Question about downshifting..

Without a doubt. This guy giving you advice to use the jake brake is dead wrong. Engine brakes are for descending hills. That's all. There is never any reason to use them on flat ground, much less a road test. Also, with the jake on, your rpms are going to drop rapidly which is going to cause you to grind gears.

The guy giving you the road test isn't looking at, nor does he care how much or little you use the clutch or float the gears. He's looking to see if you are comfortable behind the wheel, and can make the truck do what he asks you to do without scaring him to death.

My advice, is to just be calm, drive slow, and do what feels natural for you.

 

When you take it out of gear, don't hit the clutch. Just feather the throttle pedal a hair, so your rpms go up, while gently pressing the shifter into the gear you want. When the rpms match, it will fall right into gear.

 

What kind of road test is it? It is one for school to get your CDL, or a test to get a job at a company?

If it's for school, do it one gear at a time. Start downshifting when you can, and go as low as possible. In that situation, I see nothing wrong with getting down to your first couple of gears before you stop, if the conditions permit. Of course, it will usually be just going as low as you can before you run out of room.

On a road test for a job, do whatever you are comfortable with, as long as you show that you can handle the gears and that you can double clutch. Nothing wrong with doing it the same as you would for the school test, especially if you are new to driving. I would also ask whoever is doing the road test with you if they want to see you do anything, along with explaining why you are doing things the way you are, as some of those people want to know that you have certain skills that others might not be looking for. For example, I failed a road test for a company a few months back because I double clutched (even though I showed that I could float) and didn't skip gears, but passed easily at another company doing the exact same thing. Point is that you should be comfortable, show that you know what you are doing, and be willing to adapt to whatever they want you to do.


I try and start slowing down as soon as possible, and downshift as much as possible. Never have skipped gears as a habit, with the exception being the Super10 I drive now where I often downshift two gears at a time. I see a lot of people that will coast a lot while coming to a stop, but I really hate not being in a gear. I think a lot of that comes from my first driving job where I hauled a lot of heavy loads without a jake, so I really needed the help of the engine to come to a proper stop. Doing this I also end up being either in the proper gear, or only needing to drop one more, if the light goes green on me. When I get close to the light, it's also nice if I can have the room to stay in first to stay at a crawl, so I don't have to mess with clutching and/or starting from a dead stop. Of course, it's pretty common to just drop however many gears you can, then stop because you run out of room. Just be sure to use the brake enough so that traffic behind you can tell you are stopping.

 

Clearly you didn't read what I wrote...


American Trucker

 

I read what you wrote. I just question the wisdom of telling someone who doesn't have shifting down to be fooling around with the jake brake during a road test.

 

I am getting teady to take the driving test for my CDL down here in Texas. And they say you have to double clutch. You can't float your gears.
And no jake brake.
our instructer said to down shift to 6th when comming up on a light, then you can leave the clutch out until you almost stop, then clutch in right before you stall. Then put it in 4th to take off again.

I think it's stupid that you have to double clutch. they say floating is an "advanced" technique. but it is easier than double clutching.

 

I've been floating them for ten years. I'm pretty sure for the test to get your license, they want you to do it the proper way, which is double clutching. But if you are road testing to get a job with an employer, which is what the original poster was asking about, I can tell you ,I've taken road tests, and I've given them. It's not about how you shift, but CAN you shift. Do you button hook when I ask you to turn a corner, and are you watching your mirrors? Do you feel comfortable driving the rig? Do you keep it in the lanes? Are you using turn signals, and slowing down before a turn or a curve? They usually got a check-list of things to look for. My company's list does not have anything about the clutch on it anywhere.

 

I usually double down, 10th to 8th to 6th and if I feel like it, 5th(but not 5th too often)...