Automatic Transmission

Any suggestions on what automatic transmission truck I should buy; or as to what concerns I should have?

Wow, now that's a vague question.

Honestly though, it's all personal preference. If I wanted to spend the money, it would be on the KW 680 with a 13 auto or a Volvo 780 with the same. They're both good trucks without too many issues, both light and get good fuel economy. Still, I'd rather have a 13 speed manual.

I love my Kenworth 680,as I can drive it in manual mode when neccessary.Im guessing if your buying a truck,you could choose this option,with other makes.A friend drives a company cascadia,and manual mode reverts to auto after a short while.I dont know if they can handle the power of an ungoverned truck..but Im curious about it.

Anyone interested in the new autos,really need to drive them.I just laugh at super trucker with the 13 speed,while Im in traffic,in Dallas,sippin on a cold drink.LOL

Anyone interested in the new autos,really need to drive them.I just laugh at super trucker with the 13 speed,while Im in traffic,in Dallas,sippin on a cold drink.LOL

Let's not talk about Dallas lol.

I went through there on Saturday unaware that 635 east was shut down until today. The detour was a pain, so I just went south on 35E and hit 20 eastbound headed for Florida.

Tony, be aware that there are two main types of autos.

The first type are auto-shift transmissions which are really just regular standard transmissions with a regular clutch and a computerized shifting mechanism.

The second type are true automatic transmissions without a clutch.

I drove the first type, and auto-shift, for about 6 years. It was very convenient but broke down about twice a year. When it breaks down you're usually dead in the water and it's tough finding someone who knows how to work on them. And naturally they're very expensive to work on.

I've never driven the second type, a true automatic, in a big rig so I can't help you with the reliability or function of those.

A lot of companies used the auto shifts with varying degrees of success for quite a few years but they slowly fazed most of them out. They were just too expensive and unreliable. But now it seems a lot of companies are going back to automatics using the newer true automatics so it seems they must have had a breakthrough in the development of those. Only time will really tell how efficient and reliable they are.

Personally I would think an owner operator would want a standard transmission though. An automatic is convenient for sure, but in the past has certainly been less reliable and more expensive to fix. It's one thing for a huge corporation to pour some extra money into trucks breaking down, but small companies or owner operators can rarely afford such expensive repairs and downtime. So unless you have a solid reason for getting one I would think the smarter business choice would be a standard.