I just got my cdl but they don’t teach you this stuff and my mentor doesn’t show me either so I did my own research it was hard to find a video like this thank you this was a great video!
My trucking career start in 1976 when I bought a 1971 GMC Astro 95 318 Detroit 13 speed - the career lasted SIX MONTHS - I was leased to a company that had only flatbeds. If I could have had a truck like this one and a box trailer ( no chaining down and tarping the loads ) I probably would have stayed with it. There were a few automatics back in 1976 - very few, though. The new truckers starting today with a nice truck like this one, will have NO IDEA how it used to be.
I really like the way you explained how this automatic transmission works with these big trucks so much so that somebody that has never driven one before can try it and honestly it is really surprising to me why and how some people say that they don't like the automatic transmission when as a matter of fact the manufacturers are doing all they can to use all that technology has to offer to make driving these trucks as easy as it can be especially considering the area of clutching which is the most challenging aspect of driving these trucks.Looking at the trucks built in the 1940s and 50s with all these double shift handles and the ones built in the 1990s and the 2000s one can clearly see how technology is really evolving and truth is that it will not stop,truth of the matter is that it is the people that will have to do the catching up,technology for sure don't wait for people,although there is nothing wrong in knowing how to drive the manual transmission because most definitely it will be an added advantage that can come handy at a point in time to come . One thing that I will like to know is that in which mode can the engine brakes be used,manual mode or automatic mode.Thanks for sharing from your wealth of experience and I look forward to more of it.
I liked you comment because you aren't wrong, but the truth of the matter is that if you truly understand how to drive a manual, the only time you need the clutch ( in a truck... not a car because of car's synchronized trannys) you don't use the clutch at all except to start and stop. Even in bumper to bumper traffic, if you leave enough lead space you barely need to use the clutch. I'd still rather have a manual. Sad fact is the manuals are becoming rare these days. I've heard the wait if you want a truck with a manual tranny, you need to order it 12 to 18 months ahead of when you want it. In my honest opinion most applications for an automated transmission are fine, but in some applications they're useless. Again, my argument in my original comment... useless hauling bulk liquid loads. And then if you really enjoy driving as I do, you have to look at the fun and satisfaction factor... especially if you drive a manual well. On that note, even when it comes to cars I've never owned an automatic. Sadly, slowly the days of manual cars are coming to an end too.
I drove years ago and thought automatics were an abomination but I just found your video and can absolutely see the benefits to the automatics. U have converted me.
I'm not a trucker but I salute you men and women thank you for what you do I have always wondered about the automatic transmissions in an 18 wheeler I was hoping you would actually drive the truck so we could see how it work but it was a good video thanks.
I have been driving a manual for a while and i have a driving interview in a few hours with an automatic truck. I've never driven one but this video is very clear and i feel like i have all the information i need. Thanks!
That's a pretty truck, if I had a job lined up with a truck like that I'd totally go get my health recertified for Interstate (I'd pass but I'm intrastate for reasons of unemployment). You explain things so calmly and matter of factly that it's like I'm in the truck with my old instructor (Hope you're doing well in retirement Bob lol). I'm not sure WHY this video was recommended to me but I really wanna either get some therapy to deal with my anxiety or hope I get someone like you as a partner/trainer.
As a woman thinking of getting into dump truck driving I wanted to see how the automatics work. We have to train in semi’s first. Excellent video. Thank you.
I'm 63 now started off in a 3/4 cab Browny/mainbox Mack...at my age I'm like most and don't like change...I know the day is coming soon I'll be expected to drive the automatic...Thank you for the video...seems easy enough...
I just got a new automatic cascadia after only using manuals for the last 11 years… for weeks iv been wondering why the truck “randomly” started in 3rd gear one day and 1st another day. It’s crazy that it detects how much you’re hauling and starts in a more appropriate gear rather than just 1-12 every time you take off. Thanks for the great information!
I wish I was driving this during my first swift run. I was trained in mostly an 8 to 12 speed truck. When I rode with my mentor. He had an 18spd rig. Wasn't ready for those extra gears on my first route across country. This year's ago back in 2007
Don't forget to mention that each Gear in the autoshift is a half gear in manual shift... not many of you "professionals " understand that. So if you want to shift these autoshifts in manual mode, to take one full gear you need to slap the stick twice.
