why double clutch istead of floating gears

It's easy to tell when you get a truck, if the previous drivers floated the gears or double clutched. I do both. Conditions mandate my usage.

Slack....it can be small or huge. Depending on the experience of the previous drivers. If your gear shift has huge amounts of slack. Most likely, it was caused by someone who thought they could float the gears...on a daily basis.

Personally, I like a tight tranny. It's easier to shift. It has a more positive feel when it shifts. A good solid thunk when it drops into the hole.

Despite the urban myth, floating is not old school. Floating the gears came about, when gear synchronizers came into use.

Back in the day. Clutch pedal spring rates were like trying to hold down a 100 lb pitt bull...all day. Many of todays trucks are leaning to hydraulic assist.

 

"#### soft" thats silly.

 

Schools teach floating because it's an easy way out for them. I expect all of the new drivers to know how to use the equuipment in all of it's operations. You should be taught floating and double clutching. That goes with all olf the equipment. Years ago a driver had to know how to switch the fuel pump over to manual on a cummins if he lost all electrical power. The point is you've got to know what you're driving and you want to stick out so the bosses will see you your truck. Save all the fancy stuff for the road. You'll want to be knowable and drive with ease. Don't jump up and down when asked a question because believe me the bosses will weed out the ones they want. And a driver that claims he knows everything are the drivers the companies don't want. Good luck and learn all you can.

 

Mi. you have to double clutch to pass your CDL.

 

right - part of passing the test for CDL is using the equipment properly. That means "as specified by the manufacturer". Floating a gear in the test SHOULD be an automatic fail.

I agree with Dance694U and GasHauler - learn to use the equipment correctly, then advance to the more esoteric tricks.

I've only driven the one Pete 379, but I find it difficult to accept that it was designed to have a shift-lever throw from Odd To Even of over 18 inches, and from 3/7 to R of about the same. That's a lot of arm motion.

 

I believe the double clutch is there for a reason so the manufacturer Eaton Fuller recommends it every time we change gears upshifting or downshifting. Now the mechanics debate about NOT pushing the clutch all the way except from the start and finish. Floating is for people who wish they had an automatic truck so they won't mess with clutch at all. Maybe I'm wrong but knowing about sport cars (I used to race) if floating was ok we would do it in cars as well. I feel more secure with double clutching but that's me. Same way I feel better with manual trucks and cars than automatic ones unless it's the new CVT transmission (continuous variable transmission) which is amazing, no comparison to standard automatic regular one.

 

My opinion is newer drivers are encouraged to learn floating too soon. Or they feel like 'real' big strappin' truckers if they float gears, nevermind they are probably doing it wrong and if you learn the wrong way from the outset it is way too hard to teach an old dog a new trick.

New drivers need to double clutch for about a year in all conditions before they learn to float. The clutch is there to ease that power and torque into and out of the driveline. Drivers who don't know what they are doing will dump massive power and torque into the driveline and 'shock' all the components. When you can float that power and torque into and out of the driveline smoothly, then you may float. It is much like finding the Isla de Muerta, only those who have been there know how to find it.

 

We don't generally float gears in cars because the transmissions are not synchronized like truck transmissions. You can float in a car, it's just far less forgiving as you have to match the rpms perfectly.

 

Nice job on reviving a decade old thread and topping it off with some misinformation.

 

IMO you shift according to what the situation dictates. On the rare occaision that I drive I usually just clutch it out of gear and float it in. Sometimes I double clutch and other times I float out and in. Thinking that strictly floating makes you a super trucker is just a bunch of baloney.