Me and a freind are looking into the expediting business, we both have our class B license along with hazmat. He drove a straight truck and I drove a dump truck my truck was straight drive his was an automatic. I would like seasoned expeditors opinion on which tranny they think is best. We are looking into teaming up neither of us are married (anymore!! isnt divorce wonderful) alittle sarcasim there, he does not know how to drive a straight drive. would an automatic hold up with the weight of the loads?
Auto Tans or Manual?
- Thread starter RDE
- Start date
I'm in a class 7 with a six speed Allison automatic. I expect delivery in 6 weeks of a class 8 with an 18 speed manual. I went that route for gear selection. Originally I was ordering the 13 speed to have 2 overdrive gears. The 18 speed is practically the same purchase cost but has higher resale value so it's better in the long run. I'll just skip several of the gears on the way up.
To at least somewhat more directly answer your question, I now believe class 8 is the only way to go and either transmission will work fine when spec'd properly. That said, I believe the 2 overdrives of the 13/18 speed are better than the 1 overdrive of an automatic from an economy standpoint. In the truck I've ordered 1400 rpm will give either 60 or 70 mph depending on which overdrive is selected. Good luck in your decision.
Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
To at least somewhat more directly answer your question, I now believe class 8 is the only way to go and either transmission will work fine when spec'd properly. That said, I believe the 2 overdrives of the 13/18 speed are better than the 1 overdrive of an automatic from an economy standpoint. In the truck I've ordered 1400 rpm will give either 60 or 70 mph depending on which overdrive is selected. Good luck in your decision.
Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
I'm just curious if you test drove an automatic in a class 8. The only one I ever drove was back in the early 80's and it was a total piece of bovine excrement. But, I've talked to drivers who are using the new ones, drivers who thought they would never use them, that absolutly rave about them. They say they are always in the right gear and amazingly smooth.
myself i like the eaton 10 speed select auto shift, all you have to do is use the clutch to start and stop it shift like any other, and give's you auto and going though the gear's so you have best of both world's and with a engine brake works great,
had one in my western star, and in my second truck had allison auto
both are great only differents between to was the price auto was a lot higher
had one in my western star, and in my second truck had allison auto
both are great only differents between to was the price auto was a lot higher
Thanks for the information. We went today and test drove a couple of trucks the first was a 2001 Freightliner C120 w/ Cummins N14 400HP 10 speed auto shift the miles were 410297; the second truck was a 2001 Freightliner CST112 w/ Cat C10 330HP also with an auto shift. I believe both trannies were Eatons. The only thing that concerns me are the miles, at what point would a deisel engine need to overhauled?
I know how it was driven before has alot to do with it.
I know how it was driven before has alot to do with it.
Refer Hauler
Expert Expediter
Presently drive a 99 Century tractor with 460 hp N-14 Cummins, truck has 744000 on it. no major engine work done, uses no oil. Wanted to get a million out of it but the 5 year mark will be up in December.
Personaly the 330 HP truck would be underpowered in my opinion
Personaly the 330 HP truck would be underpowered in my opinion
In a class 8 anything below 4xx horsepower is too little in my opinion. The trucks you name sound like they'd be tandems and if so you may sometimes carry more than D unit weight. You'd especially want the higher power then. The N14 at 400 sounds pretty good. I imagine it's at least 1400 torque. That should do a good job.
Check the cruising rpm on whatever trucks you consider. With a big block engine and the torque it makes you don't need to be running it fast. If the engine in the unit under consideration has a 1200-1600 green zone it should be cruising at the speed you would most often drive at 1350 to 1400 but no higher. Anything above that and it's just going to be burning more fuel. With the torque available it should do fine at 1350-1400 and 99.9% of the time never downshift no matter what the load or the hill. If it's a converted tractor it may have rear end gears that put the cruise higher than that. Good luck to you.
Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Check the cruising rpm on whatever trucks you consider. With a big block engine and the torque it makes you don't need to be running it fast. If the engine in the unit under consideration has a 1200-1600 green zone it should be cruising at the speed you would most often drive at 1350 to 1400 but no higher. Anything above that and it's just going to be burning more fuel. With the torque available it should do fine at 1350-1400 and 99.9% of the time never downshift no matter what the load or the hill. If it's a converted tractor it may have rear end gears that put the cruise higher than that. Good luck to you.
Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Not seasoned here (by some people's reckoning), just two years on the road. My wife and I have never driven a manual tranny truck. We have driven class 8 trucks with the Eaton 10-speed autoshift and the Allison 6-speed automatic. The auto-shift has three pedals on the floor; the automatic just two. The Eaton requires you to use the clutch pedal whenever the truck starts or stops. The Allison automatic is just like a car's automatic transmission. With it, you can work your way through a traffic jam with your big toe.
We got better fuel economy with the 10-speed transmissions than with the 6 speed we're driving now. But boy-oh-boy, does that torque converter, 6-speed unit get the truck going from a dead stop. We can keep up with and even leave cars behind comming off a stop light if we wish. It's designed for in-town driving or for use in mines and other places where a truck under heavy load will start and stop a lot. Given the fuel economy difference, it's not the best choice for over the road work (one man's opinion).
Another factor is driver fatigue. When we got into a truck that had only two pedals on the floor, we were plesantly surprised to find we could drive longer without getting tired. A full-automatic transmission definately reduced fatigue in our case.
Another automated transmission to consider is the Arvin Meritor FreedomLine 12 speed. Can't say much about it since we've not driven one, but it gets high reviews from people who write about such things.
All automated and automatic transmissions reduce operating costs over the life cycle of the truck. Their higher front-end price pays for itself in increased fuel economy and lower stress on the drive train. The lack of a clutch in torque-converter transmissions eliminates clutch replacement costs. By taking the driver out of the gear-choice process, automatic and automated transmissions reduce wear and tear on drive train components, and thus reduce maintenance costs.
One down side of an automated or automatic transmission is putting up with the opinion of some that say you are not a "real" trucker if you dont' drive a stick.
We got better fuel economy with the 10-speed transmissions than with the 6 speed we're driving now. But boy-oh-boy, does that torque converter, 6-speed unit get the truck going from a dead stop. We can keep up with and even leave cars behind comming off a stop light if we wish. It's designed for in-town driving or for use in mines and other places where a truck under heavy load will start and stop a lot. Given the fuel economy difference, it's not the best choice for over the road work (one man's opinion).
Another factor is driver fatigue. When we got into a truck that had only two pedals on the floor, we were plesantly surprised to find we could drive longer without getting tired. A full-automatic transmission definately reduced fatigue in our case.
Another automated transmission to consider is the Arvin Meritor FreedomLine 12 speed. Can't say much about it since we've not driven one, but it gets high reviews from people who write about such things.
All automated and automatic transmissions reduce operating costs over the life cycle of the truck. Their higher front-end price pays for itself in increased fuel economy and lower stress on the drive train. The lack of a clutch in torque-converter transmissions eliminates clutch replacement costs. By taking the driver out of the gear-choice process, automatic and automated transmissions reduce wear and tear on drive train components, and thus reduce maintenance costs.
One down side of an automated or automatic transmission is putting up with the opinion of some that say you are not a "real" trucker if you dont' drive a stick.
Another automated transmission to consider is the Arvin Meritor FreedomLine 12 speed. Can't say much about it since we've not driven one, but it gets high reviews from people who write about such things
That is a great transmission. Stop by a dealer and drive one. They are pricey and with any automatic, regular service (fluid change) is certainly more expensive.
Additionally, go for a longer warranty if available. If on a budget, a repair on a automatic will be pricey.
I would go for the automatic personally, I wouldn't care what the "tired shifting" trucker thought.
Davekc
That is a great transmission. Stop by a dealer and drive one. They are pricey and with any automatic, regular service (fluid change) is certainly more expensive.
Additionally, go for a longer warranty if available. If on a budget, a repair on a automatic will be pricey.
I would go for the automatic personally, I wouldn't care what the "tired shifting" trucker thought.
Davekc
Thanks for the opinions that I have got so far. We are looking into every asspect of expediting, we are planning on working for atleast two or three more years before we get into expediting. My friend is working all the overtime he can and I got a parttime job working as a yard switcher at a local freight company. We figure if we can save as much as we possibly can for two years then we can have enough to pay the full price or a very good down payment on a truck, plus have money for fuel, maint. etc. on the truck and bills back home. So you will more than likely see alot of questions from me. Thanks again!