Auto-shift Or Shifting?

As an experienced driver who has driven both, let me say this. Auto-shifts are certainly beneficial but should not be driven by new drivers. As a new driver you should get your start in a manual. I started my career with PAM and they had nothing but auto-shifts. When I left PAM two years later for another driving job with a manual transmission, I looked worse than a green driver right outta school. Still to this day while shifting my current 13-speed I question whether or not I'm doing it right every time. It would have been nice to have had an experienced trainer show me the right way to shift.

 

Well; come pick me up. I am broke down anyway. Killing time at the motel. My 1st truck was a 13 speed. Probably could not hit a gear now tho!

 

I am sitting at a hotel in the pittsburg area waiting to pick up a truck tomorrow. Hope it is a Eaton 10

 

Sure, I'll be right there. It's not that far from Richmond, VA to NLR, AR

 

The driving I did with a super tanker in the city I'd much rather have the auto if they work like most drivers say they do. But shifting was like second nature and I don't think it took any concentration away from my driving. It just comes down to working less. Before I retired my company was pushing the idea of working less but working smarter. Autos make sense for that type of work. They come along way since I started with twin sticks!!!

 

LOVE 'em! especially ultrashift - no clutch!

 

Auto is fine but you haven't lived unless have an opportunity to drive a rig with a Brownie.

 

I was a big skeptic about automatics. My arguments against them were; I do not want a truck shifting unless I tell it to, what do you do if you get stuck on ice?, you can't jump start them if the batteries die, and if the computer on the transmission messes up it will not shift and leave you stuck.

I resisted my companies efforts to give me a new automatic for a year and a half stubbornly refusing to give up my straight 10 even though it was an older truck with a smaller bunk.

After my old truck started breaking down more and more the company only had a new 1 available for me to use while mine was put in the shop yet again.

The long and the short of it is this; I love it. The truck has no clutch and is a dream in traffic jams. Running team now with my wife is very pleasant as well (her shifting was pretty rough lol). The truck has not "locked up between gears" as many of the older predeccesors did. The batteries have not died so no reason for a jump start. Climbing and descending hills you have an option to shift the truck "manually" through pushing an up arrow or down arrow. The computer does not let you shift if the speed is not correct for the gear you want, if it is, then the computer will throttle up for you. No more grinding gears or missing gears either. Of course my automatic doesn't skip shift like I would and I am convinced I can shift just as smoothly (hey its my fantasy lol) but technology has moved on and I have accepted it.

 

For those of you who don't know what a "Brownie" is take look at this: