Nervous Newbie!

I just got done with my trainer and getting my own truck thursday.. trust me man.. don't worry about shifting. You'll have a ton of other stuff to worry about when you get out there.. Like map reading! I thought i could read a map pretty well, but trying to find the quickest way sometimes can be a real PITA. On top of that, you'll have to worry about the idiot 4-wheelers out there and some idiot trucks if you can believe that. Learning to watch every sign you pass will take some time, but if you don't you can end up with some hefty fines if you go over a bridge with a weight limit or end up in a low clearance zone! The shifting, like others have said, is no big deal. You can drive for 10 years and still miss a gear getting into a new truck, don't sweat that at all and Good Luck!

 

If you are only worried about shifting, that means you have never heard of backing.

 

I heard you make mention of an automatic transmission.

Don't let your nerves make you try to avoid learning shifting on a manual transmission. If you got a CDL A and only could drive autoshift, you'd be a useless driver in my opinion.

Relax, you'll get it no problem. =)