Learning manual

6 speed transmission is probably synchronized. Thus not needing the double clutching, thus not being able to float. Without a lot of racket and much difficulty strained upon the gearbox.

 

Car transmissions have nothing to do with big truck transmissions. Floating is not a valid topic until you have mastered the basics of clutch shifting. Your car is syncronized, big trucks are not. You are doing the work matching gears to the situation yourself.

If your tractor is bucking and not moving forward you need to downshift. If your tractor has maxed out and pulling it's ### off you need to upshift. And all shifting up or down is somewhere in between two points on your tachometer which is why it's there for you to use.

There is nothing to be afraid of except the actual learning. That's usually stressful, but you really need to learn it. It's fortunate that trucks itself is stupid, it will take a gear one way upshifting or downshifting. Otherwise it will grind at you when there is not a valid match.

Most new people shove clutches all the way in, that activates additional systems in the transmission designed for a stop light so that you can find a low gear prior to getting a green light and go. You only need to use the clutch just enough to break power to your drives so you can shift. Double cluctching is the prescribed way to shift a big truck up or down in addition to matching engine speed to the gear you are going into.

Floating comes later.

Everyone has something that holds em back in learning a new thing whatever it is in life. Don't stress about it any more than you need to. It really is not that big of a deal.

There are situations in which your shifting will need to be very good, but it is likely you will have learned how to shift it long before you encounter such a situation.

You need to learn a manual, (And test in a manual transmission truck for your CDL) so that the state will not put a restriction against your CDL that says auto only. It will limit your hireability.

And finally, never slam that truck with the clutch in shifting. You can do a great deal of damage that will disable you, cost the company a bunch of money and require a tow etc.

Take a deep breath and RELAX. Shifting is straight forward when you learn the two important numbers in that tach, torque and horse power. For example 1200 and 1500. There are two forms of shifting. Standard shifting and progressive shifting in which you can see a massive improvement in it's ability to walk away from a light without much effort.

 

Not at all. It's a completely different animal. And like you stated earlier you've never driven a standard transmission, the synchronized 6 will get you familiar with gear selection and the movement itself, then when you get in a 10 or 13 you'll be familiarized with the basics of gear selection, but you'll be applying that selection differently. Either by double clutching or floating.

 

I am scared too...Oops I'm over it

 

There is no comparing the two. None. Two completely different animals.

You can have a thousand gears in a big truck if necessary, theoratically the mechanical engineering and physics say that deep of a reduction would stop the earth from rotating. Haw.

Small cars and pickups are made as simple as possible for people who will never be professonal truckers or have a need to double clutch etc.

You will probably end up on a standard company 10 speed. Or a 9 if you are lucky. The nicer transmissions as the 13's 15's and 18's 21 etc comes later should you find yourself doing the kind of trucking that requires it. I like the mack 15 under drive myself, it's possible to use all 15 forward or reverse which makes for some fun and games when empty. The other truck had a 10 speed with a two speed axle shifter which means for every gear you are currently in, you are changing the rear axle from low to high. But that's a very.. small niche depending on what's it's built for.

I love the rockwell 9's the best, they short throw very well (Meaning you can shift em fast which is useful when your shifting is nothing more than a thought, you think to shift now, and it happens with no effort at all.)

Right now where you are knowing nothing about manual shifting means you literally have no bad habits to break. THAT is a trainer's dream everywhere. Having a clean slate, knowing nothing and willing to learn by doing is the best school. The rest of it comes into it's time and season.

I had a 5 speed mack once. Never ending torque band. I think it was something like 900 all the way to 2100 before you shifted. Redline somewhere at 2500 for that particular engine for milk hauling. Rock crawling on the farm with the walking beams is normal order for that workday in that truck. Its not necessary or wanted to have a nice fancy 13 speed double something when you are doing rock crawling.