Shifting Concerns

When I got my CDL around 6 years ago, I did it through the local Junior College. The instructor was an ex trooper here in Kansas and said that he expected us to use the clutch. Prefer we double clutched. I was shown how to do it when I first started driving but never stayed with it. It was so easy to shift without the clutch. But during my driving test, I did double clutch part of the time but not all off it. Never failed me.

Over the past three years I've helped/trained 10 people get their Class A's for the County. I've never told them they HAD to double clutch. Honestly, I doubt they used a clutch expect to start or stop during the driving test. And no one's ever failed...except one kid who said he new it all. He didn't make it past the in cab air brake test. lol He's also the one who said he would need the radio on cause he shifted to the beat of the music. lmao That guy's another story though.

But in Kansas, the DOT testers don't fail or even mark you if you don't double clutch. At least not the DOT in Salina.

 

I was always taught to use the jake and downshift. Stay off the brakes as much as possible. Maybe I was taught wrong??

 

No you werent taught wrong, but I'm surprised they were on you to use the jakes....My school(if you can call it that) wouldnt let us touch the dam jakes but expected us with minimal shifting to drop as many gears as we could by the bottom of a ramp without burning up the brakes. Lay off the binders use the jakes WISELY and downshift, let the engine do the work but mind your trailer when useing the jakes and the engine!!! You hit a slick spot and that trailer WILL start to come around!!

 

Hahahahahahaha. I did that today, I couldn't figure out how to turn off the jake brake

 

I recently had to do a Road test for the Virginia DMV ( after having my CDL's since I was 18 so some 20 years ago, and I let them expire whole different story my stupidity) Needless to say the Examiner was very thorough. She explained what she wanted me to do, and what she was looking for. First thing out of her Mouth, as Per Virginia DMV you will need to double clutch to show you have control of the truck. At this point I said to myself WTF I have never double clutched, have no idea what that even means. So not to set myself up for failure I asked her to use the john, there were about 10 guys from a trucking school there with an instructor, all standing by the entrance to the john, I asked the instructor to follow me inside where I knew she would not be. A quick explanation of what she really wanted to see and I was off to take the road test.

It appeared that I was double clutching to her, pushing on the pedal to at least make it look good. even though I "floated the gears".

Floating gears is rather simple, When up shifting do not over rev the motor, 13-15 shift, some engines higher, some lower, when down shifting let the rpms drop to 10 maybe even 9 then take it out of gear give it a shot of fuel bring the RPMS up to 15 and slide it in the next lower gear, if you decide to run it down on the jakes be prepared to shift quicker, also turn the #### things off when up shifting nothing looks funnier than a driver upshifting, lets off the throttle and hearing that noise and he misses a gear.
Floating takes time, it to me is easy.
TO many Double Clutching is easy, and depending on who you talk to is the "recommended way to shift", to those of you who do it all the time, look at your left calf it is bigger than the right where as my right forearm is bigger than my left, (ok that was a bad joke, but you get the idea)

 

If you cant double clutch or float, then how do you "shift good up and down"? There's only three options...double clutch, float, and grind the crap out of the gears...and the last one is not "good" by any means...but it does happen a lot, especially at my company...in one week i drove a 10 speed, a 13 speed, and a super 10 speed...can you really expect me to just switch around like that without grinding anything? LOL...

When i did the road test at this company, it was on a 13 speed, first time i had ever driven a 13. The tester was just another driver. I made sure to tell him i had never driven a 13 speed. Man i ground the crap out of that transmission, but i still passed.. Well, kinda, he marked all 4s down on my score sheet...which meant i failed. But he meant to pass me, and it got fixed LOL...

But seriously, you have to double clutch on the state road test. You have to know how to use the clutch. Most people float on the road. I drive a tanker and you had better shift smoothly with a tanker..

 

Some states I understand Require I Know for a fact Virginia does, it to me is archaic.

 

Think of it like this: What is easier to hit, a moving target or a stationary one? So does it make sense to try to "snatch and grab"? It is best to bring it up where it needs to be and put it in gear while it is there.

Half the time the tranny nearly falls in gear by itself and when that happens for you, realize that is the way it is supposed to work. It is that easy.

 

I had to learn to double clutch when I became an instructor. I had never had a driving test either!

I asked a Texas DPS tester to give me a test and she wouldn't do it. I am one of those who got their license out of a crackerjack box in Hobart Oklahoma....

 

ok hubcap I kinda do it the way you are talking about, but this is what i need to learn to get it down so it is that easy as you say...question i need to know is what am i doing wrong maybe. I like downshifting the way you describe but my problem is do i feather out of gear when i want to make my downshift then raise rpm up to where it goes in or do i bump throttle to get it out of gear and then raise them up to where it goes in and should I be at 1000 rpm will it go in easier that way, when trying to downshift at 1100-1200 sometimes smooth other times not....truck I drive seems to like it around 1500 on the upshifts. I appreciate all your responses i think you are getting me on track. thanks