Starting truck school training in a week

But he/she said they were getting $30 or more an hour pulling tandems from Sudbury every night;

 

went back and found it
That makes no sense considering I get $35/hr to pull a tandem from sudbury to toronto and back every night... the GTA is so cheap and i bet your rent is double mine... crazy

But they're gonna leave the BS industry ??


Pete

 

All the best with your CDL training program mate, as they say practice does make perfect, with gear changing specially with the Road Ranger (eaton) gear box system will take some getting used to, if you've ever driven a manual gear box in say a car or even in small trucks its totally different whereby you put the clutch right in and the gear pops straight in. Which is why it's known as a synchro gear box, and the Road ranger as a "crunch box" It may come across a little daunting at first but follow the instructions given and with much practice you will perfect your gear changing skills. I've been driving for over 20 years now and still occasionally crunch a road ranger gearbox so don't worry to much if it does not go to smoothly.

 

Had heard that a truck gearbox is completely different to a car manual/stick shift.

watched YouTube videos and read up on it but I guess it’s one of these things you’d just need to learn and get used to. (Can remember the days I thought I’d never get used to a manual car)

I know it’s a possibility now to get an automatic class 1 license. Obviously there are jobs that would need a manual endorsement but does anyone have any advice as to whether or not I’d struggle to find jobs even with mega carriers for instance with an automatic license?

Thanks in advance

 

Get that manual right away. It is very simple to drive. These drivers that act like they cannot drive a manual are either incredibly lazy or have pathetic hand foot coordination. I have failed to see what is so difficult about wiggling your right hand while you jiggle your right foot. I’ve driven automatic transmissions, and I’ve driven manual transmissions, and I will take the manual every time. Also, if you go to look for a different job, a potential employer may quicker hire you in some applications if you do not have that restriction.

 

And you are right they do shift different than a car, but in my opinion, they shift easier than a car, especially on takeoff because they have much more torque. I have driven 5 speed 6speed, 8LL, 10 speed, 13 speed, 15 speed and 18 speed transmissions of which the 13 is my favorite.the one I personally hate the most definitely be the 10 speed, and that’s what most companies will start you in, so if you don’t like it, at first, don’t worry there are nicer, transmissions to drive

 

thanks for the reply man. I take on board what you’re saying. On paper the gearbox and gear shifter I could maybe in time get used to. Am I right in saying that the clutches in trucks need to be pressed to get out of the gear you’re in, let out then pressed in again to select a new gear or is it different?

I just look at driving trucks and think there would be a lot to get used to and worry about in a test scenario, not having to worry about gears or an unfamiliar clutch system would let me focus solely on the driving aspect.

With what you’ve said in mind though I think it’ll be worth the challenge, sets me above those without a manual license

 

When you take your test they’re going to make you double clutch or rather they want you too, and when you double clutch, press the clutch and put it in gear, release the clutch, step on the throttle, step on the clutch, take it out of gear, release the clutch, depress the clutch, go back in the next gear, accelerate, etc. until you’re up to speed, downshifting is reverse process. I hate doubleclutching, in fact, the instructor had to show me how to do it before my road test, and I ground gears way worse using the double clutch method than floating gears…in my own truck I use the clutch to get it in first gear or reverse, that is it. Floating gears with your RPMs is much smoother, than double clutching and it’s easier on the entire drivetrain.

 

If you have a friend with a truck, or know somebody who knows somebody that has a truck, try to get them to let you get some practice. It sounds complicated if you read about it, but when you get down to actually doing it, it is beyond simple

 

I’m in the uk for now man, most trucks over here are automatics and I’ve asked around seeing if there are places who would let you just do a few hours of lessons in a truck but there aren’t sadly.

I’ll just need to watch YouTube videos and hope it gives me half an idea.