Howo Truck Gear Shifting --10 Speed Gearbox Upshifting, Down Shifting and Fixing a Misssed Gear — Transcript

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1. 0:02When you're learning how to upshift, try
2. 0:04shifting early to avoid becoming
3. 0:05frustrated. Shifting early means
4. 0:07shifting between 1,000 and 1,500 RPM.
5. 0:1110 to 15 is the sweet spot on most
6. 0:13trucks.
7. 0:14A car with a manual transmission will
8. 0:16allow you to shift at almost any RPM.
9. 0:18That's because many cars have
10. 0:19synchronized transmissions. Truck
11. 0:22transmissions aren't synchronized, so
12. 0:24they require specific RPMs. Here's a
13. 0:26good rule of thumb when you're learning
14. 0:28to shift.
15. 0:29Try shifting the low gears 1 through 5
16. 0:32at 1,400 to 1,500 RPM
17. 0:34and the high gears 6 through 10 at 1,500
18. 0:38to 1,600 RPMs. Use that 1 2 speed,
19. 0:42clutch clutch, clutch to neutral, clutch
20. 0:44to gear. Remember to push the clutch in
21. 0:46just 2 to 3 in when you're shifting. 1
22. 0:492, that's the speed for upshifting.
23. 0:52Here's what's happening when you
24. 0:53upshift. Let's assume you're in sixth
25. 0:55gear at 1,500 RPMs and you're ready to
26. 0:58shift to seventh.
27. 1:00When you depress the clutch and move the
28. 1:01shifter to neutral, the RPM needle
29. 1:03begins to fall because you're not in
30. 1:04gear. If it falls below 1,000 before you
31. 1:07make your next gear, the truck probably
32. 1:09won't go into gear. So, what you're
33. 1:11really trying to do is beat the needle
34. 1:13to 10, which means you're trying to make
35. 1:15your next gear before the needle reaches
36. 1:171,000 RPM.
37. 1:19If you fail to make your next gear
38. 1:21before the needle falls below 10, you'll
39. 1:23have to kick the needle up to the sweet
40. 1:25spot.
41. 1:26Reving the engine once kicks the needle
42. 1:28up. Rev the engine by pressing the fuel
43. 1:30pedal using a short quick stab.
44. 1:33Avoid depressing and holding the pedal
45. 1:35down or you'll push the needle past the
46. 1:37sweet spot.
47. 1:40If you're having trouble reving the
48. 1:42engine to the correct RPM, try
49. 1:44practicing in a stationary truck. With
50. 1:46the engine idling, the transmission in
51. 1:48neutral, and the brakes set, depress and
52. 1:51release the fuel pedal quickly and watch
53. 1:53the RPM needle. Did it rise to 1,000 to
54. 1:561,500? If not, allow the needle to fall
55. 1:59and then rev the engine again with a
56. 2:01little more force. Push that needle up
57. 2:03to 1,300 to 1,500.
58. 2:05Practice reving the engine until you're
59. 2:07consistently hitting the sweet spot.
60. 2:09This exercise will help build muscle
61. 2:11memory in your lower right leg.
62. 2:13This is an important skill that you'll
63. 2:15use when you downshift because every
64. 2:17downshift requires an engine rev.
65. 2:29Downshifting is a little different
66. 2:30because there's an extra step involved.
67. 2:32To downshift, the driver needs to rev
68. 2:34the engine while in neutral. So, the
69. 2:36proper procedure for downshifting is
70. 2:39clutch to neutral, rev the engine, then
71. 2:41clutch to gear. Recall upshifting.
72. 2:44Clutch to neutral, clutch to gear. 1 2.
73. 2:47Downshifting is clutch to neutral, rev,
74. 2:49clutch to gear.
75. 2:51When you give the truck fuel or rev the
76. 2:53engine, kick the RPM needle up to 1,300
77. 2:55to 1,500 RPM. If you're having trouble
78. 2:58downshifting, slow down before
79. 3:00attempting to downshift.
