Trucking Companies With Automatic Transmissions

So here's my story... about 2 weeks ago I started at a CDL school in Dallas and the computer tests were easy... I even like the driving for the most part... but I cannot for the life of me get this whole double clutch/shifting thing down and it's really killing me. It's been nearly a week and I feel like I'm no better than the first day. Meanwhile I've watched most of my classmates go out on city streets today. I feel overwhelmed when I'm driving and honestly feel like I don't want to drive it. I can't grasp handling the shifter and looking out the windows to make proper turns at the same time. I have a CDL class A permit and am just wondering if I'd be better off going to a training program with automatic trucks. I was hearing a lot about US Xpress from some people I talked to yesterday but was wondering if anyone knew how they were, or any better suggestions.

I believe, if you cannot master the clutch, you are going to have to have a manual transmission restriction on your CDL , according to the FMCSR - and believe me, I don't think that's going to be very helpful when looking for a job, as it will narrow your choices. I think Trans Am has all manuals but what if, for some reason, that company (or another of your tiny list of choices) were not a good fit for you or something came up that prevented you from working for them?

I might sound a bit "old school" for saying this, but you're going to have to get that shifting thing to at least a passing level.

Rather than ruling out shifting all together, tell us what aspect of shifting you're struggling with? Is it the gear pattern? The timing? The rpms? Down-shifting? Does your school have simulators?

Tell us what's up, so we can help out.

-mountain girl

It's everything... I struggle to hit gears when I'm moving, my speed is off... timing is terrible... I either don't hit the clutch hard enough(to the floor to shift) or I brake too hard or hit the gas too hard to where sometimes the truck dies at a stop or jerks really bad(to the point someone not even in the truck hears it). I just feel flat out awful when I'm driving because there's too much going on and I don't feel confident driving. Maybe truck driving just isn't for me(this is just a track afterall, there's not even other traffic). I haven't seen a simulator, it's all on a track in the back lot.

Jus a few things. First since your still trying in school and you change to another school everything you have done this far is for not. You will be out another chunk of money.

With the trouble your having you will be done with school during the slow season in trucking(December thur March) and you having a automatic transmission restrict on your CDL will get you looked over for more qualified drivers during the slow season.

Mind you not all but most training trucks, with very few exceptions, are all manual transmissions. This alone will make it hard to find a job driving a truck.

The actual dmv driving test will be a killer for ya. You are not expected to be perfect. The officers testing people expect you to mess up some. Two major factors they look for..... 1 can you safely maneuver the truck? And 2 what is your confidence level. How comfortable you are behind the wheel. If it looks like you are about to fall apart behind the wheel then chances are that officer will not have confidence in your ability to control the truck safely. Those 2 things go hand in hand without a doubt.

You will need to learn to channel that nervousness into something useful.

Hhmm. Don't take offense, k? Sounds like part of your problem is you're nervous. Try to relax. You can't expect to be perfect - not even after 2 weeks, and don't worry about what others think, here, see, while you're training. Also, consider in training, you're not going to be using the nicest trucks out there because we newbies tend to grind them up and they don't want us doing that to the newer, nicer trucks. Overall, the training trucks might generally be a bit rough and/or old, which makes shifting a little tough to learn.

First, one of the biggest mistakes we newbies make is to treat this like a car with a manual transmission. It's not a car. The reason I say this is with a car or light truck, if we push the clutch to the floor, the gear will engage. This couldn't be further from the truth with a tractor. Do not put your clutch all the way to the floor. In fact, if you can find the sweet spot, where the clutch will engage, that would be better but I can assure you, it's not at the floor. The reason for this is that in many truck models, putting the clutch to the floor actually engages the clutch break, which is not for shifting but for slowing down. So here's what I would suggest: for first or even reverse, put your clutch to the floor and then slowly let up on it and find that level of clutch where the gear will actually slide into. Now try to memorize that level of clutch so it becomes more natural to you. We so want to put that thing to the floor but you're going to have to retrain your brain on that one.

Also, I don't know what your height is but be sure that your heels are able to touch the floor at a comfortable level, while you're controlling the pedals.

For up-shifting, think "clutch-clutch" as you bring it out of the current gear and into the next higher one. 1st gear, vroom (accelerate), clutch-clutch 2nd gear, vroom, clutch-clutch 3rd, and so forth.

For down-shifting, "clutch-vroom-clutch." This is a quick movement coordinating both feet along with the clutch. Ask your instructor to do it for you, if you want to see it done. Doesn't matter if he's already shown you. Ask again. I find it difficult to rev the engine up to just the right number of rpms, but that comes with practice and if you're going slowly enough to drop down to the next gear, it gets easier.

It also sounds like you're a little overwhelmed with a lot of things at once. This is normal. Memorize that shifting pattern now. If you have to, say those gear numbers under your breath until you start to remember exactly which gear you're in, at all times.

It might be helpful to request time driving around in the yard or on a few really quiet, truck-route streets where all you and the instructor do is shifting-shifting-shifting.

For stopping, unless it's an emergency, you shouldn't need to stop abruptly. Most of the time, when approaching a red light or a stop sign, you'll be planning your stop way ahead of time, as you down-shift but maybe you should get more practice in the yard, first. Find out if, during a shifting practice, you can practice down-shifting on a long stretch of the yard, over and over again. But generally, for driving in the yard, you shouldn't be traveling more than 10-15 miles per hour there anyway, so stopping there involves using the clutch and the brake at the same time and it should be a slow, controlled squeeze of the brake.

