What are your thoughts on automatic vs manual transmissions?

Good Point… I didn’t think about that, but then that’s a disadvantage of being with that Company and not of the Truck.

but yes, that is true.

 

it irritates the hell out of me even driving an autoshift. i get in a truck the first thing i do is shake the shifter make sure its in neutral, depress the clutch and start the truck. i have driven an autoshift on rare occasion and i still try to push the clutch in, i have actually reached to downshift and had nothing there. a manual just feel like a truck. i also like going through the gears, and a manual is ONLY going to do what i tell it to.

one more advantage if it hasnt been mentioned already...... the other day truck 86 was at a farm and wouldnt start (faulty starter). the driver had the farmer hook it to a farm tractor and pull it, pop the clutch and the truck is running. an autoshift would have been a heavy wrecker towing bill. this is probably one of the oldest tricks in the book and it only works with a manual.

generally speaking manuals are more reliable too. one of our trucks just had to have a clutch replaced, an autoshift. 160K miles which is almost unheard of with a manual. i have seen several autoshifts eat their clutches at low miles. they just wont go into gear. when a clutch does fail on a manual, generally they can be nursed along. i know of one truck that was nursed 2 weeks with a bum clutch.

 

I don't think my brain could ever reconcile having a clutch pedal but no shifter.

 

actually we had a truck (74) that had an autoshift with a clutch. the clutch was used to stop and start, but the truck had no traditional shifter. the truck was a T660 sleeper and my boss got rid of it not too long ago. the driver now has a truck with no clutch and he hates it, he says he would just assume have a traditional manual that gave him a clutch.

not having a clutch is a substantial disadvantage backing into a place like oatka. just saying the type of arrangement you described DID exist but i think it has pretty much been phased out.

 

That's what auto shifts are. They're the ones that still had a clutch. So that's what I thought you were talking about.

Automated manuals are the ones with no clutch pedal, and what I have. I don't know what Oatka is to speak on it, but if it involves gently finessing a truck into position, I can see how you wouldn't like a DT12 or similar.

Mack uses what's basically the hill start assist system to hold the service brakes and gently let off while you give it throttle so you're not getting that jolt. It also has a progressive throttle at initial tip in unlike Cascadia which seems more on/off.

 

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oatka is a fairly tight backing, there is not enough room to get straight before backing in. you basically have to come at an angle an straighten it out as you back in. it's also not level and an autoshift has a tendency to stop if you dont give it light steady fuel pedal. a manual you just let off the clutch and the truck will walk into the bay.

so the technical term? autoshift has a clutch, and something like the "ultra shift plus" is the automated manual. i prefer to just manually automate the transmission myself LOL. i always assumed an autoshift was anything that didnt have a stick between the seats.

 

There are definitely conditions where an automated anything isn't going to be better than a manual.

Autoshift was Eaton's branding for the early clutched manual. I don't know of anyone who made anything similar.

Automated manual is just the design type. Every manufacturer seems to have their own with a brand these days. iShift, mDrive, UltraShift, DT-12, TX-12 blah blah blah.

It's usually the programming that determines whether you hate it or not.

 

on a slightly different part of the same topic, sometime in this life i want a car with a manual transmission but they sadly are hard to find. if i ever bought a new car it would be a manual. i think there should be more options on the market like there used to be. if you want an auto or a manual either should be available. unfortunately they still exist today but the options are limited

 

I agree. I don't hate on manuals, I'm just super short so all the clutching gets to me more than it would for most. I ran manuals, and one of my trucks (the first one I ever bought) is a manual but day to day I just find a good auto to be better in my simple operation.

I think either option should be prevalent and stay that way. Both in trucks and POVs. Choice is good.

My pickup is a manual too.