Shiftin' Question

FTFY

 

I float anytime I'm on pavement. Never had a clutch or transmission problem.

Having said that, there are times when I'm on a soft or muddy lease road I'll either double clutch or just clutch it out and float into the next hole. Sometimes you just can't break torque without the clutch.

 

You can not drive a truck and double clutch, for more than maybe a month? Man it will destroy your knee. I personally think 1500 is way to high, unless heavy, grade ect.. be honest I don't I've know what I shift at anymore. When I'm up shifting the enine tells me, but around 1100-1200, but again weight all that. Geeze down shifting I think it's just by how fast the truck feels. Maybe it's just me, I don't even look at my speed or rpm anymore. But I like low rpm sound,. If I can say I think you should learn to double clutch, and shift every gear up and every gear down, just to master the truck. And learn by memory how each gear sounds and feels, under you. And control your distance, and speed, it's good for new drivers to work down through the gears one by one, it teaches respect for the load.

 

The only transmission problem I ever had was the countershaft bearing would wear out after many years of working perfectly. What happens is: the sworn bearings cause the countershafts to move at an angle causing the transmission to fall out of gear. As the wear increases, it get to the point the transmission will not stay in gear and you can't hold it in gear. It is 10th gear on a ten speed and eighth direct and eighth over on a 13 speed.

 

Double clutching causes premature failure of the pressure plate and if you are a "to the floor board" clutch pumper, the clutch brake is doomed as well

 

This guy's a dork. 35 years of floating and never hurt a tranny or a clutch.

 

All true, BUT shift points on trucks specced for OTR are very different then trucks specced for off road. I frequently drive trucks for oil companies that contract to get trucks moved when they don't have enough drivers to get the job done. A typical truck wants to shift at 2000 rpm to catch the next gear anywhere from 1400 to 1600, depending on if it's a 9, 10, 13, or 18. Top gear at 62-70 mph governed speed (depending on company) is typically running at around 1800 rpm's.

Even OTR trucks are specced with the ECM governing shift points well below the power curve. I bought a truck that was originally specced OTR for Swift. It's now wide open on the ECM, not governed at all. I wind it up close to 2000 rpm's pulling steep dirt hills and try to stay on top of the power curve around 1600-1700 with a light foot on the throttle (to avoid spinning out the drive tires).

That mega carrier 9 speed is actually a neutered 13 speed, just waiting for the $500 conversion kit to bring out the 13. Reprogram the ECM and you have a truck you can actually drive.

 

I agree wholeheartedly with this!!


I drive a different truck every day. Some of them require high RPM's to run smoothly while others prefer lower. It's not a one size fits all approach with shifting. You have to feel your way thru it the first few miles.

 

As far as I know the examiners do not need to have a cdl. As state employees, they only ride in the truck and do not drive the truck.