Truck School Uses "6 Speed Manual Transmission"

5 and 6 speeds in big trucks have been around a decade and a half longer then the 13 speed road ranger.

 

Don't forget the 7 speeds with their 4 shift gates!

 

It's most likely a 6-speed synchronized transmission. You won't have a restriction on your license. The only issue is if you get a job driving an unsynchronized transmission, you are going to need to do some learning with the new company.

 

This. Exact same thing happened with my brother 16 years ago. Lol I got the panic phone call.

 

Got my cdl on a 6 speed, how difficult is a 10 speed?

 

A lot of Class 7 trucks, like straight truck and medium duty single axle day cab tractors (think Freightliner FL70s/M2s, Hinos, etc.) have synchronized Eaton 6-speeds. I'm sure more than a few CDL schools use those kinds of trucks for training.

 

It's not that it's difficult, but it is different and there is a learning curve. Go to YouTube and watch some videos on double clutching and floating gears.

 

I used to do this a lot when I owned my CDL school. There is a school here that only used automatics (this was before the license restriction) and a lot of the students couldnt get a job after because they couldnt shift.

Only takes about 30-60 minutes of practice to get it down. The shifting part itself isnt that hard, really, but you need to get to the point where you can do it without thinking about it. Hardest part really is getting your head around shifting while turning, and thus the "shifting without thinking" part kicks in...

I used a 10 speed. What I would do is have them run 3-4-5-6, stop. 3-4-5-6, stop (starting from a stop in 3rd). This was to get used to pre-selecting on the splitter. Then 3-4-5-6-7-6-5-6-7-6-5-6-7 to get used to downshifting and working the splitter. Then 3-4-5-6-7- 5 -6-7- 5-6-7 To get used to setting up for a turn. Then it was just drive around a while while they put it all together.

 

You can get a class A with this setup right here. 6 speed syncro'd full air brakes. lol

 

That's exactly the kind of setup I was referring to. Plenty of schools use that because it's easier to learn on and test with as well as being cheaper. In my opinion, CDL schools that use small trucks and trailers like this do a disservice to most of their students, who probably won't be driving similar vehicles in the real world.