Please please I need help in CDL school

I’m 3 days in.


1. This is just for clarification because I’m not sure if anyone I’ve asked has been understanding my question. I *can* hit the clutch and brake at the same time to stop, PRIOR to shifting to neutral? Obviously not the brake alone. This would also be slow speeds like 3rd gear or backing.
I really don't understand your question so no comment
2. I suck at taking off from a complete stop. I now know to raise the clutch to the same height as the brake, but I can’t seem to get a smooth takeoff when I engage the accelerator and release the clutch slowly. What am I missing?
You do not have to raise the clutch to the same height as the brake. Depress it until it is just disengaged. Your timing is not going to come overnight. Practice taking off in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Everyone does thing different and you will have to find your own "mode". Maybe you are giving it too much throttle.

3. I can downshift like a beast. Clutch, neutral, rev, float to gear. Easy money. But I occasionally have trouble upshifting floating gears and not due to not knowing their positions. I feel like I rush it sometimes and miss the gear. Probably. Slow down. When floating, can I hesitate for a split second while in neutral? So like upshift to neutral, pause, push right and up to 4?

4. How the heck do you 90 degree back? This was my first time ever backing up and I got the straight backing thing or whenever down but that 90 degree is crazy.
It's not crazy it's just something you are not use to.

You are new so you have to have patience. These things are not going to come overnight and try to not overthink things. Think things through but don't get your head all messed up because your not a super trucker right out of the gate. Most drivers had a learning curve and it did not come to them overnight. Good luck.

 

1- yes you can. 2- Let the clutch out slowly, till you feel it grabbing or starting to engage, at that point you’ll feel it fighting against the brake. Let it out slowly, while letting up on the brake. You’ll feel the Truck starting to pull away, as the clutch engages, knowing where it engages is important. You need to get a feel for the clutch, where it engages at. It’s a bit tricky on a hill start. You’ll get a feel for it. Holding the brake, till the clutch engages and it’s no longer needed. Never hit the accelerator till the clutch pedal is fully released, and Trucks rolling. Using the accelerator wears a clutch out. Big No No, might even fail a Driving Test for that. I can’t believe they’re teaching you that. Need to start in 2nd if needed. Rule is- highest gear possible without needing to use the accelerator to keep it from stalling out. 3- The shift right and up, is probably the easiest to grind. Works best for Me to wind the RPMs up good, and make the shift fast. When I’m loaded heavy, I usually don’t. Loaded heavy, if not done just right, I can grind it easy. I shift it slower, and usually have to raise the RPMs up some to make the shift from neutral into the gear. This avoids grinding or biting off a gear. In other words, you can always bring the RPMs up a bit if needed. 4- Thats a tough one to explain. Helps to watch it done while standing outside. Watching the steers, fifth wheel, and trailer wheels. Setting up the rear of the trailer, then following it around, getting in front of it. I’d rather start at a 120, if there’s enough room. Makes it easier having wiggle room both ways. Starting at a 90, can be harder if there’s not enough room to pull up. You’ll have to practice that one. You’ll get it. 5- Disregard anything I said doesn’t make sense. Hands on Learning is the best way. You’ll get a feel for it, sounds like your already doing good after only 3 days.

 

You mentioned this twice in the same thread. Who is THEY and why are they LOOKING to you for mastery of something that’s new to you?

My instincts tell me that you have this competition with someone who you feel has less talent than you for driving. Please tell me I am wrong, because that sort of mindset in school is stupid. Focus on you. That should remove a lot of the stress.

 

I'm in class now and test next Friday for my license, I'm the opposite, i can upshift like a beast and take off great but I suck at down shifting. My timing is off between revving and then going into gear. My school isn't great but I'm trying to get the most out of it so i can move on, just stay focused and calm when shifting. The more you get frustrated the harder it is, for me anyway.

 

As for slowing to come to a stop, you should use the brake before pressing the clutch. You will need to press the clutch when the truck is slowed to 3-4 mph. So lets say youre driving and see a stop sign. It’s brake, downshift, brake, downshift, brake until you are nearly stopped. Then you will press and hold the clutch while coming to a complete stop.

I think it will take some time and you should maybe ask your instructor if he has free time where he can explain these things again.

These are very basic concepts (not necessarily obvious though) and it seems like any instructor should be able to teach these things.

 

I think I understand what hes saying. One of the instructors in the school im going to does this. He speaks to us in terms that experienced drivers would know but not a noob. He does a piss poor job of dumbing it down for the beginner.

 

A little trick about shifting and the way I was trained works really good.

You can start out in first gear, the trick is you shift gears at 1,000 RPMs or less. The reason for this is because you don't have to match the gears at 1,000 RPM, you won't get the cab rocking back and forth. You also don't need 500HP to get rolling. You don't even have to be good at shifting gears. At 1,000 RPMs it will basically slide into gear from 1,2,3,4. You are basically getting the truck rolling just enough to slide it into next gear. You still use clutch so it looks like you double clutching but the trick or truth is, it would slide into gear anyway at that low RPM.

So at a stop light you will shift at 1,000 RPMs and just going thru a traffic light you will shift like 5 times. That's how fast you will be going through the low gears.

When you are getting ready to flip the rang select into high range. That's when you bring engine up to 1,600 RPMs and shift gears. Their is generally a 400 RPM difference between gear. So at 1,200 RPMs it will go into gear as the RPMs drop from 1,600 to 1,200

In low range you shift at 1,000 RPM and in high range you shift at 1,600 and 1,200 RPM

 

Shifting to me, really is a rhythm thing. It takes time and then it just becomes second nature. I’ve seen a few people never really be able to get it, but most do in time. Some people, although rarely will get it on the first day. For the average brand new driver it usually takes a couple weeks of repetitive shifting to kinda get the overall feel. relax, you’re to tense and this makes it worse

 

I was always under the impression that you had to double clutch for the road test, but I could be wrong (maybe the company school I went to just didn’t want people floating gears in their trucks lol).

 

As for the 90 degree backing, listen to the instructor. some tips Id give are to err on the side of backing in too tight (as opposed to too wide) because you can see that side in your mirror and its much easier to correct by pulling up a few feet or 20 feet. If you come in too wide you pretty much have to redo your entire setup over.

When backing and turning there is a “breaking point”. That’s the point where even slight turning of the steering wheel has a big effect on the trailer. It’s less than 45 degrees. Probably somewhere around 30 degrees so like a hockey stick. Find the breaking point and feel the effect from the steering on the tractor.

Oh and setting up, or positioning the truck, before you start to back is crucial to success during a 90 degree back.