gear down to 800 RPM
    8. repeat to the bottom like a one-armed three-legged row boat race

    Auto:
    1. vocalize boyish excitement
    2. gently drag brakes to start getting them warm and turn off cruise control
    3. press down paddle shifter and feel to a 12.8 L inline 6 rev match like a super bike from 1200 to 2000 RPM and lock into 9th, without taking my foot off the brake or using my left foot
    4. turn on engine brake from steering wheel and let 9th scream like a mechanical banshee all the way from 2000 RPM down to 700 RPM, polishing the inside of the cylinder walls and blasting +/- 100 gallons/second of compressed air through the DPF can
    5. double tap paddle to skip shift 9th to 7th, rev matches itself up to 2100 RPM and engine brake toggles itself off then back on to lock into 7th, drag 7th down to +/- posted turn speed
    6. turn off engine brake from steering wheel, having never used the left foot for anything and only using the service brakes to bring initial speed low enough to catch 9th at 2000 RPM, and/or additional stopping power with each engine brake drag...
     
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  7. shatteredsquare

    shatteredsquare Road Train Member

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    and with an auto they can't tow from the front without detaching the drive shaft, if they can't get to you from the back or you can't get out from under a trailer, they have to remove the drive shaft.
     
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  8. Zeviander

    Zeviander Road Train Member

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    Funny story, since driving an auto for the last 6 months, both my knees have been aching from not moving very much. I've had to make more frequent stops to get out and stretch my right leg since it isn't being used to shift anymore (throttle regulation). Just push it down and get up to speed, then set the cruise for another 2-3 hours.


    They can shift faster than any human, especially when the throttle is mashed to the floor and they rev to 2100 rpm and skip gears.

    You can tell who's got an auto and is in a big hurry. Their cab is rocking like they are going down a gravel road.
     
  9. Zeviander

    Zeviander Road Train Member

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    The second option sounds way more boring. I drove an auto up the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse and back and through every curve and over every hill I was wishing I was in a standard rowing through the gears.
     
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  10. Zeviander

    Zeviander Road Train Member

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    How many 6x2's do you guys have? I think I saw one this past week at the Flying J on the I80 in Altoona, IA. I was stuck there from Monday through Wednesday and walked past it a few times.
     
  11. Zeviander

    Zeviander Road Train Member

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    Because it's fun?
     
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