Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/141405
Will drivers come around? Allison's automatic transmission features fluid drive and a torque converter. Adherents argue these provide 100 percent power and double rim pull, making them ideal for vocational applications. erated single large-diameter disc clutch, otherwise similar to a manual clutch. Allison Transmission's automatic is designed with the company's Continuous Power Technology, meaning it never interrupts torque and power to the wheels, says Steve Spurlin, executive director of international application engineering and vehicle integration. "It also uses a torque converter as the starting device," he says. An automated manual has incorporated electronic controls with basic manual transmission architecture to facilitate automated shifting of the gears and the input clutch-starting device. Both the automated manual and the basic manual interrupt power and torque every time a shift is made, whether automated or manually, Spurlin says. According to Steve Rutherford, powertrain marketing manager for Caterpillar OEM Solutions Group, the advantages of a pure automatic design are a perfect fit for the company's vocational truck line. He adds that both transmissions work well in specific applications. "Both types of transmissions have two pedals and a shift pad instead of a gearshift lever," Rutherford says. "It took a lot of work to perfect automated manuals to engage a dry clutch and generate well-synchronized shifts. What they've done with those products is amazing." But many drivers – primarily older ones – feel that automatic transmissions somehow detract from a skill set they've honed over decades. "I'm a truck driver, not a steering wheel holder," says Carl Ciprian, a driver with Fayette, Ala.-based N&N Transport. Ciprian never has Though older drivers often prefer manual gearboxes, some admit they're hearing good things about the latest generation of automatics. "I've never driven an automatic," says Bo Hudson, an owner-operator who runs tankers nationwide. "I can see how they'd be a good option for fleets that can't find experienced drivers and help keep them out of tight spots where they'd tear equipment up." Hudson prefers an 18-speed manual with a splitter because it gives him better control over tanker slosh. "That's a feel that comes with experience," he says. "No computer can predict slosh and act in advance to minimize it." Still, Hudson would like to test-drive an automatic and see for himself if they can live up to the hype. "I've talked to a few drivers that have them, and they say they wouldn't have anything else," he notes. "They get a little bored sometimes, but they love them." Alabama-based owner-operator Tom Hubbard says that although he's never driven an automatic, he definitely would look at one if he was considering buying a new truck. "I've been driving for 25 years, and I feel like I've got more control over the truck with a manual gearbox," Hubbard says. "On the other hand, the way traffic is now with so much congestion and construction work going on, I can see that an automatic would really be a help. Driving in those conditions puts driven an AMT and says he never will, preferring to stick with an Eaton-Fuller 18-speed manual gearbox. "I can understand why fleets like AMTs," he says. "It's all about fuel economy. You know – 'Instead of teaching new drivers how to drive, just give them all an automatic transmission, and turn them loose on the highway.' " Ciprian, however, sees truck driving as a skill – one in which a truck driver needs to be engaged to do it properly. "Changing gears, and having the additional control over the vehicle that a manual transmission gives you, is an integral part a lot of strain on both the driver and a manual transmission." Green Bay, Wis.-based owner-operator Jeff Adams already is a fullblown convert: His new Freightliner is equipped with Detroit's new DT12 automated manual transmission. "I'd have no problem going back to a manual if I had to – but I'd rather not," says Adams, adding that as far as he's concerned, his AMT simply is better than a manual in every way. "It shifts faster than I can think, and it's very logical," he says. "Even with 80,000 pounds behind me, if conditions are right on a downward grade, it knows right off to start out in fifth gear. Those concepts are alien to a lot of drivers – even experienced ones." The biggest benefit, Adams says, is fuel economy: "Fuel is my biggest expense, and now I get the best possible fuel economy all the time." His favorite feature is the Coast mode: If a truck is on a downward slope at highway speeds, the AMT senses that and shifts into neutral to save fuel, and then slides back into the correct gear when needed. Adams says he started out logging 7.4 mpg running the AMT, and those numbers have improved. "I was a fairly consistent 6.7-mpg guy with a manual transmission," he says. "Today, with the AMT, my standard is 8.5 mpg, and my best-ever tank was 8.7 mpg. I think there's still room for those numbers to go up." of that," he says. But fleets are gravitating toward automatic transmissions – and in surprisingly high numbers. David McKenna, director of powertrain sales for Mack Trucks, says the mDrive is being spec'ed in about 38 percent of Pinnacle tractors, similar to the 35 percent to low 40 percent range that other manufacturers report. Saxman says that more than 50 percent of all new Volvos sold this year have been spec'd with the company's I-Shift AMT. There are several reasons for this significant shift, experts say. Shane Groner, Eaton's manager of NAFTA product de- July 2013 | Overdrive | 33 Transmission_0713.indd 33 7/1/13 10:30 AM