If you look up Swift's SafeStat score you'd find that for the number of drivers and the number of miles driven per year they are actually a very safe company.
I can totally agree with you there. My dad made me learn how to drive his three speed in the tree Ford F-100 before he’d ever let me get my drivers license. And the just for shits and giggles he tested me on the pre trip test and actually driving his big rig. Needless to say I did better than my sister. She couldn’t even make it out our driveway in the Ford.
As a Truck Driver trainer the answer is "no, the average Joe cannot drive an 18 wheeler"😂🤣. Truth be told if you wouldn't have giving them pointers they would have failed. But luckily for these two guys you gave them a few pointers which helped them getting through the course. Great job to Randy and Joe. For their first time they did great.
Yeah that would be fun to see. Lol. For the next one they should legally get their permits and drive on real roads with light, like normal small town traffic. Without any help unless of course he's about to commit something catastrophic.🤣😂 Give them 3 strike rule. Give them the same DPS (Department of Public Safety) type road test.
100% agree with you. A few pointers and a safe course is not hopping in a truck and taking it down the street. An average Joe cannot do this job without some training. I used to train 88M guys from the National Guard as well and they hardly had a clue how to operate in traffic and zero clue how to shift.
Don’t encourage people to shift clutchless. It’s important you learn to double clutch first, it helps with timing and learning to regulate rpm and finding the point of zero load that you can shift at if you don’t use the clutch.
Driver trainer here. This technically is not driving without training. The fact that he takes him around the course, shows them how to shift, shows them what to look out for, gives them tips and tricks with the clutch... That is training. The more interesting video I think would be to let them climb up in that truck and figure out how to start it how to get it moving. With some students it really is as simple as taking them on a 30 minute drive letting them observe what you're doing and a lot of people have got the basics after that and the rest of training is observing correcting and teaching and the rest will just come with experience.
Not bad actually for first time out. I've seen a lot worse, like trying to teach my nephew to drive a 5-speed in a car. What blew me away was Joe. He'd never driven a manual and decided to start with a non-synchronized 10-speed, and did a pretty decent job too! The floating thing comes with practice and patience. Probably a good idea to start with the clutch until you get used to road-speed vs rpm vs gear, but Joe was actually the smoothest at that. My fail on that would've been looking out the back window while backing. I drive a day cab now too, but I still use my mirrors, but then I'm usually hauling box trailers. Kudos for trying it! Fun video.
Remember, you need to double-clutch for the State test. It might have changed but, if you haven't checked with your school already or checked directly with the State, you might want to in order to make sure you don't get too far into something that may be practical but is not test approved before you get past the test.
I was able to skip double clutching because #1 I had a really cool tester an #2 I didn't mess up on a single thing so the points that came off for not double clutching did not hurt my score
@@ontheroad5317I’ve taken many want to be drivers for their road test at the hazen rd concord facility. None of them have ever been required to double clutch. Maybe you just got a bastard to deal with.
@@snydedon9636 Interesting. I had to look it up, I thought maybe they changed it over the last few years. Especially with automatics getting more common. But it’s still technically a requirement, and I guess it would depend how old-school your tester is. 13.1.11(a) - Clutch usage (for Manual Transmission) Always use clutch to shift. If equipped with an unsynchronized manual transmission, you must double-clutch when shifting. Do not rev or lug the engine. Do not ride clutch to control speed, coast with clutch depressed, or “pop” the clutch.
I sure put the wear and tare on the tranny trying to figure it out. The driver training me had problems too. Nothing like a stick shift on a pickup. Lol
Ahh the memories of my youth. My first truck was a 86 Kenworth W900 long nose with 60 inch double bunk with Grey VIT interior, 15 speed with Cummins 400 hp. Pulled a 45 foot freuhauf spread axle flatbed. Also reminded me how how many "fun and interesting " sounds a manual transmission could make.
They both did pretty good,but you will be required to double clutch in school,all new drivers need to feel the left knee burn for awhile and floating will come with time,it's about matching road speed with the right gear.For my test,I had to straight line back,offset back and parallel park the truck and trailer in Kentucky.
I have no idea how to double clutch or even what the purpose is. Been driving commercial for 30 years. Never went to school, learned on the job. All that was required for the CDL was a written test.
@Zociety6477 You will have to attend an approved school to obtain the necessary training and road time,no insurance company will touch you without an approved training course.
@michaelwilder9231 I was looking at a few companies that are willing to send me to school like PRIME, Crum or Schnieder. I'm from Kentucky as well so I was just wondering if you had any recommendations for me as far as that was concerned. I can't afford to pay for schooling currently unfortunately
@Zociety6477 You will be contracted to work for them for an amount of time at low wages,call your local employment office to check for grants or financial assistance options,or help from family and pay them back,that way you are not stuck with a crap company.
Same here. The dude that was "teaching" them how to drive was actually doing a pretty good job. yes there were some technical discrepancies, but as a non-professional he got the guys rolling and not hitting stuff. "Swing wide. It's a Friggin trailer".
Don't push the clutch all the way to the floor - that's killing the clutch brake. Just push it enough to disengage. If you push the clutch to the floor, the clutch brake is going to try to stop the whole truck.
That's the right way to learn it to help with the shift timing. if you watch a new guy they have no concept of the timing on flat ground let alone uphill or downhill.
