Floating the gears

[tjv189]

Hello all, I'm new to these boards. I'm inexperienced but hope to get into a career as a truck driver in the future. I am 20 years old and single. I know most carriers require you to be 21, and I will be in the near future.

Anyways, I have been reading these boards quite a bit and have been seeing people talking about floating the gears instead of double clutching. What is meant by 'floating the gears', and how exactly is it done? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Mackman]

floating the gears is NOT using the clutch. It is listening the the RPM's of the motor and your road speed that you can choose if its time to go to next gear. It comes with time behind the wheel. I never use the clutch. I tried it a couple days ago and was doing all right up shifting but when it came to downshifting forget it. All the road test i took they want to see you use the clutch. But i just tell them i cant. So they usually just say lets see how you do and as long as am not beating the tranny they dont really seem to care. I would say around 85% of drivers do not use the clutch.

[echoy97]

when you say not using clutch, you mean you can shift without stepping on the clutch pedal and just move the stick ?

[Mackman]

when you say not using clutch, you mean you can shift without stepping on the clutch pedal and just move the stick ?

You got it.

My dad when i was learning on his truck told me to act like it is not even there. he use to yell at me when i tryed to use it. It takes time to do this but once you get it down you will never want to use that clutch again.

[syl77dar]

bye

[tjv189]

So if it means not using the clutch to shift gears, how does it work? Could someone give an example?

How can you be precise enough to do it without damaging the tranny by just listening to the engine? Thanks in advance.

[fjkfta]

start in a gear rev it out like your driving normal. right before you shift pop the gas pull out of gear and float in the next. best i can explain.

[Colin]

When you're accelerating, the gears are under load and very difficult to remove from gear. The instant you let off the throttle, you can pull the transmission out of gear. This would be in the 1400-1600 rpm range (depending on the motor). As the motor spools down in rpm, there is a single point where the speed of the motor about (900-1000 rpm, IIRC) exactly matches the speed of the rear end, and the HIGHER gear of the transmission. You just slide it into gear and start accelerating again. You should be into high range by the time your front bumper passes the crosswalk on the opposite side of the street. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM; 5 shifts in a few seconds.

1500 rpm in 4th is the same mph as 1000 rpm in 5th, or something like that.

This process is exactly the opposite for downshifting. As you coast down from 1500 rpm to 1000, the gears are again under load, although lighter than when accelerating. As you reach 1000 rpm or so, lightly tap the throttle and pull the stick out of gear. Blip the throttle towards 1500 rpm and the LOWER gear of the transmission will be a match at the engine speed and road speed.

When you get good, you can left foot the brake and downshift at the same time until you're done downshifting. Or you can ride the brake with your right foot and roll your ankle onto the throttle to downshift. Don't try this your first week. :P

[Colin]

I meant to also say that when downshifting it is easy to over-blip when removing the stick from a gear. This leads to bucking of the vehicle. The downshift blip is a very precise move and should be practiced only after you have a good idea of the play in the throttle. Just take it easy. Once you blip for upshifting a few thousand times (ever count how many shifts you make in a day?), you'll have a good idea of how little pressure you need to remove the stick from gear during a downshift.

I drove Portland and Seattle city delivery for a few months last year. I meant to but never counted the shifts in a day. It had to be over 2000 in a day. :shock: