[unclebilly]

There was a recent thread about this...

I am self taught. The company I work for (as an engineer) would have trained me free but I could never justify the time or taking the trainers away from the guys eho needed it for work.

I bought my own truck to use on my farm, drove it home without a license and started practicing. After a few months, I did my test and passed first try. The key is watching the tach and rev matching - you can't do it by ear in the beginning.

My truck had an 18 speed. It is 450 RPM per gear change or 225 if you split gears.

Basically, watch the tach. Rev to 1800, poke the throttle and pull it into neutral, as the revs drop to 1500, apply light pressure on the next higher gear and it will pop in. The same goes for down shifting. I like to leave the engine brake on, it makes shifting a bit faster but it's up to you.

Despite what I thought at one point, it is nothing like heal - toe down shifting. You have to rev match perfectly. Don't get in a rush going through gears and you will be fine. It takes 1/4-3/8 of a mile to down shift from highway speed before a turn so you have to pay attention.

When things are dumb, I enjoy hopping in the truck and going for a drive.