Should I Pay for Manual Driving Experience?

Not worth it. If you can shift a 9 or 10. You can figure out a 13 or 18 quickly. A 13 is a 10+ a flipper in high gears. Basically shift into 5th for example, flip the switch let off accelerator wait for gear to clack, congrats your in 6th and good to go. And 18 is a 10 with a flipper in low and high. Empty or even lightly loaded you can shift it like a 10.

If you can drive a 10 you can figure out a 13 or 18 in a few minutes and be comfortable in an afternoon. For the rest. Once you know how to shift a manual its easy as hell. Only time you touch the clutch is to start off. After that you just float and even with 10 years no experince you should only need a day or two with a trainer to brush up.

 

I’m pretty sure every 13 and 18 I’ve driven used the same H pattern as a 9 speed.

 

If you were trained to shift and got the license, then I would NOT pay for additional training on shifting. Yes you will be rusty, but you will knock the rust off quickly, like maybe in a day or two. The 9 and 10 speed sticks are generally the pattern for the 13 and 18 speed as well. The 13 and 18 speed are pretty close to the Super 10 transmission, but that was pretty rare compared to the 9/10 speeds. Essentially for Super 10, 13, 18 speed to use the stick and the air splitter opposite to the 9 & 10 speed. I'll explain that later or in another post because it will read like building a rocket out of coconut husks and it's not that complicated, just different. for 13 and 18 speeds you don't even need to do the complicating thing, compared to 9 & 10 speed, except in that top 1 or 2 stick positions. So in essence, except when you are VERY heavy or going up a VERY steep grade you shift it like a 9 or 10 speed.

Yes you will stall the truck or have to stop completely and start over because you messed up shifting on day 1. You will also quickly remember how to do it pretty well on day 1, except for downshifting (to slow down). By day 2 you will see progress, and KNOW you aren't going to blow up the truck, just improve every day you shift. I would NOT pay for additional training and I would almost always recommend additional training if you have time, money, desire. If you have all three then pay for additional training. I saw many many newbies like to talk while they shift, and when they screw up they like to explain how & why and so on, DON'T. Just do the thing and talk about it after you are in top gear and if the instructor has good advice.

And finally, DO NOT PRESS THE CLUTCH TOO DEEP. EVERY NEWBIE PRESSES THE CLUTCH TOO DEEP IF THEY HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE SHIFTING GEARS IN CARS. TRUCKS AND CARS OPERATE THE CLUTCH DIFFERENTLY. Press the truck's clutch just enough to get into or out of gear except when the vehicle is at a dead stop. That's the only time you press clutch all the way.

 

If you have the endorsement the trainer will assume you can shift safely. Just tell him you have not shifted manually in years but it will come back quickly. It will come back quickly. You are over-thinking. Company road tests are about being safe, not perfect. Unless you grind the gears hard and often AND you still force the gear change instead of matching RPMs better and better than you will be OK. Only you can overcome the over-thinking problem. It can hurt you as much as not thinking, just in different ways. I have it and you can stop doing it with some effort.

 

Every truck with 13/18 I drove had the same pattern as 9 speed.

 

I drove manuals in cdl school in 2020 and passed the test in 1 cause I liked driving manuals and then i got a local job right away in an automatic with a driver trainer for 2 months and i was praying i’d get a manual truck when i went on my own… by the time i got a manual i realized how it’s not like a car, they’re way slower than automatic trucks… and all the charm wore off. I’ve driven plenty of manuals since then and they’re hella fun when they’re ungoverned and you’re pulling an end dump on 130 going 85mph, but i gotta think in 2026 if you drive a new automatic pete or volvo and then drive a manual long to get a feel for both the automatics are like wearing the right size shoe and the manuals are like 2 sizes too big

 

*slower from a dead stop. Once you get going they keep up