2014 Volvo w/12 speed auto

[ScurvyDawg]

I just got assigned to a Dart Transit special, a 2012 VNM (that's the short hood) with the D11 and the 12 Speed auto. I thought I was going to hate it, but I gotta tell ya, I don't. It's no speed demon on the hills, but it does better than I thought it would, and it gets anywhere from 6.4 to 7.8 depending on the idle time and load, at 65 MPH. And I don't have to worry about down shifting, because it does it all by itself.

 

[Southern Fried]

And does yours shift 2 to 4 gears per upshift or on a incline hunt back and forth between 2nd and 6th? Ours do.... every last one of them. That works good with 4500 gallons of liquid.... real good. Talk about "slosh factor"; that much weight slamming back and forth is putting ridiculous stress on the drivetrain. In fact we have several trucks sitting in Houston for clutch/trans replacement..... each with less than 175,000 miles on them.

Sure, the answer is to use Manual Mode.... but then what's the sense in paying extra for automatic shift?

Us "old guys" were taught to use the trans/gears as a primary means of controlling the truck instead of relying on the brakes. It works and has done so just fine for many years. It isn't that difficult and thousands of truckers learned it and used it. Personally, I have well over 4 million miles accident free by that method.

Frankly, I'm getting sick of the "They need to make it easier" crowd.

 

[Tazz]

The autoshifts I drove did do the downshifting, even had a button to do it quickly. The one time I hit it I was glad I could then keep my hands on the wheel.

I could see a problem with the liquid load, but straight OTR Van, Reefer, flat should be no different than manual or autoshift.




Plus you do not have bruises on your left knee the first month you drive a 13 speed again.

 

[Duck]

Eventually they'll have auto-shifts programmable for tankers. And then they'll start putting idiots in them & tanker jobs will pay 30 cents a mile.

 

[Southern Fried]

Eventually they'll have auto-shifts programmable for tankers. And then they'll start putting idiots in them & tanker jobs will pay 30 cents a mile.

Not at the rate they're rolling them over Duck. Ours is up near 500% in the last year since they adopted the "hire the 3 week wonders" idea. But, management being management, they are blind to the fact that it's their fault.

Tanker is not a job for everybody. It's hard enough to learn how to control a big rig under all the conditions out there with a load that doesn't move. Trust me, when the load is constantly moving it changes your whole driving patterns. Ramp speeds, off-camber curves, badly paved construction bypasses, secondary roads, etc,etc...... anything that makes your trailer sway become much more critical. People just don't understand how ridiculously easy it is to put a tanker on it's side. Couple of years back we had one flopped in our yard at 5mph because they let an inexperienced shop guy try to move it. Tank is not (especially when hauling very dangerous products) a hook up and go proposition like dry van.

Yeah, they'll try to create a computer program one day, but the question remains why? There's absolutely nothing a computer controlled trans can do that a properly trained driver with a standard shift can't. Look, today's kids are no dumber than we were; they've just been taught by the educational system to look for the easy way and that the computer is God. Real life ain't a damn computer game.

 

[krelithous]

Eventually they'll have auto-shifts programmable for tankers. And then they'll start putting idiots in them & tanker jobs will pay 30 cents a mile.

why does prime come to mind on that and they will have the tiny fuel tanks as well and governed to 10 mph

 

[Injun]

why does prime come to mind on that and they will have the tiny fuel tanks as well and governed to 10 mph

Actually, Prime pays its company drivers fairly handsomely. I tried to get on the tanker fleet as soon as I signed on with them. Couldn't because they wouldn't train me for it. Their tanker guys are some of their better drivers.


Yeah, yeah, yeah.....

 

[krelithous]

Actually, Prime pays its company drivers fairly handsomely. I tried to get on the tanker fleet as soon as I signed on with them. Couldn't because they wouldn't train me for it. Their tanker guys are some of their better drivers.


Yeah, yeah, yeah.....

why wouldn't they train you to run tanker

 

[Duck]

Yeah, they'll try to create a computer program one day, but the question remains why? There's absolutely nothing a computer controlled trans can do that a properly trained driver with a standard shift can't.

Same reason they're putting automatics in trucks that pull static loads. One less thing to teach drivers how to do, one less bit of knowledge a driver needs, and one more excuse to lower the wage. The more easily replaceable a driver is, the less they have to pay him.

why wouldn't they train you to run tanker

Shortage of female trainers, I'm guessing.

 

[krelithous]

Same reason they're putting automatics in trucks that pull static loads. One less thing to teach drivers how to do, one less bit of knowledge a driver needs, and one more excuse to lower the wage. The more easily replaceable a driver is, the less they have to pay him.Shortage of female trainers, I'm guessing.

id'e never drive an automatic I learned on a manual. and besides the stick shift makes a nice arm rest. I know on the vulvus the auto isn't even an option with the isx 600 hp engines there only an option if there mated wth the girly girl engines

 

[Injun]

why wouldn't they train you to run tanker

Plumbing problem.