In Michigan, they want you to double clutch, but some testers are more worried about if you can control the truck, so if your proficient with floating they won't care so much about it
As a 2 year truck driver ngl with zero previous experience seeing everyday people trying to drive semis is so entertaining reminds me that I was there at one point.
Just a tip; with an empty trailer, you can start in 2nd gear at least. I’d probably start off in 3rd with that trailer. Hell, even with 20,000 pounds of cargo I’d start off in 2nd unless I was on a pretty good incline.
I think you just launched a new sideline business. There's lots of guys out there who would pay to do what these guys did. It was fun to watch. Great content.
Interesting to watch, Ive been an instructor for many years, so I see this all the time with new students, but for information the ten speed does not have a SPLITER, it is a range selector. A splitter is used in 13 and 18 speed type gear boxes and splits individual gears into a hi and lo. effectively doubling the number of gears. Floating (shifting without the clutch) is a normal practice used by professional drivers.) Unfortunately, it's a test requirement to use double clutching as a method of shifting gears for your DOT cdl test. In my experience I've found it far simpler to teach a person who has never shifted before, than to teach someone who can drive a manual stick shift car. Simply because it's easier to teach someone a new skill, ie double clutching than it is to break the habit of single clutching that a car driver does with a synchronized transmission. the technique and timing are totally different.
What you're calling a "splitter" is really a plunger. A plunger goes from low range to high range. Its a repeat shift pattern. A splitter would be in say a 13 speed. It takes the top 4 gears in a 9 speed and gives you overdrive in them gears. 9+4=13. When I drove a 13 speed I always called the top 4 gears 6th direct-6th over 7th direct-7th over etc. It's been many years since I drove a 13 speed so im probably saying some things wrong. Good video. Enjoyed it.
This sounded like one of those 'hold by beer' moments. I think any of the 3 of you could be better than many OTR steering wheel holders, especially from Swift (SWIFT also means 'swing wide its a freaking trailer). For sure you did better than I would as terrible at backing up a car.
You guys did great! Looks like Randy did better with shifting, but Joe did better with the trailer. Makes me look forward to getting my CDL. Loving the new rig as well! God bless - Everett
If you're serious about getting your cdl, start learning the pre trip script now.... It was save you alot of headache come school time, not trying to absorb all the info on top of memorizing that stupid ass pre trip script. Each state is a little different, and I'm sure you can find a pdf of an example for your state. I got to the point where I was reciting it in my head all day long at work, in the shower.... every little bit of practice helps, and once you pass your cdl test, you will never have to do that god awful pre trip again.
@@Jarl_Thidrandi A pre-trip inspection is required at the beginning of every shift and anytime you change equipment. With the state of fleet equipment {poor maintenance} not pre-tripping is a dereliction of your duty to public safety. I have found; leaking hubs, bad tires {insufficient treads,delaminating retreads}, missing mudflaps, dragging brakes, leaking brakes, even had one that had been driven 200+ miles to that location with the u-bolts that held the trailer axle to the springs loose{took over one half hour with a torch and pneumatic wrench to tighten} and the everpresent malfunctioning lights. At one time I was responsible for taking the tractors to the local shop for maintenance. One idiots tractor was 2 gallons below the add line on oil. He blamed it on the daytime driver who probably drove a max of 80 miles a day, whilst he drove 500. These 2 lunched 2 engines the second of which 2 pistons came out in multiple pieces. So there is a reason to pre-trip after passing your cdl, unless you like sitting at an inspection station waiting for a mechanic {getting points against your DOT record}.
I feel like an explanation to each driver about how that transmission works beyond, “you don’t have to clutch” while that may be true, there’s a lot more to a shift than that.
Guys guys guys quit looking out that window!!!! Use those mirrors!!!! Over all not a bad job!!!!! "Violent with it" lol Bro when did you get the pythons? Cant wait to see the car hauling videos.
that looked so fun! i'd love to try out something like that : ) I can drive a stick shift, but i've never driven a trailer. I have always kind of wanted to try driving a rig! Awesome video ARV!
Gotta remember it's not quite like a car stick shift since it's non synchronized. You need to match engine speed to wheel speed on every shift. Sounds harder than it is though
@@Redbikemaster It is a synchronized transmission. Try floating the gears on your synchronized cars transmission without matching revs. None of you have likely driven a straight cut transmission.
@@TomTerrific-vm3qg if you have to rev match, it's not synchronized. That's the entire point of synchros. "Straight cut" is an entirely different unrelated term. It refers to the teeth of the gears themselves. It has nothing to do with synchronization. Semi trucks generally don't have synchronized transmissions. If they did, they wouldn't require either floating or double-clutching. They'd shift like a manual car.
I knew how to not use the clutch in passenger vehicles before I learned the big trucks when I was 20. My brother taught me the big trucks, driving OTR. First thing was changing seats while on the highway at speed. Then after I got used to the size of the tractor trailer I began maneuvers. The good ol days with just a Chauffeur license. 👍
First dude did pretty well honestly! I've seen new drivers who have practiced WAY more and can't shift that well! Second guy did really good too! His setups for his reverses were better than the first guy. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. Fun video!
I bought a 35 foot school bus without any experience. The test drive was on a WIDE dirt road, thank God, and it was terrifying. After a few miles on the interstate in the pouring rain I was good. You just have to remember it’s a wide, long vehicle.