80. 3:02Slowing down will quickly improve your
81. 3:04downshifts. We recommend slowing down to
82. 3:071,000 to 1,100 RPM. 10 to 11. At these
83. 3:11RPMs, you can clutch to neutral, rev the
84. 3:13engine, then clutch to gear.
85. 3:15Kick that needle up to the sweet spot,
86. 3:16but avoid staring at the gauge. Glance
87. 3:19at it after reving the engine. Take a
88. 3:21few seconds to consider what's happening
89. 3:23during a downshift. So, you've prepared
90. 3:25for the downshift by slowing down to 10
91. 3:2711. Well, 10 11 is at the bottom of the
92. 3:30sweet spot. So, as soon as you shift to
93. 3:32neutral, the needle begins to fall below
94. 3:34the sweet spot. To put the truck into
95. 3:36the next lower gear, you have to rev the
96. 3:38engine to the sweet spot while in
97. 3:40neutral. There is no 1 2 timing
98. 3:42associated with downshifting because of
99. 3:44the extra step of reving the engine.
100. 3:46Also, if you don't kick the needle up
101. 3:48high enough the first time, the truck
102. 3:50won't go into gear and you'll have to
103. 3:51try again by reving the engine a little
104. 3:53higher.
105. 3:55When you're downshifting, the same
106. 3:56clutch rule applies. Avoid pushing the
107. 3:59clutch pedal to the floor when the truck
108. 4:00is in motion or you'll stop the gears in
109. 4:02the transmission from turning.
110. 4:04When the truck is in motion, the gears
111. 4:06must also be in motion. So, use two
112. 4:08short clutches just as you do when
113. 4:10upshifting.
114. 4:16Patience over panic is the key to fixing
115. 4:19a missed gear.
116. 4:20Panic will cause you to grind your
117. 4:21gears. Try to control that emotional
118. 4:24response and practice this method
119. 4:25instead.
120. 4:26So, I'm going to miss my shift from 6 to
121. 4:287 on purpose and then fix it the smart
122. 4:31way.
123. 4:31After I miss seventh gear, all I need to
124. 4:33do is find the soft wall and then place
125. 4:36the shifter at the opening of the gate
126. 4:38to seventh gear.
127. 4:40You'll feel the gears turning with just
128. 4:41a little bit of pressure on the shifter.
129. 4:43Then I'll rev the engine to the sweet
130. 4:45spot and the shifter will fall into
131. 4:46gear. This method requires patience and
132. 4:49the ability to locate the wall that is
133. 4:51associated with your gear. If you apply
134. 4:53too much pressure to the shifter, you'll
135. 4:55create a grind. Light pressure on the
136. 4:57shifter is all you need.
137. 5:04If you push the RPMs above 1,500, you
138. 5:07can still shift and make your next gear,
139. 5:10but you'll have to alter the timing of
140. 5:11your shift. Shifting at the 1 2 speed
141. 5:14may not work depending on how far you
142. 5:16push the RPMs. So, let's assume that
143. 5:19you've pushed the RPMs to 1,800 without
144. 5:21shifting. As soon as you begin your
145. 5:23shift, the RPM needle begins to fall. If
146. 5:26you try to put the truck in gear before
147. 5:28the needle has reached the sweet spot,
148. 5:30the transmission will grind. All you
149. 5:32have to do is give the needle more time
150. 5:34to fall into the sweet spot. You can do
151. 5:36this by shifting slightly slower than 1
152. 5:392.
153. 5:40Slightly slower means less than a half a
154. 5:42second. So, instead of the 1 2 speed,
155. 5:45try 1 2. Very little difference.
156. 5:47Shifting early yields better fuel
157. 5:49mileage. You'll be a hero if you shift
158. 5:51early because fuel is a trucking
159. 5:53company's biggest cost. Let's move on to
160. 5:56low RPM shifting. If you shift at low
161. 5:58RPMs, you can shift the transmission
162. 6:01faster. Think about shifting every gear
163. 6:03at 1,300 RPM. As soon as you shift to
164. 6:06neutral, the needle starts falling, but
165. 6:08it doesn't have very far to fall before
166. 6:09it's out of the sweet