Very well explained, Thank-you. I just started driving 4 months ago, CDL school the month before. Learned a 10 speed. My last 3 cars have been manuals by choice & because of that I thought I'd want that in a truck. My company always gives rookies an automatic & I'm very happy with it. One less thing to split my concentration. My trainer never showed me about manual shift. Hit upon it by accident using the jake. Still not comfortable with it in that: do I have to hit the shifter while at a certain speed &/or rpm? I don't want to do damage to the engine by shifting incorrectly at too high of a speed. My cruise doesn't hold me at selected speed (like in my trainers' truck), so I often find myself playing up & down with cruise speed, jake, & brake pedal for each hill. He had a 2019 Freightliner, but I have a 2018 International; not sure if that makes a difference.
I learned on manual (it was the first time using a manual transmission ever), I'm hoping to go into either Stevens or Schneider, and most if not all of their trucks are automatic. I think to just learn and the stress of making sure you kept your eyes on the road made my anxiety spike. BUT! I got my CDL, and I think I'll be far better on an auto. It's really informative, I appreciate it!
This was a very informative video thank you very much good sir keep up the fantastic job I was thinking of getting into Trucking this year and I hear that Automatic Auto way to go so thank you once again for explaining how they work
Automatic transmission is the right thing to drive specially when it comes for Technology and today they start creating an automatic transmission to make it easy for driver and easy for company to hire easy for both. Manual transmission old style for driving long distance. I agreed with company’s that hired automatic only better for gas and better for engine and better for drivers and better for a lot of things. That’s way engineer people create the automatic transmission. It is the future.
Awesome video man. I’ve been driving a 12 speed in the oilfields. Debating whether to drive for a company I know they use newer trucks. Appreciate the insight
Awesome and unbiased video. It would be great if someone could video you actually driving so we can see how it changes gears up and down hills. Cheers!
Boss I really appreciate your effort May God almighty bless you This my dream job,of becoming a truck driver Thank you very much Am James and nice meeting you
Great video! My company just started bringing in new trucks with automatic transmission and I was kind of butt hurt that they were doing it😅 but this makes me feel better considering I'll be jumping in one next week lol
OUUUUUUUUUU!!!! Dangggggg lets goooo!!!! If they made semis automatic, I think a lot of people who are not aware about truck driving will try to get into it and then America will be moving more efficiently.
Thank you, that was very helpful I have been thinking very much in going into driving truck so I wanted to see how the automatic transmission worked in a big rig,
I've been delivering new trucks for 25 years. The first automatic transmission still had a clutch to start and stop. The newer ones like this are very intuitive, however I still prefer a manual and you can float gears on a manual.
Cheers. Getting my CDL this February, the program says it’s gonna be mostly automatics, so this is a good warmup to that Best part is, I’m being made to learn how to drive a semi, but I’m not gonna be driving a semi lmao
@@Vladpryde after a year, I can say I definitely prefer a manual. There's a lot about the automatic that I don't like...that I see potential issues with. However I have what I have.
Thanks for a good overview of how to drive the new automatics. I've been out of the trucking industry for a number of years now, and always drove manuals - I wouldn't know where to begin with an automatic. This was very helpful in understanding changes in the trucking world (who would have guessed that that control stalk was a 4-way controller??). While all of this automation does make things easier for new drivers (and probably more efficient too), the "art of driving" is gradually being lost. It took a deep understanding of how the engine/transmission/differential transferred power to the rear wheels, and how gear changes happen in relation to road speed. Once you understood how all of that is connected, it's way more than just "jammin' gears" - it's an art. Out of curiosity, how does an automatic work with snow/ice/slippery conditions? When you want to have absolutely the finest degree of control of engine/gear/braking to maintain very delicate traction in dangerous conditions, how does it respond? Is manual control best in those situations?
Thanks for some great stuff. Are there any advantages to using manual mode when driving on snow or ice? Example, can using manual mode help prevent your drives from spinning out too much...if so, can you explain that as well as the appropriate use of the axle interlock?
