What did you do to your non-G body project today? [2021]

[pagrunt]

Do they make you double clutch? It can easily be done without the clutch.

Yes & after two years I have yet to try since I seem to drive mostly with the snow flying.

 

[Northernregal]

People actually double clutch? You have to get a seperate manual endorsement?

 

[CopperNick]

Remembering a conversation that I had with the fleet supervisor for a local construction company and her biggest complaint was that the new drivers were supposed to come to her completely trained and none of them could mix a manual. Double clutching is becoming a lost art and yet I can remember the first truck I drove as part of my job and it needed to be double clutched or the rpms would just drop like a stone.



Nick

 

[pagrunt]

People actually double clutch? You have to get a seperate manual endorsement?

A CDL truck's manual isn't like our car manual. They don't have synchromesh so you have to have the engine speed & road speed to match up, doing so you'll have to take it out of gear to neutral then back into gear. But a good driver knows the sweet spot & won't need to clutch at all to shift. With the skill needed & have the ability to understand the concept they'll restrict you from driving one if you can't do it. We had a lady in our class who couldn't grasp the double clutch of the down shifts & made it worst when she was on the high side of the 10 speed.

 

[5spdCab]

Yes they did plus got me the endorsments for tanker (which I did need), hazmat (droping when it expires) & doubles & triples (dropping when I need to renew my license). They only have 10 speed Freightliner tractors. FYI, they said knowing how to shift a car transmission screws with you learning to double clutch & it did with me.

Boy how times have changed, I've been a CDL driver since 1984 and a lot of the rules have changed, some better, some worse.
Technology advancements have made trucks safer and easier to drive. Now, auto trans trucks are becoming more common than they used to be, but I think that I will always be more of an old school type trucker than new age. I am sort of stuck in the early middle, not quite been around long enough to drive double stick transmissions, but also kind of lost driving an automatic. As for double clutching, I can do it, but I never really got the hang of that either. Once I get rolling, I just shift by sound and meshing engine/ trans RPM's. It is getting a little harder to do though (as an old schooler) with quieter exhaust systems, computer tuned engines, drive by wire accelerator pedals and such.
On endorsements, I have airbrake, double-triple,and tank. I regret not getting the passenger endorsement when it only required taking the written test instead of driving test, and I recently let my haz-mat go because I have no intention of needing one anymore.
Whichever endorsements you get, don't let them go once you have them if they will require a driving test to get them back at a later time. The haz-mat requires an FBI background check every 4 or 5 years to renew. You can get that, or let it go, as needed or not needed.

 

[Northernregal]

A CDL truck's manual isn't like our car manual. They don't have synchromesh so you have to have the engine speed & road speed to match up, doing so you'll have to take it out of gear to neutral then back into gear. But a good driver knows the sweet spot & won't need to clutch at all to shift. With the skill needed & have the ability to understand the concept they'll restrict you from driving one if you can't do it. We had a lady in our class who couldn't grasp the double clutch of the down shifts & made it worst when she was on the high side of the 10 speed.

23 years with my license. I have met like 3 people that double clutched. Lol. All were highway only drivers.

I didn't realize there was a manual trans clarification, I understand why but that must have changed recently.

 

[ck80]

Bought more junk. This time for the burb. It's been around for a long time.

 

[5spdCab]

Yesterday was the first dry day we have had in Seattle for the last 8 days, so I jumped on the chance to pick up some lumber at Lowe's, to begin enclosing my carport to turn it into a storage room. Then I plan to clean out the garage to turn it into a useable shop/maintenance facility. Today was dry and sunny, but cold. I did get the long side framed up though. Tomorrow, I plan to get some plywood to use as an underlayment for the water barrier and T-111 siding to match the house and garage. I also need to work up a material list for the entry end of the enclosure.

 

[axisg]

Not proud of it but I have had 3 verbal warnings in the last 6-8 months for talking on my phone while driving the work truck. Each time the LEO was appreciative of the fact that I am self employed and my phone is my $$ so I didnt have the time to get my headset on before I was spotted and pulled over. I know I am damn lucky that I drove away with no ticket each time or points against my CVOR so I am very humbled and grateful. I've tried headphones and bluetooth but they all either make me sound like I'm in a tin can or I cannot hear their side of the conversation.

So today I pulled the BN head unit that has been rolling around in the trunk of the Monte for almost 2 years and put it in the truck. Bluetooth, Spotify so I am set now for hands free phone and tunes now.
I have looked for 2 weeks for a 2x din media only unit with 200w + and have had no luck ( thx covids ) so the poor Monte gets back burnered again until I can find a Media player with backup camera ( in stock ) for less than the price of a kidney transplant. I stopped short of pulling one of the subs from the monte trunk this morning but then again I spend 10x more time in the truck than the monte so that may change until I find a bazooka tube or something similar to wedge behind the seat......
Now I have 4 x 3 way speakers in the truck to replace what used to be just the 2 beat up single cone speakers from 1999 in the doors. More than a little more thump now. Much more volume. Loud music mellows the angry Irish in me 🙂

As my business partner says... "all the small things add up". If dumping a couple hundy into a work truck to make loud music makes you happy for even just your 15 minute commute to work and then again home every day then why haven't you done it already ???

 

[old80cs]

Puttered around on my old garden tractor, a JD214. I've had it for many years but it's only been functional this past few months. Was a basket case by the side of the road when I brought it home 10-12 years ago. Made an old Sears plow blade fit onto the quick hitch front end of the tractor. Going to set a winch on the nose for the lifting so I don't have to fuss with the "Armstrong" lift. If the lever was on the right it might be manageable, but on the left forget it. Got to finish up all the welding this week, it won't be pretty but it'll work just fine. The winch is a HF job, not proud of the purchase but they were the only store in town with one on the shelf, so it'll have to do.