How to split the 18 Speed Road Ranger. Aussie Trucker Trucks and Stuff

[@joncalkin3092]

Great videos mate, been many years since I've driven a RR and want t get back on the road again. After 6yrs drivin dumpys in the mines and funny enough the last 2 in retail, I have been looking at youtube vids which have refreshed my memory. Your vids have been extremely well communicated mate, thanks heaps and well done. Look forward to more vids in the future. Cheers.

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Your welcome Jon and my apologies for this late reply.. Welcome BACK to the club..

[@gatekeeper88]

I remember doing my HR unrestricted years ago, failed the first (everyone did, but I did), and was taught to go up and down the range each gear, assessor said I could skip gears and I did with splits up and down (Extra tuition from the guy that taught me how to drive a crash box only using the clutch at start and stop)

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

This is a response to a question on my part one video and may help others.... Kinetic Images Australia 3 minutes ago Hey Joseph, thanks for your comment/question. Put simply the splitter is just another gear that can be used anytime or not at all. The splitter is a gear that is added to what ever position the gear stick is in, therefore it is added to what ever gear you are currently in and gives you just that little bit extra. That maybe still a bit confusing so imagine you are looking at a 5 speed bicycle and its gears. You'll have a sprocket on your pedals with a chain going back, and on the back wheel you will see 5 different sized sprockets (Gears) that you can change with a lever on the handlebars and you can go up and down these gears forever and as such this would be considered a 5 speed bike. Now a 10 speed bike is almost the same except where your pedals are there will be a larger sprocket and a slightly smaller one which you can also change with a different lever on the handlebars and this becomes a 10 speed bike because the two sprockets on the front multiplied by the 5 on the back makes 10 total. You still have the choice of never changing gears on the front two sprockets but maybe there will be a hill that you need just a little bit extra to help you get over it so you change to the smaller one without changing the rear ones. Conversely you're already using the smaller front sprocket and you want to go just a little bit faster so you change to the larger one. In a way you could say the front is the splitter. Hope this makes sense:)

[@connor3288]

Thanks for showing your technique where you double clutch/rev match when splitting gears. I'm a mechanic, soon to be CDL(bus/truck) driver, and want to understand everything I can about these transmissions. I have seen other videos where people teach to split in gear, just by lifting off the "gas" to split up, or giving it "gas" to split down. Seems a bit abusive to me. Would be curious to hear from a diesel transmission shop/mechanic on their thoughts. Makes sense rev matching would help avoid POSSIBLE issues the other technique could cause. I have seen videos of the jamaican drivers, they are wild! I think they rev match all the gears and split changes, no clutch! Jamaican truck drivers are like human CVT's😂 They are moving the shifter like a madman, very entertaining to watch.

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Your spot on Connor3288.. I think all drivers should be aware of the mechanical implications of their actions no matter if it is their own truck or they are driving for an owner. The splitter in a lot of Gearbox’s actually run a synchro ring but the key factor in ANY gearbox is to remove the load from the engine to the box so a change can be made. Obviously the clutch is the main way to do it :) 👍 A single clutch press, not double, is all that is needed for split changes.

[@connor3288]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia Been watching lots of videos lately trying to see how the range and splitter shifts/mechanisms work. There was a good Eaton one that showed how the range box is right behind the main gearbox, and how a shift ring with syncro engages or disengages high/low range. So the splitter works in the same manner, mechanically speaking? Also, having a sport atv and being a motorcyclist, I know what you mean about unloading the gears. Makes sense to clutch to ease the split, or move to neutral and back to gear should be even easier on the trans and less wear on throwout bearing. When engine braking in the truck and you want to downshift, do you clutch out of the gear or give a blip of "gas" to unload the gear? I know either will work, curious of your preference and why. I saw your Ducati video, that thing is a beast! Sounds amazing. Safe travels- Connor