Thank you for doing this Driver Test Drive. Fun watching them, not paying attention to RPM. On my 1971 SeaGrave Fire Engine 🚒 there is a RED marker on RPM gage. If You can raise RPM to 2000+ and shift when RPM falls to that RED marker at 1500 I drops in gear every time. Down shift Rev up RPM double clutch and shift as RPM drops to 1500. The Power plant on SeaGrave is a 8V-71 Detroit Diesel, the transmission is a Dana/ Spicer, I have done an overhaul on the transmission and worked on the slave clutch. The only thing left to make the gear shifter better is replace pins in its shaft to transmission,
The only thing I would say is, 99% of the time I don’t bother with 1st gear. If I’ve got a heavy load and I’m pointing uphill, then I’ll start in first, otherwise it’s 2nd gear from a dead stop.
if it gets stuck in gear try giving it a little throttle and should move right out being doin this for 15 years and I don't even think about shifting anymore or look at the tac and start in 3rd not 1st no one starts in 1st
My boss took me approximately 3miles from the yard to the highway. Said that's your training, now get this to Yuma. Driving a old Diamond Rio. Keep in mind I'd been driving standards all my life but not a semi, I missed 1 gear exiting the highway but found the next gear. The rest is history. Been driving semi truck now for 40+ yrs. Back in the day most all vehicles were standards & as long as the vehicle had keys in the ignition I could drive it. Keep in mind , moving a vehicle any vehicle/ semi can be done. But actually driving a Semi takes yrs of experience. The age old saying I can drive a truck, but I'm not a truck driver. I'm now a Semi Driver.
I grew up on a farm and was driving semi in the field when I was 11. Dad let me drive semi on the road around 14 but I was driving farm tractors with 40 ft field cultivators on the road for years before that .
As a farm boy, that's actually how I learned to drive a truck in the eighties . Boss said follow me . I hopped in and away I went . I later went out west to a truck driving school call called transport careers. I took my class A test in El cajon California in 1985. I got 100 percent.
@@BrandonLeech Clearly never been to Vermont. Half the state is incredibly racist and conservative hillbilly. I would know because I have family from some of the most remote hollows in the state. But the state is to gerrymandered that the small population of lunatics get to elect people like Bernie and his local equivalent.
I just got my HC (Semi License) after having a HR truck License for several years there are specific skills you must master to drive a semi, ie backing technique, cornering, braking, you need appropriate training/mentoring to get your license.
Great video! A lot of laughs! That Volvo is one of the easiest to drive! When I took my road test for my Cdl lic. back in 1984 I used a KW w900 with a twin stick and manual steering. Now that was a truck! Most drivers today could not drive. But that made me a better driver even after I drove most of the time was trucks with 13 speed road rangers!
That looks like fun -- I'd pay you $10 to do this, no bet needed! Amusingly, it reminds me of the time years back when I was driving a friend's manual-transmission Acura after being used to my full-size Ford truck. It took me quite a while to get used to shifting gears on a high-revving low-torque sports engine!
I don't know what the law is in your state, but in Washington State, anyone, CDL licensed or not, can drive a semi truck on any street or highway, so long as the truck has "not for hire" indicated somewhere on the side of it.
To many things to say on this one but over all, none of you are all that good honestly. Lets see any of you try this with a tandem axle 389 long nose sleeper truck
This is a big reason why the major carriers are all going to auto shifting transmissions. Learning how to shift a non-synchronized manual gearbox takes practice even if you've owned manual transmission cars and light trucks. The first time I tried one I could upshift it through the gears no problem but the downshifting was another story.
And cost to repair and training where the big factors. But yes floating the gears is a challenge for a typical manual driver that drives a synchronized vehicle. Every trucker that drives manual should really check out a transmission or tow like BorgWarner T5 and see what the synchronizer does and then figure out what you need to replicate in a non synchronized transmission on a tractor or semi.
@@kfelix2934 The technology advancement to make auto shifting transmissions realistic and cost effective in heavy trucks is still somewhat a new thing. I remember in 2011 when I first started driving I hitched a ride with a guy down to Salt Lake City from Montana who had a company Volvo with an I-shift and it was like "whoa, that's fancy". Eventually knowing how to drive a Fuller transmission will go from mandatory to lost art just like learning how to use a Spicer twin-stick did. Even now there is a growing population of drivers that have never had to use one.
Volvo gave you a clutch, use it. Drove for years. "Floating" the gears is more likely to screw your transmission and clutch than using the clutch will screw your hip or knee. The only time "floating" the gears came in handy was when the clutch linkage gave up the ghost driving through S.F. You can even slip one of these 10 speeds into first gear from a stop uphill by releasing the brakes and slipping it into first simultaneously.
Nice Video smarts about the driving course and NOT on the road. Learn to Double Clutch it is on Driving Test for CDL. Good explaining on how to FLOAT a great or shifting with our using clutch.
I never learned. I went to test and the instructor couldn't say I didn't have to but said he never did so I floated. So really depends on the instructor you test with.
I think they all done brilaint and I think they should all do the licence together. Nice team make really good money. I subscribed grate video Good luck gentlemen.
For a first time out not too bad on the shifting. However being out in traffic, downshifting, stopping, taking left and right turns,merging etc, is much different situation.
He even had them floating gears lol. I think it’s easier to double clutch when learning how to drive. Every now and then I still double clutch just so I don’t forget lol.
