Got to drive my friend's Freightliner FL70, "Tiny". Different than most other things i've driven, but definately fun. This one's got the Cummins and Eaton 9-speed, no automatic BS here. Monster torque, drags around a fusion 40' toyhauler all day. It was strange having that much power that low and reving over 2k is useless. I had the clutch down pat, but down shifting with no syncros is a trip. Feels like driving my '85 chevy pickup 4spd without using the clutch.

Clutch on a truck? The pros only use the clutch from a stop. Those Eaton 9-speeds are easy to roll through the gears. The lo-hi shift can be tricky though.

who is a pro truck driver,one who can take a 72000 lb tractor trailor and cruise down the 4 lane on the flat and shift with no clutch,or one who has to handle a rig weighing 120k with a 80k excuvator on small roads with grades that require up and down shifts,well let me tell you,you miss a shift by not using the clutch you could be dead fast.
more teeth are broken from the tranny gears when shifting under load ,miss that gear by 1/2 tooth and you just spent 8000 bucks,in short i train my people to use the clutch always,just a small dip will releave enough pressure to allow full gear mash on level and low load,and use it full with heavy grades and large loads.
maybe not a pro but was grandfathered into the cdl program when it started,no accidents.
larry perkins lou ky

I know, I've seen plenty of driver caused chunked trannys, differentials and u-joints. Thats why I used the " ".

I've done a few tuning tricks not dissimilar to those we do to our 617's. This thing hates life when you don't use the clutch. When I was driving it, my buddy punched me in the nuts every time I grinded a gear...which only happened once.