Edward Teller:
A very good example of why I usually just look and surf away on this thread.
I know “Ed”, but you have that bit more than us, i can tell. You are special.
eddie snax:
Rob K:
The XF480 has been around for at least 10 years.
.I didnt think that the XF’s came out til about late 97, not quite 10 years
Prior to that it was a Space cab, or available for about 2 years Super Space cab, on the 95 cab. Though i’m a Twingo man so maybe i’d
If you read the rest of the thread I said 8 years. 
if someone wants throw money at me in the form of training, greatfully will it be receaved, though all the people i’ve worked for seem to have had the same narrow minded attitude as you
Nowt to do with being allegedly “narrow minded” at all . First time I had an Idle Shift I picked it up straight away but then realised there were more functions to the box than just the usual forwards and backwards. I asked the assessor bloke and he showed me how the eco roll and other stuff worked, but there still isn’t a solution to pulling out safely into busy traffic with it.
The DAF doesn’t have any additional gadgets. It has a selector for reverse low and high, drive low and high and neutral, that’s it, finito, so I don’t know where you come to the conclusion it’s being “narrow minded” of me when there are no other options left, but of course as you’ve never driven one (by your own admission) then you know best and I know nothing once again.
gav:
Ive used a DAF auto on a dragon and wag,and it was [zb] lethal,so much so that if i went for a job and the gaffer turned round and said “we like to look after our drivers by giving them auto boxs” id say well if thats what you call looking after a driver you can keep your job, what i cant decide on though is which box is worse,DAF or RENAULT,now the first time i backed under a trailer with the renault i ended up with whiplash,these things are dangerous, now I used an idiot shift for about 6 months and to be fair the first few days took a little getting used to as far as coupling up goes,but after that i thought it was a dream to drive and coupling up was never a problem,and mike c is right,they are actually manual boxs with a bit of wizardry bolted to the top
For connecting up to the pin I find the DAF is better than the Twingo because it has a reverse low option, which the Twingo doesn’t. I agree though, the Twingo is like the Volvo - it’s all or nothing and it’s nigh on impossible to connect up to the pin without slamming into it.
Drive wise though, I much prefer the Twingo auto than any of the others 
. If the engine had more power it wouldn’t be too bad at all as the change is probably the fastest out of all the autos and you can drive with it in manual all the time if you want too. I didn’t like it at first but it’s not a bad drive once you get used to it. I’d still prefer a stick though.
Thank you Mike-c, how right you are.
This is my very last post ever on here, my 4th I think.
I have better things to do than swap verbals with the wannabees and saddo’s that spend their time on here.
Edward Teller:
Thank you Mike-c, how right you are.This is my very last post ever on here, my 4th I think.
I have better things to do than swap verbals with the wannabees and saddo’s that spend their time on here.
What you still doing here then?
Tarra.
The 95xf I had last year on a o05 plate was an auto, and you could drive it in manual by setting the switch to M, then pushing the little KNOB forward or backward to change gear. If you needed help you could push right or left (can’t remember which) and it would select the right gear.
Have to agree, its crap and I could not wait to see the back of it.
MAN TGA’s are a bit better but I still prefer a full manual box.
Wayne.
Wayne:
The 95xf I had last year on a o05 plate was an auto, and you could drive it in manual by setting the switch to M, then pushing the little KNOB forward or backward to change gear. If you needed help you could push right or left (can’t remember which) and it would select the right gear.Have to agree, its crap and I could not wait to see the back of it.
MAN TGA’s are a bit better but I still prefer a full manual box.
Wayne.
Yes that’s true Wayne, you can use it in manual, BUT it takes even longer to change! Also, it has a habit of selecting 2nd to pull away in every time, even if you’re running solo which is clearly the wrong gear. It needs to be 5th at least (solo). Furthermore, even if you hold the lever fully forward when changing up it will still only go up 2 gears at a time, which again is totally inappropriate when running solo. You should be able to go 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, not 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 which must be a massive waste of fuel.
If you leave it in auto mode it changed up at 1200 revs which doesn’t nothing more than making the truck labour like [zb] and make no progress whatsoever.
Rob K:
I don’t need training on any gear box. .
Nowt to do with being allegedly “narrow minded” at all
Oh “i dont need training on any gearbox” isnt the tad bit narrow minded then
Used to drive a manual XF480 in my early days of tramping and they’re a great truck to drive, very quiet and very comfy, just a pity that they don’t come with an exhaust brake. The autos on the other hand…
You state here Rob that you used to drive a 480XF, yet below on another thread you state that you drove a 400 DAF 85. Which was it…■■
Just for some insight into my past, my first class 1 job was for PMP Logistics on containers. I was doing about 75-80hrs per week over 6 days, living in a filthy & wrecked N-reg DAF85 ATI 400 all week (low roof cab) and used to be paid on mileage. Even with my night out money wound in with my max hours I never took home any more £360. I stuck that for 3 months just to get the experience (and luckily never hit anything), then went back on agency and cracked on onwards and upwards from there.
