Clutch brake combo is the worst - but so easy (for other people)

Side effect of modern cars w/ automatic transmissions. I didn't have that problem, but then I've always driven vehicles that had clutches. Even learning to drive @ 15, the only vehicle I drove with an automatic was the driver's ed car. The family vehicles I practiced in were all standards.

 

Air brakes are touchy when empty. Wont be when you are loaded. Keep your heel on the floor to brace your foot, and use your toes on the pedal....push your heel as farforward as you can, and pivot off the heel to move the brake pedal.

Some trucks have a foot pedal on the floor, like the throttle pedal. They are not as grabby as the suspended pedal imo. The Peterbuilts I have driven were all set up that way. And the clutch went through the floor too. There is less room for feet with the clutch setup that way.

 

That's good advice in any vehicle, even in your car. You have a lot more control over the throttle & brake inputs using your ankle muscles to move your foot rather than your thigh muscles to move your leg as you press on the pedals.

 

Isn't that a common rookie thing?

I used the clutch. Haven't since.

 

If I jump into an unfamiliar truck and grind the gears trying to float, I'll double clutch for a while to get the timing down for the shift points in that truck before going back to floating. It's a good tool to have at your disposal, whether you use it on a daily basis or not.

The only "rookie thing" to do would be tearing up a transmission trying to force the issue, rather than going back to basics to familiarize yourself with a new piece of equipment.

 

When your shifting you only need to push the clutch about 2-3 inches depending how the clutch is set up. Pretty much all the trucks I've been in were like that

 

I can get in any truck, and one trip through the gears tell you whether the former driver clutched or floated.

Rookie drivers miss gears because the professionals rounded the cogs off.