Floating the gears; not using clutch

As a trainer i would let people double clutch to see how well they watched speed and rpm. Then i would tell them to not used clutch. Still to a while to get the idea

 

Who cares as long as the truck gets from A to B without issue.

 

When i took my test in 2000 i asked the woman dot officer how she wanted me to shift.
She said however you normally do, but if you float and grind a gear, you fail.

I floated the gears.
I’ve even had to drive their cdl test truck to their facility before, but they sold it, used to charge $150 to use it, now have got to bring a truck.

 

I'd been floating gears for years before I got my CDL. My first 2 cars were air-cooled Beetles with 4-sp manuals. Floated gears on those from about the second day with each car. Moved up to a Civic, which I floated gears on. Later got myself a Volvo wagon with a 4-sp manual, floated on that as well. Byn the time I got to drive a Fuller Roadranger, it was second nature...

There seems to be no shortage of mechanical nincompoops driving these days. Across the street from where I work is a warehouse, and there are local daycabs pulling trailers in and out of there all day. Yesterday I was standing outside and this local driver pulls to a stop, waiting to turn left into the warehouse. As soon as he puts it in gear, "GRAAAAAAACK" goes the gears as he puts it into first. Doesn't ANYBODY know about clutch brakes anymore???

 

I haven't seen anything like that since the missus dragged me to a disco in the 80s!

 

Sometimes I think an exploded view or cutaway of a transmission and clutch assembly would be a good visual for newcomers in the industry. May sound crazy, but some folks I’ve talked with don’t understand a thing you explain to them, but, you show them the actual parts and how they function and they grasp it right now.

Rode with a guy at Machinery Hauling years ago in a Cabover Freightliner, every time he went to double clutch you could hear the clutch pedal smack the floorboard in the truck and then he wondered why the gears wouldn’t mesh properly….

 

In the 80’s there was a bar with a big dance floor here called DeSoto’s, it was a disco style bar with mirrors and lights everywhere. Woman who loved to dance loved that place, if you could dance and a woman was looking for a husband for a night it was the place to be…

 

Used to be a DeSoto's Inn in Detroit. Place had dirt floor and DeSoto car parts on the wall. And great cheese burgers.

 

My Dad taught me to drive a truck and there are three things that clutch pedal is for. Starting, stopping, and a quick tap to kick the jakes off. Using it any other time earned a smack on the back of my head and a long lecture about clutch wear and binding linkages. Back then, the term "double clutcher" was an insult.
When I had to road test I faked it, just kinda feathered the pedal a couple of times when shifting. I have never actually learned how to double clutch.
Right. Wrong. I don't know and don't care. All I know is, I've never once had a clutch go out on me. And the only times I had transmission issues was when I was cursed with an autoshift Kenworth.

 

Well I'll hurt some feelings. The guys that float gears are lazy. They complain about clutch wear. Yet don't understand that the clutch, is like a fuse. It's made to wear out. By not using it, your adding un needed wear to transmission. Now I will say some guys can float gears very well, most can not. Some say they double clutch but suck at it. Both are damaging transmission. I drive and turn wrenches. I can pull the top cover and see exactly how you drove the truck. If anyone is concerned about saving money, I would recommend wearing the clutch out, before the trans. You can also see your wear and tear in the clutch, and the crankshaft thrust bearing. Be as mad as you want. But the guy working on your trans can tell. Even when you shift "smooth as butter" your adding wear to parts and taking a possibility of wear vs wearing out a clutch. Add in hauling heavy or having big power, comes greater responsibility. Most drivers have zero idea what the inside of the trans looks like, let alone functions like. But I sell clutches and trans also. So I don't care.

I'll say this. Every Billy Bigrigger/fleet truck that I have worked on 99.9% of the time have the teeth worn down on the front sliding clutch on main shaft, the matting gears have the same wear. Alot of twisted main shafts. The hi/lo synchronizer plumb worn out, and damper springs beat out of clutch disc's
Then most linkage is shot and froze up. From lack of maintenance. Cross shaft and release fork is always worn out. And lastly they always need a new input shaft. Drive shaft and diffs will tell stories on you drivers also.

So, now let's start with the hate mail.