Automated vs manual transmissions. Which is better?

Couldn’t agree more! I recently had to buy a truck with an automatic for 2 reasons 1) I needed an automatic to do road tests because you wouldn’t believe how many owner operators these days cannot drive a manual transmission and it’s a pain trying to rent an automatic some days and 2) just like you I don’t want to sit in a traffic jam wearing out what remains of my 67 year old left knee.
I still love to get the opportunity to run through 13 or 18 gears once in a while but to really go out and go somewhere give me the automatic!
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Shifting gears the way that we were all taught decades ago is becoming a lost art form hence the popularity of automatics. Hell so many of the schools barely even teach the students who often pay thousands how to do anything let alone drive a 13 speed!

 

Auto shift transmissions are a sign of the times and they are NOT going away. You can count me in the group that prefers a manual because I always felt driving one I had more control. I mentioned that new Prostar a few comments ago. I failed to mention one aspect of that truck that made me so mad at times I could cuss and actually did! My company drove junk that did not get serviced as it should. This followed by drivers that, to be honest, don't know their patoots from a hole in the ground that constantly was breaking the equipment. At least twice a month I was stuck somewhere trying to slide tandems that were so recalcitrant I had to call for help. As soon as I put any strain on the drivetrain I got a clutch error and the truck quit. With an old manual a good run up and you could knock stuck tandems loose. This debate always reminds me of the CB radio debate. So many people think if you are not driving a manual and talking on the CB somehow you are less of a driver. In today's world, this is simply no longer accurate. Most carriers use auto shifts because they get tired of replacing clutches and having to pull transmissions to replace broken gears. An earlier comment mentioned shifting to be a lost art! YES, it is. When you have 6 months of experience training green drivers all kinds of things get overlooked. The bottom line is simple, @ethos touched on this a bit. The troubles in this industry are deeper than what kind of transmission a driver has. The need for auto shifts is in actuality a symptom of the primary problem. In my opinion, that problem is at least 50% of ALL drivers OTR and local have NOT been properly trained, and at least 25% have no business even driving a class 8 CMV! This is an opinion borne out of being in and around trucking for the last 50+ years. I have seen the changes with my own baby blues!

 

The article referenced contains one or two good points embedded in an avalanche of pure claptrap.

Always "consider the source."..........

 

That statement might be true if trucks always stayed on the pavement, but I don't foresee automated transmissions becoming the norm in the oilfield or in logging operations.

 

BINGO!

 

Whatever suits you the best. Older drivers who drive when all trucks were manual transmission will most likely stick with a manual but they could change.
Whatever you feel more confident with. I prefer manual though it requires you to move and stay alert. But I can see why truckers will prefer the automatic transmission.

 

Made it a few paragraphs. Then couldn't read anymore, and no i do not, nor ever will have an ape hanger but an auto is blasphemy. I've driven both and nothing compares to rowing gears weather it be a 9sp or an 18

 

Just another case of sms