Double Clutching advice no manual experience..

I double clutch simply because I don't have floating down yet to the point where I feel comfortable doing it constantly.

Up shifting I'm fine with floating, but the timing seems to be a hair different on the downshift.

Even if I did float constantly, on heavier loads I balance the accelerate and clutch. It takes off smoothly for one and doesn't bog down the engine. Plus when I'm lightweight I'm prone to taking off in 4th.

 

Just tap the gas while lightly pulling on the shifter- she'll do it for you she always does

 

Like butter when it clicks

 

I know. I usually keep my right foot rocking back and forth between the brakes and accelerator. Just that I'm not consistent enough to rely on it. It's a practice thing.

Might become a little easier now that sni is putting me into a newer truck. I don't like the feel of the clutch, so I may end up relying on floating sooner rather than later.

Butter clicks? ...coulda sworn it spread...

 

Newer automatics dont have a clutch. This forces the driver into more speed management. I like it. But it is a lot different.

 

Err... Automatics *do* have a clutch if you want to split hairs.

I'm assuming that we are speaking exclusively of the pedal itself and not the actual clutch assembly.

(Fun trivia: Most automatics actually have a double-clutch assembly. This offers a far more smooth ride and can provide better and more consistent power to the wheels. At some point during the shifting process, both clutches are engaged but only one is engaged while accelerating or maintaining speed.)

Also...governors force drivers into speed management too.

 

This is the perfect definition of floating. I use to put 1 finger on the shifter to prove this point when I trained to show how effortless it was. Just rev it up, and the slightest pressure towards the gear you want, and voila, it falls right into place.

 

Breaking on ice requires more speed management then a governor. You just can't auto pilot. You have to really pay attention in an automatic.

 

I was being a smarta**. Lol

 

Just relax and practice. New drivers have a tendency to hurry the shifts. So the best advise I can give you without showing you is to tell you to slow down your shifting. There's a lot wider power band in todays truck engines than before. If you can accelerate you are not lugging the engine. Your not hurting anything and if the instructor tells you different then he's stuck in the old days and should move on. A couple of points you need to remember. Never go all the way to the floor with the clutch when the truck is moving. You'll blow out the clutch brake and you'll have a hard time getting the truck into gear when the truck is stopped. The clutch brake is only used to get you into gear from a dead stop. Like when you're sitting at a traffic light. Your leg gets to shaking when you have to use your clutch leg all day long. When the clutch brake works then when sitting at the light you can leave the truck in neutral until the light changes to green push the clutch in and put into gear and go. When you start the truck up for the first time in your shift try to put the truck into gear while sitting there. If it goes in with no problem your clutch brake is good and you're go to go. But if it grinds and makes a lot of noise then someone blew the clutch brake out.

When you go to take your road test there's a very good chance the DMV will require you to double clutch when shifting. They do not want to see any floating, just drive the truck like it was just made. Some schools will screw the students out of a requirement because it's easier. They can run the student through the course faster by teaching floating then double clutching. Then the student goes on to work and someone will want to see double clutching and what can that new driver say but he or she was not taught how to do that. All that money and they do not even take the time.

Some drivers think floating is a sign for a good truck driver. 9 times out of 10 those drivers would not make it pass the company road test. When I was asked to give a new hire our road test I wanted to see if the driver knew how to use the clutch and transmission together to get the max power when needed. To see if he or she knew how to double clutch. Could tell me all about the clutch brake. Knew how to skip gears on the way down and always knew what gear to be in at any given speed. If that driver wanted to float I told them I didn't care as long as he or she showed me all the rest first.

You'll need to learn how to double clutch first before you go on to any other way to shift. You get in the truck and tell the CDL tester you're going to float because you're better that way it's a very good chance you just failed the test. But if you know how to double clutch then you won't fail on that part. In other words, you've got to know double clutching before you try anything else.

I have a little different reason I require the new drivers to not float. Those drivers do not have the time behind the wheel to know how to shift and get the gear into the hole and hold. A new driver at times may not shift completely and when the maximum torque is being applied the gear will bang out of gear. This is where some damage may occur. I call it banging because it's violent, loud, and everyone will hear it and know you just missed a gear where you might have done some damage. It's not like the scraping or grinding we all do once in awhile. It's when a lot of torque is transferred from the ground into the transmission. So until that driver has some experience and knows the truck then it's up to the driver to float. But banging the gears is out.

Slow down and practice. It will come to you. If you're grinding a lot stop and figure out why. Are you shift into the high or lower gear? When you figure that out you'll be surprised how it all falls into place. Good luck and in a few years you'll look back and laugh because shifting will become second natured to you. You'll be like an automatic shifting like a robot.