Are "manual Transmissions Only" Drivers Supertruckers?

Go over onto thetruckersreport.com and you'll find the people I'm talking about.

Autos are for sissies. I want full control over my truck. What happened to a man's pride in being a man. Etc.

I don't know how have a stick that you move and a third pedal makes you better but ok. Just look at some of the auto vs manual discussions on the forum over there. There's no shortage of testosterone filled Rambo types shaming the auto drivers.

What do you guys think?

I think I drove a manual and have more b@lls than some of them 😂

I think you should stop wasting your time... and ours.

I think I drove a manual and have more b@lls than some of them 😂

Yes, you do. Didn't I just MENTION that on a video ?!?!?! Almost bigger'n some guys! You & Laura! Nae Nae in the running, too!

Go over onto thetruckersreport.com and you'll find the people I'm talking about.

Autos are for sissies. I want full control over my truck. What happened to a man's pride in being a man. Etc.

I don't know how have a stick that you move and a third pedal makes you better but ok. Just look at some of the auto vs manual discussions on the forum over there. There's no shortage of testosterone filled Rambo types shaming the auto drivers.

What do you guys think?

I think you should stop wasting your time... and ours.

Lemme guess; Dave in AZ?, Wore Out?, MackE6?, Bzinger? The 1st 3 DO drive manuals. O/O's. MackE drives for Old Dominion. Brad got into another dang lease. Used to be G.O.E. (Greater Omaha Express) ..can't remember now. It's an auto.. and a Volvo. .... and if you look up JRod (on here) you'll see that. (Anyone I've missed?!?!? LoLOL..) Jake, here's what 'i' think... I'm old enough to be your mom, maybe grandma. Don't have any grandkids yet, LoL!

PLEASE; Don't take anything I say out of perspective!! I've been married to a driver for 22 years, so .. I've got a few miles, my own self.

A few things, from my perspective, and Sorry G'Town and Rainy if I step on toes:

• Regarding a manual / auto.. the 'E' restriction on a license is EASILY removed; Then again, if you'd follow suggestions to look into .. a:) LTL/linehaul and/or b:) Foodservice (BLAH blah...etc!) most of those DO train, at least w/ manuals in the mix! Funny, I JUST REPLIED to this in ANOTHER thread! O.o Hey, they (sometimes) train, but .. sure a hard leg up! Look at Daniel B. (on here! Moderator!)and Bobcat Bob! Both with ODFL.

• When you are quoting people's comments on here, PLEASE USE the proper format; ie: the 'quote boxes.' Sometimes you may come off wrong, for the lack thereof. Brett's videos at the bottom of this page will help. They're simple Vimeo Tutorials. It will help you to NOT be misunderstood, in your postings!

• Regarding manuals; some (not all ) LTL and OS/OD/OW/HH companies sure do have, and/or require that NON restriction. Did you know, you can RE TEST and REMOVE that? It's that darn E thingy. If you drive for a company that IS straight auto out of the gate; when you DO get your job in a manual truck; its a few PENCE at the dang DMV! You may NEVER need to do so, unless you do specialty hauling!

• There IS a way to go through ALL your posts, in your profile, and take notes...ie: what IS it that you keep repeatedly asking? Can you just FOCUS on exactly that, and give these awesome folks, a chance? Make a type of a list; spreadsheet; grid..FLOW CHART! Yes! There will always be a mean, median, and mode; sometimes they can all be one in the same. If you really get down to grit; there's ALWAYS an outlier. (Watch, Mountain Matt or Chief Brody will prove me wrong; but it's a POINT I'm making!)

• This place; we, they, et al.. is such an awesome group of people on here. Many of us are 'in touch' often! The GPS tool on here, is a huge bonus! Second in this arena, Victor C. is in a very similar place as you; and probably similar in age. Read some of his recent postings, might help you overall.

• I TOTALLY AGREE with G'Town, re: TTR.. (aka the Trashers Report.) So many peeps, SO many mods, so many 'opines/opinions.' Anyone ever tell you the truth about opinions? I'll keep it G'Rated.. (not JUST for you, G'Town!) .. but if you don't know, it's listed in Urban Dictionary. Sorry! I'm a 'female' and even "i" don't like to repeat it, haha! Those guys must all share the same ..jar of KeyboardMonkeyRONE! Just for the FORUM.. Travis might have heard of this; it' common, and he's a tech in that dept.!

