Downshifting at 800 - 1100 RPM

after awhile you figure out finding a gear regardless of the situation

 

Actually it is. Think of it like music, a math game put to time.

Why not?

Hills do take some getting used to, but is stopping and starting over is not a wise solution. If the vehicle is rolling, there is a gear available, you just need to go to the proper rpm.

It matters not what surface you are on. If you have traction and are not spinning you can float/dc etc.

It's not a good idea to stop and start over, and its not a good idea to advise someone else to do so either. If the truck is rolling, a gear can be found.

Best regards

 

Hey man newbie or not dont be embarassed. I'd been off the road for 2 years (after 5 years drivine) and went to a moving company mostly driving class b at first. I was so used to winding those pos's out i couldnt drive a big truck the first couple times for the life of me.. i kept revving it to he**. After a year there i want to codrive with my buddy and took the company driving test in a new freighliner DAYcab. Note ive told companies before even running a little local i wanted a sleeper. I drove it fine (having NEW GEARS was weird!!) but you guessed it kept overcorrecting putting the trainer in the hole. The guy testing me jjust started laughing and said "used to sleepers arent you man" in a good humored way. Everybody gets nervous man.

And dibstr thats just not true. There are grades out there that will drop you 20mph within seconds. I never have problem shifting but i missed a gear in our (VERY loose worn out) gearbox once and kept flipping dodwn 2 gears at a time and missing til i ended up dropping it in 6th gear. If it's that bad and not getting better hit the #### shoulder. Noones taking notes. The guys behind you (unless theyre scum) just feel bad for ya (specially if theyre zooming up that hill with 10k in the box).

 

I'm not sure what you believe I said that's not true (You can be more direct on this), but to deliberately stop and start over is to say the least dangerous and not smart. If the truck is rolling there is a gear it will go in, and if one has driven for very long and doesn't anticipate a speed drop coming because of an incline, then he is driving behind the truck, not from within. This is especially true of a hill that will drop your speed 20 mph in seconds. If you have anticipated a large speed drop, seconds is enough time to be going in a hole two or three gears lower when your speed gets there. This is not to say that one will never screw up, it's to say you do not deliberately stop the truck and start over when you do.

It is not good practice to as pmracing stated to stop and start over when he "lost where I should be".

Best regards

 

Dibstr youre talking to and from an experienced drivers perspective. We're talking about a new guy here under a circumstance where he's panicking badly (seen it happen) and is gonna end up stalled out on a 7% grade. Much better thta when he's missed 2 gears and is down to 30mph he hits the shoulder imho

 

I appreciate that, but I did not notice him saying anything about hitting the shoulder. When he said " I have had a few times when I missed gears, lost where I should be, and had to just stop and start over", there was no mention of a hill and no mention of hitting the shoulder, in fact no mention of a shoulder anywhere in his post. I'm all for a driver taking the shoulder when he gets frustrated or panicky, in fact I may even recommend it, but to deliberately stop and start over in a lane or traffic when you get "lost" shouldn't be recommended to anyone. I have seen more than a few drivers do this on 5-6% on ramps. They get up to 4 or 5th gear, blow it and slam on the brakes and start over.

Best regards