Handle most 10 speeds pretty well....but not this 2008 Freightliner; Why is this?

Hi everybody,

So we recently bought a single axle 2008 Freightliner with a 10 speed EA. And I can not drive that thing to save my life! (And I am Class A CDL licensed)

I started out driving old 70s and 80s International Loadstar and Ford grain trucks with the 5 speed high-low years ago, and can shift pretty much flawlessly without even thinking about it. Last year I worked at a fertilizer and seed plant and I used their 1980 Ford LT-9000 with a 10 speed to haul fairly long distances... I could practically float every gear in that truck. I also drove some fertilizer tender trucks including a 90s Peterbilt and a 2000s International...both with 10 speed EAs. Those were a little bit more difficult, but I could manage to hit my gears using double clutch.

This Freightliner that we just recently bought is by far the most frustrating truck I have encountered; It makes me feel like I have lost my touch. It seems like I have to fight to make it go into the next gear, and trying to float the gears is practically impossible. It is literally to the point where I start out in 2nd, hit 3rd, get locked out of 4th or 5th, almost come to a complete stop (lose all momentum) and then repeat the same process. I can get the truck up to 10th gear on occasion. It just doesn't seem like it should be this difficult! I know that the trick is the RPMs, I know how to properly downshift, I know how to double clutch, I know how to float...this thing just cant be tamed


Does anybody have any ideas as to why this Freightliner could be throwing me off of my game? Any suggestions on driving it?

I plan to operate a cement truck next year as a part time job while in school, and this Freightliner has really got me worried about operating a 10 speed again.

 

That's what I had learned from reading about lower shift rpms on some website, so I figured that was my problem. I tried shifting around 1300-1500 RPM just to see if this was true and it didn't work. So trying to resolve the situation, I made sure to watch at what RPMs the gears would drop in...Low range it seemed to be about 1800-1900. So I figured I would just shift at those rpms and I would most likely always hit my gears....that was not the case, the thing acted squirrely and I would have to neutral rev the engine until a particular gear slipped in.

The only thing I can think of is that in the heat of the moment I push the clutch in too far and engage the clutch brake, however I don't believe this to be the case because it is just as hard to float the gears as it is to use the clutch.