Float or Clutch

We got a winner!!!!! Let's just say he is from a state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation and this was the "only job" he could find.
I am teaching him how to do proper pre-trip and we are working on his backing among other things ....
I must admit I have been seeking the help of other drivers in my training and am lucky to have had prior expierence ... if I were a true newbie we'd be in for a world of hurtin.

 

To float gears on a downshift do you need to just hit the fuel to get the RPM's up for the lower gear before downshifting, or do you brake simultaneously as well to lower your RPM's so you don't need to rev them so high?

If you can understand what I am asking thanks!

 

Just wined it up a little the same you do when you double clutch. You don't need the brakes to downshift.

 

Float. i taught myself how to float during my 3rd week at school. When I took my refresher, I floated too much as the truck assigned to me had a tight clutch. I think floating is the way to go based on what experienced drivers have said.

KH

 

I think I'd be voicing my concerns to the company. If he doesn't know what he's doing, he can't really teach you much. After all, you have to possess knowledge before you can pass it on.

 

He shouldn't be a "trainer" if his trainees are teaching him how to drive the truck.

 

Oh boy! Well, if you GOTTA use it, understand that you don't need but a touch of it, just enough to say you did it. There are three things that go into shifting a truck. Your MPH, your RPM and your gear selection. If you have the right combination of these, the stick will nearly slip into gear by itself. I have proven this to hundreds of students over the years. If you have to force it into gear, one of these three things are wrong; MPH, RPM or Gear.

If you are not impressed with your instructors driving, how are you going to learn? If it is that bad, demand another instructor. You are a customer after all and the school is a service provider.

Remind them of that!

 

He might be a former student that couldn't make it as a driver, so he is now an instructor.

You might be surprised, but I doubt. It sounds like you know this carp goes on all the time in schools.

 

clutch just went out on my Cascadia that i was given to replace the last one with a failed clutch. Greeaaaat. I haven't even put enough miles on this truck for anyone to tell me that its my fault. Same failure mode, except the clutch never seemed like it was out of adjusment. This morning at 4 am, pulled into Tekon truck stop in Tekonsha, MI to park for a 10 hour, and when i pulled in the clutch had this weird feel to it like i could actually feel the rotating clutch through the pedal. Drove to the Pilot in Battle Creek to get fuel, and when i pulled up to the pump the clutch pedal stopped releasing the clutch again....

Truck has 10k less miles than the old one.

It seems kind of curious to me. Especially since I always float the gears, haha...

 

Anyone ever tell you that you are rough on equipment?:smt064