Profile For GRS

Alright everyone, just to be clear, I have no problem with the automatic per se. As I said in the post, I’ve gotten used to it after a few years of driving one. My problem is with disabling the manual mode. Just yesterday I was on a 6% grade about 5 miles downhill and I was around 60,000 lbs. So following the instructions for descent control given by Freightliner, I slowed down well in advance of the hill to about 35 mph ( truck speed limit was 45 mph) with my flashers on. I put the truck in 9th gear and engaged the engine brake to the middle position and I set the cruise to 35 mph. It did alright. I didn’t have to touch the service brake the whole way down and it maintained a speed of about 35-40 mph and the rpms were good. I even passed another truck that was going slower than 35. But it still wanted to downshift to 8th gear a few times which would rev the rpms, and I would adjust the engine brake and then it wanted to up shift to 10th gear a couple times which would increase the speed. And in those instances, being in manual mode would have been better to hold the gear and by working the engine brake, keep a steady speed and rpms. The name of the transmission is a Manual Automatic Transmission. They built in the manual mode for a reason. And I still haven’t heard anyone here explain how they control descent in the winter, besides the obvious slowing down and lowering the gears, when you shouldn’t be using cruise control and even the engine brakes.

Reply to Turtle: So my understanding of descent control from reading the trucks owners manual and watching some videos from Freightliner is that you slow down, engage the engine brake and set the cruise control. How do you use cruise on snow and ice ?

I trained at Prime Inc on a 10-speed manual transmission and drove about 6 months solo on one until they put me in a new truck with the D12 transmission. I hated it at first but I ended up driving 519 K miles in it and I got pretty used to it. I got to the point where I could take steep downgrades fully loaded without touching the service brakes by downshifting to lower gears in manual mode and engaging the Jake brake, including in the winter. Well now, they’ve put me in a new used truck and the first thing I noticed was the manual mode didn’t work. I took it to the shop to get repaired and was told that Prime is purposely disabling the manual mode ! This makes no sense to me and in fact I think it’s dangerous. The D12 is called a Manual Automatic Transmission. The manual mode was put there by the manufacturer for a reason. By not having it available, it discourages the use of the Jake Brake because whenever you do use it, the truck wants to immediately downshift by 2 gears and there you are over RPMing. In manual mode, you simply put it in the gear you want and you work the Jakes all the way down the mountain and you maintain a steady speed and RPM. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like out in Wyoming going over Elk Mountain next winter. Has anyone else heard of a company tinkering with the basic controls of the truck like Prime Inc is doing ?

Thanks for the info everyone. "Chickie Monster's" question about Prime was what I was wondering. I originally was going to go to a private cdl school in Alabama and I currently have a GA license and the school said I would have to have an AL license to get my cdl permit.

Hello Everyone, I am getting ready to go to cdl training with Prime Inc at their training center in Springfield, MO. My home will be in Northeast Alabama, about 7 hours away from Springfield. So I'll be getting my cdl permit and eventually my cdl from the state of MO. The recruiter for Prime told me that once I was hired by them and was driving solo, I would have to transfer my MO cdl over to AL. Is that true? And is transferring a cdl from one state to another easy to do or do you have to retake the test? One more question: when you get your CDL, do you surrender your regular drivers license and the CDL is now your drivers license. I was under the impression that you have a regular license and your CDL. Any info on these things will be greatly appreciated ! Thanks, Gary S.