Driving A Stick Shift
Topic 14344 | Page 1
Actually it may be easier for you to learn. I have driven stick for the better part of 40 years. It was hard to un- learn shifting a car. These trucks do not shift the same way. You'll be fine!
Welcome to the forum Samuel. Tractor Man is right. The trainers are experienced and accustom to teaching students shifting mechanics an techniques. It's far easier to teach this skill to someone who has no preconceived notion of how it should work.
Not sure how far along you are in this process but here are a couple of links that you may find interesting and informative. Highly recommend you check them out. The first two are an excellent primer to establishing your initial base of knowledge and a realistic set of expectations. High Road Training is designed to enable a student to pass the exams required to obtain the CDL Class A permit.
- Truck Driver's Career Guide
- Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
- High Road Training Program
To continue with your reading assignments:
Company-Sponsored Training Programs
- Article Category: Choosing A Truck Driving School
- Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing A Truck Driving School
- Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Truck Driving School"
Good luck and do not hesitate to post additional questions or inquiries.
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.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Learning to drive truck was my first experience with stick. I've still yet to drive a manual car. You'll be fine.
Hi, Sam! You'll notice several people pitch in with suggestions here. Keep asking.
Two things will frustrate you to the end of your rope. One is in getting the hang of backing a trailer. But you asked about the other - shifting.
Not having stick shift experience is a plus. Car gear shifts seem to work the same as truck shifters, but they don't. So you have nothing to "unlearn"!
You will crash & grind gears. "Double clutching" has a simple rhythm that will drive you up a wall as you learn how that works. Up shifting and down shifting are a bit different from each other. Several times you'll "get lost" in the shifting.
I'm not putting these here to scare you. I'm listing them so you'll know this has all happened before, it's nothing new. G-Town had said the instructors know what you're going through. They've seen and heard it all before, so instead of getting all flustered, listen to your teachers and do your best to sort it all out.
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.
I've never driven a stick shift before, will this make training harder for me?
Hi Samuel, I don't think you should worry too much about this, you will get it. I had never drove a manual before and did find it difficult at first - especially down shifting - but once I got the rhythm of double clutching it's become second nature and can be kind of fun. Good luck to you. Annee
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.
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I've never driven a stick shift before, will this make training harder for me?