Automatic trucks

first time I drove one was # dick simnon trucking about 8 years ago...


dunno - it just felt wrong... but they serve their intended (and unintended) purpose...

 

Like many had said stick with manual till a later date. Get the experience first using manual transmission. I did drive for US Express at one time, and loved the Auto, as some said it saves the knees. But not all companies have automatics. Most of the better paying jobs has manual. Can you drive a manual Transmissions? Yes. It not that bad. Only time I use the clutch is when I start or Stop. Some says it bad, yet others says it OK.

Snow driving is not that bad if you take your time, and give it it's respect. Do not go racing around, even if you see the Cattle trucks doing it. Slow and avoid hitting the brakes hard.

 

check out CT Transportation, Savannah, GA. I started out with them several years ago as a student. got out of training and got a 10 speed. had it for 7 months. then I got an autoshift....loved it! after a year and a half, I got an ultrashift (NO clutch,) loved it even more!! especially going around D.C. and Atlanta!! most fleets will end up with autoshifts or ultrashifts. they perform exactly the same as they would with an experienced driver working the stick, only you don't have to take your hand off the wheel, or your foot off the "gas."

 

I believe the original question was something like "what companies in the SE have autos and will hire recent grads" Two come to mind...US Xpress (Lexington, NC and Tunnel Hill, GA) and Watkins Shepard has a terminal some where in NC....

 

interesting that no one has said anything about the advantages of an auto shift so here goes,
My last and probably final truck I am going to own i bought 4 years ago. I only buy used trucks and when I looked at this one the only thing I didn't like about it was the auto shift. I gave the dealer the usual reasons I didn't like it and he told me to take it for a couple of days and give it a workout which I did and it took very little time to figure out that I really loved that tranny,
Mine has a clutch for starting and stopping, in reading the other posts most people worry about going up and down hills, well that isn't even an issue as you don't have to let the auto shift do the work you can put it into manual mode and shift it yourself, with the flick of a button you can up or down shift as you would in a truck with a manual, with the advantage that the computer will only allow a shift if the rpms are within a range that will not damage the engine! another thing you CANNOT miss a gear!!!!
Another advantage is in emergency stopping situations I guarantee you I can stop my truck faster than any manual on the market while being to concentrate more on what is happening and less on shifting as all i am doing is punching the button and letting the computer take care of the shifting.
I can skip gears and get up to speed much quicker if I am light,[I have heard that the newer autos don't allow you to skip I don't know this for sure]
I also am less tired at the end of the day from not having to clutch and shift all day long, my left leg is no longer sore from driving thru slow traffic,my right shoulder which was giving me some trouble is no longer sore,ect
The downside, like anything you have to get used to it, it doesn't take but a few days though.
the quirks, the main one is that in very,VERY rare situations if you try hard enough you can confuse the computer, two situations come to mind, if you kill it in gear or if you throw it in neutral while stopping from a from speeds above 30 mph it will screw up the computer that is the reason you see some auto shifts stuck on a fuel island, while the service centers get big bucks for a tow and to fix the problem the thing they don't want you to know is if you just unhook the batteries for a few minutes and allow the computer to reset you will be good to go, been more than one time I have helped someone get going without spending a lot of money on them bloodsuckers.
I know there will be people that will say they will never drive an auto but I will never go back to a manual safety,less aches and pains,and better efficiency, are more important to me than my ego, all I can say is if you haven't driven an auto and you have a chance to take one on a trip or two give it an honest chance and you will give up shifting too

 

If there was an auto that worked with a mechanical motor I'd have one in my pete faster than you can say knee pain!

 

First week of school and all the people that came in this week from companies to talk to us said they were all moving toward auto trucks. One said it will probably be industry wide in 4-5 years.
I am just telling you what they said however I don't think it's a good thing. Then again I have never driven one.

 

I love 13 speeds but in all honesty, if an automatic were offered to me....I wouldn't turn it down.

 

they will be. COmpanies are saving allot of money buying automatics. The rookies don't tear up the truck near as bad with an auto as they do with a manual.

 

Mav. has all automatics, 'bout 10 liter Detroits that go up most hills pretty good, never could get more then 'bout five MPG but they ran good. drive55cat