I'm no driver!

Yea, go back to that School and ask for two weeks of 10 speed shifting training.

 

I heard US Xpress is going back to Auto's again.

 

BS...Out of all the people I was in class with, me and a few others that actually knew how to drive a manual got it waaaay faster than the ones who had never driven one ever. Number one rule I learned that was best..."smoother is always better than faster when it comes to shifting a truck."

 

I would do like one of the other posters mentioned and try to get a day or two in of practice at the school you attended. There's also the costly option of renting a truck and practicing. Do you have any friends that drive that maybe able to give you sometime behind the wheel?

Boy those mega-carriers, really prepare you for the real world huh?!

 

And I call BS on that, so I guess its a draw. Ask any instructor or trainer whos easier to teach. Im not a teacher, but I know trainers and instructors and they all say the same thing. A couple of them even admit that breaking the habit of depressing the clutch was tough for them because of what they were used to doing in their four wheelers. You may have had a hand up in knowing how to balance between pedals and find your gears, but if your only prior experience with a standard came in the form of a five in a four wheeler, I guarantee you were pushing the clutch too far in and poppin out too fast...

 

Took one day of gear grinding and I had it figured out. Still grinded from time to time, and still do 2 years later(not watching my road speed on downshifts mainly). The hardest part trying to train someone who's never driven a manual, is they don't even understand why you have to shift...I think that is just a myth that has stuck, because I can't honestly see how someone who knows how to drive a manual, can't figure out how to drive a truck. Main difference is, be smoother, and no clutch needed. I do push the clutch as far as I can and never had an issue with it.

 

Apply with companies that have auto's :
Some give you a choice of standard or auto.
Call the companies and ask.

Maverick
Averitt
Interstate Distributor
TransAm

That's a few of them.

 

I actually picked up double clutching pretty quick. I think I did ok my first time, but really needed improvement. After my first day shifting, I came home and looked up some "shifting a tractor" and "double clutching" videos on youtube to see how some others do it. I sat in my chair and mocked what those drivers were doing, and practiced the: clutch-neutral-clutch-gear and clutch-neutral-rev-clutch-gear cadences in my head and it clicked. The next day I was 500% better. I tried mimicking it in my car, but I think it actually made things harder, so I ditched that idea. The good thing about the clutches in the rigs is the fact that they're so heavy compared to a regular 4-wheeler. I think I only hit the floor with it once or twice before I learned to only hit it until it "broke torque".

 

Agreed..WSE has autos as well

 

NOPE, they will make you a Trainer.