I’m looking at buying a new M.A.N. Coach chassis with the 500hp Euro 6 motor and 12 speed triptronic for construction into a dog towing double deck motor home, and I had no idea what this transmission was. Helped heaps and thanks from Australia.
7.2 avg mpg. Not too shabby! That dash looks more late model pickup style than what I was used to seeing. Quit driving the 379 OTR in 2004. Those trucks have come a long way! The 12 speed auto sure would have been nice in traffic jams and in town!!!
My hips, shoulders and knees would pay good money to drive an Auto. But nope !! I started with 2 stick 5 and 4 in early 80’s and been an 18 speed manual ever since. Heavy haul 105,500, often much higher, high profile construction. Lots of off road, muddy, slimy, rocky, wet or snowy conditions require full control of my gearing. Spend more time with rear ends locked down and traction control disabled then I do in standard mode. This is a great vid tho and offers good info especially for beginners. With a driver shortage and 18 year olds now able to get their CDL’s…Automatics will certainly help to fill some driver shortage voids. Happy trails out there and be safe !!
Is it Cory speaking on the video? I have some questions for you. I'm a retired long haul driver -- four million miles over a 45 year period (beginning in 1974) with some trucking management experience along the way. I road tested, qualified and hired long haul drivers, a couple hundred anyway, for a medium-sized refrigerated carrier that ran teams on all of its trucks. It was a big responsibility. You don't want to put anybody out there that's not able to handle it. If you're a conscientious person it can keep you up at night thinking about it. .... I never had an opportunity to operate an automatic truck transmission. It would be a relief in bumper to bumper traffic. But how do they behave on steep downgrades and on snow and ice covered roads? That was a big question mark for me whenever the subject was discussed. In your video presentation, which is excellent, you have only good things to say about the newer generation of automatic truck transmissions and don't mention any possible safety hazards, something that could go wrong under unusual circumstances. .... I have two main questions. One has to do with slick road surfaces. The other with driving down long, steep grades. .... I've driven on my share of very slick, or marginally slick, road surfaces. You find yourself starting down a snow covered incline. You're not running snow chains, and traffic, if there is any, is moving at a crawl because of the conditions. You need to apply the brakes lightly to keep from gaining too much speed. There is enough traction to do that. In a situation like that you want uniform braking action on all wheel positions. But with the truck in gear, the engine is creating a braking effect. You certainly wouldn't turn on the engine break at a time like that, which would amplify the braking effect. On an ice or snow covered downgrade I don't want any added breaking effect at all. I drove out of Montana for years and was running the mountain passes all the time. Descending a slick grade at 15 miles per hour without chains, I would take the transmission out of gear to prevent the engine from breaking traction on the drive tires. .... With an automatic, can the driver put the transmission in neutral while the truck is in motion or does the computer that controls the transmission prevent that? The question would apply to high speeds as well as low speeds. Why would a driver shift into neutral at higher speeds? It could happen by accident. The driver might inadvertently twist the selector switch and move it to the neutral position. How would the transmission respond to that command? If an automatic transmission can be put in neutral at high speed, how does it respond when the selector switch is moved back to the drive position? .... Is it possible to switch from automatic to manual operation while the truck is in motion, when approaching a steep downgrade for example? If so, who or what determines the gear you'll be in when it happens, the driver or the computer that controls the transmission? .... Could an inexperienced driver who wasn't well trained on the operation of an automatic transmission get in trouble on a mountain grade? Could he or she accidentally, or intentionally, put the transmission in neutral and not be able to reengage the transmission? Trucks are generally governed so that they can't be wound up to more than about 2,100 rpm when out of gear -- i.e., "between gears" when shifting, or when parked and in neutral. On a truck with an automatic transmission that is governed to go no faster than 65 mph, what would happen if the truck was freewheeling out of gear (in neutral) at 80 mph and the driver tried to put the transmission into automatic mode? That question relates to my original question, can an automatic transmission be put in neutral while the truck is in motion? -- Jack
Thanks for the video as I’m working on getting my cdl awesome video if you do have more videos for teaching send them my ways :) thanks awesome video very knowledgeable information
