Newbie fears

I was in the same boat. I drove for eight years before my wife started with me. In her class they taught her double clutching, as soon as we got on the road I taught her how to float. It was much easier for her and now she is a pretty good driver(she is also watching me type this!) but anyhow we went through the crying and the stress and the can you back this up for me. I can tell you one thing husband and wife teams have the strongest marriages out of anyone in the world. We drive around the country with our spouses literally riding our back. Oh yeah, and you can't slam the curtain when you get mad! It is all worth it though when that settlement goes to one household.

 

Do they still teach double clutching? My wife was in school five years ago and she had to watch a vidio on it and then they taught her to float. LOL.

My wife got so mad at me one time she stopped the truck on the on ramp to I-10, poped the brake, and went in the back. She said, YOU DRIVE ### HOLE. We had three trucks behind us wondering why we stopped.

Ya, we fight. Sometimes alot. But I wouldnt trade her for nothin. I love her so much. Sometimes I dont like her at all. But I do love her and would do anything for her. Peace

 

LadyJane this is for you. My wife wants to type you her two cents worth:

Hi LadyJane! My husband was laughing and says "read this". It was your post and he was laughing because it sounded very familiar. My husband and I have been driving team for almost 5 years together. Overall I will say that the whole experience has brought us closer then I ever could have imagined. Not many couples will every get to spend the time that you will learning about each other. Making it work will make your marriage feel invincible. You put each others lives in each others hands every day and that takes a lot of trust!

That being said: Being a driver can be soooo stressful! The lack of sleep (and as a team you don't get those hours of GOOD sleep when the trucks not moving), the lack of a normal routine, the lack of a good diet, the lack of taking care of yourself (showers, beauty shops, dressing up...just getting to feel like a woman) creates the ultimate stress level. The truck drivers life style can sound like all the bad things that cause stress and poor health.

As your body is trying to deal with a complete change of a truck driver lifestyle you are stuck in a box 24/7 with someone that you more then likely fell comfortable enough telling off and fussing with. On top of that he is trying to be the teacher and you the student in a relationship that should be equals. It will be OK!!!!!

If your relationship was strong enough to decide to do this together then you'll be OK! Once you get through the learning miles and your body adjusts, things will get better.

Advice: 1. Talk with your hubby about your stress at a calm point (when the truck is not moving) and explain your fears and need for positive experiences during this critical learning time. 2. Make it a point to take care of yourself as a human and a woman. 3. Try to stay positive and know that you can do it! It just takes time & patience for both of you.

Take this advice from a woman that cried, yelled, and said "I'm going home" everyday in the beginning. We still get moody with each other, but I would not give back a single second of our life as team truck drivers. Remember that NO amount of money or job is worth your marriage!!
chompiwife

 

Just a thought, I was taught a lot differently. I float the gears meaning that I never use the clutch once the truck starts moving. Yes it takes a little practice but to me once you get the hang of it your shifts will be smother and clutches will last a lot longer.
Here is how I do it. Going up the gears when I’m ready to shift I put a slight amount of pressure on the gear shift and slowly back off the throttle, the transmission will slide out of gear, continue to let your RPM drop until you feel the gearshift start to slide into the next gear and then hold your throttle and she will fall right into gear. If you are splitting throw your splitter when the transmission comes out of gear. When dropping a gear use the same technique to get it out of gear but bring your rpm up until she falls into gear. The idea here is to match the engine rpm with the transmission gear speed and it doesn’t take long to get the feel of this. Once you get the feel you will know when the she is ready to drop into gear, the trick hear is not to try forcing her into gear, but use only light pressure and don’t get in a hurry at first. Once you master you will shift faster than any double clutching technique used today.
I have been told the woman drivers master this much quicker than men do, don’t ask me why. The first truck I ever drove had twin sticks and that was the only way you could get those #### browning transmissions to shift smoothly, at least that is what I was told back then.
Now I know some instructors go crazy over this technique but it works very well and once you master it your shifts will always be nice and smooth and as you know when running team that is very important.

 

Just a thought, I was taught a lot differently. I float the gears meaning that I never use the clutch once the truck starts moving. Yes it takes a little practice but to me once you get the hang of it your shifts will be smother and clutches will last a lot longer.
Here is how I do it. Going up the gears when I’m ready to shift I put a slight amount of pressure on the gear shift and slowly back off the throttle, the transmission will slide out of gear, continue to let your RPM drop until you feel the gearshift start to slide into the next gear and then hold your throttle and she will fall right into gear. If you are splitting throw your splitter when the transmission comes out of gear. When dropping a gear use the same technique to get it out of gear but bring your rpm up until she falls into gear. The idea here is to match the engine rpm with the transmission gear speed and it doesn’t take long to get the feel of this. Once you get the feel you will know when the she is ready to drop into gear, the trick hear is not to try forcing her into gear, but use only light pressure and don’t get in a hurry at first. Once you master you will shift faster than any double clutching technique used today.
I have been told the woman drivers master this much quicker than men do, don’t ask me why. The first truck I ever drove had twin sticks and that was the only way you could get those #### browning transmissions to shift smoothly, at least that is what I was told back then.
Now I know some instructors go crazy over this technique but it works very well and once you master it your shifts will always be nice and smooth and as you know when running team that is very important.

 

formertaxidriver-
Not only is your story incredibly funny and ironic,
but very inspirational for a newb. like myself!

 

Yeah, you get used to traffic. Actually that fear just turns into other emotions, but you won't be afraid!

I just do my best to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner or do paperwork during those times anymore as in places like LA or the ATL it burns up so many precious hours, but I still get pick-ups or deliveries during commute time too so I just grin and bare it when it's needed.

 

ask ur hubby to teach u to float the clutch that has been easy on me instead of all dble clutching.traffic it is a lil stressful # first but it will all fade away.i been out on the road for about a 1 1/2yr,i went from a automatic to floating just like that just block ur hubby out and listen to the truck and hear what it is telling u it knows what it wants.be safe out there

 

You are welcome. Bittersweet dues.....