Be Warned About Automatic/Manual CDL

Decker is mostly 13 speed, but they have a few automatics for their veteran drivers.

Dave

Aren't most trucks now 10 speeds? I know some companies have some 13 speeds like most Peterbilts, but I thought they were going to a more standard manual.

US Xpress and he said they switched to 100% automatics 2 years ago.

I drove for US Xpress for 6 years and they had automatics before I drove there. It was more like 12 years ago they made the switch to automatics. I've heard recently that they're thinking about switching back to standards also, but nothing definitive on that.

Okay, he told me that they were automatic and Mr. fuller had stock in the US Xpress until he sold out and now they have been returning back to Eaton Fuller super 10's

US Xpress and he said they switched to 100% automatics 2 years ago.

I drove for US Xpress for 6 years and they had automatics before I drove there. It was more like 12 years ago they made the switch to automatics. I've heard recently that they're thinking about switching back to standards also, but nothing definitive on that.

A recruiter for USX came by my CDL school here in Houston TX; he said all there newer 2014 trucks and up are going back to manual transmissions. Anything before that is an automatic.

A recruiter for USX came by my CDL school here in Houston TX; he said all there newer 2014 trucks and up are going back to manual transmissions. Anything before that is an automatic.

Simply not true. I drive for US Xpress right now and I have a 2011 International Pro Star that is a 10-speed. There are probably more automatics than manuals in the fleet currently but not a huge amount more.

yes it is true. we had a guy come through our school doing a refresher because he learned on an automatic. it would be nice if those schools with automatics would let you know up front.

That is what research is for. Before attending a school you should know as much as possible about the school including giving them a call or going by their school if hour close enough. Till recently automatics have not been a problem and now they are getting more attention. It's up to the new drivers to find out this info.

A recruiter for USX came by my CDL school here in Houston TX; he said all there newer 2014 trucks and up are going back to manual transmissions. Anything before that is an automatic.

Simply not true. I drive for US Xpress right now and I have a 2011 International Pro Star that is a 10-speed. There are probably more automatics than manuals in the fleet currently but not a huge amount more.

Im just relaying the message here. He did say that anything 2014 and up is manual.. no more autos.

Eddie, it's a good lesson to learn. Those recruiters are not always telling you the absolute truth. I don't mean they are lying on purpose, although with some of them I wouldn't put it past them, but many times they just aren't fully informed about what is going on. You will find that in most trucking operations the right hand very often times hasn't a clue about what the left hand is doing. It's just the nature of the business, it's always in a state of change, and often times that change is based on some number crunchers results who has never even been inside a truck. There are almost always some empty suits somewhere in a trucking operation that are making the decisions that effect the drivers daily routines. Fortunately, the same character qualities that help make a person a great truck driver will usually help them figure out how best to deal with the latest set of changes to their job that are coming down the pike from some, unknown to them, manager of statistics and data.

Eddie, it's a good lesson to learn. Those recruiters are not always telling you the absolute truth. I don't mean they are lying on purpose, although with some of them I wouldn't put it past them, but many times they just aren't fully informed about what is going on. You will find that in most trucking operations the right hand very often times hasn't a clue about what the left hand is doing. It's just the nature of the business, it's always in a state of change, and often times that change is based on some number crunchers results who has never even been inside a truck. There are almost always some empty suits somewhere in a trucking operation that are making the decisions that effect the drivers daily routines. Fortunately, the same character qualities that help make a person a great truck driver will usually help them figure out how best to deal with the latest set of changes to their job that are coming down the pike from some, unknown to them, manager of statistics and data.

Thats good info, Old School. I've talked to a good number of recruiters already, and came to the conclusion that what they say is sort of a stretch of the truth. Not a lie, but not 100% accurate either. I don't consider what they say to be guaranteed, and I won't allow that to dictate my opinion of a company. Best thing to do is your own research.

Sygma (Clackamas OR location) has mostly 10 speed manual transmissions, but are buying automatics now because they are getting better mileage. I drove a automatic twice in a 11 months of working for them and noticed the autos shift early and keep the RPM's low. I believe it's not the truck but the drivers not keeping the RPM's low in the manuals. If they offered a bonus to drivers I bet they would get the better mileage with the manuals.