10 speed driving

[Kalaehina]

Hey guys, just trying to get all the advice and tips I can for the future. I need to get an "S" endorsement then I'm going to try and get a job driving for a school that has some older 10 speed Crown school buses. I've heard these are easy to drive and even "fun" to drive. When I did my CDL test I used a new 9 speed, not very forgiving on slightly off shifts, I would deffinately not say it was fun, or easy, is the 10 speed that much easier? Any tips for a rookie driver... ... ... ... Thanks!!

 

[Kalaehina]

Oh yah, and what about the old debate about clutch or no clutch???

 

[ndurbin]

I always liked the 9 speeds better myself (but that might be b/c I learned on a 9 spd. and drove it the most). The Pete I drove with the 10 spd. didn't like to go into 9th and 10th easily sometimes. That and I would forget sometimes about 5th being in place of the low hole on a normal 9 spd and stick it in 6th.



Nathan

 

[TKingsbury]

I've driven both, mostly seems to depend if the trans is really tight or worn-in.

Travis. .

 

[bmoeller]

Are we talking a Road Ranger or the old 5+2?



Trannys with lots of miles shift a lot nicer. Not as tight. We run one Mack (w/~800k on it) with a 9spd RR. Shift smooth as butter. Have a KW (w/386k on it) with a 13 spd RR. It is still as tight as new. Still shifts pretty nice, but not as easy as the 9.



No need to double clutch the RR. Some of the Mack trannys, you are supposed to d/c, but can be floated easy without the clutch once you learn how.

 

[Kalaehina]

Most of the buses are 1980's models, so I'm sure they're pretty worn in trans.

 

[bmoeller]

Ah, probably a 5+2 then. 5spd trans and a 2spd axle. No need to double clutch, but you will need to use it when shifting the trans or 2spd.



A lot of, but not all of the old 5 speeds had the same shifting pattern as shifting the bottom side on a semi transmission.



R 2 4



1 3 5



Some were like this also-



R 1 2 4



---- 3 5

 

[Kalaehina]

Sorry, forgot to mention, the trans are Roadranger 10 speeds, 5 lo 5 hi.

 

[MMeier]

I've driven both, mostly seems to depend if the trans is really tight or worn-in.

Travis. .

Ditto what Travis said !! Now that I see this I might have to go down to Penske and rent a rig for a day, been a bit since I've been in one !!

 

[bmoeller]

I've driven a 10 speed in one of the lease trucks we had for a couple weeks. Never cared for it myself. I'll take a 9 or 13 over the 10 any day. Preferabably the 13.

 

[Kalaehina]

While we're on the subject, any thoughts about the 15 and 18 speeds?? More difficult??

 

[C. Harlan]

I used to have a super 13, with 12 and 13 up against the dash. . talk about moving! The patterns were as follows:



(R|R/R) (2|6/7) (5|12/13)



(1) (3|8/9) (4|10/11)



The 18 can be driven like a 9 speed when not loaded. . I had one of those in a pete I used to drive... I would take another one anyday! We have a Pete 357 at work, and it has an 11x4 transmission. . that's right, 44 gears. the truck, jeep, trailer, and stinger weighs in empty at 93,000 lbs. It's 13 axles of truck and trailer... I will post some pics of a larger truck around here where I live. It has somewhere around 68 wheels and tires, and grosses out around 650,000 lbs. he has an 18 speed, with a 2 speed auxilliary transmission, as well as 2 speed planetary gears in his Kenworth T800, equipped with a 550 or 600 Cat... I will get more details. . I wish we could get a road ranger transmission in our trucks! that would be awesome!



-Chris-

 

[Eric_77]

Best advice I have for any unsynced transmission is be patient it is not a race car.



I use no clutch up, double on the way down. For up basically grab shifter put pressure on it then off throttle and light pressure towards next gear and it slids in when engine-rear end speeds meet. Pull too hard or try to fast it will grind if using a cluthch the input shaft takes longer to slow down and shift is 2-3 times longer.



For down clutch, shifter in neutral, stab throttle, and then in with the clutch and apply pressure towards the gear I want. Some trucks are better about this depending on where governor is set.



Oh most 10 speeds have such a low 1st that I start in 2 even 3-4 if loaded light. Been a long long time since I have been in a 9 speed (96-97) love a 13 speed but rentals are N/A and only once been in O/O truck which was great except no cruise, throttle lock instead

 

[Kalaehina]

When down shifting, is bliping the throttle easier then gradually bringing up the throttle to the right RPMs?

 

[ndurbin]

Downshifting was the hardest thing for me to learn (going from the high side to the low side took the longest to be decent enough at). Each truck will shift a bit different, some you can go up and down the gears w/o using the clutch, others you'll have to double clutch downshifting. I usually let the truck pull down to about 1300 RPMs, blip the throttle to get it outta gear, back up to 1800 RPMs, and back in gear. Just pray it's not an L10 Cummins, you only have about 300 RPMs to shift instead of 500 RPMs.



Nathan