1st day skip-shifting...

yeah, a lot of this job/skill just clicks and it is a great moment, then you think to yourself "why was that so hard before"?

 

Yes I've just started doing it and it is pretty simple. Skipping gears going up is pretty natural. Schneider does a thing called "Bump and run" where you skip gears going down. Its natural to skip gears going up but coming down that is quite different!!
It really changes downshifting!

 

I was just like u. When I went under wheel 1st time I thought my instructor was so evil to me. Just when I get going good he would make me stop. By 3rd day I was shifting. When I got better I asked why was he so mean to me because I never drove any kind of stick. Everyone in class already knew how to drive a stick. But I had to go last all the time. He told me he wasn't being mean to me he was just trying 2 hold back the excitement. Because he told me that they loved students that didn't no nothing. We were like clay they could mold us with no bad habits. I didn't feel bad no more. But you will do well I was same way. Pretty soon you will be floating and skipping gears. Good luck! !!

 

Yeah. When empty I start out in 4th or 5th sometimes. It's awesome.

 

When I was in school the instructors said the same thing about nice to teach people that did not know how to drive stick. I went to upgrade from class B to class A, I knew how to drive a truck with trailers and shift as I drove a dump truck w/5 sp & 2 sp rear back in 1983. Because it was a little 4 cly Detroit there was no skipping gears in that truck and you had to split them all up & down.

In school we could not float gears had to double clutch for state test. All the times I went out I don’t think there was a time that I could skip a gear up or down. Most of the time we started in 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gear, 10 sp trany, but I did start in 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] a few times when I knew I had to get across traffic quickly. Not to blow my own horn when I went out the instructors would grade reports as they knew they did not need to watch every little thing like with the others.

I am driving for a heating oil Co. my truck is a 95 Ford L8000 it has an auto and got to say it was nice to learn the “tanker” part and not really need to worry on shifting. Boss went on vacation and gave me his truck 94 Pete w/10 sp and got to say the truck is a lot more fun to drive than the auto.
I have floated & skipped going up. Going down floating and skipping needs a lot more work. We also have a lot of hills, sharp turns and turning on to different streets finding the houses so hope to get it down before end of month when I move out of the area.

So if the school lets you float & skip I say do it just know if your school trucks were like mine each one is different and what works in one may not in another. Also dont over look the way you need to shift to pass the state test.

Enjoy
Dave ----

 

I know and remember the same feeling. After being in a truck for close to 6 months now I'm all over that gearbox.

Youll get it, and when you do it'll just become second nature. Most days now I dont look at the speedometer or tachometer. The sound of the engine, feel of the pedals and steering wheel, and the gear I'm in tell me enough.

My best advice to get it, watch your tachometer. When up shifting, let the rpm's fall for about 1.5-2 seconds while in neutral. The rig you're driving may vary. But if you'll watch for a pattern (there's always a pattern) then it should start to come to you better.

...and for now. Leave floating alone. For me at least it changes the shifting pattern just enough to throw you. Be safe with the clutch first and learn how to recover a lost gear.