6:50 I get as close to the fence line as possible and the steering wheel is turned sharply to the left. furthermore I'd pull the wheels of the front and rear axles of the trailer more or less stationary around the curve, the ground looks like gravel, so it doesn't do as much damage as concrete or black-top. But I'm writing from a truck jockey perspective, not an American one
If you can't find 'em, grind 'em😂😂 That's why it's not really a great idea to teach a person to drive a standard without using the clutch. Just because you can do it doesn't mean that you should.
I haven't finished watching the video yet and I'm already scared! I wouldn't even bet, I don't think I'd even want to try to drive that without training. Yikes!!!
As long as you have no major medical problems inherited or found out years later- THEN THE AGENDA DRIVEN CORPORATE/POLITICIAN GREED KICKS IN AND you are forced out of it and have to take a $25000 a year job.
My driver training was down the interstate after observation of my co driver. Bobtail 5 miles then hitch up and roll. No such thing as a CDL back then. Open book test, a medical checkup, and chauffeur's license was all that was required. Earn while you learn.
only driven a manual cdl truck once at the warehouse, moving it out of the way. my cdl is auto restricted. still, i can 90* back a 43' trailer and a freightliner m2 into a 55' deep parking lot without the nose of the truck in the street or going off the pavement behind while traffic refuses to slow down, let alone stop, in under 30 seconds.
I drive a ten speed Freightliner Columbia and I say he did good not bad except the part where he looked from the rear window if ur hauling a full size trailer there is no rear window only the mirrors can be used or if you can get out on the step and watch where it backing but not recommend to all
I drove semi 38 years and retired from health reasons. I never used a clutch . You doing a good from not driving semi before. I had to train guys that couldn't shift at all or backup that supposed have like years of driving semi truck .
They are over qualified to work for Swift..lol
😅😅😅
You beat me to it lmao
With those 3 guys experience Swift would make them trainers after hiring.
If you look up Swift's SafeStat score you'd find that for the number of drivers and the number of miles driven per year they are actually a very safe company.
They just happen to hire boneheaded truck drivers. Lol.
Joe is actually a professional truck driver just being humble and lets everyone think its his first time lol
lol I think he is
As a 23 years veteran, this was quite entertaining. Everybody should be required to do this before they're allowed to drive a car.
Almost nobody would have a driver's license if they were required to pass a CDL driving test. 🤣
Good idea. If they did that then they might not cut us off no more an maybe have a little more respect for us
I can totally agree with you there. My dad made me learn how to drive his three speed in the tree Ford F-100 before he’d ever let me get my drivers license. And the just for shits and giggles he tested me on the pre trip test and actually driving his big rig. Needless to say I did better than my sister. She couldn’t even make it out our driveway in the Ford.
@@BrandonLeechand the problem with that? 😂😂😂
@@BrandonLeechRegular written tests ?
As a Truck Driver trainer the answer is "no, the average Joe cannot drive an 18 wheeler"😂🤣. Truth be told if you wouldn't have giving them pointers they would have failed. But luckily for these two guys you gave them a few pointers which helped them getting through the course. Great job to Randy and Joe. For their first time they did great.
I really wanted to see em do a alley dock .
Yeah that would be fun to see. Lol. For the next one they should legally get their permits and drive on real roads with light, like normal small town traffic. Without any help unless of course he's about to commit something catastrophic.🤣😂 Give them 3 strike rule. Give them the same DPS (Department of Public Safety) type road test.
@@boricua7928 I would pay money to see that lmao
The only pointer I was given was that the trailer would move in the opposite direction of what you would expect in a straight truck when backing.
100% agree with you. A few pointers and a safe course is not hopping in a truck and taking it down the street. An average Joe cannot do this job without some training. I used to train 88M guys from the National Guard as well and they hardly had a clue how to operate in traffic and zero clue how to shift.
Don’t encourage people to shift clutchless.
It’s important you learn to double clutch first, it helps with timing and learning to regulate rpm and finding the point of zero load that you can shift at if you don’t use the clutch.
Driver trainer here. This technically is not driving without training. The fact that he takes him around the course, shows them how to shift, shows them what to look out for, gives them tips and tricks with the clutch... That is training. The more interesting video I think would be to let them climb up in that truck and figure out how to start it how to get it moving. With some students it really is as simple as taking them on a 30 minute drive letting them observe what you're doing and a lot of people have got the basics after that and the rest of training is observing correcting and teaching and the rest will just come with experience.
That's pretty much how it was for me. Passed the CDL road test with 4 hours of practice lol. Over half a million miles now.
Exactly
Training invokes being critiqued. It maybe cheating a little. It isn't training though
I thought that's what this video would be about. Instead it's a training video.
After ELDT you have to basically get driver training
Joe actually did really good, even shifting and skipping gears already? kudos! both did great!
I love how randy just holds her to the floor and just jams it in gear
Hahahaa
That’s what us truck drivers call “natural talent”
Not bad actually for first time out. I've seen a lot worse, like trying to teach my nephew to drive a 5-speed in a car. What blew me away was Joe. He'd never driven a manual and decided to start with a non-synchronized 10-speed, and did a pretty decent job too! The floating thing comes with practice and patience. Probably a good idea to start with the clutch until you get used to road-speed vs rpm vs gear, but Joe was actually the smoothest at that. My fail on that would've been looking out the back window while backing. I drive a day cab now too, but I still use my mirrors, but then I'm usually hauling box trailers. Kudos for trying it! Fun video.
That transmission is synchronized.
Fair play to them 👍👍 also mad respect for people that drive those for a living !
