How to learn manual transmission?

What state?

I think in all states, you can't take the endorsement test by a third party.

 

I learned on a 13 speed. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can. I've been backing boats all my life so backing trucks was a piece of cake. The shifting was a different matter. I also think I had Roy D. Mercer in disguise for an instructor. What gear is this, I'd ask. Him, "It don't make a darn bit a difference. It's an H pattern. Just go up and down and over, repeat until you run out of overs". I was still grinding gears a year into being solo.

 

I have a 13speed IHI 9200, still have some trouble downshifting (especially from 8th to 7th…)

May be an issue with the tranny??

Really like the 13 speed though! I drive HWY 24 here in BC and the hold back (even with just a C12 is excellent!)

 

Manual in semi-trucks and in cars are VERY VERY different. The use of the clutch is the main difference. Cars have a synchronized transmission, meaning the "next" gear and the current gear are made to spin at the proper RPMs so shifting gears in a car is easy. In a truck YOU have to cause the gears of the transmission to spin at the proper RPM to shift gears. If you have experience shifting gears in cars YOU WILL HAVE MORE TROUBLE learning to shift in a truck, not less. It's easy to teach newbies but the newbies makes the same mistake over and over and over and over, ignoring the instructor for some long period of time, until eventually they HEAR what the instructor is telling them.

EVERY newbie thinks shifting a truck will be like brain surgery in a dark closet while saying alphabet backward. It's not.
EVERY newbie pushes the truck clutch TOO DEEP.
EVERY newbie eventually learns to upshift (like when increasing road speed) and then has trouble downshifting (like when slowing down).
EVERY newbie will quickly be almost competent when upshifting and still have trouble downshifting and want to quit.
EVERY newbie will be good to go once they get about 2 weeks of all day driving and shifting in a manual. Not 2 weeks of sharing truck with others.
EVERY newbie will sometimes mis-shift, stall the engine, and need to start over from a dead stop.

You will need to take a road test in a truck with a trailer to remove the auto-restriction from your license. Just showing up with a truck and no trailer will not allow you to remove the auto restriction from your CDL.

 

Getting tanker endorsement is just taking a test on the DMV computer. You can see all of the 10 Tanker tests online for free at TruckerCountry.com
Here is a link where I explain how to pass any endorsement test. Every CDL driver should get the tanker endorsement because it's required for a lot of freight carried inside on on other traulers, not just the shiny round trailers hauling liquids.

Every new CDL driver needs Tanker endorsement.
Passing your CLP/CDL Endorsement Tests - HowTo

 

The clutch on the car will teach you how to use clutch on car. THAT IS NOT HOW YOU USE CLUTCH IN A TRUCK. This plan will make it HARDRE for you to learn in a truck.

In a car the clutch ALWAYS goes fully to the floor or you are fully off of the clutch. You only do that in a truck when you are fully stopped. All other shifts in a big truck your clutching like a car will PREVENT you from getting into gear.

You will destroy the clutch brake in a truck if you use the clutch like you do in a car.
You will destroy the clutch in a car if you use the clutch like you use it in a truck.

For most truck shifts, you only press the clutch a fraction of the way down. You might only press it 1/3 or 1/4th of the way to the floor once you are moving along the road. That will burn up the clutch in a car in a day or two. I strongly recommend you DO NOT learn in a car, even if it is free and it makes you feel better before learning to shift in a truck. You will learn a habit that will make it MORE DIFFICULT to learn to clutch in the truck. You think you would make progress, you are actually getting farther away from your goal if you do what you want to do with a car.

In my CDL school in the 90s EVERY was taught to shift a truck in 1 or 2 days. EVERYONE. It's not nearly as hard as EVERY newbie thinks.