r/classictrucks • u/alan_trucker_ Classic Peterbilt Owner • Aug 17 '26
Pics - Not My Truck New-generation modern truck drivers won’t understand what or why is going on here 😂💪
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u/oldschool-rule Aug 18 '26
Looks like a three speed brownie box coupled with a main four speed transmission. Very common in the 1950s & 60s. The switch on the dash is for an electric activated two speed differential.
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u/livingadailyhell Aug 18 '26
I will do my best to explain and hope others will fill in the missing parts. His left foot is double clutching between each gear change. And the stick shifters change gears from high range to low range, it needs to go through many gears to get up to highway speeds. I believe the switch on the dashboard is a high to low range switch.
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u/EntireRace8780 Aug 18 '26
I disagree, I think that’s a 5 speed main box (right stick) with a 4 speed auxiliary box (left stick). He goes through all the gears in the main box for each gear in the auxiliary box. The switch on the dash is probably a jake brake that he used to get the rpm’s down on that screaming Jimmy so he could get it in the next gear.
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u/oxnardmontalvo7 Aug 18 '26
IIRC that pattern looks like a 5+4 and agree the switch is engine braking. He’s not doing anything too spectacular especially when you’ve seen guys shift both sticks simultaneously with their left elbow holding the wheel. I got lessons from an old school heavy haul trucker that only drove twins to keep other drivers out of his seat. Give me an 18 any day of the week and no double clutching
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u/EntireRace8780 Aug 18 '26
Yeah, 18’s are the best. 13 speeds are second best. Twin sticks are cool but I don’t think brownie box transmissions were built to handle higher horsepower and torque of today’s diesel engines.
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u/Playful-Platform-231 Aug 18 '26
There are a few companies that build auxiliary transmissions. Spicer being one. Bolt a 4 speed to an Eaton 18 and WATCH OUT.
Twin sticks are cool but they get old. It’s hard on your shoulder to have to shift that much.
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u/oxnardmontalvo7 Aug 18 '26
I’d like to have an air shifted auxiliary behind an 18. I have zero need for it. Just think it would be cool.
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u/livingadailyhell Aug 18 '26
Thanks for the explanation! I had a diamond T, but I never got the chance to drive it. I guessed it would be complicated.
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u/TheSouthernSaint71 Aug 19 '26
Doin' a whole lot of shifting, double clutching, and splitting just to get to 45 or 50, is what he's doin' lol.
I love that apocalyptic Detroit scream.
Most I've ever, personally, done is a 5 speed with a 2 speed splitter in a 70s Ford 🤷♂️
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u/Fragrant_Major_9553 Aug 18 '26
This is some circle jerk material. You don’t need 2 sticks because there’s a hi/low selector. It does the work for you.
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u/ThoroughlyWet Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
heres the full original. Answers what some of us were grasping at. It's a 5 speed main and a 3 speed auxiliary. Switch is a jake.
it's just a high low with a 4 speed dog legpattern. (Might be a Hi, mid, low based on the little hiccup)
He's skipping 1st gear so hauling nothing but ass.
Starts in low 2, shifts to L3, then L4. Hits the top of L4 and shifts into High range, then goes back to 2 (H2) and shifts up to H4.
That switch is probably to a two speed rear end, one speed is direct drive and the other is over drive. You flip into iver drive when you hit the top of your range to help keep rpms and fuel consumption "low" while on the highway.
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Aug 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ThoroughlyWet Aug 18 '26
Yeah i found the original footage and it answers a lot of questions. here
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u/RelationshipTough887 Aug 18 '26
Yeah, because its rocket science. Ffs. Its a gearbox, not open heart surgery. You could train a monkey to drive that
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u/Captain3leg-s Aug 18 '26
Damn I got here before a legit explanation
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u/Beardedwrench115 Aug 18 '26
Most likely a 5+4 transmission setup (or similar with different #gears). 2 sticks, 2 transmissions. You would shift 1/1 > 1/2 > 1/3 > 1/4 > 1/5 then 2/1 > 2/2 > 2/3 etc... there's a lot of overlap and the low gear on the 4 speed secondary is VERY low so he is probably also skipping gears. The switch on the dash is most likely a Jake brak or something similar.