Remember, you need to double-clutch for the State test. It might have changed but, if you haven't checked with your school already or checked directly with the State, you might want to in order to make sure you don't get too far into something that may be practical but is not test approved before you get past the test.
I was able to skip double clutching because #1 I had a really cool tester an #2 I didn't mess up on a single thing so the points that came off for not double clutching did not hurt my score
Yeah I had to double clutch on my state test in NH. And those guys were absolute bastards about the pre-trip inspection.
Double clutching is just a waste of time and more wear an tear on the clutch components.
@@ontheroad5317I’ve taken many want to be drivers for their road test at the hazen rd concord facility. None of them have ever been required to double clutch. Maybe you just got a bastard to deal with.
@@snydedon9636 Interesting. I had to look it up, I thought maybe they changed it over the last few years. Especially with automatics getting more common.
But it’s still technically a requirement, and I guess it would depend how old-school your tester is.
13.1.11(a) - Clutch usage (for Manual Transmission)
Always use clutch to shift.
If equipped with an unsynchronized manual transmission, you must double-clutch when shifting. Do not rev or lug the engine.
Do not ride clutch to control speed, coast with clutch depressed, or “pop” the clutch.
I would not want to be the transmission repair technician looking at the gears in that gear box ROFL
What gears
Just a little glitter. 👀
I sure put the wear and tare on the tranny trying to figure it out. The driver training me had problems too. Nothing like a stick shift on a pickup. Lol
It's 4 grand to put a rebuilt tranny in its not that big of a deal
They can take a LOT of grinding/abuse compared to a regular car manual transmission.
Ahh the memories of my youth. My first truck was a 86 Kenworth W900 long nose with 60 inch double bunk with Grey VIT interior, 15 speed with Cummins 400 hp. Pulled a 45 foot freuhauf spread axle flatbed. Also reminded me how how many "fun and interesting " sounds a manual transmission could make.
They both did pretty good,but you will be required to double clutch in school,all new drivers need to feel the left knee burn for awhile and floating will come with time,it's about matching road speed with the right gear.For my test,I had to straight line back,offset back and parallel park the truck and trailer in Kentucky.
I have no idea how to double clutch or even what the purpose is. Been driving commercial for 30 years. Never went to school, learned on the job. All that was required for the CDL was a written test.
Hey man, what did you do to get your actual cdl from your permit? I just got mine and I'm looking for a job that'll train me
@Zociety6477 You will have to attend an approved school to obtain the necessary training and road time,no insurance company will touch you without an approved training course.
@michaelwilder9231 I was looking at a few companies that are willing to send me to school like PRIME, Crum or Schnieder. I'm from Kentucky as well so I was just wondering if you had any recommendations for me as far as that was concerned. I can't afford to pay for schooling currently unfortunately
@Zociety6477 You will be contracted to work for them for an amount of time at low wages,call your local employment office to check for grants or financial assistance options,or help from family and pay them back,that way you are not stuck with a crap company.
As a truck driver I really enjoyed this.
Yeah same!! Really laughed watching Joe bend the gear stick before letting off the throttle🤣
Same here. The dude that was "teaching" them how to drive was actually doing a pretty good job. yes there were some technical discrepancies, but as a non-professional he got the guys rolling and not hitting stuff. "Swing wide. It's a Friggin trailer".
Yeah same here
Don't push the clutch all the way to the floor - that's killing the clutch brake. Just push it enough to disengage. If you push the clutch to the floor, the clutch brake is going to try to stop the whole truck.
Joe and Randy did great! Congrats on your first semi, ARV!
The thing that sucks about floating gears which ever trucker does, is that on your CDL test you’re required to double clutch
Yup that's the only time I've ever double clutched lol
That's the right way to learn it to help with the shift timing. if you watch a new guy they have no concept of the timing on flat ground let alone uphill or downhill.
I can shift at any time any rpm.
@@horsefly1020your point?
In Michigan, they want you to double clutch, but some testers are more worried about if you can control the truck, so if your proficient with floating they won't care so much about it
As a 2 year truck driver ngl with zero previous experience seeing everyday people trying to drive semis is so entertaining reminds me that I was there at one point.
Just a tip; with an empty trailer, you can start in 2nd gear at least. I’d probably start off in 3rd with that trailer. Hell, even with 20,000 pounds of cargo I’d start off in 2nd unless I was on a pretty good incline.
20,000 is a bit much to start in 3rd because 1. It's only a 10 speed, 2. It's a single axle and 3. It's a Volvo. Lol.
@@jeffreycairns767 I meant 3rd with that trailer EMPTY.
yeah 1st gear is hardly used I call that parking lot gear and that is why reverse and 1st are in the same lineup fwiw
Your a true friend,letting them grind your gears like that.
I think you just launched a new sideline business. There's lots of guys out there who would pay to do what these guys did. It was fun to watch. Great content.
Interesting to watch, Ive been an instructor for many years, so I see this all the time with new students, but for information the ten speed does not have a SPLITER, it is a range selector. A splitter is used in 13 and 18 speed type gear boxes and splits individual gears into a hi and lo. effectively doubling the number of gears. Floating (shifting without the clutch) is a normal practice used by professional drivers.) Unfortunately, it's a test requirement to use double clutching as a method of shifting gears for your DOT cdl test. In my experience I've found it far simpler to teach a person who has never shifted before, than to teach someone who can drive a manual stick shift car. Simply because it's easier to teach someone a new skill, ie double clutching than it is to break the habit of single clutching that a car driver does with a synchronized transmission. the technique and timing are totally different.
