Just drove for the first time today!

Best advice I got was just "drive the truck". Don't think about it just drive it.

If you blow a shift don't panic, just give it another shot of fuel and pop it in gear. Everybody blows a shift it is just how you handle it.

Wait til you start going up and down grades shifting gears!!!

 

I'm a recent truck driving school graduate and my instructor emphasized rhythm, rhythm, rhythm! He said you can't change gears until the truck is ready for it (i.e., road speed and RPMs) - great advice that helped me a lot. Also, in regard to remembering what gear you're in - I eventually found I could tell what gear I was in by a quick touch of the gear shift knob and identifying its location in the gear shift pattern. It all comes together in time with practice and experience.

 

Besides what everyone else has mentioned.

You dont really need to push the clutch. I am not talking about Floating gears here , that can come later but learning to double clutch is a good thing and will never hurt you. What I mean by not pushing the clutch is that it only takes very minimal pressure on the peddle. It is not a push at all just a little pressure. If you deep clutch you will have a real hard time getting the hang of it and will not find the timing. Just a small touch of the clutch each time and you will get it.

 

Going too deep with the clutch will get you lost. Just used the top of the clutch travel. Unlike a car, the clutch will not fix the problem. Most students smash the clutch to the floor when they scrape a gear. That will not improve the situation.

There is another tread about shifting you should read. Lot of good advice on there.

 

don't let them fool you, most people don't double clutch! Or so I'm told. City driving in class b trucks I float the gears all day long. I got trained on and have been driving doubles for 3 months in an automatic, never dbl clutched in my life!

 

True, and I have never taken a driving test! But what do you do when your examiner at the DPS/DMV requires you to double clutch? Tell them you have never double clutched in your life? They will just take you back to the office and say "Come back when you learn to double clutch" and off you go until you learn to do what they require.

Might as well argue with a cop handing you a ticket and sometimes it is a cop giving the driving exam!

So again, there is no difference between floating double clutching. The RPM is the same, the transmission is the same, the only difference is that you use the clutch to take it out and put it in gear. If you can float, you can double clutch. If you can't I imagine you are just not good at shifting.

 

actualy it IS different. Cars you leave clutch IN while shifting, trucks you gotta let the clutch OUT before shifting.

My word of advice is if you don't catch that gear on the way up, try to catch it on the way down....

 

Its gets easier. I had never driven a manual before I started school. I didn't even watch the road in front of me my first day I was so focused on shifting. I don't even think about shifting now. Just happens naturally. I still double clutch like I was taught though I now downshift to the gear I want to be in rather than through all the gears

 

good things (double clutching like a pro) come to those who wait

 

Just float the gears. It is much easier that way.