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

@@connor3288 G'Day again Connor.. I'm relocating to Thailand next year and building a massive man cave, (will be making a video of the whole process) gonna miss my Duke as I cannot take it with me, so I will have to sell it soon..very sad 😥 I have however bought a Yamaha MT10 with a cross plane engine in Thailand and will be fanging that around for a while until I make a reverse trike out of it.😃 (another video of that too). Now onto your question. With engine braking (Jake brake etc switched on) both the clutch and Gas pedals have micro switches that will disengage the engine braking if you press either... BUT.... Using only the gas pedal could be a DISASTER.. REALLY BAD.... because if you get it wrong, the moment you raise your foot off the pedal the engine braking will turn back on... I only use engine braking when I'm loaded so the clutch is your best friend. Also remember that each truck is slightly different even between same models.. Older trucks, or what I mean is trucks with a few miles on them, tend to be more forgiving and there is a little "play" worn into the gearbox that helps gas pedal blipping:) One more thing to mention is cab over trucks have two push pull cables from the gear stick to the gearbox, not a direct gear stick into the top of the box.. any play in these cables have to be accounted for in the "FEEL" of the gear stick to make changes happen as you want them to. Hope all that makes sense mate and thanks again for watching my videos. Safe travels to you too mate :)

[@brycenew]

Another great vid Jase!! Many thanks again mate :D

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Ditto Re your last comment and my reply :)))))) Funny how I got a message saying truck drivers aren’t bloody race car drivers so why the heel and toe... I find it waaaay easier...

[@brycenew]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia Is there an alternative when you have a max load & don't have all the road in the world for the Jake & downshifting to pull you up? I don't have the experience to know any better. Yet ;) Hey do you have any tips (besides door knocking / waiting for a break) on moving up licence classes to heavier units / road ranger boxes / trailers? Thanks Jase!

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Bryce New In relation to pulling up in a hurry, ie some fool does something unexpected in front of you, all you can do is hit the anchors and hope you can pull up. With a truck fully loaded and well maintained the brakes will work well provided you haven’t been riding them hard and have too much heat build up. You’d be surprised how well 22 tyres with 44 tonne can stop BUT you still need several meters to stop effectively, grabbing and odd gear and using the engine brake will certainly assist. As far as door knocking etc the only advise I can give (although expensive) is to obtain you HC/MC licence from a training organisation and then seeking any rides you can get to get experience. Unfortunately the old catch 22 that everyone one wants experienced drivers but you can’t get experience without driving is still relevant.

[@brycenew]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia Thanks Jase! Greatly appreciate it mate. Stay well!

[@paulthompson3877]

you realy hit the nail on the head the way you explaned the operation on what gear your in , by feel and speed .

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Funny you should say that. I wish in hind sight I had spent more time elaborating about "feeling" the truck you drive or machine you operate as I really think that is what differentiates an ok operator from a good one... My next video with excavators I'll try and get that message across.. Cheers Paul :)

[@whytelux1408]

Going from MR to HC unrestricted next week, keen to start driving truck tipper with dog

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Good luck and also have fun reversing a truck and dog, with a turntable on the front of the dog you’ll have to steer opposite to a semi :)) But the boys can get those into some pretty tight spaces ….

[@whytelux1408]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia with alot of practice i got on Farming Sim / Truck Simulator and alot of videos watched of guys reversing dogs on KZbin, I'm pretty confident that I can do it hahahaha. I've got advised about having the dog trailer tipped half way to see where the dolly is going when reversing back

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

@@whytelux1408 you’ll get it Bloke, before long it’ll be nothing but muscle memorie… goyougoodthing

[@whytelux1408]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia ended up passing the test today mate 2nd go. The first test had me confused as I got accused of floating the gears hahaha. Had a lesson before this test to make sure I was doing it correctly and little to behold that I was doing it right the whole time, bloody examiners from TMR 🤦🏻‍♂️ . Start my new job next week

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

@@whytelux1408 good stuff mate!! Be safe!!!!

