Truck Driving Jobs

redsfan · Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:52 am Post subject:

The last truck I drove with Maverick was a Columbia with SmartShift and I absolutely loved it. This was fully automatic, no clutch. I've been back to shifting gears in a manual 13 speed for a while now and I really miss the automatic.

You do thave the option of putting it in Manual or Automatic. I generally used Manual when pulling hills because it would tend to shift from 9th to 10th too early and fall on it's nose if I left it in automatic. I also preferred Manual in stop and go traffic because the transmission would seem to get confused and be constantly jumping from 2nd to 3rd back to 2nd, etc...

As for generally everday driving, I would use Auto and let the truck do all the work. It always seemed to have plenty of power and if it were a situation where I needed more control I could just switch it to Manual. Despite the myths, the driver can still have all of the control in the world without the clutch, and truthfully the driver was probably more in control this way.

They do get far better fuel mileage than the sticks, in fact that is the number one reason why companies are going to them. Not that most drivers do not know how to shift at all, but a lot don't know how to shift properly and this wastes a lot of fuel. I could consistently get 7 mpg or better and if I slowed down a little more, there's no telling what kind of mileage I would get.

I know a guy at Arnold Trans and they are going to them. He said that when they tell the hard-core manual guys that they are putting them in an automatic they cry and whine, but he makes an offer to them. If they drive the auto for a month and they still want a manual, he will personally promise to put them back in one. He said that he has yet to ever have a driver come back to him and take him up on this offer.

Sizzle · Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 207 Location: Colorado

I hauled Volvos for 19 months out of the 28 months I've driven semis. The automatics or auto shifts whatever the hell they call them are a PAIN IN THE ASS.

Every one assumes females [I'm female] want to drive them. B.S. They never wanted to go into forward or reverse. In the winter time they were a bear, due to the fact that the transmission fluid gets thicker. They didn't want to go forward or reverse and that's the only time you had to chose a direction.

I hauled most of the new Volvos to Canada and asked a Canadian Dealer one day why so many went to Canada. He explained that most of the Owner Ops up there are Pakistani or Indian and don't want to shift. The only companies that I heard were getting them in the U.S. were Interstate and U.S. Express.

I'm telling you the automatics were terrible. There is one transmission that utilizing a box next to the driver's seat that you can touch the right gear. However, I don't think U.S. Express utilizes that trany so I don't think I'd recommend them.

I have an application for them sitting next to me and desperately want a job with a Volvo. Don't think I'll go there. The autos are NOT FUN. They take a while to shift between gears. Any one who thinks all women want them it's simply not true. You can have the auto shifts/automatics and Super 10's. EECCKK!!!

They don't do well in the mountains, I don't think I live in the Rocky Mountains and remember taking several up to British Columbia. Really don't recommend them....

Malaki86 · Joined: 28 Aug 2004 Posts: 2104 Location: West Virginia

Autos do get better mileage than a stick...

I used to drive a 2003 Volvo 780 autoshift when I was at USXpress. The average hauls were in the neighborhood of 35-40,000lbs. Also, I mainly ran east of the Mississippi. I averaged 7.2mpg overall after 6 months.

Right now I'm in a 2007 International Mid-roof. It's a straight-10 Eaton. My average hauls are in the range of 20-30,000lbs. I generally run the south/south east. My average fuel mileage is 6.2mpg.

This international is MUCH lighter than the Volvo, the loads are much lighter, the roads are much more 'level', and the driving is open road, set the cruise and go.

As far as driving the auto's in the mountains, they do just fine. I had more power climbing the hills with the Volvo than with this International. For going down the hills, no problem, put it in manual mode and drop a gear or 2.

For driving in snow/ice - same thing - go to manual and maintain a steady speed, same as with a manual tranny.

I had no problems with the truck shifting when it was cold, mainly because they don't have 'transmission fluid' like a car does. They have gear oil, same as a manual tranny.

In fact, the auto's that USXpress runs is a Super-10 transmission with a shift-kit - nothing more. The trucks with the UltraShift (no clutch pedal) - the clutch is a centrifigul clutch - the same that would be on a go-kart (only a lot bigger).

They do help out as far as less things to worry about. You're not constantly moving your arm, causing less stress from repetitive motion in your elbow and shoulder.

