Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Discussion in 'Discuss Your Favorite Trucking Company Here' started by JohnBoy, Apr 10, 2013.

  1. MidWest_MacDaddy

    MidWest_MacDaddy Road Train Member

    11,167
    18,796
    Feb 21, 2015
    South Carolina
    0
    "M" for Mountain Mode
    { right @5speed }
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. MidWest_MacDaddy

    MidWest_MacDaddy Road Train Member

    11,167
    18,796
    Feb 21, 2015
    South Carolina
    0
    90% of the time we are on dry flat land. If one needs more control, manual mode.

    So I will gladly trade a few days of extra caution for the driving in construction or city traffic without the hassle of a clutch.

    But it's always good to have diversity in debate.
     
    Redtwin, chralb and 4mer trucker Thank this.
  4. 5speed

    5speed Road Train Member

    1,102
    1,104
    Aug 12, 2012
    0
    LOL, yes sir
     
    MidWest_MacDaddy Thanks this.
  5. chralb

    chralb Road Train Member

    1,844
    2,590
    Jul 24, 2010
    Where the truck is
    0
    I agree and having never driven an automatic, I'm not qualified to debate the differences. It's just when I read folks saying it goes (or can go) into "free wheeling" when going down hills that makes me nervous. If there's a way to control them better through this "manual mode" when needed, it really sounds great.

    As you say, I guess it depends on where you mostly drive too. When I ran for WS I'd have to "estimate" that I spent less than 30% of my time on flat dry roads. A lot of mountains, snow and rain filled most of my days.

    I'd still want a Johnson bar though. :p ... lol
     
    MidWest_MacDaddy and Redtwin Thank this.
  6. chralb

    chralb Road Train Member

    1,844
    2,590
    Jul 24, 2010
    Where the truck is
    0
    I agree. Having terminals in both SFS CA and Spokane WA, I'd sometimes get caught in that loop having to run between them for a couple weeks. Not fun at all. But I can say that just staying with the truck traffic in CA we'd mostly run at about 60 to 63 without worry. Not in OR or WA though. Double nickel the whole way!

    Running in and out of CA (east west) wasn't too bad. The bridge law never bothered me much. For the most part the load weights were setup for it knowing we were going there.
     
  7. Redtwin

    Redtwin Road Train Member

    5,485
    7,604
    Aug 17, 2012
    PBC, FL
    0
    Its just this truck that does that as it lacks the manual mode. The Volvo and KW weren't like that.

    As it stands if I were to be offered a manual to replace this auto I wouldn't want to swap. The transmission otherwise is too good and the benefits of an auto far outweigh the negatives I posted.

    I may feel differently this winter though. Having said that I was talking to a driver here yesterday who suggested a technique that might keep it in a lower gear. It will be a few days before I can try it though.

    Johnson bar would be great when setting off from a stop uphill. The hill start assist thing works but makes some ugly sounding noises when it releases.
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2016
    gntorres61 and chralb Thank this.
  8. chralb

    chralb Road Train Member

    1,844
    2,590
    Jul 24, 2010
    Where the truck is
    0
    Ahhh .. I see. I must have missed that it was just your truck. Well I'm hoping to hear from Rusty next week and with any luck, I'll have a chance to find out what these autos are like to drive with soon. :)

    Starting out on hills was never too bad. Just have to get that clutch grab right before coming off the break. I would "think" with an auto, you could just left foot the break pedal until ready to go? In any case, it will be interesting to find out.

    I never used the Johnson bar in that way. It was for getting the rig straight again if the trailer started sliding to one side or the other going down steep hills in bad winter weather. That happened a couple times in my 2 years and being able to lightly apply just the trailer breaks first would help pull the rig straight. It can be a tad unnerving when you see your own trailer catching up to you. LOL
     
  9. JohnBoy

    JohnBoy Road Train Member

    9,990
    26,818
    Apr 24, 2009
    Lake Worth, FL.
    0
    Well now, had my sickening episode to carry me through to my retirement. Just witnessed a train hit a car just north of I-40 right at the eastbound POE at the 9mm in NM. Car burst into flames and was dragged about 3/4 of a mile. Saturday nights in the reservation ain't a good place.
     
  10. chralb

    chralb Road Train Member

    1,844
    2,590
    Jul 24, 2010
    Where the truck is
    0
    Oh man that sucks! Things like that can stay with ya for a long time. I've seen a few incidents that even after 4 years off the road come back to me at times.
     
  11. MidWest_MacDaddy

    MidWest_MacDaddy Road Train Member

    11,167
    18,796
    Feb 21, 2015
    South Carolina
    0
    Yup
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.