Trouble Shifting After a Long Day

When I'm tired at the end of along day I do mess up sometimes mostly backing into a dock. I just had road test driving a regular 10 and I was grinding gears because I have been driving a volvo super 10 for the past year and that freightliner was giving me problems lol...

 

Tap tap tap!

 

I sometimes forget to flip my jake switch off after using it. It's not often, but when I forget, it comes back to bite me right away! ha.

I never purposely drive with the jake on, unless I'm using it.

It annoys me when I'm sleeping and someone repeatedly shifts and jakes as they roll through a truck stop. They usually don't have a muffler, either. Wakes me up every time.

 

Those are commonly called "idiots"....Their scientific name is "Doofuserectusignoramus".

 

IMHO, The only time to use a jake is down hill. The rest of the time I leave it off. It was designed to help you maintain your speed not stop or shift your truck. The normal position is off.

 

yes, when distracted by whatever.. tired, stressed, etc, sometimes I don't shift as well. I've been driving almost a year. And I think this will become less noticeable as I drive more. ie., when shifting becomes even more automatic. (and I don't mean mechanically automatic!)

 

If you have truly been driving for 5 years, and you are still having trouble shifting, you probably shouldnt be driving.

 

Gee, that's kind of blunt and cruel, but at the same time it's kind of true. If one has been driving for years they should be capable of adapting to different transmissions and engine combinations reasonably quickly. That's not to say that one will make no errors, but the error should be recognized and corrected quickly and in such a manner that even a co-driver doesn't know the error was made.

For those who cannot adapt, I usually suggest golf or tennis as a career they will do equally miserable at with fishing as a fall back.

 

More practice will help, but get your rest and I suggest also that you do whatever necessary (Legally) to not feel stressed. Hopefully one day (And honestly it should have already be off to a good start) you will figure out a truck is what it is and you (We) cannot change that. To become one with it you have to change rather than just going through the mechanical moves of shifting.

 

Actually they were designed to r-e-t-a-r-d speed growth downhill but this does not mean they cannot be suitably used at other times. As far as shifting goes (An engine brake that sucks the rpms down when in neutral) they can aid shifting on steep inclines.