[@ehpunka]

I’m going for my licence in 2 weeks. Kenworth t350

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Good luck and let us know how you went? Do you have any worries before your test?

[@gemuk3839]

Great video... enjoyed! I will be learning HR in a week... and hopefully upgrade to HC or MC afterwards :-)

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Hey Gemuk glad you enjoyed and welcome to the HR/HC/MC club. Good luck and be safe, get plenty of rest!!! Thanks for your comment:) Hope you watched part 1?

[@gemuk3839]

Kinetic Images Australia I will watch part 1 ;-)..... I found you from google. Just love trucks and prime movers but not professional driver. Just hobby

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

@@gemuk3839 Hobby? Wow!!! Parts of me wish I never decided to take the heavy vehicle path and yet on reflection of 30 plus years, most of them were enjoyable enough :)) be safe mate:)) you’ll find some other entertaining truck related videos on my channel and more to come. Heal and toe, hook up, observations etc. Thanks again for your nice comments Gemuk:)

[@gemuk3839]

Kinetic Images Australia Got my first 2 hours road ranger lesson yesterday mate.... My goodness is much harder when you are doing it than watching it from youtube... Will do it again this coming Saturday.. Just wish I have a truck to practice is on... just need to get my rhythm right... Trainer made it look so easy but holy shit it was not when it was my turn.

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Hey Gemuk, good on ya mate for giving it a go... The timing is the hardest part and unfortunately the only way to know is to do :) Once you get past all the switches and dials and your comfortable with where to move the gear stick and or buttons on it, in relation to an upshift or down shift, the timing is the thing that separates the good from the bad. AND to further confuse the issue the timing changes in relation to how heavy a load you have on, if at all (empty) and whether your'e pulling the truck up hill or down hill. My ten cents worth, and don't concentrate on this too much at the moment, but if your going slow and when you go to change gear the truck is likely to slow down quickly, IE your heavy, your climbing a hill or both, the timing is a lot quicker and you need to change quickly. The reverse is needed if when you go to change gear the truck is likely to maintain a similar speed, you change slower. This is a main reason why we skip gears... sometimes you just have to go for 2 gears lower in order to effect a change because the truck is heavy/going up hill and you loose too much "Road speed" once you take your foot off the accelerator.

[@leeknight3844]

Heyyy Uralba cutting!

[@Brendo2910]

There’s a few different methods to go from overdrive back to direct does it matter which way you do it with out damaging the box

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Gday Brendo…. Not sure which methods you’re referring to, but with or without clutch, rev matching is still required so the gears can mesh.. Also technically the splitter in a 18 Speed Road Ranger isn’t an overdrive as fitted to other gear boxes as the splitter can be applied to any or all the forward gears.

[@rbdetailing3201]

hey mate do you come into kempsey at all? I'm positive I've seen you.

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Gday R&B yes have been there a few times but about 1.5 years ago, I’m now in a completely different field of trucking. Big yellow one for Barnes Auto... Good chance I’ll be there again some random time lol

[@Alf_4]

is pulling it out of gear necessary for the splitter? eaton's manual for the road ranger says to just press and release the clutch?

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Hey Alphonse, no it is not necessary and of course Eaton are correct. If you re watch the video at the very beginning I made mention of this in the opening credits. The action of the gear stick move is to help the new driver learn rev matching. I drove three different trucks in this video and with age and wear and tear every truck is a little different. This truck wouldn't always make a smooth change with the clutch alone. Moving the stick helped. Actually a good mechanic told me about this method. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@grahamhamilton7875]

Nice video and it cleared up whether or not a spit shift actually requires the gear stick to be moved to neutral momentarily. I am confused slightly about one thing and that is down shifting a ½ gear say either from 7L to 6H or 6H to 6L. Do you double clutch with a rev increase? I'm assuming the answer is yes? If so could going from say 6H to 6L be done with just a rev increase and no clutch??? I'm just a bit confused. Thanks.

