Automatics VS Manuals

I think testing on a Auto limits your ability when finding employment to much, so I much rather train on a manual. That being said as long as I am getting paid it really doesn't matter.

I'm just nervous because all my experience was in a 10, now I'm getting ready to get a 13 speed..

I was schooled on a ten, trained two weeks on a thirteen, got my own truck back to a ten.

I LOVED that thirteen. You will too.

I have a KW with an auto. After driving it for a few months i like it. At first i was worried about hills but now i like this auto better on hills then a stick.

Iwas in Canada doing grades from 7% up to 13% and it did great with a 79k truck. The nice thing is you can SAFELY downshift going down grades with this if you start off too high where as its very unsafe to try it in a stick.

The thing is they are NOT like car autos, so you cannot drive them as such, its still a truck and you got to drive it like one. Autos just drive different. Now i have herd the freight shaker autos are not as good as the KW ones as its a different tranny motor combo as far as the swift trucks go. I find people like the KWs and most dislike the freight shakers.

I have a KW with an auto. After driving it for a few months i like it. At first i was worried about hills but now i like this auto better on hills then a stick.

Iwas in Canada doing grades from 7% up to 13% and it did great with a 79k truck. The nice thing is you can SAFELY downshift going down grades with this if you start off too high where as its very unsafe to try it in a stick.

The thing is they are NOT like car autos, so you cannot drive them as such, its still a truck and you got to drive it like one. Autos just drive different. Now i have herd the freight shaker autos are not as good as the KW ones as its a different tranny motor combo as far as the swift trucks go. I find people like the KWs and most dislike the freight shakers.

I think you are comparing the Detroit autoshift with the eaton fuller ultrashift. the difference is that you can get the ultrashift in everything from a 10 speed to a 18 speed. The Detroit is only a 12 speed.

You can safely shift on a hill with a standard transmission but it takes time to learn the trick to doing it. Don't try it right out of the gate.

The thing that new drivers rely on their brakes too much. You know right away if you are in too high of a gear. What I did when I found myself in that situation the first time was brake down to about 1k rpm and then shifted down into the next gear. This way you are not braking all the way down the mountain. That is a really bad situation.

If it takes more than 10-15 pounds of application pressure on your brakes to slow you down on a hill then you are in the wrong gear.

I feel perfectly comfortable going down a 8% grade hill in the rain at 65mph with the low beams and no jake brakes in 10th.. But I still try to remember to put it in 9th and hover from 45-55mph.

Real nasty habit I've got to break early (pun!).

I feel perfectly comfortable going down a 8% grade hill in the rain at 65mph with the low beams and no jake brakes in 10th.

Daniel, while I still have the chance to ask, could we have the address to send flowers for your funeral which will likely be in the near future? I'd hate to seem disrespectful by not sending my condolences. And I promise that Anchorman will post the pictures of the fireball near the bottom of the mountain along with the article itself.

Aren't most truck companies going to be all automatics soon anyways? Saves money on fuel cost.

I feel perfectly comfortable going down a 8% grade hill in the rain at 65mph with the low beams and no jake brakes in 10th.. But I still try to remember to put it in 9th and hover from 45-55mph.

Real nasty habit I've got to break early (pun!).

I'm going to assume you are joking because i don't want to assume the obvious if you aren't - that you are a complete idiot ... if that seems harsh then reread what Brett said above because it is only a matter of time (and not very much of that) before you are crushed to death in a accident that (hopefully) doesn't involve others ... you need to get a job with FedEx if that is truly how you approach 8% grades ... how does your "team" member feel about your "bad habit?"

Jopa

What are some your guys thoughts on the autos? I personally prefer a 13 or 18 myself

I personally find absolutely zero appeal or advantage of a manual over an automatic and wonder why anyone else does. If you're completely familiar with your manual transmission it takes maybe five percent of your attention off the road. If you're not, like a new driver in training might not be, it can take as much as half your attention of the road, or more, as in my case. When I was training, having never driven a stick before on any vehicle, virtually my entire attention was focused on it unless I was on a long stretch of interstate and I was probably a danger to everyone around me. For absolutely no good reason. It's obsolete technology.

I have a KW with an auto. After driving it for a few months i like it. At first i was worried about hills but now i like this auto better on hills then a stick.

Iwas in Canada doing grades from 7% up to 13% and it did great with a 79k truck. The nice thing is you can SAFELY downshift going down grades with this if you start off too high where as its very unsafe to try it in a stick.

The thing is they are NOT like car autos, so you cannot drive them as such, its still a truck and you got to drive it like one. Autos just drive different. Now i have herd the freight shaker autos are not as good as the KW ones as its a different tranny motor combo as far as the swift trucks go. I find people like the KWs and most dislike the freight shakers.

I think you are comparing the Detroit autoshift with the eaton fuller ultrashift. the difference is that you can get the ultrashift in everything from a 10 speed to a 18 speed. The Detroit is only a 12 speed.

You can safely shift on a hill with a standard transmission but it takes time to learn the trick to doing it. Don't try it right out of the gate.

The thing that new drivers rely on their brakes too much. You know right away if you are in too high of a gear. What I did when I found myself in that situation the first time was brake down to about 1k rpm and then shifted down into the next gear. This way you are not braking all the way down the mountain. That is a really bad situation.

If it takes more than 10-15 pounds of application pressure on your brakes to slow you down on a hill then you are in the wrong gear.

nope the auto in my KW is the eaton fuller Advantage its a new 10 speed auto built to be paired with the Cummins ISX. I learned to do hills the right way when i was in my standard. Like i said it wouldn't bother me to go back to a standard, but i also do not dislike this auto. Now the ultra shift is used in the freight shakers and from what i hear from people with them is they are not close to as good as the Advantage transmission.

I rarely use brakes on hills you can use the jake in this truck to slow down while going down hil and shift it down without touching the brakes. Granted i would like to drive an untra shift just to see the differences but the overall feedback from the people at swift is the guys in in the KWs like them the freight shakers guys want to get rid of them.