Newbie question

if i got told right. if you take your test in a auto. and pass. you'll be stuck drivin only them. b/c the state will put on your license that your only aloud to drive autos. but like i said if i was told right. i could be wronge

 

Again, listen to the truck, and slow down enough to make the shift. Like I said, every truck is different.

Hey there LilPearl - Not to worry, you'll do just fine. One would think that a Big Truck requires a Big Shift. Not true. Actually, a shift requires very little effort if it is done right. It is all about speed and RPM's. Sometimes (ok, most times) you hear about students having trouble getting shifts. You need to remember that a lot of schools have trucks that have been beat badly. So the transmission is not going to be very accomodating in these circumstances. But in reality, you should be able to shift a truck with nothing more than fingertip pressure. Timing is everything.

NC doesn't have a pass/fail on missing a shift, but they do deduct a point from your score if you miss it. However, if you recover immediately, they can be somewhat forgiving.

Mcraig.... 3 words..... "Drive The Truck". Not sure if you can actually rent a truck with a permit, but I think you are psyching yourself out on this. Please understand, I am not trivializing your concern, but sometimes people get so anxious that they convince themselves they can't do it. Talk to your instructor and see if you can get a little extra time. Express your concern and see what happens.

OK, now before I put all of this in writing, understand that I am not quoting any manufacturer's specs. PLUS, I am not sure what kind of transmission you are using. With that in mind, here you go....

Consider your operating range as 1000 to 1500 rpm. In other words, shift up to your next gear when your tach reaches 1500 rpm.... downshift when your tach drops to 1000 rpm. OK? Simplistic, but a fairly good rule for shifting. It will also help you with your MPG's. If you tach out higher than 1500 RPM, you are eating up your MPG's.

Now, when you are upshifting, you clutch to neutral when you hit 1500, go to your next gear, and clutch in when the tach drops around 300-500 RPM. If the tach drop below 1000, you may have trouble getting it in gear, so you need to be ready to shift. Some engines drop RPM quicker than others. And when you are downshifting, you let the engine come down to about 1000 RPM, clutch to neutral, place your shifter to the next gear, rev the engine up to about 1400-1500 RPM and then clutch into gear. Remember, your truck knows where she wants to be for the shift. All you have to do is put everything in place. Also, when you rev the engine, don't REV REV REV REV..... just apply pressure to the accelerator and run it up steadily. If you REV REV, you won't hit the gear. But if you do it smoothly, it will find the sweet spot.

As far as gears/speed ratio, again, it is going to depend on the truck. BUT, for the sake of conversation, when it comes to downshifting, you can pretty much count on this.... In High Range (button up), the gears are about 10 MPH apart, and in Low Range (button down), the gears are about 5 MPH apart. Now before everyone jumps on me about this, mind you, this is just a guideline, not a manufacturer's spec. But many of you might find this will work for you.



SO.... put it in a pretty format.... using a 9 speed as an example.....

• 8th to 7th / 40 mph / 1500rpm
• 7th to 6th / 30 mph / 1500rpm
• 6th to 5th / 20 mph / 1500rpm
• button down to low range
• 5th to 4th / 15 mph / 1500rpm
• 4th to 3rd / 10 mph / 1500rpm
• 3rd to 2nd / 5 mph / 1500rpm

See the concept? And it should work (the formula) regardless of the transmission. But no guarantees. Just my opinion. 10 mph difference in high range, 5 mph in low range.

Now if you end up missing a gear, put your shifter in front of the gear, keep your foot off the clutch, rev the engine to 1000 rpm, and clutch the gear in while maintaining 1000 rpm. Keep in mind you need to be quick about this. If you are going up or down a hill, your speed will change and you may have to go to another gear depending on the situation.

Hopefully that will help you with some of it. Just keep in mind that that these are not exact numbers.... they are principles that work for me. But you can take this info and apply it to what you are doing.

Let me know how it works for you.....

Hey there Shaw,

I have heard both sides of that. There are some companies that will scrutinize hiring someone if they have little or no experience with a manual transmission, but not necessarily slam the door in the applicant's face. They can pretty much determine whether or not someone can drive a manual when the applicant does their road test during orientation. And if not, then the examiner pretty much says "No".

There is a lot of talk out there where people are saying that if you work for a company that has automatics, you will never be hired by a company that uses strictly manuals. I checked into that (because I was looking at a couple companies that used autos) and it simply is not true for the MOST part. There are a few companies that are rather closed-minded and have that policy, but the way I look at it, if a company is stuck in that kind of mind-set, I am not sure that would not be an indicator of other issues that may come to be when it comes to the company being flexible.

The other thing is that (I believe in all states) when being tested on the road, you MUST display the ability to double clutch. So if one is attending a school that has automatics only, this will probably be a problem.

OK.... all done...... sorry for the long-winded reply, but there was really no way to do this in few words.....

Be safe!

 

Well all I can say is that you must treat her like a lady. She is a tough machine that has a bunch of raw power, but she likes a fingertip touch. Be gentle and listen to what she is saying (how she sounds). Pay attention to your gauges. Once you become "as one" with the truck, you'll see what I am talking about. And you will feel the difference in your shifts.

Also remember that when you are clutching, DON'T go past that point. If you are not sure where it is, put the truck in gear, let the clutch out until you feel the pulling.... then push it in just far enough that the pulling goes away. Now look at your foot. That is all the further you have to push the clutch in while double clutching. If you push it in much further than that, you will engage the clutch brake and then you will NOT get the gear.... period.

I think your wife is right too... don't overthink this.... the best lesson I received from one of my instructors was that you must "Drive the Truck". Listen to her, pay attention to what she is telling you, and then react accordingly.

You're gonna do just fine......

 

Sounds familiar.... there was literally NO ROOM on the clutch that I trained in, but no biggie... find the spot, it is still there.... just a lot higher on the pedal. Either way, find it and use it

Yeah, you're gonna get that.... but stick to it and make yourself available for whenever you can get it.

hehehehehe yeah if you are going to be driving out on the road, it is better not to get into learning things that will not apply right away, but it would certainly be beneficial to learn it down the line. I have driven a boom truck before and it is an entirely different animal for sure.

 

Thank you all so much for your feedback, .. very, very informative Scooterdawg Now for the hard part, which is to get my son talked into letting me into his truck. ( what a reverse scenario this has turned into). His reply "that ain't gonna happen". (lol) Realizing I am a long way off from starting school, I know that there will NOT be alot of training in driving, etc., just a familiarization. Then your turned over to a company who has a driver trainer who has his/her own way of showing you driving skills (their way). Now this is 6 weeks of "togetherness", "bonding". What can one do if you smoke and they don't; you like easy music, they like rap/hiphop. I know I am a hyping myself up here, but I am reading so many horror stories about driver/trainers that I can't believe companies put them in those positions to train. Scooterdawg, have you trained anyone?? If not, you read as though you would be perfect in that area.

 

hehehee no, haven't trained anyone yet, but I plan on doing it one day. But I appreciate the kind words.

Don't sweat it with the trainer thing. Look at it this way.... how many drivers have been trained in comparison to how many horror stories you have read?

Chances are you will be just fine. And at almost every company, if you don't "gel" with your trainer, you should be able to request another. Just keep in mind that companies hate whiners, so you will probably need a better reason than "they cut their fingernail clippings and they are all over the floor". heheheheheh

Just put it in perspective. Just think of the days after training. Besides, you might just end up with the best trainer out there. You just never know.

Good luck!