Autoshift for liquid bulk?

mattbnr · May 14, 2014

Pumpkin Oval Head said: ↑

I have driven 10 spd, 13 spd, 18 spd and auto shift. I have pulled various trailers, and only pulled straight bore tanker with a 10 spd and 18 spd. I have driven my brothers auto pulling hopper trailers.

I am smooth with both the 10 spd and 18 spd, but with the 18 speed the split gears will add surge to a load if you let up on the throttle to fast...I had to learn that. In fact, I would use the clutch to avoid having to let off the throttle to get the split shift done, as that was smoother than letting off the throttle all the way.

The auto shift driving does take a while to learn the shift points. If you pull a tanker with an auto, and you drive it like you would a van trailer you will have more surge... The first time I drove an auto, I thought the truck had died when it shifted up to the next gear....no power for a full second and I had the throttle half way to the floor....I could feel the momentum throwing my body forward as it shifted in the lower gears.....which would mean surge. The way I think you would fix that is to use less throttle and to let up on the throttle the closed you got to the shift point, so when the shift occurs you do not throw yourself and load forward when the auto goes into neutral. And then once the shift is done, you lightly accelerate to the next shift, etc. So I think it is very doable to avoid creating surge when upshifting. On downshifting, I do not see any problem as downshifts were pretty smooth with the auto I drove, as the auto will bump your rpms up higher than you would if you were driving a manual, and it is just a heck of a smooth downshift with an auto. And using the jake with an auto is super easy, as you do not have to match up engine rpms with the trans, as the auto does it for you.

So to repeat, there is a learning curve on the upshifting with an auto and not creating surge, but I think you can learn how to reduce it, or even eliminate it, while keeping it in the auto mode, but you need to be able to know where the shift point is, so you get off the throttle some to avoid creating surge. Downshifting is smooth and easy with the International auto I drove, and no manual down shifting would be needed on this tractor to avoid surge. Just use your brake pedal to control your decrease in speed, along with the jake.
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You nailed on how to shift and feather the throttle with the auto. That's exactly how I do it to control the surge. When I want it to shift I'll start backing off the throttle until it shifts then I ease it back up. It's like progressive shifting only you use the throttle to tell it when to shift.

All-American82 · May 15, 2014

I drive a 2014 KW t680 with an 18spd Eaton Ultrashift Plus. And I Love-Love-Love It!!! I was VERY skeptical at first, as my other experiences with autos were, shall we say, less than spectacular. So I wasn't really looking forward to it. But MAN am I in love with this one.

Others in this thread have already written the important stuff and WELL. Good job Guys!

Due to my "load and unload" locations I drive over 1 pass EVERYDAY and 2 passes 3 out of 5 days. The SHORTEST pass is 5200 Ft. And this baby handles them like a "Champ". As far as surge goes, I find it to be minimal if you drive right. It's like before, If you slop it around, Don't be surprised if it slaps you back. Again, I do ALOT of mountain and windy road driving. I deliver to mines. So I also do alot of dirt road driving. I find it to be minimal.

As ALREADY STATED. It's NOT like driving a CAR auto. There IS a learning curve. But once that is accomplished, WOW!!!

MY opinion is, If ALL autos worked like this one, I would never have a reason to switch back to messing with a clutch and shifting again. The "die-hards" can keep them. I LIKE my Ultrashift+ !!!

Just my experience.

TankermanRich · Sep 6, 2014

Lots of great information and auto-shift tips on this thread. I'm curious though; what's the consensus on driving in winter conditions? I've 'heard' that it's much easier to get stuck than with a manual shift. I don't like the tendency to skip shift on the downshift. Pretty much an auto-shift newbie as I was recently assigned an auto-shift (2012 T-800 w/18 spd Eaton AS).

Yes, it does take a different skill set to smoothly shift these machines, but I've had some issues with the steep grades. We pull heavy loads (63.5 ton super b's) which seem to cause problems for the transmission.

I've learned that it's almost mandatory to manually shift in certain circumstances: Starting out loaded on a grade. It will often try to skip shift, then lose momentum, and you're stopped dead again. I've become 'fairly' proficient at manually shifting on hills, but found myself in trouble on one hill when I couldn't drop gears fast enough, and ALMOST was stopped on the hill. I need to get these issues ironed out before the white stuff makes its unwelcome appearance again...

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Autoshift for liquid bulk?

mattbnr Road Train Member

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Autoshift for liquid bulk?

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