oilfield rookie wannabe!

Key Enegry Services. Here are some others in the same Odessa/Midland, TX area: Forbes Energy, Jones Brothers, RPC, and Basic Energy Services.

Hope this helps.

 

Keep us updated on your adventure. Did you ever meet with Goldspur?

 

Good luck with your adventure Vegaspainter and JJinNM is your friend a rig hand or a driver?

 

I'm heading south on Sunday, good luck to you buddy. I am looking forward to hearing about y our progress.

 

you are pretty much floating while double clutching but you dont yet realise it. The clutch in these rigs are not like standard car transmissions. Double clutching or using the clutch in these rigs doesnt really allow you to get it into gear whenever you feel like, you still have to match your rpm's with your vehicle speed.

Typically, ive noticed that the drop in for the next gear when upshifting is around the 1400 rpm window, accelerate to 1800 0r 2000 (depending on transmission, 13 speeds around 1800 and 8 and 10 speed accelerate to 2000 rpm), keep pressure on stick shift towards your next gear, let off on gas, shift out of that gear and into your next gear at about 1400 rpm. When doing this with a 8 or 10 speed, you will hang in neutral for a second till the rpm drops to 1400 rpm, with the 13 speed, you shift at 1800 and you can drop it into the next gear without any hesitation because from 1800 to 1400 is going to be quicker than 2000 to 1400......13 speed you can shift pretty natural vs. 8 and 10 speed you have to wait a second.

so ok, why not upshift at 1800 with a 8 or 10 speed?......because theres not as many gears, so the gears are taller and you have to wind up to 2000 rpm to get your vehicle mph up. If you shift at 1800, youre gonna be dragging ### down the road.

What i like to do with a 8 or 10 speed is shift at 2000 rpm and lightly touch the next gear or "tickle" it into the 1400 rpm window.....espeacially with a load in the tank. If you try to land it in the window perfectly and accidently get it in a hair late, you can semi "miss" and snap a gear. A light tickle doesnt hurt anything and i personally think its best when hauling a load because that load will "surge" on you and it makes the load and torque on your drive train when shifting inconsistent......so, a light tickle into the gear lets you know exactly where you are at.

Theres also a technique i use and i'm sure others do it too, when i'm hauling a load, i absolutely stomp that gas pedal, torque out the truck (you'll feel it), keep pressure on that stick shift, let off on the gas and at the same time keep that pressure on the stick into my next gear, when i accelerate hard and let off hard, the truck will rock back and forth with the liquid surge in the tank working with me, when i accelerate hard, the liquid gets sent back, let off, surge comes towards you and at the same time upshift and it will drop into gear really nice and hit that gas hard at the same time with the surge going with you......and you just manhandle and propell yourself down the road.

When you start driving, after a while, the double clutching will go out the window and the things ive described will make sense.....they might not right now lol.....but they will later on.

Of course if you want to double clutch forever, thats fine too, whatever works. I personally use a little clutch just to get myself out of gear when down shifting in a hurry.....but i float it in on the downshift.

Whatever works and is mechanically sound, good luck dude!

 

oh and by the way, sorry i didnt describe downshifting but i will if youre interested later on, i just got home from a 14.5 and i have to admit downshifting is a little complex.....long story short, i downshift while bringing the rpm's up.

oh, and i remeber reading once about a guy describing upshifting and he said he could use 2 fingers doing it. I sure wouldnt mind driving what he's driving, the trucks we got, the linkage is really tight, espeacially on the 13 speeds, theres no way in hell you could use two fingers on our trucks, so with that being said, the kind of trucks or equipment you have to use can determine your techniques.

good luck!

 

Good luck and God:s speed to ya vegas keep us posted

 

I came through Midland/ Odessa today and counted 19 companies I could see from the interstate with "hiring classA driver signs".