Why did all mega carriers stop using manual transmissions?

I don’t mind driving an auto. I understand with the manual it feels like you’re actually driving a truck but I used to hate being in traffic with a manual. The only way I would go back to a manual is if I become an owner operator and buy a nice peterbilt lol

 

An experienced driver who knows what they are doing, understands torque curves, horsepower curves, shift points, etc. can beat an automated manual transmission (that is what "automatic" transmissions in trucks are, automated manual transmissions) because they can see if the road ahead will be level, upgrade, or downgrade and for how long. They can see how long the next traffic signal has been green or red and somewhat predict when it may be green again. The computer can't predict those things, at least not yet. Eventually GPS combined with topographical maps may close that gap.

A new rookie or driver who doesn't understand how shift points at different gear changes need to be different, or how what they see through their windshield affects shift points, throttle position, etc. doesn't have a prayer of beating the computer.

 

Megas can afford to mess around with cutting edge stuff that saves fuel and makes the job easier and more attractive to a larger pool of potential workers. Automated transmissions, wide-base single tires, aerodynamic trailers, EPA compliant motors. 1 truck guys or small fleets generally stick with the tried and true stuff that's reliable and not as hard or expensive to fix.

 

Depends on application. Otr van yanker sure maybe. Doing end dump where i need as much control as i can get to avoid rolling one or to get through soft nasty muck where the question is WHEN will i get stuvk rather then if.... less so.

Also ive used autos i tend to find my mind wanders more and i pay less attention then i should. Lot of guys ive talked to have said the same. That said the "stuck in traffic with a full load and a manual sucks" argument is VERY valid.

 

Is the pay really the same, though?

The average truck driver in 2023 is making the same money I was making a quarter of a century ago when automated manual transmissions first started appearing in Class 8 trucks.

I was making .42/mile and getting 12,000+ paid miles a month running solo in 1998. I had very good Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance coverage for almost no cost to me. I was at a 250-300 tractor non-union truckload carrier running 48 states + Canada but generally stayed east of I-35 from the Gulf to Ontario or south of I-80 when out west.

Meanwhile the value of the dollar is barely more than half what it was then.

Making it easier to get new butts in the seats has devalued drivers who can shift a manual transmission without tearing it up. That's why pay has not gone up any while the price of everything we need has nearly doubled.

 

Omg, megas are not ordering the trucks, they lease the trucks and the leasing companies are ordering them with auto shifts because they are marketable.

Megas use them because of maintenance costs, they have an overall cheaper means to run the truck, some 30% cheaper in many cases.

The number two reason is reliability within the fleet, less downtime for the life cycle within the fleet which means more revenue created.

While people think fuel, there is a slight edge on auto shift transmissions but not as much as what i mentioned above,

that’s odd, I grew up when there was no such thing as an automatic in a school bus, and the drivers were all women. I remember riding in a 1948 Ford schoolie with a three speed transmission, watching the woman drive it like she was racing, a true gear jammer,

 

My experiance as well. Actually thinking back Even with cars and pick up trucks we owned over the years I always got better MPG with the clutch than they stated for thier auto. I always found it odd they claimed a much higher MPG on the sticker for the auto but 99% of the time you couldn’t achieve even that but with the clutch I could do better. The other that always got me was telling people that cruise controll saves fuel. Overall anything built from 1970 to 2007 with cruise controll I was able to get better fuel economy with my foot. They now claim the new systems (adaptive) are better but I haven’t had a real chance to test.

 

Back in the manual days I believe they quoted 35% difference between the best driver and the worse driver on fuel economy.. with autos the difference is probably 10% . A great manual driver can beat a auto easy but if he’s off his game the auto wins . Last week one truck got through a green light and finished it on red because he stalled out part ways through the rest waited 2 minutes for the whole light cycle to get their turn . Many new drivers don’t even know what a clutch is . In fact a well respected member here was insulted when he said something about the clutch in a auto shift truck . Whether we like it or not the seats will be filled I’d rather follow a auto than a miss shifting standard driver.

 

Actually it wasn’t fuel economy.
It’s the fact that very few people, especially those under 40 can drive a manual automobile much less a truck.
Back in 1997 when I was leased to Werner, I met Mr. Werner and a couple of executives of the company and they all said that the biggest recruitment challenge was female drivers. They were intimidated by the transmissions. And also most young men.
They all said that the goal was an automatic transmission that was reliable and efficient so that anyone could drive a truck.
The computer technology has come a long way since then and thus the numbers of automatic transmission trucks.
I personally hate them for a variety of reasons.

 

One other thing to look at, notice all the new trucks are designed like compact cars? No switches, the steering wheel is loaded with little buttons you can barely see, digital dashboards and the fact you can’t reach anything on the dashboard without getting out of the seat!
Back to the auto transmission, We have new KW’s and they are all automatics. They also stay in the dealership shops getting repaired and reprogrammed.