Stupid question to many!

10-8-6 stop.

Assuming you actually know how to downshift. Is it the physical process you are confused on?

 

You drop gear to gear to slow down gradually but in a rapid stop from 10th gear you will push the clutch in and brake until you stop or till you need to speed up, then you will shift into the right gear and keep going

 

practice on a parking lot up shifting and down shifting do it in low range,,get to where the shifts are smooth,,,if you can go up and down the gears in low range hi range will be easy,,as for down shifting when traffic slows it's a good thing to stay in a gear usually between 1300-1600 RPM for most trucks for the speed you are at,,right gear makes better control and today most trucks have engine brakes and they do help stopping or slowing,,an other thing is keep a safe following distance, many times just taking your foot off the pedal and letting the engine brake slow you is enough if you are keeping a good distance behind the vehicles in front of you.
as for going down grades pick a gear when you have an engine brake that will hold you at a safe speed with out touching the brakes,,
I used to run up and down the mountains in the rockies grossing over 130,000lbs and at 500,000 miles I still had 65% brake linings,,,make your time keeping your left door closed, plan your stops at the beging of the day and drive steady and easy

 

Remember you don't have to drop gears in order, you can skip down like lagbrosdetmi said. How you downshift depends on conditions. ie: how much following room you have, how fast you're going, how heavy you are, road conditions, etc. With you already understanding how the truck wants to move and react during different conditions, I think you'll find it's like falling off a log.

Get to know your tranny, each one is a bit different. Drop until you get to following speed. So in my tranny, if traffic slows to a following speed of 20mph = 6th gear. You'll get a feel for it pretty quick.

 

If you look far ahead and keep your eyes moving at all times then you'll be able to make smooth downshifts otherwise you may have to skip a gear but like I said look far ahead and always keep plenty of following distance.Treat the trk as if it's yours and be gentle with the shifting and braking.Super ten takes getting use to but once you got it it's easy.

 

Hey Sherm, listen to the ladies on this one. Unless you have an engine brake of some sort, downshifting doesn't do a heck of a lot. I know you're busy, driving and all, but the next time you are in a certain gear, try and make a mental ( or written, I suppose) note as to how fast you are going. After braking, it will give you a good idea where to start back up again. Biggest problem I've seen with newbies, is when downshifting, they tend to "over-rev" the engine. Remember, there's only a few hundred rpms between gears. Won't be long, you'll be "gear-jammin'" like the old timers.

 

What engine will you have?
Engine brake?

 

Brakes are for stopping, you downshift in traffic when needed but for stopping or slowong down quickly, its the beakes