No Automatic Truck they are Junk.
- Thread starter iceroadtrucker
- Start date
company/ fleet owners truck .. you get what you get or find another job... dont like it be an O/O get what you want. I prefer a 13 or 18 speed manual but the 2 autos I have driven were not bad by any means both 10 speeds one in a '08 kw straight truck (one issue in 4 yrs) the other in a 09 mack pulling 53' walking floor trailer.
Well Tattoo its like this a hand shake is a contract when a person cuts a deal in a hand shake its sealed. Make excuse and back out of deal. If the only reason that person made it at the time was to get what they wanted. That's a liars deal Devil if you will and I have known many Owner operators out here to be just that one is outa Alabama and is no longer in the Expedite Field as he followed 2 So called Individual teams to the Grand Oil Fields. Oh Yes I got Jeered and told How stupid I was on the phone for staying at FedEx and not going to make the fortune in Money in the oil Fields. By the very individuals. So I left and went to work for another who only reason so I found much later for getting a new truck as he was heading farm bound. Real reason he owed Uncle Sam 27,000.00 so he had to get a newer truck to dig out. After 3 years of working Id paid off a Tractor Trailer during that time it came out the real reason he bought the Tractor was he had sold a Tractor and Trailer to the Individual that I had worked for that went to the oil Fields. Mr. Alabama and when he did he was hit with a Bill from Uncle Sam for Taxes owed about 27,000 on the Sale of a Tractor Trailer. . Once the tractor and trailer was paid for that he bought to get outa that farce. Then he used the excuse it couldn't go to California so he was going to pull it. It was an 07 Pete and he pulled it. But to get back to it, The 2 teams that left and went to the Oil Fields both have come back at FedEx the other one that I left that out of Alabama is still gone. As for Cowboy in Nebraska he driving the 07 Pete hauling Grain in Nebraska and has a grain trailer and Cattle Trailer. He sold the Sliding spread Axel Reefer just to make due. Grain Trailers cost. Now getting back to hand shakes there Tattoo You don't tell me something to get me to come to work then lie down the road about it. Far as Auto shifts go that 12 speed Ultra Shift if I see its what John told me it is. Ill know when I hook up the Trailer to it and put it though the test John said to do. That being said have fun. On another note if your flyby night OOP and you don't give 2 sheets about taken care of drivers then your going to be replacing drivers all the time you give a driver what he she needs they stay. You don't they won't then on the same token there are drivers that are fly by night and will leave chasing that greener pasture but in reality its not greener. Then they come back. Get my drift but soon as they see what appears to be another greener pasture they are gone again. TATTOO I am not like that. Give me the Equipment I want need and don't mess with my money mess it up. Well Can any one here say 39 weeks straight with no home time. Why Got to make the money for my Better Half surgery ... That it. That my Rant I have been and always will be like my Father Before me I AM a Stick man.. Yes I drove the Ridge Runner the Garbage is taken out have nice day all. GOOD NITE 
Beautiful Angels they both are are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Iceroadtrucker, I had a Volvo with a autoshift and was running heavy haul and had no problems with the transmission, therefore, like you said your a manual tranny guy, therefore, why should we listen to you about how good or bad a autoshift is to use. You like others need to get into the 21st century and get away from outdated technology.
Ive got 884,000 on an Allison 6 speed no problems up till today not saying something cant go wrong though.lol
Allison transmission totally different creature from ultra shift automated manual transmission . I know exactly what ice road trucker refers to when backing into a dock.
jimmy
jimmy
20 years of driving trucks with manual transmissions and much of it without power steering has resulted in my left arm being larger than my other one is, steering with the left and shifting with the right. My left leg may be bigger than my other one is, I can't tell. Both knees are shot, but the left one went first. I attribute the knee problems to years of skiing, jumping off docks and out of trailers. I'm sure clutches that required 100 plus pounds of pressure to disengage aggravated the left knee.
Still, in a truck I'd take a 13 speed. Wow, did I just agree with IRT?
Yes you did Moot finely some one got some guts to tell the truth. Thank you!
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BESTONER
Active Expediter
We've had a Cascadia with an Allison which we loved, backing into docks was no problem at all. Now we're in a business class with the same DD13 only this one has the smart shift 10 speed... We want our Allison back. This "smart shift" has far too much hesitation between shifts (may as well be a manual), rolling at stop lights, backing into docks, etc...
pearlpro
Expert Expediter
Ive had great luck with the automatics, typically the Allison 3000 Series, I have driven the "Automated" versions and didnt care for them, Im looking forward to trying the new DT 12, Ive read and kept up with its development, I even had a great conversation with one of the designed who was on an Amtrak train and was excited to hear about it. I would never go back to shifting and I did plenty of it, 9 speeds, 13 speeds, 18 speeds, If the DT version has issues I would gladly buy another Allison 3000, solid and worthy of expediting. Im hoping to spec that transmission in a new truck very soon, DT12....
I've run my DT12 for 95,000 miles and have not had any issues.. My last truck had the Allison, which I had no issues with, in fact, I got well over 900,000 miles out of it. The Allison was more like driving a car, smooth shifting. There is a slight lag between gears with the DT12 that the Allison did not have, but that is to be expected since the Allison is an automatic and the DT12 is an automated manual.
Running a 2016 Cascadia DD15/DT12 properly set up, love it
Daniel Urich
New Recruit
Are you sure really are they junk?
Ice road trucker I feel your pain, As far as I am concerned when it comes to quality truck transmissions you have manual and you have Allison. Everything else is useless junk. I've driven auto shifts on various sized trucks from Mitsubishi pup cabovers all the way up. Driving down the road, OK I guess as for parking lots, low speed traffic, and backing, pretty much useless. At least with an Allison you have a real transmission and live gears, you know you are in gear at low speed and backing.