What Is The Real Effect Or Benefit Of Double Clutching?

Now you're really making me feel like a wannabe! I thought I might leave you alone now but, since you insist... what exactly is 'floating' the gears? What are you actually doing?

Floating is shifting gears using only the exact RPMs without clutching at all. Even if you can master it before you take your CDL , it's an automatic fail on the CDL test, to actually do it then.

Double-clutching is fun! Don't sweat it. You'll get it.

To shift up ...clutch, shift out, ...clutch, shift up ...or clutch, clutch. To down-shift, clutch-vroom-clutch.

-mountain girl

Guyjax is right, though. You have to be able to shift in all different ways, once you get your CDL and some experience, so you are able to handle different situations that might require you to operate safely and/or react to an emergent situation, without even having to think it through. I'm talking from jail, here, since I have no experience, but my guess is, this is very true.

-mountain girl

One example and it's hardly every taught is doubling up or doubling down on gears which means the same as skip shifting. You are skipping gears as you go up and down in the shift pattern. 4th-6th-8th-10th.

While it's not used in everyday driving by most people everyone should learn how to do it. Let's say you are going up a mountain and you miss a gear. You know you did it the second it happens. So instead of fighting it in gear double down shift from 8th to 6th. Even more important for going down hill cause missing a gear might kill ya. Double down works well when you miss a gear and just have to get it back in to slow down.

Butt here is the kicker and I know this is never taught. It's something you learn through experience or you accept it cause it make sense. Let's say your going down a mountain grade and you lose your gear. It's in neutral now. Most people would hit the brakes trying to get slowed down enough to get it back in gear. But now you have smoked your brakes and have them be less effective. When you come out of gear your truck speeds up right? OK so instead of using those very important brakes for an emergency stab braking just up shift to a higher gear. I know that sounds crazy but if your rolling down a hill you can not wait. It has to get back in gear this instance and since the truck is speeding up the fastest way to get it in gear is to up shift. Now once it's in gear NOW use your brakes and Jake to bring down your speed and once low enough down shift. In my truck if I am in gear and I slow my truck to 500 ram I can double down or down shift two gear therefore helping to slow even more.

But here is the kicker and I know this is never taught. It's something you learn through experience or you accept it cause it make sense. Let's say your going down a mountain grade and you lose your gear. It's in neutral now. Most people would hit the brakes trying to get slowed down enough to get it back in gear. But now you have smoked your brakes and have them be less effective. When you come out of gear your truck speeds up right? OK so instead of using those very important brakes for an emergency stab braking just up shift to a higher gear. I know that sounds crazy but if your rolling down a hill you can not wait. It has to get back in gear this instance and since the truck is speeding up the fastest way to get it in gear is to up shift. Now once it's in gear NOW use your brakes and Jake to bring down your speed and once low enough down shift. In my truck if I am in gear and I slow my truck to 500 ram I can double down or down shift two gear therefore helping to slow even more.

This is totally one of those posts you should save to your phone so you can cut and paste, over and over. Thank you so much. I'd rather be in any gear than no gear at all. This is reeeeeally good to know.

Thank you,

-mountain girl

Ditto, MG! I second that! That kinda puts it into perspective! Thanks, guyjax. Thanx everyone.