Are "manual transmissions only" types of drivers supertruckers?

I don't really get deeply involved in this debate. I did drive both. In all honesty, I preferred a manual but was happy just to have a rig that everything worked and I made money driving. To me, that is the most important aspect!

 

At least with my dt12 transmission, it won't downshift until 1000 rpms and often stops downshifting at 7th gear. Two weeks ago a trainee almost rolled my truck because he was riding the brakes into the turn, truck was still in "8th" but we were doing 15 mph. Had he come up off the brakes before initiating the turn, the truck would have downshifting and things would have been okay. Not good, but I wouldn't have had to curb my justified homicide urge. Had we been pulling a tanker, we would have rolled.

Then you have mountains - according to freightliner it's "optimal" to use the cruise control to control your speed. The truck will get 5 mph over what you have it set at, then kick the engine brake on high and drop a gear or too. If you kick the engine brake on high yourself, the truck starts downshifting you. When you run a road like I26 in NC, it's a constant flip back and forth between manual mode and automatic as you make the adjustments to control speed and spacing. It's a lot easier with a manual.

On ice, I prefer to run a lower gear with higher rpms. The automatic doesn't like that and will keep upsetting for better mpg. "Just toss it in manual then!" - manual mode is neutered in my truck, and even if it weren't why drive an auto just to use manual mode half the time?

I could go on and on and on and on about the benefits of a manual, especially when hauling liquids. IMO, there are only two real "benefits " to manuals- easier to teach how to drive and you don't have to harp on the idiots about fuel economy.

 

me too, I got used to both, but mainly drive a auto, no choice, they assign you a truck, get in it and drive. I have a lot of other things to do besides , what transmission is in a truck.

 

If the internet would have been around forever just think of all the changes that would have had the same arguments

You have a donkey? Get a real man’s animal like a horse

You sissies all have cars. Real men have horses
And I’m sure when cars went auto that they said the same things

I’ve had both.
Personally I like the manual but I also like my wife in bed with me rather than some dude but that’s just me.
I don’t care what anyone else prefers. Auto or manual. And why should it matter?

I will say with an auto there is a learning curve and you have a little more chance of getting caught in a mess but it’s like super singles
There’s a little more chance for a problem but it’s a pretty small one
Just need to be proactive

 

You’re old school. They didn’t have these type discussions in old school. This is a sidewalk sissy debate. Old school, you apply for a job and the boss would ask, “Can you drive, boy?” The answer is YES or NO. Anything more complicated than YES means NO.

A driver can drive ANYTHING anywhere at any time. Well, that’s the way it was before the advent of the fat and effeminate, delicate and fragile sidewalk sissy NonDriver Steeringwheelholder.

 

I think you’re a poo stirring troll

 

The new cascadia autos are good. Kenworth shifts like ####. Takes 5 minutes to get through an intersection.

 

Like others I drive what the company buys.
If I had a choice or bought my own it would be a manual but also a older steel truck.
I bought a new Accord 5 years ago and flew from MN to NC then took a Uber to SC to purchase my manual transmission. 3rd clutch going back 26 years. Never one problem w entire drivetrain in all that time. Same w the trucks I've driven in 48 years. Never a problem w the manuals but many issues w the autos in the last 5 years or so we have been running them including tows , rebuilds, replacements and of course the modern excuse where they just say "it needs to be reprogrammed ".

I am fortunate in that when it breaks on the road I'm still paid.

 

Ha ha ha, Triple Six, your a great guy, along with many other Old Schoolers.
That is exactly what happen when i first started out. Boss Says "you know how to drive" i says "Yes", boss says "go get your picture taken". for my "D" License. I was on another thread here and a young lady wants to be a Drivers Instructor. Well, Im getting too old, and i fell into this, and was upset how someone with 3 years driving wants teach someone how to drive. I should have just walked away, but......
then a MOD jumps on me, and that did it. Heck the MOD doesnt even have enough experience driving. so i got tossed into the dumpster. ha ha ha.sometimes im going to say it as it is.

 

OP, you asked the wrong question. The question really should be: "What are we doing wrong raising boys, that grown men feel the need to crow about a gearshift to validate their ego?"

A couple of the responses here demonstrated that attitude. The simple fact is there are drivers and those who just drive. And a driver is always going to be preferable, no matter how the tranny gets shifted.

I've got an Ultrashift on my new truck, and while it's not perfect, I have zero desire to go back to a manual. It's also programed how I want it, and all the features are unlocked. A locked up fleet auto would not be a preference over a stick.

Life lesson #3,485,269: Guys who want to make what transmission you have a Peter-measuring contest, generally aren't worth your time or trouble.