Anyone else hate shifting?

that right there.

shifting properly means you are actually understanding what the truck is doing.

I always had the CB squelch up and the music radio low, then I could "become one with my truck".
if something started going wrong you are more in tune to the sounds it makes.

gotta love the torque twist of the tractor with a heavy load. It's a guy thing. (not the manbun kind)

got my first driving job and headed to Canada without ever driving a non-synchro tranny. yeah there were lots of comments on the CB about the gear grinding. lol.

by the time I got back on Sat morning it was pretty easy, after a month we were floating like a pro

 

I have driven both and only had manual transmissions when I started. Driving a manual is a good skill to have but I like the convenience of the auto shift. The repairs on auto shift are more complicated. Manual transmissions are pretty built proof and simple. Usually just replace a clutch or two or three and that manual transmission will last over a million miles.

 

I have 2020 Cascadia with a 10 Speed Manual. I'm so smooth backing. Never jerking and rocking the cab. I see these guys with Autoshifts backing up and the truck looks like a bronking bull. So many people say to me "How did you get this truck with a Manual? I hate this #### Autoshift" In traffic were the guys you want to get behind because we hardly ever stop. Autoshift truckers drive just like the cars. Full throttle then slams on the brakes. Rinse and repeat until they get out of traffic. Float the gears and that clutch pedal pad still looks like new.

 

The last four of the fourteen or so years I drove were on automatics. I grew to accept them, but never liked it. I never thought of shifting as a distraction, but a skill that was part of being a trucker.

 

I like shifting but I've been on an automatic 3 yrs. Afraid I'd need practice now.

 

I've had autos where sometimes there's a slight delay in taking off or between gears. Makes crossing an intersection exciting.

 

And you will, had a buddy that just switched jobs, he’s done manual shifting most of his trucking life, switched to fuel hauling which had all automatics, then got offered more money with a different company 2 years later and they only have 13 speeds. He said that he was embarrassed going thru the gears, took him a little longer then he thought for it to all come back to him, and the sloshing in the tanker didn’t help much.

 

I've seen stickers on owner operator trucks that brought a smile.
Real Truckers Use Three Pedals

 

I'll never forget the first few years I was on the job. Shifting the truck for weeks, then taking a little break. I'd get into my Toyota Camry and was always lifting my left foot, and reaching for the shift lever.

 

Something like this