Take a deep breath and start all over again, every morning.

Hopefully, other, more experienced drivers will add their comments too.

-mountain girl

Just calm down and take your time. 4 weeks ago I had never driven any kind of stick shift now I have my CDL. Yesterday I did one last drive before my DMV test and I was horrid, I stalled a few times even. Today I did my DMV test and it was smooth as glass, you HAVE to not be nervous and just follow what the instructors tell you. Try not to think about it much, you can do it, just keep calm.

Brent, you're going to be perfectly fine. This kind of thing is normal. Everyone picks up on certain things pretty easily and struggles mightily with others. The fact that other people picked up on it a little more quickly is what is throwing you off. If you were at the same level you are now but you were the best in your class you'd be supremely confident and you'd learn 100 times faster.

What you should do for starters is stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Your job isn't to learn shifting before everyone else. Your job is simply to learn shifting. Before you start practicing next time just clear your mind, take a deep breath to relax, and remind yourself that there are no consequences to missing a gear. Who cares??? You're learning and practicing. You're supposed to screw up a bunch. And let me tell you, even drivers with decades of experience grind gears every single day out there at some point. Nobody shifts perfectly no matter how good they are, not even for a day. So don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself.

Most importantly, stop doubting yourself. That's what is killing you. You're overthinking it, you're tensing up, and nobody can perform when they're in that state of mind.

I was a pitcher in baseball from the time I was eight years old until I graduated High School. I was extremely accurate relative to most pitchers, but of course I'm human so I had good days and not so good days. Whenever I was struggling I would hear my mom yelling, "Just throw it!!!!" ....and of course I knew exactly what she meant by that. She meant stop thinking about it, stop trying to aim it, stop doubting yourself, and just let your body do what it already knows how to do. Relax, clear your mind, and chuck it with supreme confidence!

That's what you need to do. Relax, clear your mind, and believe with everything you have in you that you're going to be able to do this once you figure out what's throwing you off. Remember, you're simply trying to learn at this point. Where you stand relative to anyone else is meaningless. Trust me...there's no such thing as being a natural when you're learning to drive a rig. Because even "a natural" student is awful at everything relative to where they'll be in a few months. You might see a rookie come into the NFL and play like a veteran but you're not going to see a brand new driver drive like a veteran - not a chance in the world.

So you can certainly learn to shift a truck just like anyone else, and you will. No question about it. Believe me, we get people here in the forum all the time in the exact same position as you. They're struggling with something, they're losing their confidence, and they don't know what to do. Well the answer is simple....relax and keep working on it. You'll have it down before you know it. And before long that person comes back here to tell us they kept working at it and now they have their CDL.

In fact I'll tell you what's going to happen. Very soon you're going to make a mistake and suddenly something in your mind is going to "click" and you're going to think, "oooooooh I see what I'm doing wrong now!" and you're instantly going to be twice as good as you had been to this point. Then your confidence will climb, you'll naturally begin to perform better, and within a day or two your shifting will be right where it should be for a student - painful to watch but good enough to move the truck down the road. And that's all you're looking for.

A lot of times when trying to learn something we overwhelm ourselves with too many things at once. Maybe you should simplify it as much as possible. Maybe just get the truck rolling and pick two gears to shift between...maybe 5th and 6th for instance. Upshift into 6th, downshift into 5th. Do that a bunch of times. Watch the RPM's, listen to the engine, and get a feel for going between those two gears. If you can shift properly between 5th and 6th then you'll be able to shift properly between any two gears by simply adjusting your timing a bit. It's just a matter of getting a feel for the timing and the RPM's.

Also, a lot of people tend to kick the clutch in too far. The truth is, you don't need the clutch at all. In fact, once you're out there driving on your own you won't use the clutch 99% of the time. Only when you come to a stop. So don't press it in more than an inch or two. Just give it a light, quick "kick" and let it pop out. If you push it in more than about two inches you're throwing off your timing and possibly getting into the clutch brake which is going to really screw everything up for ya. Heck, if you like, try shifting a time or two without the clutch at all. Then you'll be able to concentrate on the throttle and shifter. Add the clutch to it after you've made a few good shifts without it. You might want to warn your instructor that you'd like to try doing that a time or two if he's in the truck with you though. Otherwise his job is to have a conniption fit as if you've broken the golden rule of double clutching.

Hang in there Brent, you can get this!

As always much great advice has already been given in this thread so there is not much for me to add but I'll tell ya a little story.

A few months back I got to talking to another member of Trucking Truth that lived around my area. He attended the same school I went through and was hired by a pretty picky trucking company so he could have probably got on with any company he wanted. He went out with his trainer and while I wont go into detail about what he was told because I do not want to put it in your head the guy really screwed him up on his shifting. So bad in fact that the company let him go.

He was talking to me about going to a company that had automatics because his confidence was so shaken. I didn't want to see him limit his options so much and assured him once he got with a better trainer he would settle down and be just fine. He ended up applying to the company I work for and I see him every once in a while at the terminal. He sucked it up for a while and kept working till he got it and now never even has to think about shifting its just natural.

You will get there once you stop putting so much pressure on yourself. I remember when I was in school how quickly I would tense up when I missed a gear or did some grinding lol. Believe me once you dont let it bother you your recover times will get much faster and you will be rolling down the road in no time.

Just remember, EVERY trucker still grinds and misses gears once in a while. Difference is they laugh and move on instead of letting it get them worked up.

Woody