(And i copied and pasted the whole paragraph so not to be accused of selective quoting)
And the XF range was not available until a late P plate which is 1997, and even then i dont think it was available in a 480, only a 380 and 430.
What these auto boxes need is clutch pedal that you only use for reversing so you get low speed control and also it would be useful to pull away with so you could select the appropiate gear for laden / unladen. If it would then return to fully automatic once on the move that would be perfect. But who could make such a machine 
went to a job first thing yesterday in sheff, one of the lads was already there waiting, so i watched him in, old style steel works down a back lane with a narrow gate and it’s proper tight, he’s in one of these daf’s, what a nightmare, stop start, stop start, they may be great on the open road but they’re certainly not designed for this type of work, give me a clutch anyday.
BuzzardBoy:
Used to drive a manual XF480 in my early days of tramping and they’re a great truck to drive, very quiet and very comfy, just a pity that they don’t come with an exhaust brake. The autos on the other hand…
You state here Rob that you used to drive a 480XF, yet below on another thread you state that you drove a 400 DAF 85. Which was it…■■
And where did I say anything about it being my first job (with the 480) ?
The implication was there. It doesn’t matter anyway. You don’t like the transmission. There may even be a fault with it. Who knows. Many others do like them. I know one operator who bought 2 premiums with the auto box and swears by them where he used to swear about them. He says he gets 1.5 mpg more from them than from any other trucks in his fleet.
Auto shifters are becoming the norm. You may not like them but you will have to lump them.
I’m guessing here, but I suspect that the manufacturers are fitting them due to operator demand or governmental demands. I reckon they are here to stay.
Even old ■■■■■ like me can get used to them and I never thought that would happen.
bobthedog:
The implication was there. It doesn’t matter anyway. You don’t like the transmission. There may even be a fault with it. Who knows. Many others do like them. I know one operator who bought 2 premiums with the auto box and swears by them where he used to swear about them. He says he gets 1.5 mpg more from them than from any other trucks in his fleet.Auto shifters are becoming the norm. You may not like them but you will have to lump them.
I’m guessing here, but I suspect that the manufacturers are fitting them due to operator demand or governmental demands. I reckon they are here to stay.Even old ■■■■■ like me can get used to them and I never thought that would happen.
I agree, but I think they’re taking away control from the driver and as a result are making them a danger on the roads. When you’re trying to haul 28 tonne (or more) away from a stand still onto a roundabout you need a fast response and the ability to use every ounce of torque that’s available in order to get a wriggle on. Frankly the auto boxes aren’t capable of doing that. They have the response time of a laden oil tanker and even when you do get them going they change up at 1300 revs which is worse thing that can happen to you when you’re half way out across the roundabout. 
You’re right that they’re here to stay and that’s the most depressing part about it. 
But that is surely more the fault of people who build roads like racetracks than the truck manufacturers.
I was asking KW about the autos and they say it’s due to emission requirements that they are in vogue now. Without a doubt, autos are slower off the mark but you should be ready for it in one way or the other. Not sure how. It is only an issue in towns over here and there’s usually plenty of distance between them.
Careful, Rob K. You nearly agreed with me! 
At the moment our firm is taking delivery of around 80 Dafs all with the auto box.However every driver is taking digitach instruction (1/2 day) first and then given a further 1/2 day on and off road instruction on how to drive the Daf the way it was made to be driven. This is almost over and I have not heard one driver complain, most saying they much prefer the Daf to the Volvo (with i-shift).Not being funny Rob but maybe with someone ’ showing you the ropes’ on the truck rather than working it out yourself,you may have a better opinion of it.Anyway must dash, got Drax power station so better wear my PPE in the cab 
Wouldn’t be Scania would it? Woops, thought this wouold be on the bottom of the first page, not quite so witty now. 
shade:
At the moment our firm is taking delivery of around 80 Dafs all with the auto box.However every driver is taking digitach instruction (1/2 day) first and then given a further 1/2 day on and off road instruction on how to drive the Daf the way it was made to be driven. This is almost over and I have not heard one driver complain, most saying they much prefer the Daf to the Volvo (with i-shift).Not being funny Rob but maybe with someone ’ showing you the ropes’ on the truck rather than working it out yourself,you may have a better opinion of it.Anyway must dash, got Drax power station so better wear my PPE in the cab
who’s getting 80 new dafs?
I’m glad i am not alone in hating the autobox in the Dafs our fleet have the 85 series units. I to think they are dangerous the one I had today could’nt decide on what gear it wanted.
This is why I truly believe that the use of AMT (Automatic Manual Transmission) boxes is NOT deskilling. They work perfectly well and can do everything a manual can once you have learnt how to use them, something that takes time. A driver like Rob doesn’t get to drive an AMT all the time, so he’s never had chance to learn that particular skill - no disrespect to Rob at all, btw…we had all AMT boxes at our place at one point, and apparently all 30 drivers had to spend a good month getting the hang of them when they first came. I know I did, and I’m by no means green either.
If it was deskilling, then an experienced and competant driver would be able to get in and drive no problem at all…The very fact that they can’t proves the point. 