Floating gears?

I just taught a guy to drive last month. And yes, the answer to teaching someone to shift a truck is getting them to understand you shift with the throttle, the clutch is just a help. More or less the exact opposite of how most shift synchronized trannys.

 

After about 10,000 miles of driving on the interstates, and only shifting on the on and off ramps, my boss encouraged me to start floating the gears. So I started to learn how to do that as I was upshifting. Eventually I had enough practice doing the upshifts that I could start doing the downshifts as well. After that I switched jobs from a regional route to local driving....no more interstates, and lots more shifting. I was in Iowa turning after every mile or so, and shifting up and down constantly.....that was when I got to be really good at floating the gears. Coming up to stop signs, I would shift down to 2nd gear and never come to a dead stop and therefore never use the clutch. This truck actually downshifted into 2nd gear better without using the clutch, as I would try it both ways.

Whenever you are ready to start floating the gears, go ahead and try it. I found it was easier to float the gears in the high range, as you have some speed built up and if you have trouble hitting a gear, you can always pop the throttle and try it again. Double clutching gives you a tempo of allowing about 1 second between shifts. Realize when floating the gears, you will tend to shift faster and you may miss a gear because you are shifting too fast....you still need to allow 1 second between shifts.

 

learn both

 

Don't push the clutch to fire wall if you know what a clutch brake is. To learn to float start by rpm shifting that'll get ya started, its OK to scratch a little while learning but do not jam the gears while learning.

 

if anything, i clutch once, i have never double clutch, still have my original clutch 1.3million miles on an 03 columbia

some gears i have to lightly apply the clutch, but to double clutch? something pencil pushers teach

 

That is true and I agree with you

Yet those who do not know how to float gears should not try to learn to float gears going up a very steep mountain nor down a very steep mountain, that could wind up being dangerous for them.

 

At my job we have this one truck that just does not want to shift without the clutch (before and after it was just replaced). Between 5 drivers, ranging from me to someone driving over 30 years, none of us can float on that truck. So there IS always that exception somewhere.

 

Every truck is different. I drove a 1 year old Mack recently, and had to use the clutch to shift. Drove a 5 year old Mack and did not need to use the clutch. Drove an International with 500,000 plus miles on it, and there were multiple times I could not get it out of a gear....stopped at a stop sign and used both hands and could not get it out of gear...let it roll backwards, shut it off,,,,finally I managed to pop it out of gear. Never drove it again after that.....what a beat up truck.

 

Floating gears and shifting using the clutch is exactly the same timing, if you cant float or double clutch, either way is simply because you cant shift period. You may need to go back to school.

 

I believe its experience, not school, and probably some will never learn to float gears, they just do not have the coordination.