Shifting questions

5 speeds with 2 speed axles were what you had i imagine. 5 speeds that are split, while 10 speeds are shifted through low range and them through high range, without a splt.

 

an outfit i used to work for had a 79'ford dumptruck 429 gas motor. it had a 10 speed with a
'working 5 th gear". that thing sucked

 

Here's a little shifting video for ya. Maybe it'll help

http://vodpod.com/watch/3023018-quad-box-shifting

 

No they are not ten speeds. They are a 5 speed trans. and the high low was in the rear axle. These trans were synchronized. Some of these old 5 speeds had an un synchronized 1st gear but most were fully synchronized.
Yes shifting a 10 speed( or any other fully manual trans. 8,9,10,13,15,or 18 speed) is different than your old trucks. Big truck trannys are not synchronized. You need to double clutch to shift them. You can also float the gears and not clutch at all. This is something that takes time and practice to learn how to do.
With the 10 speeds in big trucks you shift 1 thru 5 in low range, flip the range selector to high and go back to 1st which is now 6th and shift up to 10th. Your just shifting 5 gears twice.
Their is another 10speed called the super 10. With this one you shift 1 thru 5 with a high and low for each gear. You actually split each gear. Your old trucks could be shifted the exact same way. The only differance is the super 10 is all in the trans. and your old trucks the spliting would happen in the rear end.
So in conclusion, its nothing like your old trucks. It takes a long time to learn how to properly shift a big truck. It takes most new bees months to realy become good at shifting. Some even longer. Some people never get it. Thats why some companies are going to automatics. This way the companies dont need to teach new bees how to shift.