I've read, followed, and even replied to a few of your other posts. Again, I recommend Rainy(Kearsey's) YouTube, Truckin' Along W/Kearsey!and always, Brett's Podcasts (right here, on the drop down menu!) An extra 'outlier' (haha!) ScottieD67 on the Y/tube is a friend of mine, and has a ton of live feeds... just some stuff for you. He's company for Wilson; started w/Swift, and did JCT in the midst. Good guy.

I wish you well; I really do. Sometimes it just seems like you need 'focus,' in an overall sort of a way! That's not a bad thing to ask for, whatsoever. The day my guy won't 'ask' for help and/or extra outlook, etc.. IS THE DAY I take the keys.

Try and gather your thoughts, first & foremost~ read all those LINKS I've already SENT YA!

Best Wishes, and FOCUS!

~ Anne ~

LOL @ Truckers Report, there enuff said.... the whiney group site.....Auto's are the future, if ya can't tell. 1 day the manuals WILL be nothing but a memory.... Auto's for sissies hahaha I can drive ANY stick shift out there, so null n void to me. I drive my stick cars pretty much the same "float gears" I'd like to actually see a "Super Trucker" use EVERY gear they have, not skipping thru em floatin' lol

Like the guys who add on every stupid light they can add to a rig, and the weird colors. It's like a "swinging pecker' contest, who cares! lol more lights require bigger amp alternators, and how many times have you seen em with lights not lit up? HELLO, every light attached HAS to work by law, whatta pain it must be to keep up on it all....Waste of good money I say, having to be overly "blinged out"

“Yes” TruckersReport is a waste of time unless you like to partake in useless arguments with the assortment of bullheaded know-it-all’s lurking there.

Shifting vs Not? Neither makes you a SuperTrucker, balls or otherwise. “SuperTrucker” is an attitude; self righteous and arrogant. IMO usually unprofessional and almost unapproachable with logic and reason. I’ve seen these hotdogs with the 4’ pogo-stick shifter attempt to back in tight spaces...nothin’ “super” about it.

So... the restriction. I’m glad I was schooled on a manual truck. This enabled me to work at my current job. I honestly don’t think it’s that easy getting it removed though. On paper, “yes” but consider how long it required most of us to go up and down the gears without grinding or missing completely? For me, it took about 2 weeks; hitting it every day. That is a lot of time. The other issue is finding a truck to practice in, and subsequently take the test. Renting? Penske and Ryder don’t have many manuals left available for rent. Not as easy as one might think.

The Mack Pinnacle I drive is 5 years old... when my company decides to replace it; it will be with another Mack, but autoshift. Mack no longer offers manual transmission trucks in their catalogue. Maybe with a special order and a pile of cash a manual can still be had... slim pickin’s will continue until the manual transmission becomes obsolete. It’s already happened with the Megas. LTLs will follow suit, they tend to run their equipment into the ground so a cadre of manuals will remain as spares and P&D tractors.

So what do I really think?

I’m glad my CDL does not have the restriction because I enjoy shifting. Is it a must-have for me? No. As time goes on? It’s going to matter less and less.

Carry on... peace.

Companies are moving away from manuals. It's no longer a necessary skill and it reduces the amount of candidates in a hiring pool. I was talking to an old Dominion driver about a month ago and he told me the company is moving towards autoshifters in 2023. Reason being, too many potential employees have restricted licenses and they don't want to wait resources and time with training. FedEx no longer trains on manuals. The student has the option if they're available. My building has 3 manual truck left and once they're gone it'll no longer be an option.

I was talking to an old Dominion driver about a month ago and he told me the company is moving towards autoshifters in 2023

Ive been here 4.5 years and every year I've heard the "autos are coming, the autos are coming" so far they haven't

We just got 4 2023s and they are stick. Which is disappointing cause I want one

Maybe on the 24s.

Rumor mills in LTL... Do you think a national enquirer LTL edition would sell?

I'm never going back to shifting. All it took was one trip in an auto shifter and I was hooked. No fanning the clutch and no downshifting lol