Is Manual Transmission Still Worth Learning?

Hello again all,

So with all my course work done, and permit in hand. I’m waiting to be setup in the clearing house, before starting my behind the wheel driving time. The school offers manual transmission driving or I can just learn on an automatic. A lot of the instructors have told me to just go with automatic as it seems a lot of companies are going in that direction, while that seems true when I check out Major OTR freight companies, it does seem like a lot of local based job listings for even big companies seem to still require manual transmission knowledge. So is learning on a manual worth it? I have been told it a lot harder to learn and test on, but will it open more doors when it comes to job hunting in the future?

I believe it is, while true most companies are all auto or will be soon, there are still jobs that will require it. A year or two down the road a great opportunity may present itself and will want to be able to jump on it. At OD we have started getting automatics but most trucks are still manual, when we were hiring it was hard to find people without a restriction.

John P,

I for one would recommend you learn on a manual trans. and not have the restriction on your license. Think about anyone that drives a car do not have that restriction.

Even though most companies today are auto suppose you break down and the rental company brings you a manual trans truck? You can not drive it legally.

You might have hazmat , tanker and double/triple endorsements on your CDL but never use them on a daily basis but it better to have them just in case.

Good luck in school and your future and consider manual as it is not hard at all to learn. A lot easier now than trying to remove the restriction later.

It’s potentially useful to know how to drive a manual tranny truck. It doesn’t hurt to learn. But if someone chooses to just go the auto route, there are no huge drawbacks to that either. I trained on manual and tested out on manual but have never driven a manual as a solo driver. And I have no desire to either. My life is easier with my auto and I will probably never be faced with the need to drive a manual.

It would, in my opinion, be better to pass your CDL road test in an auto than to fail it in a manual. I know some others here are more pro-manual than I am and they all have good reasons for their preference.

I got started in trucking just before the fleets began moving to auto-shift. I drove OTR for a few years with a manual shift, double clutching and watching the tachometer. When Swift issued me an automatic shift, I got spoiled. I'm not interested in going back to clutching.

The "what if" of ending up with a manual shift is microscopic. Yes, I can shift a manual transmission. I'm not worried, though, of never getting into a clutch equipped truck again.

Here's the bottom line from me, John: no worries, learn on an auto-shift truck.

Here's what you need to learn if you go the manual shift route: as you learn to pull a 53' trailer, you will need to combine the skill and rhythm of shifting both up and down with driving in traffic. You cannot allow the truck to coast, either by shifting to neutral or pushing in the clutch to coast for more than a few seconds. You run the danger of losing your gear, which means you just might have to stop in the middle of the road, and on your road test that could mean "impeding traffic" and a failed test. If you end up (on the test, at least) stopping on an uphill incline, the trick of starting without rolling back (fail!) is important. "Back then" everyone had to learn this, and I feel it just adds to the learning load in your CDL class.

I’m in the manual camp. The mega carriers are auto which is about 10 percent of all the trucks on the road. After them many are still using manuals or a mix of manuals/auto’s.

It is very unfortunate they keep making some things easier, but that is another topic.

If I had the option, I would've trained on a manual just because you never know what might interest you in the future and if they'll pass you up for having the restriction.

I have the restriction because I chose company-sponsored training , and I like the company I'm with, but I'd like to learn manual on a CMV one day and get the restriction removed.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Funny thing is, the "auto restriction" followed me here to the Phil's ! When I switched my CDL over to a Filipino drivers license last month, they put it on my DL here too !! hahaha I "tried" to explain to them that was for my commercial license at home because I trained on auto's not manuals. Cars I can drive anything either way.

So my Filipino license has an "auto" restriction, and vehicle weight under 5000 with 8 passengers max. Yes they do have CDL's here, but man the trucks ya see here, would never see the road back home!! Bald tires/flats, no working turn or stop lights, puffing out black exhaust smoke etc etc !

At least they do tarp loads going to the landfill.

I prefer manuals over auto shifts. backing into docks is a pia with an auto shift and when you put your foot down to give her that go go juice sometimes it takes the auto shift 2-3 seconds to shift gears. and if you want your own truck one manuals are cheaper to fix if they break down no computers no modules no extra wiring harnesses and so on

I drove manual for 4 years before switching to manual. I am a CDL Instructor and team trainer. I say do what it easiest.

Our advice is sometimes confusing because we suggest company sponsored, yet many of those programs are auto only. It sounds confusing.

My take is this... if you learn manual for the exam... stay with your company for a few years... then go for a local job... will you be able to pass their driving eval in a manual? Having only driven one for a few hours years prior?

My students are nervous enough in autos. If you retest in a few years to remove the restruction, that exam.will have you strictly focusing on shifting. You wont be nervous turning and in traffic, scared of lights, and freaked about changing lanes and such. It would be an easy exam, and may not even be necessary in a few years.

According to Freightwaves, only 5% of trucks made since 2020 have been manual. Dealers are making it harder to order them.