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

G'day Graham, great question :) There is no double clutching when splitting up or down. A singular small press on the clutch and rev matching is all that is required. The aim of the game with ALL gear changes is to ensure the load or pressure within the gearbox is released and that is achieved by pressing the clutch. Eaton Fuller recommend this as the only action to use. With splitting gear changes (up or down) there is a gear set at the back of the gearbox which is pneumatically actuated. Hence the air button on the gear stick. The range change, LOW and HI is similar. Because you pre select these buttons before doing anything else they are ready to go. You just need to release the load or pressure so the range change and or the splitter actuators can do their job. Double clutching is for all changes that require the gear stick to be actually moved into another position, for a whole gear. Yep, you need to rev match what gear it is your wanting next. Letting the revs drop naturally is what you do for upshifting (going faster) and giving the gas pedal a little blip and raising the revs is what you do for down shifting. As I mentioned it's about 200 RPM for split changes and 400 RPM for whole gears up or down. "Floating the gears" (not using the clutch) is a gamble we all play with the "Aim of the game" mentioned above, except we're hoping the release of accelerator pedal will be enough to release of pressure from within the gearbox. Get it wrong and damage will occur. I talk a little about this in my other video.... Learning the 18 Speed Road Ranger Basics... at about 9 minutes and 25 seconds into the video below. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKrWk5KtYrKApLs I'm currently doing another video talking about the clutch and the video after that will be about brakes. Hope this helps, take care!

[@grahamhamilton7875]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia Thanks Jason, Such a speedy reply. I'm doing my HR crash-box licence training in two weeks time. (hoping for a career change from pilot to Truckie! (long story) So just to be sure, a ½ gear downshift without the gearstick movement (e.g., 6H to 6L) requires one clutch action with a approx 200rpm rev increase and a ½ gear shift with gearstick movement (e.g., 7L to 6H) requires a a single or double movement?

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Yes on both occasions :) Double clutch because you're moving the stick. Just to clarify the double clutch is one clutch depression for moving into the neutral position and another clutch depression for moving the stick into a gear selection from the neutral position. However don't worry too much about the latter (7L to 6H). I can honestly say that if the scenario exists that required this change, IE your heavily loaded and going up a hill and loosing revs, I wouldn't worry about a half shift I'd wait just a smidge longer and go for a whole gear change with the splitter button untouched. Double clutch with 400 RPM blip on the pedal. (7L to 6L). Downshifting half gears can be quite tricky in any gear. You may have seen my channel banner is an instrument cluster of a turbine helicopter....... I'd give my left nut to do the reverse of what your doing :)

[@grahamhamilton7875]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia Thanks Jason, Yes I know what I'm doing is unconventional but a necessity really in my personal circumstance. Maybe if I got into helicopters years ago, things would be different. Some say if you can make a living from your passion, you'll never work a day in your life. Others say you'll just ruin your passion! It's just a shame that flying training is so dam expensive. I'll check out your other videos. Have a great weekend!

[@XaviRonaldo0]

Would you only use the LO gear taking off on a steep incline or something?

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

LO is rarely used even on a steep incline. It’s not a gear you can get moving and then change into the next, it is just too low. I’ve only ever used it where I needed to move the truck a few feet forward and then stop. Try it and you will see it is for the rare occasions. Day to day operations first gear and even second is all you need to start moving.

[@XaviRonaldo0]

@@Kinetic-Images-Australia ok thanks mate. I only have an MR synchro licence but I've always been fascinated by 18 speed crash boxes

[@toppgun78]

Hey Jason, if your’re in the foward position of the gear lever, and the splitter is in the back position, do you have to give the engine a quick rev if you’re up-shifting or is it just a quick change with the double clutch? Cheers mate

[@Kinetic-Images-Australia]

Hey Steve, your upshifting so it's just a quick change. Remember you only depress the clutch pedal a short distance, not the whole way to the floor. I'm currently editing another and final video in this series called "The Basic Basics of the 18 speed" and I'll talk more about timing and the clutch. Hope this helps. Cheers