How to Float?

Are you a company driver?.....If so, I would suggest getting with someone who knows how to float....Otherwise don't tear up a company truck...


I'll give you a tip though....If you can shift with two fingers and not "Man-handle" the shifter....You can float.....

 

XP2.... It's really not that much different. Maybe a mile or two difference. Do your shifting by feeling and hearing. Once you get the hang of this it won't matter if it's an 8 speed, 10 speed, 10 split, 13 speed etc... You go up through the gears and you go down through the gears. Don't wind them out and don't over rev when down shifting. It is really good technique to always up shift as soon as possible. This makes your fuel mileage better. Shift just quick enough to not letter bog down. This will vary according to your load. That is where the "feeling" part of it comes in. If it helps get yourself a dry erase marker and draw your shift pattern and miles per hour right on the center of the windshield. This will keep you from taking your eyes off the road.

Good luck!

 

That was the main thing my dad always told me. He alwasy said if you need more than two fingers, you're doing it wrong. I have watched guys that have a death grip on the shifter trying to jam it into gear, and it wasnt always when they were floating.

 

Exactly right Lobes! Treat her like a lady! (jimmy buffet song!) It shouldn't make any noise when you slide her in there!

 

You will have a 4 shift pattern instead of a 5 shift pattern....so you will be in the low box for 4 gears. In the high box you will have split shifting in each gear which does not require moving the stick, just moving the splitter button.

So you are really moving the stick to shift 8 gears instead of 10.
When downshifting, it depends on how much speed you are losing, as to whether you will use the splitter....if I am loaded and using the jake brake, then I will use the splitter and go down from 13 to 12, to 11 and then to neutral and the low box when my speed drops enough.

 

I was getting bad clutch knee pain so I started to try float the gears.

I can do it sorta ok, but I often have trouble getting out of gear smoothly.

So... instead, I've been single-clutching. I use the clutch to get out of gear, and then slide it into the next gear up/down without the clutch. This part seems really easy for me.

ex:
for upshift, in 8th, at 1600, clutch in, put it in neutral, wait a sec, slide it into 9th (around 1200). if I'm too early, it might go buddabuddabudda a bit, but will slide in eventually. Just don't apply a lot of pressure when its waiting to find its opening. eventually this will get smoother with no more buddabuddabudda noises

personally, I'll work on getting it out of gear more later on.. I can do it, just not well, and then I get a bit flustered.

 

Never floated in my life. When I went for my interview today the kid that did the driving part instructed me a little on it while I was driving. Had it down pack in no time at all. Its very easy and like said you gotta treat your shifter like a lady, nice and gentle 2 fingers.

 

Well I can only say u gotta listen to ur truck and just know when to leter fall into the gear...Every truck is different..Listen to the truck when u shift with the clutch...then listen to the truck and hit the spots without the clutch at the same soundlevel of the shift pattern...lol...I hope that made a lil sense......

 

There are more times I have to use the clutch to get it out of gear, than into a gear. If my timing is off a little as I am upshifting, I may not get it out of gear at the top of the rpm and so I kick a little clutch and it comes right out. Sounds like you are where I was at when I started floating gears the first time. You will get better and better at it.

I have about 30,000 miles trucking now, and a lot of it was city driving. Now I can come up to a stop sign loaded, and if no traffic, can get down into 2nd gear and take off without using the clutch at all. Suhweet

 

You want to take your truck out of gear as you are accelerating. This will allow you to take it out of gear without the clutch. As soon as you let off the accelerator it puts pressure on the gears and will be hard to get out of gear. Use a little bit of the fuel pedal to ease out of gear. When you are coming to a stop the very second before your wheels stop slide the stick into gear while pushing your clutch in to some to a complete stop. Now you will be ready to go again without having to clutch brake. Hope this helps.