Clutching and Stopping

Technically it wont hurt much. It does cause wear on the clutch to ride it to a stop. Downshifting to a stop is what I do, I do float shift. Second gear seems low and first to start is low, however I understand them teaching that way.

 

This may sound dumb, but do a countdown as you are stopping. 10- down too 2.

 

If I'm moving at highway speed and need to stop, I'll downshift to either 5th or 4th, and just use the break to stop from there. I almost always start off in 3rd, sometimes 2nd if I am on the heavier side.

 

From 9th gear, I have slowed to 7th and come to nearly a stop before I have to use the clutch ... This is if I don't have time to downshift. I have also stopped in 8th; not quite as smooth but it works.

 

In school they told us we can stop in just about any gear. I would often stop still in 4th or 5th and just make sure to put the truck in 3rd or 4th before I took off again.

 

I don't know if I understand your problem completely but downshifting and hitting all the gears on the way down is foolish and adding more wear and tear on the truck that is needed. However, you must follow what the DMV people want and your instructors should know. So ask around with other drivers getting their CDL and how they do it.

Now out in the world it's much different as far as I can see. I pull a truck and trailer in the city all day long that grosses over 100,000lbs and I skip gears and select the proper gear for the correct speed. When coming to a stop like off the interstate onto surface streets I'll let the engine drop down and go from 10th to 6th and then either stop or select the next gear I need to be in. That's with a standard 10 speed. It works very well with my truck and I never lug the engine. Plus if the light changes and I'm getting ready to stop in 6th I'll bring the rpm's up around 1500 or so and select the gear and go.

I recommend that you do not float until you know your truck inside and out. There's a lot of controversy on this subject but I believe you should know what's required of you first then move on. Besides, I have seen where drivers have not hit the hole completely or correctly and they have banged the transmission. I mean a loud band where the shifter jumps out of gear. That's not good on the workings of the tranny. I looked at it in stages. First you double clutch up and down. Then you skip gears and know where each gear should be used, then on to floating and skipping at the same time.

Most of the time I still double clutch the truck I drove only because it was easier on the arm since the trucks were new all the time. But I've been creative and used the clutch just to pull it out of gear or tap it to go back in. I prefer floating but the truck needs to be broke in right and the shifting easy. If you're at the right speed and selecting the right gear it should slide in real easy no matter what method you use. After all with all the shifting we do the point of it all is to make it easy on you and the equipment. But every driver has his or her own way.

 

Just give yourself lots of time before your corner or light whatever it may be, just ease off the throttle and as u start slowing with either your jake or brake application start downshifting nice and easy just like the up shift. Too many guys fly up too a corner or a stop and just pile on the brakes. Use your engine to slow u by using your gears and u don't need to go right down to second or first by the time u hit low range apply some brakes push in the clutch enough to get it out of gear until u stop. Do not push the clutch all the way to the floor while your still moving as that will burn up your clutch brake real fast and riding the clutch while slowing down will also burn the clutch up. Just use a 1 2 3 count as u pull it out of gear throttle up the engine and it should drop into the next lower gear.