The one thing that you wonder why you didn't buy sooner?

[lman]

I had an opportunity to buy 40 acres for $10,000 about 30 years ago. It was 500 miles from where we live and I didn't think it was practical at that time in my life. It was farmland that was not drained very well.
My 25 acres seemed like it was enough.

 

[jjeff]

A wiser man than me once said who Ive disagreed with on various other ideologies said land is one thing they don't make more of.

 

[Hay Dude]

A truck with an Allison automatic.

Gold standard of heavy duty truck transmissions.
After owning a large dump truck with a manual transmission, my newer version with an automatic seems so much easier & safer to drive.

 

[WinterDeere]

After owning a large dump truck with a manual transmission, my newer version with an automatic seems so much easier & safer to drive.

Interesting. I was speaking of pickup trucks, where at least to me, all "road feel" is lost with an automatic transmission. The first few times I had to drive auto trans on snow and ice, I thought it was terrifying, as it lacks the positive drivetrain feedback you get from a manual. Even now, several years into driving an auto trans pickup, I still prefer manual in bad weather.

With manual, I know the second the tires begin to lose traction. In auto, the driver's awareness of tire slippage is delayed until you feel yourself sliding off the road. It's possible that in heavy trucks (dump trucks) this effect is less dramatic than in a light pickup truck.

 

[Hay Dude]

Interesting. I was speaking of pickup trucks, where at least to me, all "road feel" is lost with an automatic transmission. The first few times I had to drive auto trans on snow and ice, I thought it was terrifying, as it lacks the positive drivetrain feedback you get from a manual. Even now, several years into driving an auto trans pickup, I still prefer manual in bad weather.

With manual, I know the second the tires begin to lose traction. In auto, the driver's awareness of tire slippage is delayed until you feel yourself sliding off the road. It's possible that in heavy trucks (dump trucks) this effect is less dramatic than in a light pickup truck.

I have plowed snow for 35+ years. My first trucks were manual. They were terrible for plowing as in the act of shifting, the tires would break traction, even if you were skilled with a clutch. A possible disaster on an ice covered hill. Just one more thing to do on a narrow ice covered driveway that automatics do flawlessly, leaving the hands free for the plow & steering wheel.

I have no trouble realizing my tires are losing traction with an auto. The engine revs, the tach jumps up the truck slows down. Any or all of those conditions.

I have automatics now and have less problems getting stuck or losing control and can focus more on what I am trying to do-especially when plowing. If I want to hold a gear, like a manual, with a push of a button, I can hold, upshift or downshift with no clutch.

Now if i were a long distance trucker, I’d want a manual because they get better fuel economy. But automatics are catching up in that, too.

I can destroy a manual transmission dump truck in a race while driving an auto, but I don’t race dump trucks much lol

 

[pmsmechanic]

I have plowed snow for 35+ years. My first trucks were manual. They were terrible for plowing as in the act of shifting, the tires would break traction, even if you were skilled with a clutch. A possible disaster on an ice covered hill. Just one more thing to do on a narrow ice covered driveway that automatics do flawlessly, leaving the hands free for the plow & steering wheel.

I have no trouble realizing my tires are losing traction with an auto. The engine revs, the tach jumps up the truck slows down. Any or all of those conditions.

I have automatics now and have less problems getting stuck or losing control and can focus more on what I am trying to do-especially when plowing. If I want to hold a gear, like a manual, with a push of a button, I can hold, upshift or downshift with no clutch.

Now if i were a long distance trucker, I’d want a manual because they get better fuel economy. But automatics are catching up in that, too.

I can destroy a manual transmission dump truck in a race while driving an auto, but I don’t race dump trucks much lol

Everything you say is true. And if I was in your situation I would do the same thing.... I'd still rather drive a manual. Yes automatics are nicer in the city and for parking trailers etc.

I've never been left in a situation where I couldn't get home with a manual. More than once an automatic has let me down which is why I don't have any right now.

 

[WinterDeere]

Auto is nicer for plowing, and any activity where you're constantly reversing directions. But I'll take manual for my daily driving, especially in bad weather, ten times out of ten. Preferences vary, but no way can any slippy torque converter compare to the positive engagement of a clutch and gears, in terms of tactile feedback.

 

[Hay Dude]

Better hope your foot don’t slip off the clutch pedal on slippery ice.…
That happened to me a few times while plowing. Get out of the truck, bottom of shoes get wet and your foot slips off the pedal a little funny.
Also a bad scene is when you are driving up a slippery hill with a manual and you have to get going again from a stop-like at a red light.
That’ll teach you real quick all about “road feel”.

Another challenege for a manual is when you are trying to pull a heavy load through mud. The auto just keeps power going constantly to the wheels. A manual looses power to the back wheels the second you push that clutch in and once you lose momentum, you are stuck.

Manuals are virtually gone now in trucks anyway.
Allison is in almost all Military, Mining, Construction and commercial trucks, concrete mixers, etc.. Sized up to the largest trucks on earth. They are awesome transmissions.

I’ll give you your “road feel” advantage. I’m more into trying to do multiple tasks while driving, like plowing, dumping stone, trailer towing, etc. The efficiency of them is just amazing compared to a manual.

I had an IH 4800 with a 7 speed easy shift and a few 8LL’s. Both good manuals, but I’d take an Allison RDS 3000 in my IH 7500 or 4000 instead of an 8LL any day for productivity, ease of driving, traction and whatever else.

I’d want a manual in a sports car or a cross country 18 wheeler, but now the automatics have gotten so good, even that is disappearing.

 

[WinterDeere]

Yeah, I agree for most of what you're doing, you just can't beat auto. I was speaking specifically about on-road driving in bad weather, not plowing, pulling things thru mud, etc. Auto is going to win for most of these activities.

I used to do a lot of off-roading and rock crawling, and auto wins there as well, hands-down. Totally different application than driving slippery mixed-condition highways or country roads at 45 mph on a snowy night.

 

[ArlyA]

A home welder and associated tools.