when i passed my class 1 a year ago the boss gave me a 06 ssc daf auto and didnt fancy it at all but loved it and still do but just spent my last day in it 2 day as ive just had my new 105 auto happy days
ady1:
volvo i-shift id have every day, the rest no, ill stick with a manual.
My views also. I drive a Daf CF fitted with the Auto fleet spec box ( no manual option), and it’s a bloody nightmare.
I have Mercedes powershift12,the best thing goin,never misses a beat-forward or backwards.
The truck is better than the driver 
The ishift is a constant mesh box and you don’t hear that playing a tune every time it changes a gear lol
ellies dad:
I have Mercedes powershift12,the best thing goin,never misses a beat-forward or backwards.
if this is the box were u stil have to clutch it to change gear but just push the lever forward an it clicks from the dash board?
drove 1 today, best thing since sliced bread, 440 on a 54reg only had a short go like, but it looks so easy !!!
The Volvo i-shift gearbox is 10 times better than Scania opticruise it shifts quicker selects a better gear and there is no clutch pedal 
joedwyer1:
no thanks im a control freak
me too. anything that removes control from the driver is a bad idea.
for the i shift fans, its pretty good for an auto but i have had one fail on me. full load, uphill at traffic lights, it kept trying to pull away in 4th and stalled. i had to select 1st manually which defeats the purpose of an auto.
i have also had a skid which i could only control because i had a manual. an auto would have resulted in a jack knife
scanny77:
joedwyer1:
no thanks im a control freakme too. anything that removes control from the driver is a bad idea.
for the i shift fans, its pretty good for an auto but i have had one fail on me. full load, uphill at traffic lights, it kept trying to pull away in 4th and stalled. i had to select 1st manually which defeats the purpose of an auto.
i have also had a skid which i could only control because i had a manual. an auto would have resulted in a jack knife
All mechnical things can fail, I’ve seen many trucks stuck at lights or on hills because clutches or gearboxes have failed, but the drivers of those don’t post here going I’m not driving a manual because one once failed on me.
Just because it’s an auto it doesn’t mean you have to work on auto pilot, you still need to plan ahead and you have a manual option for those moments you need to take control. But 99% of the time the auto will give you the gear you need.
Going along with Muckles idea. I can say that Rockwell / Meritor axles are also crap because I saw one in 1968 with a broken half shaft 
i-shift = Eaton Twin Splitter wivout the i=idiot
Used to hate going to Morrisons on Agency as there auto Dafs where murder as they where unresponsive pieces of crap.
My regular unit now is an auto Volvo and I think its a cracking motor to drive and sitting on a hill without the handbrake applied is no trouble for it at all.
It was in for an mot a couple of weeks ago and I got a Scania which was fun as you had a clutch and only used it for starting and stopping and when stopping if you never dipped the clutch it would keep pushing you forward but once I got used to that it was o/k, went like a bomb as well.
I suppose it depends on the make of Vehicle but I would take an auto Volvo before a stick any day.
Best thing since sliced bread.
However…I use manual alot, when off road or climbing or descending.
The trick is to plan what you are going to do… look ahead … if there is a risk of a gear change put it into manual.
Oh and as for hill start … yee ha … that is fantastic !!!
scanny77:
for the i shift fans, its pretty good for an auto but i have had one fail on me. full load, uphill at traffic lights, it kept trying to pull away in 4th and stalled. i had to select 1st manually which defeats the purpose of an auto.
Planning… would you try and pull 44t of artic up a hill in a manual in 4th gear… Dont think your gaffer would be chuffed… when he sees the bill to replace the clutch.
The auto cannot read the road…
my point exactly Greg. an auto doesnt know what you want to do but manual doesnt always help with an auto box. for example, applying safed on approach to junctions where you would roll up in neutral ready to select the right gear when you know which one you want. i havent tried switching to neutral in an auto in the hope that putting it back into drive will give me the gear that i want. and of course, forget the term, ‘clutch control’!
i do find that the CF causes issues when braking. its as if i am fighting the gearbox when i want to stop. i tend to brake early and gently rather than short and sharp but i do tend to find that the gears push me a little further than i would like, especially when i need to stop for a junction
most of them feel unresponsive when pulling away. in an ideal world we would all plan ahead and have no problems but in the real world, when traffic is quite heavy you need to get your foot down and get going as soon as you see a gap. a manual would allow this but you need a bigger gap in an auto to allow for it to finally decide to go and because it tends to abandon you within seconds of pulling away as it changes gear whereas you would leave it in that gear a few seconds longer to clear your trailer. this is especially relevant for roundabouts where you are using the right hand lane
scanny77:
roll up in neutral ready to select the right gear when you know which one you want.
Do you mean roll up in the gear you are in 
and only dipping the clutch as much as necessary to stop the vehicle stalling…
scanny77:
applying safed on approach to junctions where you would roll up in neutral
Eh no … I’d be in the right gear needed to continue the maneuvre (sp)
I would never let 44t of artic run in neutral…
(unless going down beatock but thats another story )
The reanult box (volvo) does not feel unresponsive… at 44t put the foot to the floor the engine/gearbox goes into power mode and gear changes are almost perfect.
I have never stalled the renault in a hill start situation -
I have stalled once on a road… and it was my fault because I did not read what was happening when climbing a hill. And tried a gear change in manual when the hill was too steep… I was in 4th manual and tried to go for 5th… (4th gear gives u a clue as to my weight and how steep the hill was). It’s about driving the lorry!!!
Is there a facility on any autos that will hold the gear you are in so that if you wish to approach as scanny says without it dropping down through the gears - it will do so?
And then when ready to go, knock off that hold…
ROG:
Is there a facility on any autos that will hold the gear you are in so that if you wish to approach as scanny says without it dropping down through the gears - it will do so?
And then when ready to go, knock off that hold…
If Im reading this right - Then yes - Manual - works in renault and therefor I would say I-shift also
Yes, Volvo I Shift by a long chalk, but there is still room for improvement 
ROG:
Is there a facility on any autos that will hold the gear you are in so that if you wish to approach as scanny says without it dropping down through the gears - it will do so?
And then when ready to go, knock off that hold…
Sometimes they wont go down gears fast enough for example when turning from a flat road at a junction onto a hill when your carrying a bit of weight then its best to wait until theres a good gap as it will pause on you while its going down the gears.
If you bang it in manual before you turn and go down a few gears yourself it works fine but its remembering to do this as autos make you lazy as far as gear changes are concerned.
I stress this is on a Volvo as I found the Daf paused and changed up, down, stopped and stuttered just turning the steering wheel(exagerating a bit but I couldn`t get the knack to those at all).
Only driven a scanny for a couple of days and the clutch helps with them though I think you have to actually stop or near stop for it to kick into manual.
the MAN i,ve just bought is my first taste of auto,s and i cant fault it really, it changes gear up some steep hills i go up better then i ever could with a manual, it seems to hang on when i would have changed down but then go down a couple of gears and be just in the right one at the right time
Had one for the fist time last week, didn’t like it one bit. Pulling out on roundabouts is a nightmare, you squeeze the accelerator and the bar-steward doesn’t move for 5 seconds, by which time you gap has gone and you pull out on traffic coming round