I was faced with that test last year when a gent asked me if I wanted to drive his dirt car. Told him I was a bit rusty since I hadn't been in a seat for over 3 years. Amazed me that my body still knew the tricks, BUT I don't recall ever hurting as much when I got out of the seat.....
NON-Syncho gearbox. Like the trans in that rig.
DON'T drive it ANYWHERE off your property with it tagged that way. Especially if you don't have all your CDL paperwork in order. That can be VERY expensive.
It's been almost 30 years since I even tried driving on a track, and
40 years since I was racing. No way I'm trying that again.
Practice makes perfect. Go rent a little car with a manual transmission and practice driving that, and only that, around town for a week or two. You'll then climb back into the truck and it will be as familiar to you as driving an auto trans is now. I agree with lots of teachers that immersion is the best way to learn after age 5 or so.
You just learned to do CNC programming, right? There's hope, Ig.
-- Energy and persistence alter all things. --Benjamin Franklin
Dad taught me to listen to engine RPM in the various gears at various rates of speed. Once I got that, I could use the clutch only for stopping. The pedal never went down unless I needed to hit first, or stop and back up. Amaze your friends by moving the gear shift between gears, both upshifting and downshifting, with no clutch and no grinding at all! My old Corvair was easy since I had put Cherry Bomb turbo mufflers on it. I could hear the engine rpm easily from the exhaust but it wasn't the _blatt_ of straight-throughs.
-- Energy and persistence alter all things. --Benjamin Franklin
I could shift a little bit without clutch, but only when speeding up.
i
Good idea about renting a car with a manual trans!
Yes, I am staying within my confines.
i
That might be a bit tough. I got out because I could tell my reactions were just not there enough for that line of work. Plus it does take a toll on the body. I do still run through the lights at the 1/4 mile now and again but usually bracket stuff, although I can still cut a pretty good light.
I got a little jolt last april driving thru the mountains in southern spain when i got into a five speed disel car never having driven diesel and auto trany only for the last 25 years.
I went out for an OTR job about 5 years ago with a local outfit. Went to the office and they looked at my logs, talked a bit and told me to take a ride with one of the drivers in the yard. Guy strolls in, says let's go and we go out to a NEW Mack. Complete with a nice new Mack transmission. Jumped in and listened to a LOT of gear grinding, and this was the guy who drove this truck all the time! We did a D&H and switched seats. Surprised myself by not missing a single shift. He told me that if I took the run I'd probably be in the city for 6-8 months doing yard turns. Got back to the yard and missed one down shift by a couple teeth. Went inside and told them that I would take the job with a couple conditions. City time was going to be cut back since I already had a LOT of road miles and I would take any tractor they had as long as it had a RoadRanger trans and no dogs ass on the hood.... I HATE Mack engines and transmissions.
Far too many people don't know to shift into second before first or reverse to get a manual transmission to go into those gears without grinding, too.
-- Energy and persistence alter all things. --Benjamin Franklin
That depends on whether the transmission has one or two cluster shafts. In some, shifiting into second, first, does nothing for you.
He did; the "until" statement referred to the learning curve.
Get to know the engine RPM and you'll hear when it's fast enough to downshift into the next lower gear at that speed. Drive for a few months and you'll get used to it.
Got that compact rental car with the manual tranny yet?
-- Energy and persistence alter all things. --Benjamin Franklin
The only significant difference between driving the Army truck and my Beetle was the control effort. Whenever I got back into the car afer a long truck trip I nearly ripped out the gearshift lever and pushed my clutch foot through the floor.
Neither had any power. The 10-year-old VW had a 1200cc engine that maxed it out at the same top speed as the truck, 100 KPH / 60 MPH. I rarely drove it on the Autobahn, much preferring the back roads and quaint villages anyway.
That little engine would run with three plug wires disconnected, and I could crank start it by hand with a dead battery by jacking up and turning a rear wheel. I think it was a Euro-only ~30 HP low compression version, though the body trim was US spec.
I had the least impressive car on the Kaserne until a buddy bought a new Pinto.
jsw
You have a bobtail, too? I thought you bought a rig (tractor) and maybe a trailer.
Googlin'it, I guess my definition was wrong, but I always thought that a bobtail was a box on the same frame, behind the cab:
-- To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves... We must persistently and convincingly tell ourselves that the fear is here--with its gift of energy and heightened awareness--so we can do our best and learn the most in the new situation. Peter McWilliams, Life 101
Bobtail is a bare tractor. It's actually also the most dangerous way to drive one on the highway. That is because the entire suspension is set up to work with lot's of weight. Without the weight the tires and weight the rear end likes to dance around a lot. Hit a nice wet spot while you're going uphill or around a turn and you can swap ends so fast the seat will turn brown.....
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.