double clutching

I am currently "learning" my new truck with the new company that I am working for. With that, I am learning how to float and am finding that the transition from gear to gear is so much more smoother when I float, instead of double clutching. I suppose that it. Is probably because the RPM's and speed pretty much have to be exact in order to float a gear, versus double clutching it into place. My up shift float is almost perfect, but I am still working to get better at the down shift float. Surprisingly, in heavy traffic - I can float it all day long.... up, or down.

 

I've been driving manual cars the entire time that I've been driving. I learned on a manual. How hard was it for you guys to break the habits that you have from your cars?

 

It was kinda tough for me in the first part of driving school. Took me a couple days to break the habit.

 

There is no simularity between shifting a car and shifting a truck other than the number of pedals. Back when I first started I never went to school i got my license on my own. I had allways driven light and medium trucks and to be quite honest I couldn't shift a tractor to save my life. I managed to get it moving enough to catch on with one of the majors and there i was given an instructor for a couple weeks he tought me how to shift enough to get out on my own. I,ve been driveing for well on ten years now but still dont consider myself an expert on shifting. The best way i've found for myself is to float upshifting. Downshifting i will use the clutch to disengage then float into gear. i'm also a lot smoother if i double clutch starting out on a down grade, buts thats about the only time i double clutch.

 

I personally never found it a problem mixing the two up. That's not to say I was good at shifting a truck when I started because I wasn't, but I wasn't ever trying to single clutch or use any other habit from driving manual cars. Once you're in the driver's seat you know your brain knows you're driving something different.

 

I used to get out of the truck, get in my little ford Ranger. The ranger was an automatic, and I would be reaching for the gear shift, and left foot looking for the clutch pedal. Oh, and when I got where I going, I would reach over to pop the non existent air brakes.

 

I think we've all done that lol. One day I couldn't figure out why my light switch was gone in my pickup when I was feeling for it. Then I remembered I wasn't in my big truck. I've just never mixed it up the other way, looking for something or doing something that I do in my personal vehicle and trying to do it in the big truck.

 

Where can I get a "Fake Jake" lever for my Honda Civic? I do miss it so when I'm caged at home...

 

My dog doesn't like me to use the clutch because he sleeps in my lap.

 

thease days im mostly in an auto. when they give me a truck with a manual i forget to push the clutch in when im slowing, then when i get back in the auto i ghost clutch a few times during the first trip