Auto shift, should I buy

Those who have had issues, was it an Eaton or other?

 

Update: I bought the truck last fall. It was the range solenoid. Paid $13,000 for it. Only problem since I got it has been the water pump. Other than that just a few minor things to get it up and running. It should have a nice easy life as I pull a GN trailer and my gross weight is never more than 45K.

The Auto Shift is a little annoying. I'd still prefer a 13spd but that aint-a-gonna happen. Nothing really bad about it, just different. Only hiccup was the very first load I hauled. I started the truck with the clutch pushed in and didn't let it out before I pushed "D". Duh, ok, let clutch out....OOPS! Have to push "N" first or as soon as is senses movement it shifts. Killed it dead and took a few tries to shake it loose and restart. Since then it's been flawless.

M11 with 3.9 rear ratio, mix of freeway and local driving. Last tank 9.1mpg. Not too shabby. My Dodge 3500 would get around 11mpg or so, but the next Dodge would have been a 4500 and gotten about the same as the Int'l. Can't complain there. Thinking about swapping in a locker and speeding up the rear. Any advice on what ratio to shoot for? Almost 1/2 my miles are empty...19K.

 

So...it's been a "few" years since I updated this thread.

I still have the truck. It's been good. I did have to replace the X-Y shifter at 400K. Around the same time the starter went out. The radiator a few years ago. Another water pump, the 2nd we did at home. That was fun. One injector. Steering gear last summer. I'm sure there's more but that's all the big stuff. Not bad for 10 years of use. All in all it's been a pretty good truck.

It now has 622K miles on it and I would guesstimate from the last time it was plugged in, maybe 24K hours. Still runs and drives great. It's been pulling a ground load stock trailer for the last 4+ years. Gets either side of 8mpg depending on seasonal fuel.

Now it's time to upgrade again. This time to a tandem so I can pull my grain trailer too. I've put almost 800K miles on my last two trucks. One an auto pickup, the other is this 3 pedal autoshift. That's a lot of miles to be thinking about going back to a manual. I don't know if I want to try backing up to barns, pens, corals, etc, without the control of a clutch or torque convertor. I haven't heard anybody say a new autoshift is the way to go. I still have a couple old trucks that I drive regularly and they're both manuals. I'm not worried about shifting, I still do plenty of that. The lack of smooth backing and trying to get moving on snow and ice is what concerns me.

I'm probably over thinking things as usual. Sounds like DT12's are pretty much loved universally by guys that have them. Lots of Cascadias out there now with low miles and DD13's mated to DT12's. Penske trucks etc. Not sure I want a Penske truck but going from a 2002 IH 8100 to a 2018 Cascadia would be a heck of a comfort upgrade. Even a few Prostar/LT out there in the same price range with ISX15's. Way more power than I need but why not? There's no replacement for displacement.

Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. Thanks for reading. Have a good day.

Jake