Good Job Guys! This is how it should be! Just a couple of buddies! Enjoying learning not harming nothing.
Amen, brother.
The only synchronized gear in that transmission is the shift from 5th to 6th or 6th to 5th. Nice video!
As a 32 year crane operator and chief justice of the Supreme Court I really enjoyed this.
Speaking as a driver, the first guy didn't do too bad. I didn't expect him to be able to get to 2nd gear.
They did a nice job! 👏I practiced with my dad one summer. It gave me an appreciation of what he did daily. He drove a tanker.
Joe is a natural. He make a great driver with some good instruction and training.
should have told them to put a small amout of pressure on the shifter before letting off the gas to flot them better
What you're calling a "splitter" is really a plunger. A plunger goes from low range to high range. Its a repeat shift pattern. A splitter would be in say a 13 speed. It takes the top 4 gears in a 9 speed and gives you overdrive in them gears. 9+4=13. When I drove a 13 speed I always called the top 4 gears 6th direct-6th over 7th direct-7th over etc. It's been many years since I drove a 13 speed so im probably saying some things wrong. Good video. Enjoyed it.
i call em gear-plus - 6th, 6th plus, 7th, 7th plus, etc
idk tho i kinda like direct/over, sounds more intelligent hahahaha!
This sounded like one of those 'hold by beer' moments. I think any of the 3 of you could be better than many OTR steering wheel holders, especially from Swift (SWIFT also means 'swing wide its a freaking trailer). For sure you did better than I would as terrible at backing up a car.
Joe said hold my beer
Swift really means see what I f---ed up today.
Sure Wish I Finished Training aka SWIFT
These would be the same type of people Delta Airlines would hire for pilots (That's Delta, D-E-L-T-A, Don't Even Leave The Airport).
I always liked 'Sure Wish I Finished Training'
You gotta lot of faith in that transmission sir😲
You guys did great! Looks like Randy did better with shifting, but Joe did better with the trailer. Makes me look forward to getting my CDL. Loving the new rig as well! God bless - Everett
If you're serious about getting your cdl, start learning the pre trip script now.... It was save you alot of headache come school time, not trying to absorb all the info on top of memorizing that stupid ass pre trip script. Each state is a little different, and I'm sure you can find a pdf of an example for your state. I got to the point where I was reciting it in my head all day long at work, in the shower.... every little bit of practice helps, and once you pass your cdl test, you will never have to do that god awful pre trip again.
That's a good idea! I will do that. Thank you and God bless - Everett
@@Jarl_Thidrandi A pre-trip inspection is required at the beginning of every shift and anytime you change equipment. With the state of fleet equipment {poor maintenance} not pre-tripping is a dereliction of your duty to public safety.
I have found; leaking hubs, bad tires {insufficient treads,delaminating retreads}, missing mudflaps, dragging brakes, leaking brakes, even had one that had been driven 200+ miles to that location with the u-bolts that held the trailer axle to the springs loose{took over one half hour with a torch and pneumatic wrench to tighten} and the everpresent malfunctioning lights.
At one time I was responsible for taking the tractors to the local shop for maintenance. One idiots tractor was 2 gallons below the add line on oil. He blamed it on the daytime driver who probably drove a max of 80 miles a day, whilst he drove 500. These 2 lunched 2 engines the second of which 2 pistons came out in multiple pieces.
So there is a reason to pre-trip after passing your cdl, unless you like sitting at an inspection station waiting for a mechanic {getting points against your DOT record}.
A real truck driver wouldn’t have looked thru that back window when backing the trailer lol
Work smarter, not harder... no doubt a difficult concept for you.
I feel like an explanation to each driver about how that transmission works beyond, “you don’t have to clutch” while that may be true, there’s a lot more to a shift than that.
Listen to the Willis Brothers song "give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around." That applies to you guys!
Ugh that grinding hurts my soul. Keep those RPMs up mannnnn
"Can You Drive A Semi Truck With No Training?" then you train him. lol
Guys guys guys quit looking out that window!!!! Use those mirrors!!!!
Over all not a bad job!!!!!
"Violent with it" lol
Bro when did you get the pythons?
Cant wait to see the car hauling videos.
Should have seen how they would do on a Fuller 13 speed 😂 no instructions.
that looked so fun! i'd love to try out something like that : ) I can drive a stick shift, but i've never driven a trailer. I have always kind of wanted to try driving a rig! Awesome video ARV!
Gotta remember it's not quite like a car stick shift since it's non synchronized. You need to match engine speed to wheel speed on every shift.
Sounds harder than it is though
And no 2 trucks shift exactly the same. They are all a little different
@@Redbikemaster It is a synchronized transmission. Try floating the gears on your synchronized cars transmission without matching revs. None of you have likely driven a straight cut transmission.
@@TomTerrific-vm3qg if you have to rev match, it's not synchronized. That's the entire point of synchros. "Straight cut" is an entirely different unrelated term. It refers to the teeth of the gears themselves. It has nothing to do with synchronization.
Semi trucks generally don't have synchronized transmissions. If they did, they wouldn't require either floating or double-clutching. They'd shift like a manual car.
Well, they already drive better than 95 % of truckers from the major companies out here !!