Shortage of female trainers, I'm guessing.

There were no females in the tanker division. At all. It was a shutout.

I told them I had no problem training with a man. My road mentor was a man. They refused.

It's possible to train someone without having to live in the truck with them. They wouldn't consider that either.

 

[krelithous]

Plumbing problem.



There were no females in the tanker division. At all. It was a shutout.

I told them I had no problem training with a man. My road mentor was a man. They refused.

It's possible to train someone without having to live in the truck with them. They wouldn't consider that either.

that just sucks

 

[Duck]

Plumbing problem.

There were no females in the tanker division. At all. It was a shutout.

I told them I had no problem training with a man. My road mentor was a man. They refused.

It's possible to train someone without having to live in the truck with them. They wouldn't consider that either.

Shutout, or a coincidence compunded by some other rules they have?

They probably have a rule, nobody pulls tankers without being trained or having X amount of tanker experience. Another rule, probably created after some sexual harassment lawsuit, no male/female training situations. So if there are any women pulling Prime's tankers, they probably got their experience elsewhere, and are unwilling to train.

As much as I hate Prime for brainwashing their drivers into becoming 58 mph road hazards, I don't think that in this day & age, with an administration, senate & supreme court occupied by the most extreme radical leftists this country has ever seen, that they'd be stupid enough to intentionally discriminate against anyone.

Even if the set of circumstances I described is accurate, they're still at risk of legal problems since so many people in this country see "discrimination" everywhere they look whether it exists or not. And juries are just as stupid.

What Prime needs to do is simply recruit an experienced female tanker driver, let her run for the company a month or two to familiarize herself with the company, then bring her into the office & close the door & give her an offer she can't refuse. $2500 a week to train female tanker drivers. They can afford it. It's cheaper than keeping a door open to harassment & once they get a handful of female tank yankers, they can put the trainer back on her regular solo pay scale & be done with it for a while.

 

[Injun]

Isn't it interesting that Swift has mixed training all the time and doesn't have these issues...

Maybe it's because Swift addresses issues as they crop up rather than sweep them under the rug?

Hmmmm......

 

[Copperhead]

I probably will go with some form or auto the next go around. The only thing that concerns me is how well they work if one has to slide 5th wheels and tandems frequently. Especially those types of trailers that have the air slide pins and one has to slide from a dead stop against the trailer brakes. i have to slide tandems daily. Just a little apprehensive how well they do at this activity, and how others have experienced doing that.

The general driving and shifting thing doesn't really cause me any concern. I think these things have come a long, long way from the first one I ever dealt with in the 90's which was the original Eaton 3 peddle auto shift.

 

[Tazz]

The centrifugal clutches have gotten much better. The Freightliner smart shift I had last had a factory defect in the XY shifter that was changed under warranty. Took them about 1/2 hour. Never had a problem sliding 5th wheel or trailer tandems. Usually slid regularly switching from dog food, to packing peanuts, to shoes, to iron powder, to part racks, pipe.........

You will learn throttle control if you have not yet

 

[snohawke]

I also drive a Volvo 2013 12 speed...in the business we are in which is getting clay out of chalk pits..these truck take beatings more than they should..mine is now in the shop again...accelerator problems...I find tho in this truck you need to use manuel to to get up hills loaded...our weights around 51 stills pulls but down shifting is a must

 

[Duck]

I probably will go with some form or auto the next go around. The only thing that concerns me is how well they work if one has to slide 5th wheels and tandems frequently.

Not well. Tandems, on an empty trailer can be done smoothly. Loaded, not so smoothly. Hooking up to a loaded trailer is also next to impossible to do without slamming the hell out of the king pin.

...I find tho in this truck you need to use manuel to to get up hills loaded...our weights around 51 stills pulls but down shifting is a must

Just put it in D and hit the "E/P" button.

 

[snohawke]

Yea I use e/p button mostly coming up out of the pits..

 

[Pullin2]

AND TODAYS PRIZE FOR REVIVING AN OLD THREAD GOES TOOOOOoooooo.......

I have a 2010 VNL 670 Loaded O/O spec with the DD13 500 hp and the I shift 12 speed.

This is my first Volvo and my first automatic. No complaints so for. I'm getting 7.9 MPG pulling doubles that aren't very heavy and I run steady at 65 mph.

I never thought I'd own an automatic, but when I thought about all the previous years with an 18 DO and a 10 speed, once you hit top gear on the highway and set the cruise, you may as well be driving an automatic, right ?

I will always need the manual function because I run snowy mountains and I need the ability to control my tranny in adverse conditions, especially with chains on.

On a side note, I understand that, at least around here, when new cdl drivers take their road test in automatics, they have their license stamped 'Automatic Only' !