Work Shy:
Saw a quote from somebody at Stobart group to say they where going back to manuals as they had underestimated their drivers skill levels
i prefer manual for site work and some tighter delieveries better control but the auto is ok for trunking and multidrop.scania has a [zb] auto and man arenāt much better not used an i-shift yet. The best one iāve used is ivecoās new auto
herbertanchovy:
I have yet to get better MPG from an auto than I have on a manual. our fleet has both at the moment, the manuals are consistantly 2+ mpg better. However, the big fleets prefer autos as whilst it will make the āgoodā drivers MPG worse, it will make the ābadā drivers mpg better.
Blimey a sensible post for a change, here, here. I always find it very strange that these ābadā types still gets jobs just the same, donāt make sense.
I would also like to add to that - some of use can also make a clutch last a bloody long time too. Instead of buying crappy auto trucks, get decent drivers. 
BTW
herbertanchovy:
(beat you to it moderator)
Youāve no need to type that, thereās an auto sensor.
DAFMAD:
[
Blimey a sensible post for a change, here, here. I always find it very strange that these ābadā types still gets jobs just the same, donāt make sense.
I would also like to add to that - some of use can also make a clutch last a bloody long time too. Instead of buying crappy auto trucks, get decent drivers.
And brakes too. I was always taught that brakes are for stopping, gears are for slowing and have always adhered almost fanatically to that principle. I did appreciate the coming of exhaust brakes, engine brakes and retarders though. My biggest hate with the latter was the fact that they operated the brake lights and I hated the thought that followers thought I was riding the brakes down a long descent. 
However, having said that, I may be old but Iām not a dinosaur and although Iāve never driven a truck with an auto, am quite prepared to believe that I would like the experience. I remember how much I loved my old Ford Granada auto years ago. 
I did drive a semi auto for a time though. It was a Leyland Beaver for Bunny Hill Motors and they were very good to drive but unreliable and I remember someone saying they were alright for buses but would never stand up to the heavier use in wagons. This would be in about '71 or '72.
Even though I would like an auto and definitely do like a crash box, the bit in between I definitely did not like - synchros. Sticky changes playing havoc with elbow joints I longed for many years for the positive and easy drop (as long as you got the revs right, thatās where the skill came in) of the constant mesh, often dispensing with the clutch for changes long before the Twin Splitter was a gleam in the engineerās eye. 
I have to agree with David, the auto box is the future but the synchromeash box is the reason there are so many crap drivers. You can stand at any roundabout or at the foot of a hill and listen to the baulk rings wearing out 
From Spicers to Fullers to Twinsplitters, the driver had to be on the ball and if ever you were heard making a tune, you wouldnt hear the end of it until the weekend in the yard where then it would be a chorus
Spardo:
And brakes too. I was always taught that brakes are for stopping, gears are for slowing
That was the way that a lot were taught because the old type of braking systems were crap.
The modern brakes are far better and designed to slow and stop the vehicle.
A lot of fuel & effort is wasted by downchanging through the gears.
Using a fully laden 44 tonner -
50mph in top gear on a dual carriageway with a roundabout ahead.
Start braking and keep braking until it is known what gear will be needed to proceed onto the roundabout.
Clear to proceed - change to gear needed and go.
Just the one gear change required - the brakes did all the work. 
Brakes for SLOW and gears for GO.
I showed this method to a couple of guys to whom I had the task of training to be assesors. They had about 60 years of HGV/LGV driving between them and after 24 hours they had this method sorted.
Their comments were - āWhy did we not use this method sooner as it is easierā
There are. of course, different methods that would be applied in certain circumstances.
I have driven all sorts and I have to say the the Volvo I-Shift auto is the best gearbox on the market bar none. It is an absolute dream to drive, the programming is top notch, it changes gear really fast and you donāt get ANY juddering when reversing like you do on other boxes. You can feather it at the lights or roundabout, then floor it and donāt have to worry about nothing happening.
My last truck (MAN TGA 26.440) had an auto and it was pretty good, but on occasions it would drop you in the ā ā ā ā at roundabouts when you went for it nothing happened. Donāt leave it in manual and forget to change down at the lights, it will stall.
Mercedes auto boxes are only good on the artics and they have to be the NEW version. Drive a 53 plate Actros with the auto and you see just how bad they can be. When reversing they judder like mad, sometimes they pull away at full speed even though you just breath on the throttle causing you to carry out an emergency stop. The fold down clutch peddle idea is pants. All in all the worst ā ā ā ā ā ā Iāve ever used.
DAF auto boxes are average to crap. A bit like the MAN autoās but worse.
Eaton twin split was a great box.
Manual, forget it.
Conclusion: Get a VOLVO I-SHIFT AUTO for stress free driving. All hail the Volvo I-shift
ROG:
Spardo:
And brakes too. I was always taught that brakes are for stopping, gears are for slowingThat was the way that a lot were taught because the old type of braking systems were crap.
The modern brakes are far better and designed to slow and stop the vehicle.
A lot of fuel & effort is wasted by downchanging through the gears.
Using a fully laden 44 tonner -
50mph in top gear on a dual carriageway with a roundabout ahead.
Start braking and keep braking until it is known what gear will be needed to proceed onto the roundabout.
Clear to proceed - change to gear needed and go.Just the one gear change required - the brakes did all the work.
Brakes for SLOW and gears for GO.
I showed this method to a couple of guys to whom I had the task of training to be assesors. They had about 60 years of HGV/LGV driving between them and after 24 hours they had this method sorted.
Their comments were - āWhy did we not use this method sooner as it is easierā
There are. of course, different methods that would be applied in certain circumstances.
