Shiftless So-and-sos

You know that bizarre feeling when you go upstairs in the dark and you don’t realize that you’ve reached the top so you take another step and your foot kind of just falls, throwing you forward?

That’s what it’s like the first time you pull up to a stop sign with an automated transmission.

The rig almost stops, your engine runs dead slow, you instinctively position your left foot and then…nothing.

The truck stops, and there you are.

Veteran United Van Lines owner-operator Ron Pridmore put it this way: "My left foot kept dancing around in the air, it wouldn’t sit still. Felt very weird."

A few years ago, if you told somebody around a truck stop about that sensation, they’d probably sniff to see what you have in your coffee and then take back away.

But now?

There’s one in five chances that they’ve actually driven a clutch-pedal-less transmission. The automated manual transmission (AMT) is far more common than you might think.

Recent estimates suggest that almost 20 percent of new trucks have AMTs. That ballpark figure comes from Eaton Corp., the company that makes most of them, but still.

"Half our tractors are automatic," is how Steven Kitson, the director of Business Development at Brampton, Ont.-based APPS Transport Group answered when we asked if any of his trucks have automated trannies.

"Our preference is automatic and we will continue to purchase them as we replace our manual tractors," he says.

APPS runs mostly LTL, and primarily around Southern Ontario and into the U.S. But the applications for automatics stretch beyond the four- and eight-lane runs.

Mike Verkerk of Bowness Trucking owns two dump trucks that haul around Calgary.

When he first became an owner-op in 2001 he bought a truck off of a friend and it had a 6-speed fully automatic Allison in it. Verkerk was hooked.

He doesn’t own that truck anymore, but both of his Kenworths now have 6-speed Allisons. If he did run out on the highway he says he’d definitely spec an automated transmission, the kind that allow you to do some shifting.

"I’ve had good luck with them and they’re good for the city. With automatics one advantage is you don’t have to worry about clutch adjustments and they’re cheaper in the long run, especially if you have other drivers."

The popular Eaton Ultrashift is in its third generation

 "They’re great, especially in soft ground. You can feather the fuel and control the power better to get even, steady power."

"I do lots of spreading of gravel and it’s easier to make an even spread as a driver when you don’t have to shift while spreading."

Other operators have shied away because they’re costly and the recession has bitten into AMT sales.

A manual costs thousands less than a self-shifter and quite simply, there’s nothing much wrong with a manual transmission.

Driven right, a manual can go a million miles or so.

A clutch can, too, if it’s in the hands of a good driver who starts the truck gently and float shifts so the clutch stays engaged most of the time.

However.

That’s one of the upsides of the self-shifters: no clutch pedal to abuse and it won’t matter if more than one operator drives your truck.

Some fleets report AMTS mean longer life for U-joints and driveshafts, which clumsy drivers retire young by shifting badly and sending shocks through the driveline.

Another advantage: Fuel savings. Some industry claims have rated the fuel savings of automated transmissions as high as seven percent.

Société des alcools du Québec (the Quebec liquor board) runs mainly urban routes and uses three types of transmissions — manual, automatic, and automated. Recently, they purchased some trucks with new Volvo I-shift and it does a better job than most drivers in terms of fuel economy.

And in Winnipeg, Bison Transport spec’s automated transmissions on all their new trucks, aiming at both fuel savings and driver safety.

Automated transmissions cut training time for novice drivers. There’s no double-clutching or multi-speed gear selection to learn. And Joanne Ritchie, executive director of the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada (OBAC), admits that technology like automated transmissions make truck driving more attractive to her half of the population.

Safety is another reason for moving away from manuals. One U.S. fleet reported a substantial drop in accident rates because drivers can concentrate on traffic and where their rigs are instead of what gear to be in. Most get better fuel economy, because a modern AMT will shift correctly all the time, while even the best drivers grow tired and sometimes a little sloppy.

Some fleet managers also report that veteran drivers at first don’t like AMTs but soon change their minds when they see how much work they save; some stay with a company when they’d otherwise quit because they like their auto-shifters so much.

Conversely, Steve Haus, who is in charge of maintenance for the Erb Group, centered in Baden, Ont., reports that some of his drivers requested a return to the manuals, after having tried the autos.

Also, self-shift trucks have more room in the cab for the driver. Still, some people are leery.
 

United Van Lines driver Pridmore says he still prefers manual shifters because "I’ve heard they [self-shifters] aren’t so good in the winter time." (We haven’t found any evidence of that.)

And at a recent meeting of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC), a few dissenters could be heard at one of the open forums called "shop talk."

At one such session in Tampa, despite one maintenance man standing up to gripe about the maintenance of his Eaton UltraShift transmissions, others defended the technology.

Said one tech from a large fleet: His operation has several hundred UltraShifts, which have mostly had good service, and he wants to convert the whole fleet over.

Most problems are electrical, he continued, and are best tackled not by truck dealers but with the help of Roadranger field service specialists, who are familiar with how to troubleshoot the problems.

Another manager at the TMC meeting agreed, noting that the driveline failures had gone away and that drivers liked the trannies’ easy operation.

For Erb’s Haus, the jury’s out.

Erb runs automatics in their straight trucks and were purchasing automated in some highway tractors, he says.

"From the shop side they can be troublesome, another ECU to deal with, wiring and connections, as well as all the added electronics.

"They work OK, fuel economy isn’t any better and they are very maintenance sensitive. We have not purchased any over the last few years but I am sure we will see more in the future."

Erb and everybody else, it would seem.