Double clutch or Float. You decide.

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Trucker_Matt, Jul 19, 2012.

Do you float, double clutch, or single clutch?

  1. *

    Float em baby!

    64 vote(s)
    84.2%
  2. *

    Double clutch all the way

    10 vote(s)
    13.2%
  3. *

    Single clutch

    4 vote(s)
    5.3%
  1. sixthgear11

    sixthgear11 Light Load Member

    197
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    Sep 24, 2011
    myrtle beach, sc
    0
    And guess what, when your clutch or transmission has you in the shop every 300K or whatever mileage you may get, even though your company told you to drive that way, you are gonna be shacked up in a motel somewhere for 3-5 days waiting on the truck to get fixed, and if your lucky, you'll see a whopping $25 a day layover pay, while I'm still Rollin down the road makin money... Trucks don't always break, or show signs of breaking while youre at home or the terminal.
     
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  3. Winkjr

    Winkjr Road Train Member

    1,804
    612
    Oct 18, 2011
    Marlton NJ
    0
    Perhaps you should try a search.
     
  4. Osroc

    Osroc Bobtail Member

    5
    1
    Jul 19, 2012
    0
    Double clutching, if you have a fully sync'ed car or pick up then its really a waste of a clutch to do this. But on a older a pick up or truck this is the way to go.

    As far as floating a fully sync'ed tranny, I have no idea, but you wear out the syncronizers shifting at high rpm and just driving the car/pick up.
     
  5. Rugerfan

    Rugerfan Road Train Member

    6,537
    30,712
    May 3, 2011
    Redding,CA
    0
    my trainer never taught me how to float and i already knew hot to double clutch so im solo now and teaching myself how to float
     
  6. bender

    bender Road Train Member

    2,105
    1,348
    Jul 20, 2010
    Don't Kid Yourself
    0
    Just for a good example but in no way an isolated incident, I maintained a fleet of medium duty trucks that ran Fuller five speeds that were fully syncronized. There was one very seasoned driver that thought it was way cool to shift those syncronized transmissions without using the clutch. He also thought it was his place to influence the other drivers into his poor choice of driving habits by encouraging them to do the same. The result of this game cost this company mucho denero due to me getting to repair three to five of these broken transmissions per month. This went on for over fifteen years until their new trucks came with allison automatics. This is why my suggestion is not merely speculation as it may have first appeared. You'll eventually break it, sooner or later.
     
  7. hawkjr

    hawkjr Road Train Member

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    Feb 28, 2010
    Virginia
    0
    This non-sense about tearing up the transmission is foolish while floating gears.... if your gears aren't grinding and your not forcing it into gear then you won't have no problems!! if anything it saves wear and tear on your clutch when your floating gears... I can make my truck sound like an automatic while shifting and i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one on this forum that can either
     
    paul_4lp Thanks this.
  8. NewbieRick

    NewbieRick Light Load Member

    75
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    Jul 15, 2012
    Pacific, mo
    0

    I may not know much about big rigs but i DO know quite a bit about cars and pickups, you cannot float a syncro'd tranny.. Only non syncros, you will tear every syncro out of it and destroy your flywheel.
     
  9. Spokester

    Spokester Light Load Member

    217
    64
    Nov 26, 2011
    Port Angeles, WA
    0
    Guess I'm glad I went to a school that taught me to float in addition to double-clutching. This was in Cali, so yeah, I double-clutched on the drive test, and also on the road test during orientation. Once I got into the truck with my trainer, he told me to forget all that double-clutching nonsense, and float. Besides, it hurts my knee to push the clutch in all the time; though this new hydraulic clutch is easier... I sometimes have to double-clutch because the load (usually down hill) is keeping enough pressure on the tranny (with the Jake on) to keep it in gear, or the splitter on this 13 speed won't release so I'll jab the clutch real quick to get the gear to release. I think the idea of double-clutching all the time makes me want an auto-shift. And I don't want an auto-shift...
     
  10. Trucker_Matt

    Trucker_Matt Light Load Member

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    Jul 14, 2012
    Downriver, MI
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    Well i just heard some news today regarding floating vs non floating. alot has to be taken into consideration, for instance whether or not you have a self adjusting clutch or not. also i was informed that yeah floating can save your clutch, but its not good for the rear end and something else, can't remember specifically what, i think it was some sort of lines or something. Oh and i was told that if my company specifically tells me to double clutch, and i do nothing but float, and lets say i have an auto adjusting clutch, and for whatever reason i need my clutch repaired, they will see that my clutch adjuster has seized and they will show me the door.
     
  11. paparas

    paparas Bobtail Member

    16
    4
    Jul 29, 2010
    0
    Explain how you can damage the flywheel if you float a syncro'd tranny.

    Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
     
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