Automatic

I've pulled tankers with an automatic, but no clutch pedal.
The Freightliner was a nightmare and one reason is because if you stopped on a hill or slight incline, you couldn't move forward when you wanted to. Had to let the truck coast back down the hill to level ground and start over. Sometimes this meant when it finally would move forward, you may have to blast through a redlight or stop sign to keep from having to repeat the process.
The Volvo with Volvo engine & Volvo automatic transmission was just fine. Drove it coast to coast & border to border, with few problems. Sometimes at chemical plants it would jerk, so I just kept one foot hovered over the brake pedal to control that. Overall, driving that Volvo w/auotmatic was the best driving experience I ever had. Wasn't nearly as tired at the end of the driving day.
That brand new Freightliner was a nightmare also with the Mercedes engine. Stop at a traffic light & it would go into a regen. No way to move the truck until it finished. Have to get out and set up emergency triangles & direct traffic around the truck, then wait until the regen was completed; then retrieve the triangles, put them away, then continue on my way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I tested that Volvo on Black Mountain and it worked like a dream. All the way up, it downshifted by itself and then at the top, it upshifted as it should.

 

As long as you stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night...you’ll be ok.
Seriously...How did it go? With what?
I have to agree that my Volvo is less stressful to drive. They put much thought into it. Transmission is great. Love it.

 

My company has mostly manuals but we do have some autoshift. Give me 3 pedals please. The little bit I drove autoshift trucks they are jerky at times and backing they just plain suck. I don't like anything that removes control from the driver. The best automatic I ever drove, was an Allison in a triaxle international eagle dump truck. It acted just like a automatic car. I believe that transmission had a torque converter not an air controlled clutch.

 

I have been getting better about not letting that happen. It takes a very delicate touch for sure.

 

D for Dat way

 

After reading both your comments on your mDrive, I would say something is definitely wrong with it. The one I have is nearly flawless, and reverse isn't an issue either. I can't say it has ever missed a gear and it certainly never makes more than 1 attempt to get into a gear. Strange.

 

Hey, not only do you have to turn in your supertrucker membership card, you also lose your chicken hauler status too. You can no longer sit in truck stops and tell lies. You have to always hang your head in shame hoping for the day that you get back in a manual. You also keep a photo of a clutch pedal in your wallet to remind you of the days once when you was a real truck driver.