Automatic Trucks

Just wait till this construction season hits full tilt, EVERYONE will wish they had an auto! LOL

 

We have several Volvo VHD models with D13 and 12 speed i-(don't)Shift transmissions at work. They have been reprogramming them over and over again to get them to stop blowing up. The latest was another derate of the engine, removal of manual select of 1-2-3 start and 10-11-12 (auto mode shift only). They are still blowing and Volvo blames the drivers.

Could it be that a D13 and i-#### aren't tough enough for the oil field? They will never admit it, but I think we're down to 300 hp now trying to pull 80-105k in the hills.

 

I have to wonder about how those were specd they do have different ratings on those trannys I dont know if you can get top rating with D13?

 

crap crap crap technology . useless , dangerous . If you enjoy trying to go across a 4 lane busy highway hoping a truck does not come over the hill and T bone you because your truck is taking 30 seconds to cross 2 lanes then you will love autoshift. there is none of that quick shifting 1 2 3 4 by the time you get across all lanes . it shifts very slowly 15 , 11 . Can not count the times I was almost hit trying to get across highways . If you enjoy creeping up a on ramp and onto a 75 mile an hour highway while you take 2 miles to get close to highway speed then you love autoshift. If you enjoy sitting on side of road because tranny will not shift out of 3rd or stuck in 10 or does not move at all because a sensor inside tranny is going bad then you will love autoshift .
FL worst offender I have had the displeasure of driving . Buttons on dash for shifting . you got to look at dash instead of road so you can poke the right one . you get only manual which means locked in 1 2 or 3 and auto .
KW had a autoshift that actually could be shifted through all ten gears or locked in low or auto. How ever shifting all 10 is not much different than auto but you do have a little play in where you tell it to shift at . You can start out in any gear you want up to 3rd . If you shift it into 1 2 or 3 before pulling away then the next time you pull away it will be in that gear . But still plagued with sensor problems after about 4 years .
RUN ! Forest RUN ! as far away from autoshift as you can

 

again your talking old technology
the new freightliners with the mercedes 12 speed autoshift are new and totally different
105000 miles never been in manual drive 80 to the west coast weekly
but what do i know

 

Yep, apples and oranges,

 

Well I have been driving an auto for about 40,000 miles now. I've never driven an auto in anything but a tanker and the surge messes with mine all the time. Especially at slow speeds. Sometimes it will up shift when you first take off on a hill but then the surge will hit and it will downshift again only to up shift again immediately. I have to put it in manual sometimes when it does that.

Also, once in Montana it was 20 below out and the truck wouldn't shift out of 2nd, manual mode or not, it just plain wouldn't shift. I just kept driving around the parking lot and eventually it started working. That was weird because I've been in colder weather than that and it worked fine.

All in all if it was my choice I would go back to a stick, if I am to be driving a tanker that is. But it's really not worth complaining about, usually it's no big deal and I've gotten pretty good about knowing when to manually shift it.

 

Agreed, the DD15 with DT12 automated manual transmission is an awsome combination.
I've only talked with one driver who had issues with the DT12 so far. He couldn't dump a dock or hook a trailer correctly. Didn't know what creep mode was, go figure.

 

It would be helpful if you guys would state what truck, engine and tranny you talking about. I love the DT12, and I heard good things about the new Volvo auto.

 

You also have to consider what you are hauling, if your freight doesn't move then you will have a different experience. The OP was asking about tanker companies using autos. Surge messes with the shifting, at least it does mine.