Downshifting help

Not me I float up and down. When I was in a KW with a a 475 Cat, and ten speed Eaton Fuller trans, I would down shift when the rms, hit 900.. Another key is before down shifting a little pressure on the shift, and when the rpms get low enough it will come out of gear on its own. Then you would push to neutral, bump the fuel,and push into next gear...

 

For cornering, assuming you are in town, (slower speeds, and traffic) generally you will be travelling about 35 mph (8th gear) as you approach your turn:
1) Begin slowing to safe traffic/turn speed, this will also be the time you need to start figuring if you need to try and steal some of the left side lane to make the turn safely.
2) Never approach or begin the turn, out of gear, (this is unsafe, and illegal, it falls into the “out of control” group of traffic laws) as you begin the turn, clutch coast the first third of the turn.
3) As you get to the middle point (apex) of the turn, drop 2 gears (8 to 6) (7 to 5), apply throttle, if you need to drop one more, grab the next gear down quickly.
4) By “powering “thru the turn, (throttle at the apex) you negate (or equalize) the centrifugal force. By eliminating the opposing centrifugal force, the turn is more stable and you don’t get the sway (or lean) as you finish the turn.
5) Remember, you do not need to over rev the engine. When the engine is over-rev’d, the blend of speed/rpm is thrown out of whack making the gear change unachievable. Rev the engine with quick “burps” on the throttle. Practice will get you there every time.
6) Again to the parking area, get some cones or something to give you an obstacle to target for your off track of the trailer when making turns. With this concept, you can get the feel, and the correct “tones” from your rig, and you will learn to be more comfortable using the mirrors to spot your off tracking trailer. Especially important when turning right.

 

Well I totally disagree about shifting gears in a turn. You can rollover a truck by doing this if you're not real careful. I think what you need to do first is not beat yourself up and just relax. If it doesn't go into one gear it'll go into another. Just relax and it will come to you. In the cornners be in the right gear before you enter the conner. Don't speed up until you're flat and then pours the coals on. If you shift in the conners and hauling swinging beef you'll only do it once. Even with gasoline tankers most overturns are in turns because the driver will shift and speed up while in the turn. You'll want to be in mid-range in the gear through the conner and then when it's flat you can accelerate to get on the highway.

Floating gears does not make you a truck driver. The object is to know what gear to be in at any given time. When you come up to the exit slow down to a little below the speed limit and enter the turn in that gear stay in that gear as you go around and when you straiten out then you can gain enough speed to merge onto the highway.

I would be in 10th on a surface street and to get on a interstate I would drop to 7th to enter the on-ramp. Skip the gears from 10th to 7th and then I'd have enough power to merge safety. You get it and you'll know you don't have to use every gear. Make the truck work for you and not you working the truck.

 

You should down shift to the correct gear before the corner so you can concentrate on your mirrors and whats in front of you. Get 2 hands on the wheel so you're in control if something happens. Most accidents happen at intersections. The correct gear to use in a regular turn is the highest gear in low range if you're light or empty. The highest gear in low range on a 9 or 13 speed is 4th gear. On a 10 speed its 5th gear. If you are heavy or the corner is real tight you should be 1 or 2 gears lower.

 

You sound like an instructor in one of those driver mill academies.

If you are approaching the corner in the top low range gear, you are doing approximately 20 mph, most city streets have an average speed of 35. Streets with speed limits less are usually residential, where most trucks don't go. If you are going down the street doing 20mph, you are creating a hazard, both to yourself and to all others using the roadway. I am not saying to maintain the top posted speed, but road courtesy is part of our job, and duty to the motoring public.

If, as you say, loaded or heavy, you should be 1 to 2 gears lower, then you have brought your speed down to 15 or 10. Now you are really creating problems with the traffic. On top of the traffic tie-up you have created, if you need to swing out left to make the right turn, you will not get the opening you need, since you have forced everyone into the left lane to get around you, and they will not give your turn signal any nevermind if you suddenly turn your left signal on to get into the left lane.

As for the previous post, tankers and swinging beef, these are, of course, the vehicles where turns and going thru gears is most critical. To minimize the swing and slosh, of course no shifting in the turn, and the turn speeds are slower to maintain the center of gravity and balance of the load. However, dry van, refer, and flat bed freight, are more secure, and allow for more forward and turning speeds, keeping in mind the height of the freight contained and the center of gravity the freight is creating above the floor line.

Finally, two hands on the wheel, and ability to concentrate on the mirrors? I am surprised you didn't say 10 and 2, and make sure you don't put your thumbs inside the spokes of the steering wheel. As far as shifting and two hands on the wheel, this does not create a distraction, as most any driver should know where the gear stick is, (just reach down and right, you should at least bump into it. As for the mirrors, driving a truck in town or on the open road, is not a situation where you can only do one thing at a time. Your eyes should be surveying all aspects of the environment at all times, you can't focus on what is directly in front of you at any time, this is called tunnel vision. You need to be scanning all points of your truck and trailer, as you are negotiating the turn and dealing with pedestrians, fire hydrants, light poles, and don't forget the idiot motor-cop who thinks he can scoot between you and the curb to get to his donut break.

 

Have you ever hauled 96" glass or a 50,000 lb. steel coil on a flatbed???

I'm not trying to insult your experience or brag about my own....but you are making blanket statements that do not always apply. Also, for the few of us out there that haul glass...shifting in a turn twists the trailer and will sometimes break the glass.

Traffic tie up...me being in 3rd or 4th gear around a corner is not going to take nearly as long as it will take to get the truck and trailer back on its wheels.

I guess its what you are hauling that determines just exactly how fast you can take a corner. (and how sharp you can turn while backing a spread axle )

On that we agree 100%

 

My apologies...you did not make a blanket statement at all. I missed that part of your post.

The above quote is the bottom line of it all...

 

what helped me learn was to use the tach. Get the RPM's around 1000 rpm push in the clutch just past the release point, put it in neutral, tap the gas rpm should be around 1500 and push in the clutch again past the release and stick it in the lower gear and repeat. The key is to get the rhythm right. Tap clutch, neutral, tap gas, tap clutch boom your downshifting

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

 

Wow! For a "Born Again" you're kind of rude. So allow me to be rude. When was the last time you drove a truck? In most 10 speeds, 5th gear (top gear in low range) is about 15 mph at 1500 RPM. When slowing to make the turn your speed will drop to about 10 mph and RPM will drop to about 1100 while still in 5th gear. If you're empty thats slow enough to make a safe turn and high enough RPMs not to lug the engine at intersections that are not tight. If heavy or in doubt drop 1 or 2 gears BEFORE THE TURN. Is there a problem with that???? Now I'm not gonna waste my time answering the rest of your long winded saga , most of which is either wrong or perceived incorrectly. By the way, I own my truck and pull containers every day. So I'll repeat my initial question....When was the last time you drove a truck?

 

Once you get to know the truck you don't have to use every gear. If I was traveling at 55mph and wanted to take the off ramp at 35mph I would shift once. A 2 finger shift, that's funny you ever drive a KW KE100? You need 2 fingers a arm and some times the other arm. If the cable was never maintained like some aren't sometimes you have to stand on the stick.