Grinding Gears

this is very true.. same on the volvos

 

Thanks for that tip Century!

Ohhhh what I wouldn't give to drive a Volvo! They are my favorite truck!! The one I did drive was an automatic though. Maybe someday I'll get to drive another one

 

I will drop 2 or 3 gears coming up to a red light.As the truck is just about to a stop it will fall right into 4th gear.
The clutch brake on my truck has never worked right.
I find that when i get really tired is when i grind a gear.I know then it is time to hit the sleeper!

 

Since I'm one of those a-holes who's either pulling into or out of the construction zone on the highway, the best ones are those who are RIGHTfreakingbehind me in a hughjass hurry and when I'm done going way slower and more deliberately than necessary pulling between the cones because you're all rightfreakinbehind me, listening to them attempting to find a gear to accelerate in pissed off fashion...about a baker's dozen times grinding the gears they finally get it.

 

Get your head out of your cdl manual.

There is nothing wrong with coasting in neutral to a stop. The vehicle is not out of control simply because you are in neutral. Do the brakes still work in neutral? Does the steering wheel still work in neutral?

The only problem is sometimes the nut behind the steering wheel needs replaced.

If you have half a brain in your head and more than 3 days of driving experience, you will be able to figure out what gear to go into in case of an "emergency manuever".

 

I trained and drove my first 12,000 miles on the 2011 Cascadias and it is almost impossible to stop them without downshifting. The jakes on them seem not to work as well as like the new KW's and Volvos. All I can say is that guy that was your "trainer" was just an idiot. Every manual I've read, every trucker I talked to, including my dad, two uncles, my cuz and two of my brothers who all have more than 10yrs experience driving all say that its best to downshift when stopping because it keeps the load in control. Not to mention if you just take it outta gear and coast, you will be replacing your brakes once a month at the least!!

 

I downshift 9,8,7,6 and try to stay in 6th and lag back so that I don't have to stop at all. If I do have to stop I slow down and skip 5 go to 4 and stop in four then put it in first at the light, but again if I can stay back and just crawl to the light and out wait it, I will. I drive smooth bore and slower is better, always.

 

When coming to a stop or turn with a load I will use a combination of jake/down shifting to slow the truck down to a reasonable speed where minimal brake usage is required.

Also pulling a reefer,.. our loads are not very stable with minimal restraints if any at all to begin with. Stopping hard or taking a turn too hard is always a danger for us as we risk knocking over pallets and damaging the load.

Grinding the transmission is usually from being impatient. I still catch myself from time to time. Coming to a traffic light and it turns green and you fumble a gear to get going again. When at the docks/yards there really is no excuse. Impatience and improper clutch brake technique are typically why the grind. There are also those in trucks with 1 million+ miles and the clutch brake may not be functioning at all. So it is possible that they really cant help it.

With time in the seat comes the experience to perfect your craft and skill set. I watch guys come in and 90 in to a hole between 2 trucks like he could do it in his sleep. Lining the trailer up perfectly and in one shot,..its in the hole. I myself and am still working on this. I still almost always need to do at least 1 or 2 pulls ups depending on how tight the yard or alley way is. Funny thimg is that I see 20yr veterans who still take 10 mins to back into a hole. So I dont feel so bad when it takes me 1 min instead of 30 seconds to get it back in there. I know eventually I will master it.

 

What in the world are you grinding gears for when coming to a stop. I just blow my air horn and they move out the way. Chicken truck coming thru. Woop Woop!!

 

There's a lot more clutch brakes that don't work then do, at a stop your going to have to slow the gears down doesn't mean just yanking it in, no big deal!!, sounds like the guy complaining about the fuel gauge not working.