Trainer says don't pay attention to 18 speed shift pattern #'s

In another thread you said:

"There are people that feel the need to be "right" versus "correct" all the time, and my experience is those folks do everything based on emotions rather than factual knowledge or real practical experience. I would always rather be correct"​

Currently you are focused on being 'right' instead of learning what you can from your trainer. There are a lot of different ways to get stuff done in this industry and even more ways to talk about how we do them. There are very few absolutes.

You made this thread searching for validation and have gotten huffy because the members have given you their honest thoughts. I would suggest cutting the indignation and raising the introspection.

 

Just count all the progressive gears sometime.
The only way you can count to 13 ( or 18) is to use”low” as “first”.
If you count using Eatons diagram you only have 12 ( or 17).
Try this with a 15 speed sometime. You actually only have 12 progressive gears, not 15.

 

Ok, first thing is relax on this crap, this industry is huge and everyone … almost everyone has a different take on almost everything, no two drivers ever agree on everything, including what to call the gears on a transmission.

second and more importantly … IT DOES NOT MATTER!

your brain has to adjust to varibles as a driver, it has to interpret on the fly what is meant no matter what it is called which is difficult to do for many and a failure point for those who think this is too hard. So what if he calls it low, you call it first just deal with it as a learning experience and teach your brain to understand he has a different nomenclature than you do and work with it as a learning experience. If he gets on your nerves, tell him in a respectful way.

that’s right you have to switch your way of thinking, wait until you deal with shippers who barely know how to keep the forklift from flying off the dock, talking to some of them is like talking to a Martian.

some do and some don’t, you have to have a style of driving that allows you to operate the truck comfortably while maintaining safety and not damaging it.

Stop that crap, you’re an adult … ask questions and even if you don’t like the answer, learn from it.

 

????
what did you expect to hear… that everyone’s a robot and shifts the same way and calls every gear exactly by the number…
We told you how it is. Everyone’s different. We’ve all been driving too long here to even worry about the numbers.

It’s not an exact sequence everytime in an 18 speed… there’s too many gears and too many variables

It’s not a ten speed you’re not forced to use every gear in sequence.

stop whining and figure it out. There’s about 10,000 more nuance’s in trucking and you can’t even handle 1

 

Lo counts as a gear. That is actually 1st so he's not wrong

 

Me too I just usually split the 7th 8th positions. Unless I'm starting out climbing a stupid steep grade

 

A good sounding exhaust system is the key to shifting smooth in my opinion.

 

. Maybe you should quit. Sounds like you’re looking for a reason to justify quitting. Don’t blame Trucking though. This Industry’s full of all different types of people, with all different opinions on just about everything imaginable. No ones excluded, anyone can get in. The Training isn’t very long, or very hard compared to the Trades. College is a much larger and expensive commitment. Lots of menial jobs available right now. Some paying close to $20 hr. Nows a good time to get a foot in the door at a lot of places that don’t normally hire very often, possibly leading to a decent job. You can quit, that’s easy. You can quit anything. You can land wherever life takes you, and settle for whatever you end up with. A lot of people live a reactive life. Bouncing off their surroundings, taking the path of least resistance. Some get lucky, some don’t. It can go many ways. Some end up in prison literally. It’s all your choice. Or you can be pro active in your life, and decide what you want to do, then do whatever it takes to accomplish it. Maybe you need to realize that even the stupid Trainer that’s so hard to understand is trying his best to help you. Maybe you should try harder, or maybe you should quit. I don’t know, and honestly don’t care. It’s your life, your choices, your responsibility. No one owes you anything. You’re the one in need. Maybe start by trying to be appreciative of those who are trying to help. Nothing worth having ever comes easy. Life’s not fair, and no one gives you anything. Waiting for your Ship to come in, usually doesn’t work out very well. Either way, you can decide at any time, to do anything you want. No ones forcing you. The results are yours, based on your decisions.

 

Entry level driver trainers are low on the totem pole. Stick it out and live your truth. You’ll be making more than him soon enough if you’re good. Driver trainers don’t know crap. Actually I lied, they definitely know crap.

 

Your driver trainer is correct that is why it is called an "18 speed" gear box as it has 18 gears, first gear is low low which is the crawl gear with the splitter selector also on low second is low low with the splitter up. therefore what you would call first gear is actually third gear which is first with the splitter down therefore fourth gear is 1st with the splitter up. What other trainers have called "first gear" would only apply if it was a 8,9 or 10 speed gear box.