Any questions from prospects or lookers from real Watkins and Shepard drivers?

Hey truckerdaddy24, a question. I'm headed to Conover on the 28th of Feb, 2011, and I seem to have read somewhere on a W/S thread about having to learn a shifting pattern for shifting up and down steep grades. Is this true, and is the orientation a difficult process, or will some past experience and good old common sence pull me through. I have completed school, done all the paper work, passed that HPE, and am very excited about joining the W/S family, just trying to do my research on orientation before I get there. Any help would be great! Thanks for all of you who take the time to help newcomers! You all are a blessing! Be safe, God bless, and hope to meet some or all of you someday!

 

the hill shifting isnt comlicated, i wish i could scan the chart or something for everyone. its just splitting the revs, in other words compenstating for rpm on the hills. wont go full into it but if you think about it is nothing more than common sense. ie when downshifting while going down a hill you need to leave a bigger rpm gap than you would on flat ground because you will be picking up more speed while out of gear. its the opposite going up a hill. you want only a 300 rpm gap because you will be slowing down while out of gear. simple stuff, you will catch on. especially when you go out and do it!

 

you can float when you get your truck. im weird, i float up and double down.

 

That's how I started, float up , DC down. I then started floating down starting from 10 to 9, 9 to 8, with a few days in between so I got used to floating down. Eventually I could float all up and down.

 

On Black Mt we braked hard to get to 900rpm, raised rpm to 1600 and doubled down, worked like clockwork...

Up hill/down shifting & down hill/up shifting - 300rpms
Up hill/up shifting & down hill/down shifting - 600rpms

 

i can float down just fine, i just dont. thats why its weird. i like the feel better, and as far as doubling up i think my clutch is out of adjustment so its easier to just float.

 

are they still hiring and do they still take newbies