I hate double clutching!!!!

Not all states have that restriction for testing in automatics....Ohio does not but I think 2015 my school said that the state will add that restriction.

 

Automatics are more time efficient , they are not normally thought of as more fuel efficient , although recently that may be changing , trufully I actually like the autos and they ARE just as, if not more durable than manual , I for one do not belittle a person for driving autos , wish I had one my self. When I order a new truck I am gonna spec it auto.

 

Double clutchin op develops your new found leg muscles after a few months or so you should be able to pick up anything I now can lift my 300 lb plus wife, I owe it all to double clutching

 

The whole concept of an automatic in a truck is just so foreign to me. Shifting and trucks has gone hand in hand since the beginning. Not to sound rude, but if you can't shift a truck, perhaps you should pick another profession. Can you imagine the horror, like someone else said, their automatic truck breaks down, and all that's available is a manual. I can hear it now, "Why were you late"? " My truck broke down and I can't shift the rental truck". That's like an airline pilot, that never learned how to land the plane.
Oh, and during off-road operation, (depending on terrain, of course), you probably shouldn't be shifting anyway.

 

Maybe in your state. In mine (VA) you'd get your class A with that as well as a nice O restriction (no tractor trailer). State's are aware of the loopholes people use and are closing them. When it comes to those two restrictions I have to agree. Driving a small automatic dump with a trailer doesn't mean you can drive a T/T with a manual trans so why get licensed to drive one?

 

Like has been said previously, anyone can drive an automatic. You're more employable learning on a std 10 speed manual.

Diesels are not like gasoline engines and their rev range is lower, a LOT lower. When you accelerate, don't wind it out, stay within or just below your RPM range of the engine, otherwise, you will struggle up shifting or down shifting.

When you do accelerate, you don't need to mash the clutch pedal all the way to the floor. Just a push (As shown in the vid) usually less than halfway is all that's needed to go out of gear, and into the neutral gate, let off, and just another push and into your next gear. The only time to push it further and all the way down is when you're stopped completely.

Remember, when you're done moving the clutch pedal, take your foot completely off the pedal. Drivers that get into a habit of resting them there, will unknowingly wear out a clutch quicker than normal.

Learn to look at both the tach and the speedometer more than you normally do. You should have already been taught what the proper gear is to be in based on your speed. You'll gain a feel when you need to shift by paying more attention to both than you normally do on a 4 wheeler. After you've been doing it a while, you'll be able to tell just by listening to the engine.

And then, with even more experience by learning this basic, you'll know when and where the sweet spot is for each gear and before you know it, you'll be able to float through the gear range.

Double clutching is taught to new drivers to reduce the amount of possible damage to the gears.

Shifting is like a dance between the driver and the truck. You'll get the hang of it. Just try not to over think it or get frustrated, you'll be fine.

 

Great advice jbee. Good video, except Dad doesn't have his seatbelt on, even if it is only in a parking lot. I've found, most people that can't mesh the gears usually over rev the motor. Like you said, usually, just a couple of hundred "R's" get's you in the next or previous gear. My 1st boss wanted us to "double clutch", because he said the input shaft will wear in one spot from not using the clutch. But I didn't listen to him, because that old Mack clutch was so hard to push in, in the first place. With the "easy" clutches, that's not an issue, but years ago, I remember having clutches so stiff, it took both feet to hold it down while stopped.

 

[QUOTE="semi" retired;4198673]Great advice jbee. Good video, except Dad doesn't have his seatbelt on, even if it is only in a parking lot. I've found, most people that can't mesh the gears usually over rev the motor. Like you said, usually, just a couple of hundred "R's" get's you in the next or previous gear. My 1st boss wanted us to "double clutch", because he said the input shaft will wear in one spot from not using the clutch. But I didn't listen to him, because that old Mack clutch was so hard to push in, in the first place. With the "easy" clutches, that's not an issue, but years ago, I remember having clutches so stiff, it took both feet to hold it down while stopped.[/QUOTE]

I noticed the lack of his seat belt use as well.

I learned on a button clutch that took so much force, seemed my own bottom end would lift out of the seat each and every time. Not to mention a gear box decimated by a few thousand students before me.....

Once I got an easy clutch and a decent gear box, that old button clutch and dilapidated trans made everything else gravy.

 

As more and more new trucks are spec'ed with a hydraulic clutch instead of the old spring clutch the problem of "clutch leg" is not as bad as it was. Yeah, having to stand on the clutch with both legs, I can relate to that. Having quivery clutch leg after a session on the practice course with my brother's truck in preparation for the DMV test is a bad memory. Right now I'm driving a '15 KW T680 with the hydraulic clutch and it's as easy as the clutch in my car, a real joy when it comes to city driving.

I float 90% of the time, maybe more, even in the city. I'll use the clutch to "tap out" of a gear if I've revved a little high and it is hard to get out of gear, then float into the next gear. Double clutching (both into and out of gear) is used when I need to speed shift when pulling a steep hill from a standstill.

 

Hi Lepton, after a few years of "abuse", that shifter will loosen up. Of the 1 or 2 times I drove a brand new truck in my career( out of maybe 50 trucks) the shifter's were always so stiff, it was like I never drove a truck in my life. I always wondered how much damage was done to a transmission in the 1st few months of operation. Maybe a conspiracy by truck makers ,so you need service sooner than normal?