help with double clutching

We await with bated breath.

 

You can always fake it

 

I haven't read the whole thread but here's a tip to DC: Hum the Addams Family song. Duh duh duh duh clutch clutch.

 

It could be an automatic fail were you are but I'm in Ontario, Canada and I floated on my road test and passed. I did not do a driving school just wrote AZ beginners then booked the road test. The instructor looked over once we got under way and said "you are not double clutching why not?" I said I was taught to float and from a mechanics point of view every time I step on the clutch I'm wearing it out. The instructor agreed and told me to continue the way I'm comfortable.

 

I've found that a combination of floating/clutch works for me sometimes, especially with some of the crappy underpowered farm trucks I've been in. I have to run the RPMs higher than ideal, which makes it hard to float. So I tap the clutch to release from one gear, and then float it into the next gear. Single clutching.

 

So in Canada, Motor vehicle Dept supplies the tractor trailer for the test?

.Not only were you not taught be an instructor, but apparently you were also not taught by a mechanic. Because a mechanic would know that bearings and clutch plates are cheeper than transmissions.

Any mechanic that has rebuilt more than an imaginary transmission will tell you that when you float it causes the contacting edge of the gears to thin or become sharp from the added stress. It will lead to transmission failure, having a DMV examineer agree or disagree about anythng other than whats printed on there check list counts for not.

If you need to worry about how you float, then use the clutch.

 

Just to be clear your a student.

You should be able to shift anywhere between 1300 and 2100

 

That's one of the BEST instruction I've seen. It's good to pass on information like this because some of the bad habits seem to be standard, like floating. Don't get me wrong here because all I'm saying is know all you can about shifting. Floating does NOT make you a professional truck driver. Knowing what gear to be in at any given speed and getting there with ease does. If you can float and hit the gears then by all means do it. I just do not want to see grinding every spot trying to get into gear.

When I gave road tests I wanted to first see double clutching. If you can go further then ok. I want to see you skip gears on the way down and I also want to see you conserve fuel. Show me some progressive shifting and the reason you shift that way. I like when we're coming down a surface street and we're coming up to an intersection. The light is red on our side so the truck is slowing gradually. The driver may drop a gear and continue to stop. The light turns green so the driver shifts to the gear that is right for that speed and away we go. There's no downshift every gear and when the next gear is selected it comes out on the low side of the power band. I never want to see shifting up against the peg. If you have to race that engine then you need to look elsewhere for work. Nice even relaxed shifts. You're hired.

 

First to answer your first comment no in Ontario for the road test you have to supply your own equipment.

I am not going to dissagree with your floating gear/ wearing trans theory but I'm not going to agree either. You could be right and if someone wants to research this fact I'm sure there is lots of info on the subject available. I myself am not interested enough to do it or feel the need to do it just so I can insult someone else that has posted on this thread. I have not rebuilt a trans completely myself I did however assit with alot of them when I worked at a pete dealer when I was still apprenticing. Not once did the tech state "this trans wore out due to floating gears". Besides not many shops do trans rebuilds anymore as its cheaper just to buy a complete remaned trans and comes with a warrenty. So I guess I will continue rebuilding my "imaginary transmissions". My theory and opinion is this and its just my opinion I might be right I could be wrong Properly floating gears is in my mind no harder on transmissions then properly double clutching. And I do agree with many on here that have stated there is times were both techniques are best used depending on the circumstances.

So Powder Joints feel free to insult me some more if it makes you feel better about yourself. Im glad to help you out and make your day better.