Also, if you have to slow down REALLY fast, hit the 'L' button on the shift pad. That changes the shift points on the engine, and it will bring you to a crawl extremely fast. I could almost guarantee that there's not a person alive that can downshift a truck as fast as the Low mode can when under heavy braking.

Do I support the auto's? You bet. Do I think that everyone driving a truck should know how to drive a stick? You bet.

Added:

Oh - I forgot this part:
You hear people all the time stating 'you're not a truck driver if you're not shifting the gears' basically. Well, in that statement, you're flat-out wrong. The reasons?

1 - Is that automatic transmission going to blind-side back into a dark alley at night in the rain without a driver? No

2 - Is that automatic transmission going to manage to avoid an accident in rush-hour traffic during an ice storm or is the driver? The driver is.

3 - My 16 year old daughter can drive a stick-shift car. Does that mean I'd put her into an 80,000lb 18-wheeler since she can shift? HELL NO!!!

When they started putting power steering in trucks, how many drivers complained about that?

When they started putting air conditioners in trucks, how many drivers complained about that?

How about FM radio's? How about XM radio's? How about CB radio's?

This isn't 1963 anymore folks. There's better technology out there. Learn to live with it, because I can guarantee those auto's aren't going to be just a 'fad', but more of the 'norm' in years to come..

Bucks Owin · Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Posts: 4

Good post Malaki86!

Heck, a lot of expert newbies can't figure out how to "properly" shift the Super-10 and bitch about THAT tranny. (Just listen to a few leave a truckstop etc..) It's probably why US Xpress went to the Auto-shift...

I cut my teeth on a 13 speed and thought that was "best" at the time and didn't like the Super-10 until an old hand taught me the "trick" of shifting one. Once I was used to the S-10 I really liked it...

Autoshift? Guess I'll find out but I appreciate the opinions voiced here about them....
They sound OK....

Dennis

Oh. My vote? Undecided....

Sizzle · Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 207 Location: Colorado

Malaki86 certainly knows more about the transmissions than I do. I give you that much. However, after driving only one auto you've come to these conclusions?!?

I have driven approximately 20-25 automatics to Canada. All different models of Volvos. They were all clutch less and would not go in either direction. Hence, I would concur with you that you far outweigh my knowledge of the transmissions. However, every single driveaway driver [hauled new trucks as opposed to hauling trailers] were totally disappointed in the automatics.

I had a guy follow me to Toronto and he was ecstatic about having an Auto. I told him, "let me know when you get there what you think." He couldn't get the darn thing into gear at Customs. As the traffic was backing up behind him he became more and more frustrated. I had to get out of my truck and help him. If they are such great transmissions why does every driveaway driver hate them?

We definitely know what we're talking about since that's all we did was haul trucks!!! Perhaps some brands are better for automatics than others or perhaps the new "improvements" to them are not improvements. You stated that you drove a much older model....

We weren't delivering many automatics state side except U.S. Express and Interstate. Most of the automatics went to Canada. The dealerships explained that was because most of the owner ops up there didn't want to shift.

There is a transmission that was put in them with a box next to the driver's seat you could select the gear. These Fontaine models worked very well. However, the automatics with a little "stick" next to the seat wouldn't allow us to go either forwards or backwards.

Malaki86 · Joined: 28 Aug 2004 Posts: 2104 Location: West Virginia

Ok - let me ask you this:

USXpress has 6,000+ trucks. If the transmissions are as bad as you say, exactly how does USX stay in business? You say every single one you've ever driven is messed up. Well, if 6,000 trucks were messed up every day, how do they do $1billion per year in cartage?

No, I didn't make the decision that auto's were better from driving 1 truck. I've driven a total of 4 automatics, with 1 (ONE) breakdown that was transmission related. That too cannot be blamed on the automatic. It was the MANUAL clutch that went bad (springs in the clutch pad broke). I came from the decision from seeing other companies going the way of the automatics. Ok - just Schneider & USXpress is over 18,000 trucks. Now add in PAM, Asheley Furniture, and who knows who else (I don't keep track of everyone that runs auto).

I'm not trying to tell anyone that auto's are better than manuals, or vice-versa. I'm just simply stating the facts that I do know.

solo379 · Joined: 14 Feb 2004 Posts: 3156

Malaki86 wrote: Autos do get better mileage than a stick...

Are you saying, we are not as skilled, as a "wired box"? :shock: :lol:

Truck Driving Jobs

Trucking Jobs

Truck Drivers

Trucking Companies

Class A Drivers.com