Looking for any legitimate advice I can get...

Lots of private trucking schools will rent out the truck by the hour. They also have private hourly rates w/ an instructor so you could also get used to the truck.

 

I remember back in Texas 2013 after signing off on my cdl the dps tester told me not to worry about my poor shifting, that I would get good at it overtime. Should have just gone for the manual but I can understand the pressure to pass and doing whatever it takes.

All training trucks have bad transmissions and worn out clutch pedals from student drivers.

I lost my old ten speed international just this July and I still dislike the automatic. Backing up now is a lot more hassle in tight places without the precision I had before.

 

Autos suck... i shifted alot of different equipment overr the years from old tractors, old trucks, new trucks, old equipment in general, and the ones i hated the most was the new automatic stuff ... they take away the control and feeling of driving a big rig.. It makes me feel like a glorified steeringwheel holder

 

I had one auto which was not half bad in my time, however it did have a manual mode for mountain work (HA... Love to see the state wriggle on that one...) theoratically possible to shift it as you take your DMV test. Its a paddle shifter.

The biggest flaw were two. Backing. Forced me to engage clutch and back in one move now to bypass the bounce house problems. Or worse jack into your load and see the #### thing throw you 10 feet like a bucking horse as it refuses to tolerate the pressures on the 5th wheel.

The other is we were a team truck. It never shut off until it blue screened twice requiring a tow each time. The second time the Veep came out to examine our situation and verified that yes it's dead because the load we had at that time was JIT to Iowa with 20 minutes in our favor. That load was late. Not us... We sit in Lancaster with FFE for a couple days waiting for them to "Reinstall" via software everything.

Manuals are good. But Companies are deliberately forcing them out of the industry where possible. Its so easy to plunk a newbie, have him or her push "D" and drive off.

 

They still make manuals. It's just the industry, mainly megas are going to autos. I don't mind it. I actually like autos. I imagine that one day the standard will be a memory. I actually wouldn't worry about trying to get that off your license. It ain't too many places that are using manuals especially if they are getting newer trucks. I really don't see what difference it makes as long as you're getting steady freight and money.

 

I wonder how the children will ever manage in say a 58' white or a 60's auto car or perhaps a Reo?

 

Alot of companies are going to autos. #1 for new drivers. # 2 for fuel economy. Sad but true.

 

You could go to another CDL school that have manual transmissions and pay them to train you and retake the test with their equipment. Option 2 would be to find a owner with a manual transmission who would be willing to let you retake the test on his equipment.

 

A lot of megas switched to auto over 10 years ago.

The companies that use manual far outweigh the megas using auto.