Swedish haulier calls for more auto transmissions 27 June 2012

Stig Andersson, owner of Skara-Götene Bärgningstjänst in Götene, Sweden, is campaigning for automatic transmissions in the trucking industry.

Andersson has four vehicles in his truck fleet, for medium and heavy vehicle towing up to 60 tons – the latest two, a Scania 340 and a Volvo FL, fitted with Allison's fully-automatic transmissions.

"Like many other commercial vehicle drivers I started developing strain injuries in my left knee after years of stamping on the clutch pedal," he recalls.

"When I planned to invest in the Scania truck I thought it was about time to reward myself with a more comfortable drive. That was one important reason for choosing Allison fully automatic transmission in my new towing truck."

After a couple of years driving with his automatic transmission, Andersson says he has noticed other benefits over manual and semi-automatic alternatives. "I don't lose any power when accelerating, and I have also noticed how the maintenance costs have been minimised," he claims.

"In contrast to what you'd expect, the total fuel costs also are not higher with the automatic transmission. Especially when you consider the increase of efficiency and productivity in my work," continues Andersson.

"Also, in snow and ice it's much easier to rock yourself loose from difficult situations with an automatic transmission. This is because you can change between forward and reverse much faster than with a manual gearbox and without risk of damaging the transmission."

Author
John Challen

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