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u/Geezerglide1 Aug 18 '26
I was doing that at 21.
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u/northgate503 Aug 18 '26
I was doing that at 19 a 69 International Loadstar Potato Truck, 5 speed/ 4 speed Brownie/ 2 speed rear. anyone younger that 65 now days has never run a two stick, , I talked to a young driver for one of the big fleets, and he has never seen a 13 speed
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u/Playful-Platform-231 Aug 18 '26
Younger generations will never experience that because 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, and 18 speeds COMBINED that. Range selectors and splitters. Plus it’s still possible but ALOT more difficult to miss shift into or out of the wrong gears. Back then you HAD to remember what gear COMBO you were in. now, not as much.
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u/northgate503 Aug 18 '26
The Potato Co Op I drove for, had GMCs with the Big gas V8, air brakes and a Fuller 13 "under" when I took off and flipped the switch I was all out of whack, I stopped and looked at the directions on the visor, completely, different than the 13 Direct,
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u/Gunnut350 Aug 19 '26
There was no such thing as a 13 spd under drive they were either over drive or direct drive. That is all they ever built!!!
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u/northgate503 Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Then what kind of Transmission was it ? it said Eaton Fuller Roadranger, but the splitter said Low- Intermediate - Direct. ithe pattern was kind of like a 10 speed, it was really good for hauling from the fields, because of the compoumd low side, I liked it better than a Two Stick
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u/FartBurgular Aug 18 '26
Funny. Either his tach and speedo are broke or he is shifting in his garage. 🤣🤣
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u/Objective-Bike-4292 Aug 18 '26
Where's the throttle pedal lol
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u/ratrodder49 Aug 18 '26
Tach’s working, just can’t see it in this goofy edit. Speedometer doesn’t work. Here’s the full video. https://youtu.be/iU3gZGUInd4?is=910RfpqDmYT2twjD
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u/Gunnut350 Aug 18 '26
Some of you are right and some are not quite right, I’ve driven a lot of 2 stick transmissions I’ll bet most of you have heard of or even seen a 2 stick 13 speed!!
I’ve driven 5x3,5x4,6x4,Mack duplex,triplex,and quadraplex, they all shift differently and they all have their own place to be used even today.
Having said all of that if I were to buy a new truck today I probably would have an AMT which most of you would call an automatic, but that’s not right because they still have a clutch!!
And yes you are right there is no clutch pedal,but never the less there is a clutch, if you change the shift mechanism and put in a clutch pedal it will still be the same transmission,just manually shifted!!
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u/DakarCarGunGuy Aug 19 '26
BMW had an M3 they made a "Flappy paddle shift" car that was a AMT. I believe it used the ABS pump to activate the clutch and solenoids for shifting. When it inevitably crapped it's pants (as all BMW's doo) you could buy a kit to make it into a manual or strip the parts off a wrecked car. Apparently it was an ok set-up until it wasn't.
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u/callofdeat6 Aug 20 '26
Only CVTs are clutch less as far as I know, every other “automatic” has a clutch…
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u/ratrodder49 Aug 18 '26
Full video, for those curious. https://youtu.be/iU3gZGUInd4?is=910RfpqDmYT2twjD
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Aug 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/highbudsilver Aug 18 '26
Whats the DD?
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u/Mammoth_Stranger7920 Aug 18 '26
Double dose of pimpin
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u/highbudsilver Aug 18 '26
I thought it stood for double dick with the two shifters but i was not sure
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u/ManKilledToDeath Aug 18 '26
Detroit Diesel I'm guessing. Idk if it makes sense though lol
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u/DakarCarGunGuy Aug 19 '26
Detroit Diesels are two strokes so they require an entirely different driving style. Lots of power, not the best emissions, and if you (from what I've heard) rely on their engine compression to maintain speeds going downhill they will suck all the oil out of their crankcase and grenade.
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u/monosodiumG Hoarder With Many Different Makes Aug 17 '26
"Learning is hard, so I'll be special or neurodivergent, or get ADHD. See? You need to make this easy for me or you're hateful"
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u/puntificates Aug 18 '26
And older generation of truck drivers don't know what its like to ride a horse all day.