manual or automatic transmission??

Personally, if your a new driver, I think you should stay with a manual, until you are proficient with it, and then if you want to go to automatic, then that's fine, you can never tell when you might need to make a move to another venture

 

I know two guys that started and drove automatics for years but had to get a manual truck and they were rusty but still managed to roll.

 

Eaton hasn't made a program for the ultra shift yet for tankers. Freightliner is working on one and should be out soon if nor already so. Volvo and Mack have a program for the iShift already. It was designed in cooperation with Idaho Milk and shifts sweet for smooth bore tankers. Most of the dealers out east are unaware or the program but it does exist. Personally I'm a manual trans fan but I understand the need for autoshift transmissions. 2017 model Volvo trucks will have a dual clutch iShift for smoother faster shifting.

 

Volvo has had a "liquids" program for more then 10Y,just wasn't availeble in North America.
Freightliner only has to ask the Mercedes .
The Paccar Group(Peterbilt+Kenworth) and International aren't so lucky.
Peterbilt and Kenworth cannot use the same programs as their sister compagny (DAF), as it uses a gearbox that is no longer sold in N A.
Same story for International,they sometimes cooperate with MAN but again the gearbox MAN uses is the same one that Daf uses.
Evendough i'm a Paccar fan i would say Volvo,Mack and Freightliner are ahead in having a tanker autobot solution.(in North America)

 

Actually the Idaho milk parameter came out in may with their purchase agreement last year. The program you speak of was very generic still had a too hard shift and a lot of slosh for smooth bore. Just out of the class for the new dual clutch. Its supposed to be even smoother. Kag West is getting their own program too as the new Macks theyvare ordering are supposed to have an Mdrive. Seems they just can't get the hang of putting a little grease on the throwout bearing and are burning up clutches at about 2 per truck per year. Also have a livestock program for these transmissions as well but have never piloted a truck with that one. Zf/Meritor are still trying to get back in the market but not having much luck. The freightliner unit looks an awful lot like a ZF made tranny but if I remember right its made under Detroit diesel. Internals are almost identical to the I shift. Basically a 3 speed trans with splitter gears on front case and range in rear housing.

 

I drove a smooth bore tanker with 18 spd petes. When splitting gears you let off the throttle for the clutchless upshift, you would get surge, especially in the low range. So I would use the clutch lightly as I eased off the throttle slowly to avoid surge. Sometimes the tranny would not upshift if you didn't let off the throttle hard enough, so I started using the clutch to make splitting the gears smoother.

I could see where an auto trans. would create some surge if you mash the throttle. If you you eased up on the throttle right before it shifted you could reduce the surge. I haven't pulled a tanker with an auto trans, but have driven an auto trans. But I think a clutch would be smoother shifting in the low range. You will have some surge, regardless of which trans.

In general, the throttle can create as much surge as braking. I used the jake a lot, as it was very smooth braking.

 

Try shifting at a lower rpm and using a little less throttle....there is a lot of torque in the low range, and you don't need to use all of it.

 

Smooth bore 30foot tank.
9250 gallons(35000 liters) capacity
Gross is around 97000lbs.
Load is 60 000lbs(27300kg)
Those that drive tankers will know this is about as bad as it can get.
Throw in some city traffic.
Yet i drive this with a "autobot" without any real problems.
(the (in) famous Freedom gearbox but with '15 liquids software)
Is there still surge?Offcourse there is.
But is reduced a lot by the smooth working off the gearbox.
So can it done to build a near perfect autobot?YES.
Does knowing how to drive still matter? YES!!!!
Because a good driver has 1 thing a computer doesn't have :"grey matter",called a brain.
A "autobot" is a tool that helps,it doesn't replace the driver.

 

Manual for me.. I want the control.

I've driven a couple temporary rentals w autoshift and almost hyper-extended my right elbow and left knee looking for the shifter and clutch. (Sarcasm).. but I did do multiple open air stabs for them.

The autoshifts serve their purpose , especially for newer drivers.

Most young people nowadays can't drive a 4wheeler with a manual transmission, let alone a rig.
With shifting gears way down on the priority list, now they can dedicate more attention to You Tube and Facebook to keep them occupied while driving.

Every time one veers towards or over the zipper at me as I am easing by I will glance over and 9 times out of 10 that %@$# phone is up in front of their face.

Dumb it down for them some more , there's a whole new crop of "maroons" needing a job.

 

Did they buy a manual? not saying someone couldn't start out in a automatic, but if time moves on and the driver finds him/herself needed other employment, being able to shift just looks better is my point, I've seen drivers sent away because they could not shift