Failed My CDL Road Test. Stalled! :(

I took my road test yesterday for the second time & failed. I can't seem to not stall, I always drive perfect in the begining & then next thing u know I stall!!!! I let my foot off the brake....I start to roll back! I let the clutch up sightly & then the brake....give it gas, still stalled. How can I stop stalling my truck on flat ground & on a hill stop at a light?

Ok....there's a little confusion here about techniques.

First of all, it's nearly impossible to stall a truck if you start in a low enough gear. In fact, if you start in first gear you'd have to just about stand on the brakes to get it to stall because there is so much torque in those engines. So start in maybe 2nd or 3rd gear. I've heard a lot of schools teaching people to start in 4th no matter what and that's just dumb - it causes a lot of uneccessary problems for students. So first and foremost, start in a lower gear.

Secondly, you do not give it gas while you're letting out on the clutch. You're either going to burn up the clutch, rip the rear end out of it, or twist the drive shaft in half. Start in a low enough gear that you can slowly let out on the clutch without touching the gas pedal at all. Once the clutch is completely released you can hit the gas and go.

As big and powerful as big rigs are you learn after a little while that you can handle them very gently if you do it correctly. The shifting can be done with two fingers on the shifter and no clutch - it will slip right in and out of gear like butter. The clutch can be let out slowly and smoothly without touching the gas pedal if you're in a low enough gear. Going down mountains you barely ever have to touch the brake pedal at all if you're in the right gear using your Jake Brakes.

So focus on being smooth and gentle.

Its rough, No matter what you do in the start of it your going to roll back a little. Just keep trying though you will get it perfect. I found that not hitting a curb was just a crazy rule for an automatic failure. So you go from the clutch back to the brake than the gas? Have you tried just releasing the brake, hitting the gas and releasing the clutch? Do you have the right RPM's when you are releasing the clutch. Most people stall because they are not getting the RPM's up before they release the clutch.

This is all wrong. You should not roll back at all at any time. You are not driving a car and you have to go by feel and not RPMs. The torque in these engines is massive and having the RPMs too high will burn your clutch as you let it out.

The proper technique is to slowly let out the clutch until you feel the truck start to pull against the brakes, then and only then to you take your foot off the brake and slowly apply the throttle while continuing to let out the clutch.

I was just letting out the clutch slowly in 3rd at school with no gas and it worked well.

Yeah that will work great for empty trailers or light loads. Heavier loads I used to use 2nd gear on flat ground and sometimes even first if I was stopped on an incline.

I think people believe they're going to get going faster by starting in a higher gear but that's ridiculous. Even if you execute the shifts perfectly you're going to win a drag race to 55 mph by what....10 feet? You're stressing the h*ll out of the drive train doing that and it doesn't accomplish anything.

When you're driving a rig for a living, longevity is the key. It's not about how many miles can you turn today or this week or even this month. You want to be out there for years and years as a safe, productive driver. One of the things you want to focus on is relaxing. Don't stress yourself (or the equipment) trying to push for every mile per hour you can get or trying to grab gears quickly. Relax! Put it in 2nd, ease out gently on the clutch, and work your way smoothly through the gears as you sing happy songs about your homeland. When someone gives you the finger for being in their way, smile big and wave nicely. Put on some smooth jazz and ponder the wonders of life.

When you're new to trucking you tend to "over-drive" it. You mash the gas too hard, you shift hard and fast, you oversteer when you're backing, you brake too hard - everything is forced and you're stressing too much. After you start to get the feel for a rig you'll relax more and more. At some point you'll realize the best drivers out there are the ones that are smooth as silk. You'll watch a veteran back into a parking spot and he barely turns the wheel and when he does it's slow and smooth. When you ride with a veteran that really knows how to shift you won't even feel the truck accelerate and decelerate as he's going through the gears. In fact, if you couldn't hear the engine you wouldn't even know he was shifting at all.

So, if I read some of these right, you can be sitting dead still say at a light, put the truck in a lower gear, let the clutch out and it will only move when you release the brakes and press the gas?

