Automatic vs manual transmissions

Some autos have a manual position. Some have a manual switch that is disabled. Some have only the option of locking the tranny into the current gear. The autos are good to ok in winter, but many of the autos these days are also coming with radar braking system that goes off on many overhead signs in addition to traffic situations. SO FAR it hasn't caused me to wind up in the ditch, but I missed almost all snow and ice last winter.

 

I will accept your position.

I'm just sorry that what? 20 years separate your work that you do now than what I had back then and have not done anything with the new stuff in real mountain work.

Maybe I am the dinosaur demanding a manual mode on a auto so we can do Cabbage without trouble.... However I think that I cannot or will not allow a full computer to have my life and 80000 pounds in it's binary langauge processing all the way down Cabbage.

It's completely different when you are doing a intrument approach into say Memphis on a stormy summer night with tornadoes As long the shear at the airfield is not present and that everything else is in expected range, the pilot could continue to apporove the computer; specific challenges at each stage of a approach inbound. It's really precise work.

I enjoy your points of view, I learn from them from time to time and sometimes I actually reconsider or even change my view or adapt a different path than before. You are not the only one who has a good communication here. Itr's obvious we (Meaning myself and anyone here talking over a trucking question) might or might not agree. Its ok. You present the situation plainly in the way I can understand and I suppose if I had a ride down cabbage either in real life or on video i the dead of winter without the driver having to *looks for words... break in a truck all the way down the way a cowboy has to teach a yearling how to take a man and saddle. It's not pretty in the beginning. But when done right, you have a potential for a very good horse.

I for one would be the first to celebrate if anyone can ever build a proper tractor trailer running on a automatic in pretty much any location around the USA if my exwife could just push one button and just go without all that thinking, hefty theory, jaking,gradient, weights, tractions etc etc etc. And be safe doing it in any weather.

However.

I constantly cannot stop worrying because these engineers designing and building these thins have talent and they do well with how thick a gear should be to accept 2000 pounds feet torque at 1750 RPM.

But I don't very many has run Cabbage.

I just finished a article celebrating a fairly heavy vehicle going up the Pikes Peak Road which is pretty much the only road that goes into the clouds in the free world on the planet. They built a vehicle that can break records (And have as of last week smashed every single existing record including many that were stood by bi rigs that ran that road.)

If anything I ever say on line or in public to anyone means anything at all.. I would say the following:

Anyone can get up a hill big or small in a hurry. That's really fun and irresistible.

But that has to be enough is enough of that silly, you know it, I know it, they know it and so on.

Let's grab 80000 pounds on a standard 70 foot 18 wheeler AND a Michigan B Train with it's own 5th wheel taking something on the order of maybe 175000 pounds and get them BOTH down to the BOTTOM SAFELY. WITHOUT DAMAGE. THE FASTEST WAY POSSIBE.

AND do it so that any idiot trucker like me can hop in and take her done that road in any weather, night or day (I have never laid eyes on it before) safetly setting new records for others to break.

Without damage to the cargo, rig or trailer etc.

Let's REALLY rock that mountain.

Am I the only stupid idiot thinking this way> Should I commit myself to Thorazine for the next 40 years so that I don;t ever have to be worried about that ever again?

We have got to have trucks that are for lack of a better word.. either MANLY or WOMANLY in all it's glorious engineering that America can proivde so that even the most stubborn 5th grade drop out will arrive into some of the most best of places that offers a view that;s out of this world.

 

I like the engine brake slowing me down also. I don't use it in the snow or ice covered roads. You just setting yourself up for a jacknife. I use all the brakes when the roads are slippery. The Detroit auto will crank up the RPMs by dropping a gear or two. That would not be good on ice and snow. So I just turn the engine brake off and avoid that problem. That's how we were told to drive, the engine brake is just for good weather and going faster downhill and less brakes

 

I hauled very heavy over Cabbage, DD13/DT12, as a NEW driver, at least a half dozen times, with no problem. 2 of those were in very heavy snow, practically blizzard conditions, and 2 more were with fresh snow pack. Never a problem, possibly because I respect gravity, maybe? I dunno. I mean, the signs give max speed for gross weights, like 27 MPH for 80K? Seems slow, but I never crashed my truck, so I'll take slow and safe any day.

The DD13/DT12 is a wonderful setup, if a driver takes the time to learn it. Ours were programmed for Economy, we didn't even have access to Performance mode.

That rest area up there, at Dead Man Pass, is one of my favorites.

Fun side note: I did witness the tail end of a truck b q at the base of the grade on the eastern side, the trailer was fully burned, the tractor was about half gone.

 

The engine brake is just a tool to be used safely, you can have problems with brakes being misadjusted and locking up before the others. Slow and steady is the rule, do not go hitting any brakes hard, you have to ease into them and make no sudden changes otherwise you be looking at your trailer smacking you sillier.

 

Ok, with all of this said, has anyone here driven the new 12 sp eaton in the Paccar trucks, I have been looking at the KW's since they have an 11 litre motor (that is all I will ever need) just looking for feedback on one in real world conditions. Thx

 

I've grown used to it.
Still prefer a 13.. or even a 10.. but it us what it is.
I use the manual mode when climbing, especially with a load. The shift points are way low.
I know the torque points are built to pull at low RPM but it just struggles.

As far as jakes.. I only use the Jake in the manual mode.
In E, or full auto, if you start down a hill it will downshift and throw it up to 1800rpm when you're wanting to coast.

If I need the jake.. I push the manual button.. and flip it to 1,2 or 3 stage and downshift at MY DISCRETION

The winter driving hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, and I do z lot of it. Just use the manual mode.

If you happen to get stuck somewhere, you no longer have the ability to get it "rocking" back and forth to wiggle free.

 

I can't engage engine braking without hitting the brake. I work harder with this auto than a manual. Cruise on it starts to over speed down a hill. Tap the brake to slow her down, then engage the cruise again to get speed up. It will go downhill at idle for a while then jump to 1500. Going up hill drops 5-7 depending on grade. It can be just a small hill. I tried manual one day, dropped a gear and kicked it from 1100 to 1400 and it slowed down. This thing is a pain. But going up Monteagle with 25k on it never gets below 49. Going down in 3 it will actually slow down. I normally use 2 to maintain.

 

If you have the Detroit transmission you just turn on the engine brake anytime you want like normal. If your going down a long hill you should use the Downhill Mode. That will keep the truck and transmission locked into the speed you want

 

It seems the difference between some auto transmission setup configurations, and from year to year is literally like night and day. I'm glad I don't have to deal with some of these crappy things. I'm glad I waited as long as I did before being transitioned into an auto, and did so at a good company.