Truck Driving Jobs

New2This · #11 10-28-2006, 08:18 PM

First things first....you've gotta pass your pre-trip inspection BEFORE you can even TAKE the road test, so study it well because float or not---if you don't pass it they won't matter. And BTW my instructor here in S. E. Michigan says YES you have to double clutch so that the inspector knows that you CAN...an easy challenge.
BOL to you

JBenson2 · #12 10-28-2006, 09:14 PM

Double clutching while upshifting is not difficult.

But double clutching while downshifting from 9th to 5th just before reaching a stop sign is a bit more difficult.

The driving instructors at my school in Minnesota said I don't have to downshift while slowing down during the license test. If I'm in 8th, just use the brakes to come to a near complete stop, then push in the clutch and stop.

That will help avoid getting flustered with the DMV person sitting next to you.

Farmtruckin · #13 10-30-2006, 12:24 AM

So today I spent three hours working on my double clutching and it seems that when I do the "proper" technique, the engine rpm drops too low to hit the next high hole and I have to rev to get it back up... thats just one more thing to think of.

So I did the cheating method and just hit the clutch enough to get it out of gear, let the rpms hit the sweet spot and put it in while I tapped the clutch again.

Downshifting is a different thing. I rarely downshift. On these rural roads I just coast to the stop sign. I decided to try a run through the city and had some trouble with downshifting.

What needs to be done on the test in regards to downshifting? I know the manual says to avoid coasting more than one length of the truck so can I just pick one safe gear to downshift into and just clutch it right before I stop? Or is downshifting through most of the gears the proper way?

rubberducky · #14 10-30-2006, 12:32 AM

coasting in neutral is an automatic failure on road test. I think they just want to see you downshift at least one gear properly.

Deus · #15 10-30-2006, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBenson2

Double clutching while upshifting is not difficult.

But double clutching while downshifting from 9th to 5th just before reaching a stop sign is a bit more difficult.

The driving instructors at my school in Minnesota said I don't have to downshift while slowing down during the license test. If I'm in 8th, just use the brakes to come to a near complete stop, then push in the clutch and stop.

That will help avoid getting flustered with the DMV person sitting next to you.

They let you do that? When I was in school here in Minnesota they had us sequentially down shift all the way to 5th gear before stopping. I think the reasoning behind it was so that we didn't lose gears, because as someone mentioned coasting more than the length of the vehicle (at least in Minnesota) is a failure. Now if a light changed suddenly they said just slow down and push in the clutch when you have to. But for stop signs and stuff they wanted 10-9-8-7-6-5 and double clutching all those sure made it take a long time to stop...

I personally like to be in 8th gear when coming up to stops when I can be... Usually go from 10th to 8th to 4th (LTL I can start the truck rolling in 4th so it seems to be the easiest)

T * Storm · #16 10-31-2006, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farmtruckin

I'm a self taught driver from helping out on my father-in-law's farm. I decided to go ahead and get my full classA. I took and passed the written tests with all the endorsments to open up the job market a little more on completion of the skills test.

My problem, and it might not be a problem in the state of michigan, is that i've learned to float shift and not use the clutch and i've been doing for a while. I heard I must learn the "double clutch" before taking the test. Is this true, and other michigan drivers out there recall this from the test?

If I need to learn this, what's the best way to go about it?

Start calling all the newbie hire companies such as Schneider. They have a program set up for drivers that already have their class A license but no experience. You will go with a trainer for a few weeks with them, I believe, then you will go through a test with them. Just explain your situation and you will find a company that will hire you for OTR.