Anyone else hate shifting?

Right On!

 

It's a fundamental part of the job for drivers in manual trucks. EVERYONE was sloppy & bumbling when shifting at first. But you will shift hundreds of times per day so even 1 week of work will produce a huge improvement. Stop focusing on being exasperated & anxious and focus on your RPMs, road speed, and pushing clutch about 1/3 to the floor.

 

Everyone in my class felt they needed more shifting practice before testing. 95% passed the test. Please understand the difference between a skill being so familiar it is done by your subconscious and being almost impossible. Every kid learns to ride a bike, that's far more difficult to learn & explain than shifting a truck. "There's nothing to it but to do it." All the talking will maybe make it 5% easier. Newbies want a guarantee from the President & the UN of a good outcome before they will attempt anything. It's a real break from the past. We are doomed by how passive & easily defeated so many younger people have become.

 

More semis being towed now for auto transmission faults then DEF is the rumor I’m hearing. Auto transmissions are definitely a reason so many trucks tailgate in traffic now. All BS about sore knee & fuel mileage. A good driver will beat that auto on fuel mileage, he’s not going to be taking off in 2nd gear when empty & going to be timing traffic & lights. Not going to lie, I like my auto, but I still drive like I’m in a manual. I figure they’ll be a comeback on manuals in future.

 

I ran an 18 speed for about 10 years then bought a truck with an i shift. Loved the automated manual for 10 years now Im back with an 18 speed again. Turns out I missed it, a lot.

 

Why would you lose sight of the road and almost flip a truck while trying to shift gears?

 

The autos improve MPG for majority drivers, not the top 25% of drivers. It also lets companies hire the CDL students that have panic attacks when they hear the word shift.

 

A couple of days in a row? Does that mean you had a couple of 5-50 minutes behind the wheel shifting gears? I mean having a couple of days where the truck only moves when you move it, and you move it 8-11 hours per day. I would still grind gears during the first year sometimes. If you have switched to automatics why are you still worrying about manual shifting? There are some people that like to or have a habit of spending more time getting their excuses just right than anything else. I've got plenty of that in my head. If you have switched over to automatics, just focus on the dang automatics instead of continuing to make the manual monster bigger and bigger so that if you quit later with all trucking it will feel like the wise move. EVERY musical instrument is difficult to learn and there are more musicians than truck drivers.