I knew how to not use the clutch in passenger vehicles before I learned the big trucks when I was 20. My brother taught me the big trucks, driving OTR. First thing was changing seats while on the highway at speed. Then after I got used to the size of the tractor trailer I began maneuvers. The good ol days with just a Chauffeur license. 👍
First dude did pretty well honestly! I've seen new drivers who have practiced WAY more and can't shift that well! Second guy did really good too! His setups for his reverses were better than the first guy. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. Fun video!
I bought a 35 foot school bus without any experience.
The test drive was on a WIDE dirt road, thank God, and it was terrifying.
After a few miles on the interstate in the pouring rain I was good.
You just have to remember it’s a wide, long vehicle.
Good way to learn. At cdl school you will have a bunch of people looking and the instructor yelling 😂
Thank you for doing this Driver Test Drive. Fun watching them, not paying attention to RPM. On my 1971 SeaGrave Fire Engine 🚒 there is a RED marker on RPM gage. If You can raise RPM to 2000+ and shift when RPM falls to that RED marker at 1500 I drops in gear every time. Down shift Rev up RPM double clutch and shift as RPM drops to 1500. The Power plant on SeaGrave is a 8V-71 Detroit Diesel, the transmission is a Dana/ Spicer, I have done an overhaul on the transmission and worked on the slave clutch. The only thing left to make the gear shifter better is replace pins in its shaft to transmission,
The only thing I would say is, 99% of the time I don’t bother with 1st gear. If I’ve got a heavy load and I’m pointing uphill, then I’ll start in first, otherwise it’s 2nd gear from a dead stop.
if it gets stuck in gear try giving it a little throttle and should move right out being doin this for 15 years and I don't even think about shifting anymore or look at the tac and start in 3rd not 1st no one starts in 1st
Now cover the back window and only use Your mirrors for backing and not the rear window
I actually did my drivers test in a cascadia sleeper with a 53ft trailer i had to back up straight parallel park and do the offset parking.
My boss took me approximately 3miles from the yard to the highway. Said that's your training, now get this to Yuma. Driving a old Diamond Rio. Keep in mind I'd been driving standards all my life but not a semi, I missed 1 gear exiting the highway but found the next gear. The rest is history. Been driving semi truck now for 40+ yrs. Back in the day most all vehicles were standards & as long as the vehicle had keys in the ignition I could drive it.
Keep in mind , moving a vehicle any vehicle/ semi can be done. But actually driving a Semi takes yrs of experience. The age old saying
I can drive a truck, but I'm not a truck driver. I'm now a Semi Driver.
Credit to your friends for trying this!! Very impressive
Forcing the gears is not the same at getting the gears, when done right I can make every one of those shifts with 1 finger on top of the shifter.
That's how I was taught. 2 fingers
I'm thoroughly impressed by Joes performance, bravo.
I grew up on a farm and was driving semi in the field when I was 11. Dad let me drive semi on the road around 14 but I was driving farm tractors with 40 ft field cultivators on the road for years before that .
Yup.......I can see it now....."Rural Vermonter Tractor Training School".....good part time job for you...the average Joe's did great..........👍👍
Great video... thanks to you & good sports Joe & Randy for posting! You really are having fun. Beautiful day in VT too.
The secret to smooth shifting is rhythm.
When you back up, you gotta use your mirrors not look out the back window
Blindside is easier through the back window but yes, you need the mirrors
Why would you limit yourself? If you have a truck with a window, use the damn window
@@TheGearJamminDeer, because they aren't bright enough to grasp "work smarter, not harder". 🤣
Great video. I am wondering, why don't trucks have synchronized transmissions?
As a farm boy, that's actually how I learned to drive a truck in the eighties . Boss said follow me . I hopped in and away I went . I later went out west to a truck driving school call called transport careers. I took my class A test in El cajon California in 1985. I got 100 percent.
Absolutely shocked to see two average Vermont joes driving a Subaru and a Volvo wagon.
I swear 60% of that state drives an Outback
Haha 😂
Vermont is basically New England's version of Portland, OR. and it's surrounding areas.
@@BrandonLeech no
@@BrandonLeech Clearly never been to Vermont. Half the state is incredibly racist and conservative hillbilly. I would know because I have family from some of the most remote hollows in the state. But the state is to gerrymandered that the small population of lunatics get to elect people like Bernie and his local equivalent.
Should do that whole course in a sleeper truck, that would be the real challenge.
with a 53
Give them a super 10, just to mess with them more.
This is the most wholesome content on TH-cam
I just got my HC (Semi License) after having a HR truck License for several years there are specific skills you must master to drive a semi, ie backing technique, cornering, braking, you need appropriate training/mentoring to get your license.
jeez bro have you been working out you look good
Great video! A lot of laughs! That Volvo is one of the easiest to drive! When I took my road test for my Cdl lic. back in 1984 I used a KW w900 with a twin stick and manual steering. Now that was a truck! Most drivers today could not drive. But that made me a better driver even after I drove most of the time was trucks with 13 speed road rangers!
Love your channel and videos your a real hustler make that money man. Great work keep up the good job.
That looks like fun -- I'd pay you $10 to do this, no bet needed! Amusingly, it reminds me of the time years back when I was driving a friend's manual-transmission Acura after being used to my full-size Ford truck. It took me quite a while to get used to shifting gears on a high-revving low-torque sports engine!
The first time i ever drove a truck was a dual trailer at a salt mine in California and Arizona desert. It really wasn't that hard.
flashbacks to summers at Melanson Roofing in the early 90's parking crane trucks with tag trailers.
