First day behind the wheel!!

Good Luck !!

 

Explanation.

 

That's the way I did it. Floating the gears was the best way but it's tough to start from a stop when you got a slipping clutch.

 

Relax. Double-clutching & shifting in semi-trucks is very different than 4-wheelers. People with experience shifting gears in 4-wheelers have MORE difficulty learning to shift in the big truck. Do what your trainer says, not what you used to do in a car.

Also, most newbies push the clutch far-too deep which makes tjing more difficult. In a car the clutch is ideally fully down or fully up. That is not how it works in a truck. In the truck, once you begon to move you only press the clutch just enough to get out of gear or into gear. Typically, you only press the clutch fully down when you are stopped. When moving you might press the clutch pedal down 25-33% of the distance. If you press it further down you beging to activate the clutch brake. That makes getting into gear nearly impossible.

You use the clutch in the truck like you are TRYING to wear out the clutch in a car.

 

There is alot of truth to that.

I went into CDL school telling the trainer I'll learn that shifting thing real fast, both of my 4 wheelers are 5 speeds. He rolled his eyes, turned to the guys in the sleeper on chairs waiting their turn to drive, and said "This guy will take longer to learn how to shift than any of you. Mark my words." I got so pissed at that dude, I was like BULL**it."

Dude was absolutely right. I had to not just learn how to shift a big truck, I had to UNLEARN how to shift, period.

 

You are ok and will be OK when you feel like you are never going to learn downshifting. You will grind gears, mis-shift, and want to just stop and start from a standstill. Go as slow as necessary until your brain & feet/arms learn the habits. Almost nobody feels well trained until a few months of driving after you get your CDL. You are normal.

 

The "hand-eye-foot" coordination needed for smoother shifting will become second nature in time, family. I had become so used to driving manual in my first 4 and half years that I was scared shooshless when my company switched to automatics. I thought "oh no, what will I reach for once it's time to stop". Now, I've become so used to automatics that I might need time to get used to manuals again.
You're doing a great job so far. You got this

 

Looks like either Uttar Pradesh or Punjab......

 

If you can't find 'em, grind 'em!

Hey, how about a 57' trailer, with the tandems shoved all the way up to the 'California hole'? Or wiggle-wagons?