how to drive a 13 speed

Oh my 2 years. Actually I drive 5 months a year now and when I do drive I double clutch shifts when needed. The point is your broad statement shows inexperience. ...so learn it there way, then the right way after school.

 

Well at least you thought of a clean analogy.

 

In the third video above, he's totally floating the gears; not using the clutch at all except when starting or stopping. (And he does it very nicely.) This is apparently how it's done (if you're good at it) once you've gotten your CDL and been through the training phase and are completely on your own. I've read that some companies have specific rules/preferences on how they want you to shift their trucks, so your mileage may vary depending on the company you work for. My neighbor who's a longtime trucker and floats his gears, advised me that climbing into a company truck as a trainee and attempting to impress them by floating the gears will generally NOT impress them at all...instead, do it "by the book" (clutching as the company instructs) until you're completely on your own. Of course, if you later are towed into their shop with a locked-up transmission they won't be too impressed either, but that's life.

Oh, and in a car with manual transmission you should always use the clutch. A car transmission has synchronizers (little brake-shoe-like cones) that equalize the speed of the gears when you shift between them -- allowing you to shift by pushing down on the clutch only once during shifting. Truck transmissions generally don't have those, so you either double-clutch or float the gears. If you shift a car without using the clutch, you're wearing out the synchronizers prematurely so it's always best to use the clutch when in a car.

 

I skipped through the responses so I am probably just repeating someone else but .....

First, you drive the way that works for you.

The bottom gears 1-5 all work the same way. If you are light or empty, I start out in 4th. Heavy I run them all. The flapper is down on the bottom side and the button is back. The button will not slide forward on the bottom end.

When you move to 6th gear it is the same. From there you can slip the top. Push the clutch in and move the button forward and you are in 7th. The clutch has to be engaged to make the button work. Lots of folks never use the button until they are in 12th. Moving to 8th gear, engage the clutch, move to neutral, bring the button back, put the lever forward and there you go. 9th is just clutch button. Repeat as necessary. Once you get the hang of it, it makes driving much easier. 18 speed is much the same.

 

Nope...just let off the throttle and it will shift on its own. No clutch is needed after you get rolling.

 

I know people who've been driving 20 years, and never clutch, double clutch or anything else of the like. They use it to take off, and that's it. Only situation I can think of, where you need a clutch for changing gears, is when you miss a gear and are having a hard time getting it back into a hole. So with your more experience, what would be other cases you "need" to double clutch??

 

Since you asked. Pulling steeper grades (12-17%) or a tight turn on pavement with a 110' truck @ 120T. There is no one way is the right way. Years of driving different trucks in different situations teaches this. Apply the correct skill to the tasked at hand. That way you don't miss gears. Don't let me sway your opinions,if you stay in the biz long enough somewhere along the journey you will want that skill in your toolbox. Just like backing doubles,tarping floats or hauling smooth bores. They all have specific skills and knowledge. Good luck on your career and keep an open mind to all options and suggestions.

 

I've pulled smooth bore in the ND patch. But I doubt that guy is headed into any of those situations anytime soon. Granted it isn't the end all(guess I posted it as that way), but generally most on here are OTR guys.

So on a 12-17% grade, why would you double clutch to go thru the first couple of gears...I'm just guessing you aren't getting into the top side of the gears unless you got a big motor and some lower gears in the back.

 

You can shift much faster double-clutching versus floating.

And, depending on your weight, it doesn't even need to be 12-17%. If you're heavy enough, even 6-8% and you'll be using the clutch. This is especially true if you're starting on an incline with weight.

That being said, in this situation, a 13-speed is as useful as a 9-speed, as the split is going to be too wide between the gears to grab them if you're heavy. Part of why an 18-speed is useful for heavy haul work is when you're starting on an incline you can split the gears getting going and make it out of the first hole.

A driver should be capable of both floating and double-clutching, and understand when and what situations call for one or the other.

 

Cologren answered your question WR. There are other applications/skills combined w/ double clutching when off-road driving:to get it done.