Homeward Bound Now

[Bret4207]

We're hearing about the "need" for auto trannies in our municipal plow trucks from one of our prospective highway supers. I never had a truck with an automatic back when I was running blacktop and lumber. Now you "need" it?

 

[Rick]

Yep, needed because every year it gets harder and harder to find people that can drive a stick shift. Was even an article in the paper recently out of I think Springfield, MO where a car thief abandoned trying to steal it, thwarted by . . . . A manual transmission.

In trucks it takes more than putting an automatic in it. The automatic transmission robs so much power that a bigger engine is also needed. Disney studio's had an auto tractor, if that truck saw a hill up the road a ways it slowed down, a real PITA to drive.

 

[L Ross]

look closer at some of the drivers.
Somewhere Istan is pretty close to their hometown, they come over and live in their trucks for 8-9 years and go home.
they ain't bad drivers for the most part and don't draw a lot of attention to themselves, but they do knock down the pay scale some.

the other end of the spectrum is many of the new trucks are going to automatic transmissions.
[you can guess why pretty easily]

A local TV ad for a Food Service company looking for drivers has a female spokes person driver telling about automatic transmissions. Then a guy from the company comes on and actually says, "These trucks almost drive themselves."
In a few more years, they will drive themselves. I'm glad I'm getting old, the future sucks.

 

[Ian]

All the auto transmissions I've seen are just air-shift versions of existing spur-geared platforms like the Eaton-Fuller or Spicer 10 and 18 speed units. ECM pulls the engine back until rpm matches next gear and the air cylinders slam the appropriate shift forks. Driver can just stand on the throttle the whole time. One good thing the auto-shift transmissions do is save a lot on wear and tear on the units from exuberant drivers (like local/short-haul).

 

[KeithB]

LRoss, I think you're right, a lot of truck driving jobs will be automated in the future, for the same reasons a lot of factory production jobs are automated. It's just the way it is.

Don't know about heavy trucks but I've had a lot of mechanics tell me that auto transmissions on cars and light trucks are a hell of a lot more reliable and need less repairs than manual transmissions. We haven't had a stick shift anything since we sold our '76 Corolla and honestly have never missed it. Just my personal problem but if I had a stick shift in either of my trucks I would have had to sell them, can't do a clutch with a prosthetic foot.

 

[JSH]

I have not been in a road tractor for 19 years and several months. I do not miss any of it! Bad enough in a 4 wheeler. I honestly doubt I could get through a full day of driving with a good horse without running over some fool. Those that work their tail off to get in front of you, slow down and turn.
Last loads I hauled helped a buddy shelling corn. He had a good rig and trailer W900 with a healthy CAT. His thoughts on loading, “if they didn’t want you to put so much on they would have made the sides shorter”. Drive on a state road for about 15 miles, then on the interstate from 15-40 miles depending on destination. I would take side roads back to the field just to avoid traffic.
Early 80’s drove all around KC in a straight truck. It was such a turd I was the cause of grief. A top speed of 58 at that time. Dispatch could never figure why we all started early and got back late. I studied up on governors and fixed mine got it to run. Still left early, got back sooner though. Word got out and I shut it back down for a while, my truck went to the shop for “repairs”. Got it back and I fixed it again. Suppose they would put me in jail for that today.

 

[fiver]

they'd just fire ya when the box reported you for going over the governed speed.

 

[smokeywolf]

Last tractor I drove was a '73 Pete conventional with a 13 speed Roadranger. To show how long ago that was, the tractor was less than 2 years old.

I remember when I was LE, they were talking about putting "Tachagraphs" in all the units. Would record speed, how long you were stopped and when you used lights and siren. Think that was about 1977.

 

[L Ross]

LRoss, I think you're right, a lot of truck driving jobs will be automated in the future, for the same reasons a lot of factory production jobs are automated. It's just the way it is.

Don't know about heavy trucks but I've had a lot of mechanics tell me that auto transmissions on cars and light trucks are a hell of a lot more reliable and need less repairs than manual transmissions. We haven't had a stick shift anything since we sold our '76 Corolla and honestly have never missed it. Just my personal problem but if I had a stick shift in either of my trucks I would have had to sell them, can't do a clutch with a prosthetic foot.

There are skills us old guys developed such as gas welding, parallel parking, backing a trailer. rowing a boat, sharpening a saw, on and on that are being relegated to the trash heap of obsolescence, and it frankly disappoints me.

 

[JSH]

I load trucks on a daily basis now. I put a lot of these guys behind the wheel in the herder catagory, rather than a driver or even an operator. Backing up, third time is a charm, or forth,fifth........
Been a longggg time since I have seen an operator. Last one I recall was a female to boot.

 

[Ian]

You must be referring to Tiffany of Southwest Freight lines. 5' nothing and maaaaaybe 100 lbs of pure operating excellence. Drives a Freightliner with a 13 speed...manual. She doesn't need help with 1500 lbs of diesel engine on a pallet jack, either.

 

[358156 hp]

Last tractor I drove was a '73 Pete conventional with a 13 speed Roadranger. To show how long ago that was, the tractor was less than 2 years old.

I remember when I was LE, they were talking about putting "Tachagraphs" in all the units. Would record speed, how long you were stopped and when you used lights and siren. Think that was about 1977.

It's all common place on modern trucks today. The next big thing is to install cameras trained on the driver so their actions and expressions can be recorded for insurance purposes. Even log books are electronic now for the larger carriers, with automatic enforcement of driving time, breaks on/off duty tasks and so on. One driver told me his truck will give him a time deadline to have his truck parked for the night. If he goes over that time the truck will start a timer for shut down. I believe he claimed that the engine will go into limp mode if he goes over.

Disclaimer: now everybody understands that this was told to me by a truck driver don't you? Many of them sit all alone in a truck all damn day, making up tall tales and such.

 

[Bret4207]

I've seen drivers and I've seen operators. We used to call the good ones "professionals". When you pull a guy in for inspection and his first response to, "Let's see how your low air alarm works." is, "My what?", that usually sets the stage for the rest of the inspection. Those are the guys you don't get under the truck with unless there is another Troop standing there making sure he doesn't get bored and tries to drive off! Had a guy start his truck while I was under it between the drivers! No wonder I have no hair. Most of the Canadians I dealt with in my area were 3 levels above your average US "trucker", but I was also within 45 miles of Ottawa, where things are done just so, eh?

I spent a lot of time driving dump trucks, not OTR tractors. Can't imagine an auto tranny holding up to the abuse they'd get in a dump, but then I never thought I'd ever see a pickup go 300k, and one of those died from rust, not mileage!

Smokey, I understand nowadays the Troopers all have GPS in their cars that record all the stuff you mention. I'd probably have been fired for "practice high speed driving" ( driving at a buck and a quarter is lots different than driving at 70mph, ya gotta practice sometime, right?) or for stopping too long shooting the bull with local good guy citizens, kids and old ladies. We used to call that community policing, aka- getting people to know you, trust you a bit and work with you.

 

[Rick]

Disclaimer: now everybody understands that this was told to me by a truck driver don't you? Many of them sit all alone in a truck all damn day, making up tall tales and such.

In 34 years in the Teamsters I can't say I ever spent a single hour much less day doing any such a thing.