Float or Clutch

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Cruz31307, May 31, 2010.

?

How do you shift....

  1. *

    Float

    78.6%
  2. *

    Double Clutch

    22.3%
  1. Okieron

    Okieron Crusty Okie

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2009
    Messages:
    1,641
    Thanks Received:
    1,024
    Location:
    muskogee, ok
    0
    this POS I drive now will only shift with clutch you have to drop the rpm so low between gears these dang off road trucks are a pain
     
  2. lovesthedrive

    lovesthedrive R.I.P.

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2008
    Messages:
    15,953
    Thanks Received:
    54,484
    Location:
    Sorrento Maine
    0
    If you like to float it and you can more power to you. However I am a stick in the mud. They created a clutch pedal for a reason. It was designed to be used for shifting gears properly. The more you miss on that float, the more you will have to relearn how to use that pedal you were trying to avoid.
     
  3. KO1927

    KO1927 Medium Load Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2009
    Messages:
    569
    Thanks Received:
    263
    Location:
    NH
    0
    I find double clutching easier than floating. Still learning though, that may change as I gain experience.
     
    Injun and johnday Thank this.
  4. jeepskate99

    jeepskate99 Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2008
    Messages:
    1,195
    Thanks Received:
    328
    Location:
    The Great White Northeast.
    0
    I float for normal driving but I have found shifts can be done much faster if you double clutch so when one of my co-workers thinks he is going to overtake me at a red light, I double clutch. No way I am waiting behind them to load.
     
  5. Cobra281

    Cobra281 Bobtail Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    31
    Thanks Received:
    6
    Location:
    Dallas,Tx
    0
    i feel real bad for the guy that double clutches his truck on a daily basis! if your not floating every gear you need to be!double clutching IMO shows a lack of control
     
  6. cowdoc

    cowdoc Light Load Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2008
    Messages:
    297
    Thanks Received:
    116
    Location:
    walnut ridge, ar
    0
    I float most all the time. I will bump the clutch sometimes to knock it out to downshift.
     
    Injun and Saddle Tramp Thank this.
  7. rockee

    rockee Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2007
    Messages:
    1,393
    Thanks Received:
    673
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    0
    Sometimes I do and sometimes I dont. We slip seat, sometimes between two and three trucks a day so it just depends on what truck I have, and the load. It dont really matter if someone does or does not float and if they dont, I dont think it really shows a "lack or control". In the end, what matters is shifting smoothly and when you are supposed to, without a bunch of grinding and clanging,
     
    johnday Thanks this.
  8. Truck Driver

    Truck Driver Medium Load Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2007
    Messages:
    330
    Thanks Received:
    136
    Location:
    Sacramento, CA
    0

    How are you shifting faster by double clutching as opposed to floating? Sounds like you're beating the hell out of that truck.
     
  9. phroziac

    phroziac Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2009
    Messages:
    3,138
    Thanks Received:
    502
    Location:
    Gary, IN
    0
    Yeah, but do you drive a werner truck that had nearly 300,000 on it before you got in it? Furthermore, that truck was fairly trashed by a steering wheel holder before I got it. God knows what they did to that clutch and transmission.

    Besides that, you drive a real truck, not a plastic POS. it probably had a plastic clutch lol..or maybe it was an aerodynamic clutch? :D

    Lets put it this way: I picked that truck up last september with 267,000 on the odometer. Shifter would hit the dash in 7th gear, smashed my fingers in between the shifter and dash a couple of times. Shifter was extremely sloppy, lots of play, but not the most i had ever seen either.

    I dropped it off with a bad clutch and 330,000ish on the odometer last month. I picked this one up, its about 6 months newer than that truck and had 315,000 on it. Shifter does not even come close to hitting the dash in any position. Shifter has waaaay less play, even though theres only a 15,000 mile difference here.


    Ok, so the shifter was friggin *bent* in that truck. How bad do you have to be at shifting to bend a shifter exactly?

    I really don't think it was my fault that the clutch went out. Also, I don't know what part of it went out. It seemed to me like it was a throw out bearing or part of the linkage. The truck had not been *TOUCHED* by a mechanic when I swapped trucks after sitting there for 4 days.
     
  10. jeepskate99

    jeepskate99 Road Train Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2008
    Messages:
    1,195
    Thanks Received:
    328
    Location:
    The Great White Northeast.
    0
    For OTR it may no be that bad. Many times going an hour or more without even changing speed. Doing what I do though? No way.