Need Advice On Shifting Gears Smoothly And Easily...
Topic 1332 | Page 3
Brett's right. Practicing on a 4 wheeler is actually counter productive. Nothing is the same at all and it will only CREATE bad habits that you'll have to struggle to get rid of once you're in school. When I was in school the instructors asked who had driven a manual car and the people that raised their hands got told by the instructors that they're going to struggle more because they most likely developed bad habits. I know it sounds odd but it's true.
The best you can do right now is to just try to understand the concept. Try to grasp the steps on how to clutch and simply envision it in your head. Pushing the clutch slightly will be a struggle in the beginning but you'll get decent at it by the time your CDL test comes around.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Jason, it's hard to describe shifting a big rig unless you're right in the truck driving it together. Everything about the way the transmission works is different than it is in a car. There is an integral relationship between the engine RPM and the road speed that the truck is rolling. That's what Brett was describing when he talked about synchronizing all that stuff. Just let the instructors help you with it and after a couple of weeks of going through the gears it will start to come together for you. Don't let it stress you overly much, because that is one thing you are going to see all the students struggling with at first. It finally starts making sense after awhile, but at first it's completely awkward, especially for those who already know how to drive a standard transmission.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
The advice I was given applies to a 10 speed or 9 speed only. Look at your speed gage and it will almost always tell you your gear. 25 (2+5=7) shift on the tens (10, 20, 30ect) low side shift between 1000 and 1200 rpms, highside shift between 1500 and 1700 rpms. Downshift at 1000 to 1200 and rev to 1400. Now every truck varies a little but this is just a guide and really helps if you lose a gear.
If I can suggest going to youtube and doing a search for "yourboye" he has a great series on how to double clutch both up and down with a really great explanation and how too along with some tips.... he has a number of videos that I have found very helpful and when I showed the instructor he was quite impressed..... I'm sure some of the mods here could do something very similar....
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Here ya go double clutching part 1double clutching part 2 double clutching part 3
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Double Clutching:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Sorry for jumping in here but I cant wait to try this out on Friday when I have class, Decanuk! I can float gears well, but fight with the clutch for some reason. I'm thinking those videos have explained double clutching better than anything else I've heard yet. I've got to get the double clutching and parallel parking down so I can go test.
Float Gears:
An expression used to describe someone who is shifting gears without using the clutch at all. Drivers are taught to "Double Clutch" or press and release the clutch twice for each gear shift. If you're floating gears it means you're simply shifting without using the clutch at all.
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Double Clutching:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Ive been looking for anything current for helping learn .... the trick for me ( even this site) is very US based ( not a bad thing but there are some subtle differences up here in Canada) Ive driven standard and floated in my various cars ... understanding that you're trying to match the engine speed with the road speed helps and those videos are the most helpful Ive seen....( we actually watched them in class today) it comes down to using the tools available... Good luck to everyone and Sue I look forward to hearing about how it works for you....Ive been documenting my journey as well on here and I have 40 hours of truck time next week!!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Advice For New Truck Drivers Tips For Shifting
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I don't think practicing on a 4 wheeler will help at all. It's just entirely different - everything is. The clutch spring in a truck is really strong so you have to press hard. In a car you're sitting back and in a truck you're pretty much upright so the angles are all different.
I think you're going to cause more confusion and bad habits by trying to practice on a 4 wheeler. You're not going to have any problem picking it up once school starts. You already know the basic concepts of shifting a manual transmission. You'll just have to translate those to the specifics of a big rig.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.