Shiftin' Question

M'kay...

Can't you just hear the ego puffing at the truckstop counter? "I'm a professional because I shift the right way!"

And here we have the key! Properly done, floating takes no more shift effort (same forces, same wear) than double clutching. It's how you behave when you miss a gear that matters. The shock damage comes from drivers who, instead of a quick reboot when they miss, just jam it in with force. That will introduce the fubar to your transmission.

I had my tranny on the ground at Thanksgiving, had ~600K miles on it, and so I pulled the shift tower off to have a look. Even with the high duty cycle of carhauling, , the wear was so minimal that it took a very bright light to see any at all! The dogs were sharp, square, and unchipped. And every shift in the that truck since it had 2K miles on it had been floated. There should have carnage in there according to our "professional."

Thank for sharing that with us!

 

While the mad dance of double clutching is impressive to the unknowing, being a professional, to my mind, means having the respect of your peers. And trust me, when riding with another driver, and the loudest thing in the shift cycle as they float through the gears is the 'snap' of the splitter; it will be noted. And respected.

 

I actually float the gears because after 20 plus years as a carpenter my left knee tells me it likes it that way. Although I do find my self double clutching it on the downshift about 50% of the time. My co driver (we team) he double clutches it all of the time.

 

If you know an 18 speed there are two splitters..same as on a 13...the one actuated with the thumb just requires letting off the fuel so the syncro meshes up and shifts..the one up front is a full gear change and requires the clutch since moving the gear lever

Not hard to figure out what I meant..you can go back to your straight ten now

Petey

 

Didn't catch that! The book dang sure says to clutch splits, too! Would you like the link to Roadranger showing the parts breakdown for the splitter?

 

I know a 13 and an 18 well and that is why I am trying to make sense of your two statements that conflict with each other. Just to qualify that statement a little I learned to drive on a 13 speed and second truck doing heavy haul was an 18 speed. I own and drive today a truck with a 13 speed.

When you quit reading online how a 13 and 18 works and actually drive one then you will know that it doesnt need a clutch for moving the gear lever.

I am not trying to be mean or bash you, just wanting you to come clean and give good info.

 

Well lets see..I drove a Kenworth W900 with a 500 cummins for two years.then a pete 379 with a 625 Cat twin turbo and an 18 for two years...

a 13 is a nin speed with a high low split on the top 4 gears..1-5 6 low, six high, 7 low 7 high and so on so when I say I'm splitting a gear I'm splitting 6-9 with the thumb splitter...(from memory) Now..going from say 9 high to 9 low or vice versa does NOT require a clutch its a thumb actuated change in a secondary from a sync'd low and high overdrive..a 9 speed is nothing but a thirteen with the overdrive disabled..with me?

No..to go from fifth to six..that is a clutch actuated split in the primary..

so no..its not contradicting..just depends on which splitter you are using at the time

In an 18 gears 1-5 can also be "split" high or low through the secondary without the clutch

Petey

 

I started out with a class b license then went for my class A, a few years later and floated the gears both times during the road test and the examiner said nothing of it. In fact when I was driving for the class b, the examiner said it was nice to ride with someone who knew what they were doing.

 

First off congrats on getting your permit.Your father has exp so not using the clutch is normal.What others on here said,he's floating the gears.But when u go to school they'll teach you to double clutch.Remember this,shifting a trk is nothing like a car.You only have to barely step on the clutch.You'll learn that in school.I float all the time,saves on the wear and tear of the clutch.Plus i'm lazy,lol