Eaton Ultrashift vs 10spd or 13 spd Manual

I came from the Mack M Drive to Eaton Ultrashift Plus... Would consider either a good choice.

 

Larry, heavy is not the problem I am concerned with, hill country is not the concern, even a gravel road that I have to go on several miles a week, it is fighting in and out of docks in the caves around Kansas City, dropping an hooking several times a week in dirt/gravel lots with lots of pot holes. I have no doubt the AMT's do a great job, in general, but some of my customers, it is quite an adventure getting in and out of where they are. If it weren't that they are great customers and treat me well, i wouldn't deal with what I have to. But the time to know if an AMT can handle what I do, comfortably, is not after I buy one, but before I buy one.

But thanks, AT, for your perspective on the Volvo/Mack and Detroit products. I have seen videos of them in operation, and one of those is on my short list. I noticed that with the DT-12. Still swayed toward the Allison TC-10, but as I stated, it is very limited in what it is available in. That is primarily because the AMT's I have looked at, the top gear spread is not what I want. Seems most go from direct to .73 or similar. I don't like that spread. The Allison TC10, the top gear spread is from direct to .86. That is only a 200-250 RPM spread. Much better for hill work.

I know.... picky, picky, picky. But when I am paying the tab, and I have to deal with it daily, I have a right to be picky.

 

Cowpie, what tranny do you run now? Mine is a 13 spd Eaton so if you're running a 13 now it would be the same gear splits. I wasn't hauling heavy when I was in the oil fields, just a lot of conditions you're interested in, pot hole dirt roads and offloading lots, tight turns in dirt lots and the occasional muddy yards.

If I remember correctly, isn't the Allison you keep mentioning their first attempt at an automated gear box?

As for the tight conditions in the caves, I haven't been down there in a long time but I can't see any reason any of the auto gear boxes would give you any issues.

 

I have an 18. Same top end as a 13. The Allison is not their first attempt at a automated gear box. They have been involved in heavy truck automatics for decades longer than the Johnny Come Lately AMT's. It is not a AMT computer controlled manual like the others. It is a full blown, torque converter startup, automatic. The TC starts the motion, then the trans goes into full lockup at around 4 mph. Then it is still an automatic like something in a pickup. It just has 5 gears shifting thru two ranges. It is not anything like the AMT's most people think of in trucks now. It is their latest offering designed specifically for OTR work. Not some regional, heavy haul, or construction type of truck. They just take what they have learned putting automatics in other trucks over the years and built an automatic purely for the normal OTR type of operation. It is the torque converter aspect that motivates me on the conditions I mentioned as opposed to some computer controlled clutch that the AMT's have.

But it remains, the spread on a 13 top end and an 18 is direct, then .86, then .74 or .73. Every AMT I have seen data on, the spread is direct to .73 or .74 full shift. That is a very large spread when working a hill heavy. No different than the typical 10 speed fleet spec trans. The Allison, it has a direct to .86 top gear. That is half the RPM spread. Much better when working a hill. You know that. It is like a split on the top hole of a 13 or 18.

I am only making assumptions on data I have seen. I have no direct experience with the AMT's of late, only the very first Eaton AMT 3 pedals in the mid 90's, and very limited at that, and the traditional Allison's in the vocational truck category.

 

I don't think you will be disappointed which direction you choose to go,any of them will work for you. I was a little nervous when I ordered mine, I had really enjoyed my M Drive and hadn't driven an Eaton auto shift since back in 2003. That one was the 3 pedal and it had a lot of issues that the dealership could never get ironed out.

I bought this one based on my local salesman's recommendations as he had sold several to a local small fleet and their drivers loved, them so I took a chance and haven't looked back since taking delivery. 100% improvement compared to what my last experience was like with Eaton's atm.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I am a little jaundiced over the short experience I had with the Eation 3 pedal in the mid 90's. But that was the very early stuff so they still had a lot of bugs to work out over the years. The apprehension remained from that. I generally liked it, but it was less than reliable.

 

I use to be a fan of the TC 10's but now I am not so sure. Sure they have a torque converter but they also have a dual clutch setup in them. As one is disengaging the other is engaging so that you do not have a loss on torque going down the road. That is the good part. Most of the shifts are nice and smooth. Somewhere around the 7-8 shift it actually has to shift ranges so that is the only part where it is not powering constantly. I don't think that the fuel mileage is there, at least not to what they are claiming. I am not saying it is a bad transmission at all, I just don't think that it would be the first one that I would pick.

 

And that could be a deal killer with me. I have heard of others saying that the TC10 shift points can be reprogrammed to meet user needs better. I have no first hand knowledge of that.

 

Seems like maintenance is the issue with AMT. Ultrashift is basically a manual tranny but with electronic clutch actuator and shifter. That is probably the most easiest auto-manual transmission u can get hands on.

 

How easy is it to maintain as far as grease points. Do you still jabe to remove the cover and be adjusting clutch?