I drive an auto-shift. Sure, I can shift gears but prefer not too. There are a few reasons for me personally. 1) Can concentrate more on the road, 2) easier on my shoulder, 3) I guess I'm lazy :wink:

What I don't understand though is this: why do some people insist that someone in an auto-shift isn't a trucker?

Does the auto-shift blind-side back my truck at 2am on a rainy night into a dark alley?

Does the auto-shift negotiate my tractor and 53' trailer through Brooklyn at 8:30am on the day after Labor Day?

Does the auto-shift control my "space" around my 80,000lb truck while going down a busy interstate at 65mph on a busy Sunday afternoon?

Answer to all of the above: NO!!!

Who does then, if not that auto-shift tranny? My guess would be the driver behind the wheel.

If some of you BBR's can't handle the fact that some people prefer an auto-shift perhaps it's time you turned in your keys.

BTW - I've shifted the following trannys:
3 spd
4 spd
5 spd
6 spd
7 spd
8 spd
8 spd U pattern
9 spd
10 spd
13 spd
15 spd
18 spd
20 spd 5 & 4
Not to mention the trucks with a hi-lo rear end

Get over it, k? Technology is here to stay.

 

we have some automatic dump trucks and I have had the pleasure of driving them a few times, I would LOVE to have an auto in my road truck

 

If that's what you prefer then so be it. To each his (or her) own.

My preference is a manual transmission, and I've also driven all the different types that you listed.

And no, I'm not a BBR.

.

 

i will stick with a stick also. and YES I AM A BBR :wink:

 

Because you're not as cool as they are and it makes you much more manly if you give your left leg a constant workout all day.

Why do some insist you're less of a trucker if you don't drive a Peterbilt? Why do some label it as apathy when you aren't totally up in arms over NAFTA? Why do some feel that a woman or a black or hispanic man has no business participating in their industry?

The real answer, ignorance...

I'll tell you what, I miss the heck out of my old autoshift. I don't think I have much to prove to morons out there when it comes to shifting a truck.