Is it just me or does anyone else still prefer manual gearbox in a truck. Please be gentle it’s only a question about personal preferences 
I had a little drive in a manual volvo today, I still prefer I shift
Heard a lot of good things about the i-shift but never had the chance to drive one.
Don’t mind the EPS box in the Merc, although it can be a little slow sometimes.
Drove a Stralis the other week and was not impressed.
Have driven Volvo, Scania and DAF’s all with manual boxes and prefer them over autos any day.
Auto…makes life so much easier when your lost…+ i’m a lazy sod 
i shift is good but other than that, manual every time
i like driving an actros but again, i find the EPS to be slow
happy to go out and drive the 52 plate manual TGA today. i would take that one every time instead of the brand new ones
you can manualise most auto boxes
try as you might you cant autoise a manual
auto auto auto ever time
I drive a Scania with Opticruise - and I luv it! So muchless work to do, but if you do want to take control you can, also as Scania retained the clutch you get that extra bit of control when manouvering/reversing. I drive out of Malaga and for anyone who knows the road the first 350 odd Kms north to Madrid is all mountains so the auto really does reduce the drivers workload.
Hombre:
I drive a Scania with Opticruise - and I luv it! So muchless work to do, but if you do want to take control you can, also as Scania retained the clutch you get that extra bit of control when manouvering/reversing. I drive out of Malaga and for anyone who knows the road the first 350 odd Kms north to Madrid is all mountains so the auto really does reduce the drivers workload.
thats a cracking bit of road, especially the twisty bit, (think its called la carolina, or similar), was on it last month, on our way with 2 loads down, past marbella, too valderama for the masters golf.
had a demo, 105xf, auto, with the retarder fitted, the whole set up, worked well together.
i like manual trucks, but currently have a 55 plate daf, with the as tronic box, great in nearly every way, just abit awkward when shunting, even if using the shunt button.
changed my mind. driver failed to show so i got his run in the volvo and 9 metre trailer. the i shift was a ■■■■■ to work with after i had tipped. small trailer with only 2 pallets (just pallets, no load) and it was selecting 5th to pull away uphill on a wet surface in stop start traffic. when im braking, the engine is still trying to push the wagon on resulting in a battle which occasionally required knocking it into neutral rather than shunt the car in front of me. the i shift isnt much good under these circumstances. its ok with the bigger trailers though 
Chillstrucker,
The bit of road you refer to is the A4 just north of Bailen and the mountain pass is commonly called “Las Carolinas” - which in fact is the name of the small town just to the south of the pass.
The corrrect name is I beleive " Dos Perros" or “two dogs” (no rude jokes please!) and it is the pint where the A4 Cadiz to Madrid highway passes through the Sierra Morena mountains into La Mancha from Andalucia.
If you like the road you can see some film shot from my cab on a webcam via this link: http://www.lemontreevillas.com/skislope01.wmv
Its a big file but should buffer then run in a couple of minutes on a 1Mb ADSL line.
It shows the last 23Km heading south from Casabermeja down into Malaga on the A92M
hombre.
thanks for the info.
two dogs eh 
its a nice drive, that i always enjoy, prefer too be light if poss though. i always enjoy the stretch, from madrid down too marbella, and madrid too south of portugal, via seville, always seems too be a constant supply of really good places too stop.
i’ve always been a fan of the spanish stopping places, hotels and good restaraunts right next too the main drag.
you got any faves, that are worth me noting for future reference?
To be honest there are very few bad ones in Spain, however theres one about half way between Jaen and Granada called La Oasis which does superb grub and the magro de cerdo (pork in tomatoes) is brilliant - about 3.50 euros for a medio racion, which with a basket of bread makes a good lunch.
Hombre:
To be honest there are very few bad ones in Spain, however theres one about half way between Jaen and Granada called La Oasis which does superb grub and the magro de cerdo (pork in tomatoes) is brilliant - about 3.50 euros for a medio racion, which with a basket of bread makes a good lunch.
very true mate. i try and make a point of trying different ones each trip, i shall make a note of la oasis, and give it a go on the next trip, maybe next month, if not, in the new year.
one thing i won’t do, is take 2 artics into fuengirolla ever again.
tried it with my mate on our last trip for the golf. as their was 2 of us, we thought we’d have a bit of a mad night out, as we didn’t need too be at the golf course till the following afternoon, what a mistake that was, def not the place for 2 artics, oh well you live and learn, thought we were gonna get stuck in the narrow streets 
.
oh well, you live and learn, (the hardway sometimes)
also tried puerto banus, but were unsure if the lorries would be ok, parked at the side of the supermarket, near the marina■■?
ended up in the bloody last services, just at the end of the toll road, not quite the night we’d hoped for 
Dont worry too much about parking in residential streets here - we all do it and nobody cares about it - its perfectly normal like parking on a zebra crossing or on a set of traffic lights. And no Im not kidding!!.
If you want to park up in or near Fuengirola then get on to the N340 just west of Benalmadena so follow the A7/N340 NOT AP7 and this will bring you along the coast road, after you come down the hill the road straightens out and you will see the sign for Coin, exit for coin then go striaght over the island and take the exit just before you rejoin the N340 -
this will take you down towards Dunnes Irish Supermarket, Decathlon, Iceland etc…, and a shopping centre. You can park on the pull ins or whereever and you are very close to the town centre. Also as theres loads of bars and most important taxies. Taxies are fairly reasonably priced so its easy to get around if you dont fancy walking.
cheers hombre.
all noted for future trips, thanks 
I just got my 1st auto car as a work runabout and i love it after a day out in the truck lol…only been in one auto truck and it was fab and it was a MAN.
prefer manual but i must admit that the volvos with i-shift ive drove lately are a very impressive piece of kit . not very often i believe i could do better . there 480 and only 3,000 odd k,s wheras the 1,000,000 ,420 didnt seem quite as good , or was it the fact it was a 02 truck and theyve been refined alot since then 
Auto , would’nt want to go back to those nasty stick things again 
And anyway, on any auto you can still go manual.
Have had a 6x2 Premium with full auto Opti-driver on quarry work since Jan and I wouldn’t go back to a manual, no way 
Big Truck:
Have had a 6x2 Premium with full auto Opti-driver on quarry work since Jan and I wouldn’t go back to a manual, no way
Any pictures please ?