floating

Once you get floating the gears down pat, you won't use the clutch unless you really need to.

Trust me on this.

 

got a question on upshifting while floating gears. say you start out in 2nd loaded or empty you accelerate and when alot of you vetran drivers use the term the truck tells me when to upshift to the next gear are you refering to when the engine flattens out or plains out in that gear is that when you should upshift or should you be upshifting before engine gets to that point in that paticular gear? I hope you guys understand what I am asking here..and when you want to upshift you need to take your foot off the throttle then complete your shift..Do you need to take your foot completely off throttle or just take enough pressure off with your foot to make the shift .............thanks

 

My thoughts....
I try to upshift around 1300-1400 RPM and If you dont take your foot off the throttle, it won't come out of gear.
As I approach the RPM I want to shift at, as I ease off the throttle, I pull it out of gear and then as the engine speed falls, I ease it into the next gear up. CLICK....I guess I totally come off the throttle. I mean if you don't - engine speed will rise as your in NEUTRAL during the next shift...right?


Shifting early helps increase fuel mileage..

 

On this whole floating business, I feel that it is blown out of proportion !!!!!

If you start with an inflated inner tube, and then advance to the inflated raft, You will have very few problems !!

Good Luck !!!

 

Actually you should come out before the engine "flattens out or plains out". You should come out while you are still gaining regardless of the rpm you decide to shift at. And you do not take your foot off the accellerator or let it off. What you are trying to do is relax your foot not let off. It's like this, if you are accellerating it will be difficult to get it out and if you are decellerating it will be difficult to get it out so you are looking for that little spot between the two. So accellerate to the rpm you are going to shift at and while holding a little pressure on the shifter relax your right foot (JUst enough to briefly quit accellerating but not decellerate) and it will just gently slip out of gear. If you bump the gear on the other side when it comes out you are using too much pressure. One finger of pressure is enough (Some transmissions are a little tighter than others so better accuracy with the foot is needed usually not more hand pressure). If you do it this way you will actually gain a little speed between gears (More noticable in the higher gears), which effectively reduces the amount of rpm drop needed for the next higher gear. This will help you when shifting up a hill because if you come out while the truck is still gaining speed, speed loss is less therefore and rpms will not have to fall as far due to this loss.

Shifting up or down a hill will be in the next episode.

BTW, when double clutching, use the same method. The only difference between floating and DCing should be the use or lack of use of the clutch.

Best regards

 

In my experience I've found shifting a 13 speed eaton fuller much easier clutchless than a honda 5 speed. Then again, I don't make it a habit in the car.

My very first day of driving ANY heavy truck was spent float shifting. It was straight forward and simple. (I completely understand that some are unfamiliar with manual transmissions entirely, and I'm sure it would take some time to adjust.) I'm not some odd case or anything, every student in my class was shifting this way the very first day out. The trucks are 2000-2005 and to date the school has not had to do ANY major repairs outside of regular wear and tear. Grinding gear a little won't wreck anything, but I'm sure the schools teaching their students to double clutch before they know how to shift and match engine speed get used to the smell of burnt clutches pretty fast. Not trying to be an ### here, but if I'm learning to become a professional driver and can't even bother to learn the mechanics of shifting... Besides, if your engine speed is way off you will NOT be able to move the shifter past the gate to get into gear unless you're reefing on it. Use finger tips and you're golden.

 

If there is a heavy load behind me then I use the clutch. Shift at the same points but use the clutch to create a little push on the trans.

If it's a moderate load of frozen behind me or an empty trailer then I float. Shift sooner than you think you should (typically 1300 low, 1600 high) and it's smooth and easy.

Downshifting is a game between your speed, RPMs and mojo.

If I'm bobtailing .... rare .... then it's clutch and skip.

 

What do you mean by this? Are you saying "don't use your brakes?