I'm with, "save the gears" foundation. Use one gear, so others may live. Over the heads of new drivers, but it's funny.
A lot less than impressed.. as new drivers should still be double clutching and not getting lazy and sloppy enough to already abandon it.
I can't describe it. It's something you have to get a "feel" for. And to top it all off, take 5 trucks, all with the exact same motor, exact same transmission and exact same rears... and all of them shift differently. You'll get used to it fine, and it takes a while to do it consistently, without missed shifts and applying the torque back smoothly without jerking things around. There is no specific RPM where the shift can occur (at least on my company's trucks, Pete 379's with CAT motors). I can shift as low as 900-1000 in low range when empty/bobtail. Just practice practice practice.
I ve been driving manual since I was 16 bc in Europe there are no automatic vehicles. As a truck driver I do prefer manual transmission BUT there are companies out there (like mine) that consider floating mandatory!! This gives me a hard time. I can float the higher gears after 6th by increasing the rpms but I cannot float low gears. Also my company requires to start from 1st gear not 2nd and after the 1st to float all the way up gear by gear. They believe that clutch issues are caused by double clutching and don't allow it. I have a 3+ years experience as a trucker.
We worry bc some companies require floating and if the clutch gets worn out and needs to get replaced they charge you!! So double-clutching is forbidden in those companies!