Trucker Forum

Can you experienced and somewhat experienced drivers weigh in on your feelings working for a company with Automatic Transmissions v.s.
Manual Transmissions. Both have there Pro's and Con's but at the end of the day are you setting yourself back going with an outfit that uses Automatics? Thanks!

Katman

Well after 100 hits on the blog and no replies I answered my own question. Automatics suck from what everyone tells me. It does'nt matter.I'm set up with an awesome company that runs straight tens which is what I was trained on.

Katman

9 years of trucking with every type of tranny (except the easy 15's), I consider myself a natural. 3 times thru the gears and I'll have the rear end gearing down and be sliding things together quietly from then on.
I would really HATE to be stuck into an auto.
That's not truckin'.

I hear ya! Automatics seem like you would have no control like in downhill situations.

Katman

i have drove both. i personally would prefer a stick, but the company i work for is 100% autoshift(imsure everyone can guess who). the automatic transmissions are very sophisticated. they do not miss gears and are extremely precise on down shifts and upshifts. when going down mountains the auto shift will automatically gear up or down when reaching the higher or lower rpms, and if you feel better doing it yourself, the autoshift allows you to switch into manual and control the shifting yourself.in the event of losing breaks and needing to stop on steep grades, you are able to switch trans into low and it will gear you down in the event of being in the runaway truck situation. and the comment of driving a autoshift truck" not being a trucker" quote, thats very ignorant to say. at the end of the day we all care about delivering our loads safely and taking home a paycheck to put food on our familys table, not how many gears we were able to float that day

A buddy of mine swears by autos, I swear by manuals. Depends on your style. I'll stick with the stick.

a automatic is a sissy truck to me they could;nt pay me to drive something that has no challenge.my 5 yr old daughter could drive the junk.real truckers drive manual .

Wow! This blog took off all of the sudden!

In heavy traffic, automatic is ok. But I prefer stick shift....

i just replaced the 4th clutch for this year... from a cost perspective especially when you are looking at working with newer drivers - there are definite preferences on that end to having an automatic

I've had a couple of auto's and I'll tell you this. My ex wife cheated on me, a real ugly mess, big sad story ect. I don't hate her at all. But the trucks I drove with auto's, I purely 100% HATED the &#*^@ things. if you are a driver who loves them,, great, go for it.But if my boss tries to put me in an auto, I'm gonna spit in his eye and go get me a job at Burger King.

I have a 6-speed Allison auto and it is very nice, I must say. Very responsive and handles hills up and down very well. And it will out-accleerate any other truck in the yard. I drove 18-speeds for quite awhile, and I wouldn't mind going back to one, but there's nothing wrong with autos, unless you need to emphasize your masculinity by shifting manually.

Whether you like automatics or not, if you work for one of the bigger carriers, you will be driving an automatic within 2 or 3 years. It's the coming trend. The autos used to be horrible on gas milage compared to manuals. Now they are better on MPH than manuals. They have come a long way. It all comes down to personal preference.

Automatic???? I dont know even know what that means hahhaha im just joking but i would think having manual you would have more control over your vehicle dont people agree??? and companies who have automatic transmissions are going to take a big hit when they have to replace the auto tranny

anj46907 had it right. The autoshift is just that, a manual transmission that uses air solenoids to shift the transmission through the gears rather than the driver doing it with a gearshift lever. You only have to use the clutch when starting and stopping.
You can let the computer decide when to shift, or force the shift.
As far as the repair cost, the cost of the transmissions are the same, but the autoshifts don't need to be repaired as often, as they don't have driver-related wear and tear on them.
As to the macho-bull "real trucker" nonsense, I'll ask and answer one question for you:
"What kind of man drives an autoshift?"
The kind of man who drives whatever he wants to drive.
Who doesn't need his stick in his hand to feel like a man.

Autoshift vs. Manual?

I've driven both about equally over the past 15 years. It depends alot on your driving style. If you want to relax and cruise the roads autoshift is the way to go. If you get bored easily you might perfer the manual.

There is no disadvantage to autoshift on mountains or in ice and snow. The autoshift has a hold feature where it will stay in a specified gear and a manual feature where the driver can select what gear to be in.

Presently I am in a 9 speed manual and it is fine, but I miss the autoshift in traffic jams where I could drink my coffee and not worry about shifting.