Thatās OK in a manual, but all the autos today change through the gears while you are on the brakes. We were taught by Volvo when we got our new I shift to use the retarder to slow the truck down, it changes through the gears while slowing, then take retarder off, foot on throttle and off you goā¦
EnglishTrucker:
Thatās OK in a manual, but all the autos today change through the gears while you are on the brakes. We were taught by Volvo when we got our new I shift to use the retarder to slow the truck down, it changes through the gears while slowing, then take retarder off, foot on throttle and off you goā¦
Perfectly correct as they are designed to do that.
Have they designed an auto that does not change down but stays in the gear that was in use when braking started and then auto selects the correct gear when the foot goes back to the gas 
If they have not - then I donāt think it will be long in comingā¦
ROG:
EnglishTrucker:
Thatās OK in a manual, but all the autos today change through the gears while you are on the brakes. We were taught by Volvo when we got our new I shift to use the retarder to slow the truck down, it changes through the gears while slowing, then take retarder off, foot on throttle and off you goā¦Perfectly correct as they are designed to do that.
Have they designed an auto that does not change down but stays in the gear that was in use when braking started and then auto selects the correct gear when the foot goes back to the gas
If they have not - then I donāt think it will be long in comingā¦
To be honest Rog I canāt remember. The DAF seems a little like that. I know it will stay in a higher gear because I used to blip the throttle (just barely touch it) and it would then change down. I know they stay in a higher gear when you stop and then change when stationary. But Iāve driven two types of auto in the DAF. One was the dial like in the MAN with a stalk for the semi-auto and the other is like a stubby gear shift with a dial.
By the way they are not āstrictlyā an auto. They are a manual gearbox, but the computer does all the gear changing. It still has a clutch, not a torque converter. I think a lot of it comes down to how itās programmed, and Volvo has it nailed. When I was at M&S I might drive a 53 plate Actros in the morning and a Globetrotter 57 plate in the afternoon, both autos. That is when you really notice just how good the Volvo is.
As you can probably tell, I donāt have much experience with auto trucks.
Every time I have used one I have been given the same advice - leave it in auto and it wil do it all for you - so thatās what I did 
ROG:
As you can probably tell, I donāt have much experience with auto trucks.Every time I have used one I have been given the same advice - leave it in auto and it wil do it all for you - so thatās what I did
Unless you have a auto Merc Rog, then for gods sake keep it in manual
Apart from driving a V8 Scania and a couple of DAFās I havenāt driven a manual (well Eaton Twin Split) since we had our ERFās back in 2002. Itās been autoās all the time.
God I need a FH16 I-Shift. Anyone got a jobā¦ 
No wonder proper drivers are rare these days, when they reckon an Auto can do the job better than they can with a good later manual box. It probably can if theyāre that bad. Now we all have to suffer. 
DAFMAD:
No wonder proper drivers are rare these days, when they reckon an Auto can do the job better than they can with a good later manual box.
I did 8 years in the Army driving crash boxes. Anyone remember the Foden crash box? The AEC knockers? You could hear the teeth being ground a mile away!!
Donāt worry, Iāve still got it mate even though I havenāt used one in ages. Itās like riding a bike. I pity the new drivers though, who havenāt had the pleasure of Mr Crash and Mr twin splitā¦
What was that crash box that was fitted to some of the Leylands called
Was it an āAlbionā
They were āfunā to drive - Take out of gear and put into neutral - now go home, have dinner, shower, snog the Mrs and then re-dip the clutch and put into next gear - and that was going UP the box 
ROG:
What was that crash box that was fitted to some of the Leylands calledWas it an āAlbionā
They were āfunā to drive - Take out of gear and put into neutral - now go home, have dinner, shower, snog the Mrs
Leyland Martian with a Rolls Royce B81 petrol engineā¦ 
Being of the old school I like nothing better than to manually handle the box.
Ooopps sorry wrong forumā¦
Iāve had a go in some of the autos on the market today, and I must admit I enjoy going back to a manual box. The only exception I would make would be the I-shift in the Volvo. I sometimes drive a DAF CF with an auto fleet spec box, which means you donāt have the option to change over to manual gear changes. Itās a bloody nightmare, spoils the rest of the truck. I had a hired CF the other day with a manual gearbox. Night and day in my opinion. It will obviously depend on the type of work the individual is doing too. A good auto box like the I-shift might be preferred where a lot of town work is being done. Each to their own preference I suppose.
I used to drive the old mk3 Antar tank transporter in the days before the cissy semi auto of the Scammel Commander. you had enough time to finish your Herforder Pils between the start and finish of the gear change. Apparently the mk2 were even worse with 2 (yes2) gearsticks you had to operate at the same time!
God knows what the H&S Nazis would make of that nowadays
Mike-C:
herbertanchovy:
I prefer a manual box every time.Honestly, the autos are best. Its only know all drivers who think they can select a more appropriate gear for the conditions that prefer manuals, the reality is borne out by the fact owners are choosing autos.
herbertanchovy:
Scaniaās opticruise is a piece of (beat you to it moderator)And second guessing being censored can also leave you wrong footed too !!!
Crap works just fine here !!!
firstly, I can achieve 12.2 mpg with a manual scania. on the same route at the same weight, an automatic is around 9.5. nothing to do with being a āknow allā, itās pure and simple experience.in fact the phrase āknow allā tends to be utilised by those who consider themselves to be intalectually superior (or a know all, if you will) hence why else would they consider themselves to be in a position to criticise? If I was buying one, having driven one every day for the last 2 years, theres no way Iād buy an auto. when I am driving a manual box, I donāt approach junctions in top, then go straight to 2 like the opticruse does regardless of wether it needs it or not.I donāt change up the box normally then for no reason jump into neutral like the opticruise does.
second I wasnt going to say ācrapā I was going to say āā ā ā ā ā. is that just fine?second guessing is a two way street.
āknow allā FFS!!!