Looking for helpful answers...

the shifting part might sound intimidating, but its really not bad at all

say for example i am driving a 10 speed....most of the time i start out in 4th gear (depending on the tractor) unless heavy or on a hill....so that eliminates 3 gears there....hit 5th gear, 6th gear, and 7th gear to take you up to maybe 25 mph (roughly)....how often do you drive at 25 mph or less? sometimes but not often, hardly ever on roads....this leaves 8th, 9th and 10th gears to be used on main roads and highways..

you kick it up to 8th gear and this will take you to about 40 tached out, hit 9th and you are good to go for most city streets and country roads....10th gear for highway/interstate

this is just an example, all trucks are geared different...but what im trying to show you is that you arent using all the gears all the time...i do alot of city driving and most of the time i drive in 9th gear, to slow down for a turn i just slow down enough and drop it in maybe 6th....you dont have to go 9th-8th-7th

and if somebody pulls in front of you you will not have to downshift fast, you simply press the brakes as much as needed, then when you are clear ahead of you let off the brakes and find the gear for the speed you are at

its really not bad at all....good luck to you, hope this helps

 

nah you dont....just gotta figure out what gear is right for the speed your at and grab it

trust me eventually you will be able to shift without even thinking

 

I would think that there is more money,...And more time off in the off shore oil industry,.....

 

Kinda what I was thinking...

 

I would think that the offshore oil work is very specialized,.....Once a person gets in the door they can only go up,...And so do the wages!!!

 

now my friend i've been out here a little while and no i didn't go to truck driving school there was no such thing when i started.

the business well i don't think there is a better business in the world and i would not do anytrhing else.

can you do it , yes you can that won't be a problem you've alread shown that you have enough sese to do it your already asking questions thats a good thing .

if your going to go to school your instructers will teach you the findamentals such as shifting and that wont be a problem for you it is easier then it looks and it gets easier.
but remember this the school only teaches you the basics it does not teach you how to drive a truck you can't learn that in a parking lot you have to do that yourself with experience and a lot of patients the more you drive the better you get.

you mentioned jake breaks well the jake break is not really for stopping you in heavy traffic its for slowing and maintaning a constant speed on steep grades although a lot do not have a clue but it is a good toll to have at your disposel.

ice and snow, well the key word in ice and snow is slow in perticular with no ecpeirence rember you cant go to slow under those conditions and there is only one way to learn and that is just do it but don't try to rush it.

can you do all this ? of course you can all you have to do is keep a positive attitude and go for it if you want it you will succeed.

best of luck. southernpride

 

I was told by many instructors that those whom have NEVER driven a manual tranny are the easiest to teach to drive a truck. I guess its because of the double clutching. Normal drive of a car you wouldnt use double shift, and its the habit of only using the clutch once per gear instead of twice in a big truck. (yes, i know once you learn to drive the truck floating is always easier)but, in CDL school, and DOT road test, double clutch is a must!