I don't know what the law is in your state, but in Washington State, anyone, CDL licensed or not, can drive a semi truck on any street or highway, so long as the truck has "not for hire" indicated somewhere on the side of it.
Believe it or not we actually do skip gears.
To many things to say on this one but over all, none of you are all that good honestly.
Lets see any of you try this with a tandem axle 389 long nose sleeper truck
What a fun video. Good friends having fun…terrific
This is a big reason why the major carriers are all going to auto shifting transmissions. Learning how to shift a non-synchronized manual gearbox takes practice even if you've owned manual transmission cars and light trucks. The first time I tried one I could upshift it through the gears no problem but the downshifting was another story.
After driving a 13 speed all day it takes me a few minutes to remember to use the clutch in my jeep
And cost to repair and training where the big factors.
But yes floating the gears is a challenge for a typical manual driver that drives a synchronized vehicle. Every trucker that drives manual should really check out a transmission or tow like BorgWarner T5 and see what the synchronizer does and then figure out what you need to replicate in a non synchronized transmission on a tractor or semi.
@@kfelix2934 The technology advancement to make auto shifting transmissions realistic and cost effective in heavy trucks is still somewhat a new thing. I remember in 2011 when I first started driving I hitched a ride with a guy down to Salt Lake City from Montana who had a company Volvo with an I-shift and it was like "whoa, that's fancy". Eventually knowing how to drive a Fuller transmission will go from mandatory to lost art just like learning how to use a Spicer twin-stick did. Even now there is a growing population of drivers that have never had to use one.
@@monkeysbusiness Can't you still float ordinary car transmissions?
@@necrotoriumUnless you get the timing exactly right, you'll trash the syncros and dog clutch teeth.
Atta way Joe and Randy! Boys didn’t disappoint!
Volvo gave you a clutch, use it.
Drove for years. "Floating" the gears is more likely to screw your transmission and clutch than using the clutch will screw your hip or knee.
The only time "floating" the gears came in handy was when the clutch linkage gave up the ghost driving through S.F. You can even slip one of these 10 speeds into first gear from a stop uphill by releasing the brakes and slipping it into first simultaneously.
Nice Video smarts about the driving course and NOT on the road. Learn to Double Clutch it is on Driving Test for CDL. Good explaining on how to FLOAT a great or shifting with our using clutch.
I never learned. I went to test and the instructor couldn't say I didn't have to but said he never did so I floated. So really depends on the instructor you test with.
Randy was not gonna run💀💀💀💀
Randy don’t get paid enough for that
I think they all done brilaint and I think they should all do the licence together.
Nice team make really good money.
I subscribed grate video
Good luck gentlemen.
Looks like someone washed all your tee shirts in hot water an shrunk them. 😏
For a first time out not too bad on the shifting. However being out in traffic, downshifting, stopping, taking left and right turns,merging etc, is much different situation.
The guy running ahead of the truck is the real MVP along with the transmission in that Volvo 😂
He even had them floating gears lol. I think it’s easier to double clutch when learning how to drive. Every now and then I still double clutch just so I don’t forget lol.
6:50 I get as close to the fence line as possible and the steering wheel is turned sharply to the left. furthermore I'd pull the wheels of the front and rear axles of the trailer more or less stationary around the curve, the ground looks like gravel, so it doesn't do as much damage as concrete or black-top.
But I'm writing from a truck jockey perspective, not an American one
Good job guys. You guys should go for your CDL too.
If you can't find 'em, grind 'em😂😂
That's why it's not really a great idea to teach a person to drive a standard without using the clutch. Just because you can do it doesn't mean that you should.
easier to learn than double clutching in my opinion. Can’t just use the clutch regularly since it’s not synchronized and there’s a clutch brake
Why wouldn't a semi have automatic gears?
I haven't finished watching the video yet and I'm already scared! I wouldn't even bet, I don't think I'd even want to try to drive that without training. Yikes!!!
As long as you have no major medical problems inherited or found out years later- THEN THE AGENDA DRIVEN CORPORATE/POLITICIAN GREED KICKS IN AND you are forced out of it and have to take a $25000 a year job.
My driver training was down the interstate after observation of my co driver. Bobtail 5 miles then hitch up and roll. No such thing as a CDL back then. Open book test, a medical checkup, and chauffeur's license was all that was required. Earn while you learn.
As a kid, i learned how to drive in a dump truck moving trucks around my Dads shop. It was absolutely the best way to learn to drive!
only driven a manual cdl truck once at the warehouse, moving it out of the way. my cdl is auto restricted. still, i can 90* back a 43' trailer and a freightliner m2 into a 55' deep parking lot without the nose of the truck in the street or going off the pavement behind while traffic refuses to slow down, let alone stop, in under 30 seconds.
Yes in a parking lot , LOL .. But they did pretty good!
That last part is what I call amateur boat ramp Olympics.
As a trucker I've joked I could make some easy money sitting at a boat ramp offering to back people's trailers up
They all seem like nice guys just having fun.
I drive a ten speed Freightliner Columbia and I say he did good not bad except the part where he looked from the rear window if ur hauling a full size trailer there is no rear window only the mirrors can be used or if you can get out on the step and watch where it backing but not recommend to all
I drove semi 38 years and retired from health reasons. I never used a clutch . You doing a good from not driving semi before. I had to train guys that couldn't shift at all or backup that supposed have like years of driving semi truck .