No, that would stall the truck, you must keep the clutch depressed fully when stopped at a light, to get moving you let the clutch out fully first with foot off the brake, then you apply throttle

Yes ... the idle of the Tractor provides enough torque to get the rig moving forward with no extra throttle.

As a demonstration , my instructor stopped the rig on the shoulder of a highway on our first day and did just that from 6th on a slight uphill grade. ( Not recommended, of course, he was just making a point of the torque of these machines )

I used 3rd gear to start out with the lightly loaded trailer.... Never any throttle to get the rig moving...

I was taught to keep my foot on the break and let out the clutch until you feel the truck pull against the break the let off the break and use the clutch to keep you from rolling back. Then when you have to go start hitting the fuel and let off the clutch the rest of the way.

Its rough, No matter what you do in the start of it your going to roll back a little. Just keep trying though you will get it perfect. I found that not hitting a curb was just a crazy rule for an automatic failure. So you go from the clutch back to the brake than the gas? Have you tried just releasing the brake, hitting the gas and releasing the clutch? Do you have the right RPM's when you are releasing the clutch. Most people stall because they are not getting the RPM's up before they release the clutch.

I was taught to keep my foot on the break and let out the clutch until you feel the truck pull against the break the let off the break and use the clutch to keep you from rolling back. Then when you have to go start hitting the fuel and let off the clutch the rest of the way.

To add on this, The brake will shake and that will tell you when to release the brake. If not your truck will start to turn and then you will stall. If you have a way of practicing releasing the brake try and way for it to start shaking your foot a little.

I was taught to keep my foot on the break and let out the clutch until you feel the truck pull against the break the let off the break and use the clutch to keep you from rolling back. Then when you have to go start hitting the fuel and let off the clutch the rest of the way.

To add on this, The brake will shake and that will tell you when to release the brake. If not your truck will start to turn and then you will stall. If you have a way of practicing releasing the brake try and way for it to start shaking your foot a little.

one of my instructors took me to a hill and had me hold the truck still with just the clutch.

I was taught to keep my foot on the break and let out the clutch until you feel the truck pull against the break the let off the break and use the clutch to keep you from rolling back. Then when you have to go start hitting the fuel and let off the clutch the rest of the way.

To add on this, The brake will shake and that will tell you when to release the brake. If not your truck will start to turn and then you will stall. If you have a way of practicing releasing the brake try and way for it to start shaking your foot a little.

one of my instructors took me to a hill and had me hold the truck still with just the clutch.

My instructor did the exact same. It helps out a lot! I forgot all about that though.

Its rough, No matter what you do in the start of it your going to roll back a little. Just keep trying though you will get it perfect. I found that not hitting a curb was just a crazy rule for an automatic failure. So you go from the clutch back to the brake than the gas? Have you tried just releasing the brake, hitting the gas and releasing the clutch? Do you have the right RPM's when you are releasing the clutch. Most people stall because they are not getting the RPM's up before they release the clutch.

This is all wrong. You should not roll back at all at any time. You are not driving a car and you have to go by feel and not RPMs. The torque in these engines is massive and having the RPMs too high will burn your clutch as you let it out.

The proper technique is to slowly let out the clutch until you feel the truck start to pull against the brakes, then and only then to you take your foot off the brake and slowly apply the throttle while continuing to let out the clutch.

I would also add to make sure you are in the lowest gear possible when starting on a hill.

Phil

Thank all of you guys for the advice, I truly appreciate it!!! I really love being behind the wheel of a truck...I think that's why I've been so down that I've failed. I will keep trying & practicing & once I pass I'll let you guys know how it goes!!! Thanks again!!!

Ahmad, I had the exact same issues that you are having. In fact, I actually ignored two students in my class that were in the back for the ride along. I started up the hill wrong and the truck shook like a banshee and then stalled. So I might have had it worse than you.

Just keep practicing it. It's all about the feel just like Pat said. You'll figure it out!