Got this drummed into me years ago before test Now got a bollocking from boss for using 1st to 3rd in 480 FH. I was loaded with empty container , he said I wasn’t to do it as I would rip the clutch out , I know it has a inhibitor but for ■■■■■ sake am I right or wrong
I would say your right, your not going to go through every gear even when loaded.
I remember being told that examiners on test want to see block changing.
Out of interest, why pull away in 1st when empty, surely 3rd would be ok?
Block change=efficient and smooth driving.
DSA and IAM approved, tell him in a correct way, to seek further training for himself
Cheers
Paul
Yeah - only just gained my cat C in a 4 over 4 last month, and had it drummed into me as being an ecosafe driving technique. Still in all the DSA books too.
m1cks:
I remember being told that examiners on test want to see block changing.
Out of interest, why pull away in 1st when empty, surely 3rd would be ok?
Volvo 57 plate 480 fitted with Gear inhibitor ,I was seen by his mate pulling from 1st to 3rd and apparently was jumping abt on acceleration load of bolx I had no weight on at all , sometimes I WONDER if people have nothing better to do , his mech reckons I will rip out the clutch BO. LEX I SAY
topmixer11:
m1cks:
I remember being told that examiners on test want to see block changing.
Out of interest, why pull away in 1st when empty, surely 3rd would be ok?Volvo 57 plate 480 fitted with Gear inhibitor ,I was seen by his mate pulling from 1st to 3rd and apparently was jumping abt on acceleration load of bolx I had no weight on at all , sometimes I WONDER if people have nothing better to do , his mech reckons I will rip out the clutch BO. LEX I SAY
Well tell him to take a SAFED course and a driving refresher. Maybe his mechanic might benefit from a few classes at night school too.
Only way to rip the clutch out is if you slip it, I’ve always Block Changed when in a manual, don’t even need the clutch once you’re moving, just get the timing right & match the road speed with the engine speed (or visa versa)
Gotta admit in though, I do like my Automatic MAN now. (Must be getting lazy)
Absolute balls, I was taught to block change only 8 years ago and do day in day out and I’ve never wrecked a clutch or a gearbox. I pull off 2,4 up to 5 and I block change coming down. If I’m loaded 2,3,4 and that’s if I’m pulling off on a bit of a gradient it will take 2,4-5 all day long or even 3-5 happily enough on a flat. Unless was fully loaded and pulling of facing a bloody big hill I wouldn’t feel the need to pull of in 1st and go through every gear.
Why do automatics block change then? Our auto tgx goes 5,7,9,11,12 when empty. My manual tgx goes 2l,3h,5l,6h,7l,7h,8l,8h at full weight. 650,000 and no clutch yet. Suggest he’s talking through his ■■■
Volvo always used to say pull away in 1st then straight to 3rd whether loaded or empty. Setting off in 2nd or 3rd when loaded will overheat the clutch as lessen its life.
I passed my test over 20 years ago and was told to block change, we also used to double de-clutch. 
Also Renault Premiums used to have a sign stating you must pull away in first and where I worked at the time we were told directly by the boss to always use first after he had to replace a load of clutches caused by drivers pulling away in to higher gear.
Apparently starting in a to high create a lot of heat on the plates and thy can’t handle it leading to premature wear.
You can easily go from 1st to 3rd without bouncing and putting loads of stress on the clutch and gearbox.
martinviking:
Only way to rip the clutch out is if you slip it.Gotta admit in though, I do like my Automatic MAN now. (Must be getting lazy)
And…just dumping the clutch instead of letting it out does no good to the centres.
On my 4 over 4 to start, I use 3rd low to 4th low then 6th high when empty.
Loaded, 2nd low then 3rd possibly straight to 4th low depending on load and then 6th high unless on a hill.
Numbers…head hurts
Many years ago when I left school and became a learner in the workshops of Bristol Omnibus Company, buses were just starting to be delivered with 5-speed synchromesh gearboxes. There was a sign on the cab dashboard instructing drivers that the bus MUST be started off in first gear.
When I asked my foreman why, after years of bus- and lorry drivers starting off in second gear, I was told that first gear had no synchro assistance, therefore the baulk rings would not be worn out by drivers pulling the gearstick into gear without allowing the input shaft to stop.
If all else fails, read the instructions :
Check the vehicle drivers manual , a reference and guide instruction to gear-change that vehicle may contain within 
If so, you may present said article and place as appropriately 
martinviking:
Only way to rip the clutch out is if you slip it, I’ve always Block Changed when in a manual, don’t even need the clutch once you’re moving, just get the timing right & match the road speed with the engine speed (or visa versa)Gotta admit in though, I do like my Automatic MAN now. (Must be getting lazy)
Have a go in mine, you’ll soon hate them.
I loved my old 6w Alpha; I could block change 3 gearchanges at a time when loaded. Never damaged the clutch (I didn’t always use it). My old crash boxed 4000 series didn’t like block changes but then I didn’t use the clutch very often.
1st to 3rd no problem empty. As others have said an auto will use less gears than a manual and dont seem to have heavy clutch wear. If anything the opposite.
I always start in 1st to get moving as it does stop the clutch getting as hot
Muckaway:
martinviking:
Only way to rip the clutch out is if you slip it, I’ve always Block Changed when in a manual, don’t even need the clutch once you’re moving, just get the timing right & match the road speed with the engine speed (or visa versa)Gotta admit in though, I do like my Automatic MAN now. (Must be getting lazy)
Have a go in mine, you’ll soon hate them.
I loved my old 6w Alpha; I could block change 3 gearchanges at a time when loaded. Never damaged the clutch (I didn’t always use it). My old crash boxed 4000 series didn’t like block changes but then I didn’t use the clutch very often.
Love to have a go. You’re probably right though, I would hate it now !
My Brother in Law taught me how to use crash boxes back in the early 90’s. He was an owner driver, so would look after his kit, (no agency drivers for him, not that all agency drivers are just steering wheel attendants !) he had an Iveco with a 13 speed Fuller Crash Box. He also had a Renault & he told me that the clutch on it was about the same size as a cars clutch & with the power under the cab it will blow the clutch to bits (a bit like splitting the atom, lol) if you gave it too much ‘Welly’ when starting off, once you were rolling, forget the clutch & give it as much as she needs.
Took me about 6 months of going out on a weekend with him (for free) to get the feel for the gearboxes (probably would have been quicker if I’d had the time to do it in 5 days solid) but I found it a very good way to learn my trade.
I find that you can get any gearbox singing & dancing to your tune, as long as you look after it. Use the clutch to start in first gear, once she’s rolling, straight into 2nd (without using the clutch) then it’s 4th, 6th & 8th—,Once your up to around 10, 11, 12, 13+ use all the gears. When braking from top(say 13) just bring the revs down to (say 800-1000) into neutral, give it a good rev then into 10th, more braking, into neutral, good rev them into 7th.
Of course it all depends on weight of load, terrain, weather conditions etc, but that’s the jist of it.
Still like my Auto MAN now though, lol.
It’s not just truck gearboxes that get knackered by abuse, the last place I worked we had a VW Transporter minibus, it was used to get the team to Airports and back.
They used to drive it like a sports cars and change gear like they were in a race, by the time it was 2 years old and only done about 50,000 miles it was virtually impossible to get into 3rd cleanly. When I said maybe it was the way they drove it and it was a van not a racing car, all I got was it couldn’t be their driving must have been a faulty gearbox.