my 4 year old son loves this. he kicks back with his feet up on the desk with his drink and watches this over & over & over again. nice driving. thumbs up from us.

The perfect gear for moving off from a standing start when bobtail

we had a big dispute about that with Eaton & Mt Cotton many years ago, we were running Cairns north to Mosman along the cliff road in doubles & Mt Cotton would reasese our driving every 6 months, anyway a lot of us were useing that gear at the top of hills rather than go back into the bottom box well big dramma & we were stopped doing it. They evan worked out how to make it show up on their GPS & new if we were using it, Eaton would not fix the box's under warranty if we were using that gear tx

I used to run trains( double hopper bottoms) in South Dakota. Regularly got into 160 000 lbs. The mystery gear is very handy for getting an extra low split in high range. Turning and accelerating always went faster with it. Good luck to ya from the states. Take care!

Good on you man your a credit to your profession and company . Im going for my heavy ridgid soon , this is great advice from a very good driver .

You have done a super job with this video! I was struck by the tight quarters, they seem tighter than I remember. I've spec'ed n sold new custom KW's for over 20 years, but it has been 10 years or so since KW stopped building the cabover in N America. We are spoiled. Here, drivers gripe if they must duck their head as they walk back to get into the bunk. ;)

i found this vid very helppful and gave me alot of insight, i love trucks, basically been on one, dad had an 8v92 gm in a white road commander runnin Hay to Boort, now im 18 and will be going for my liscence soon so i been a bit nervouse about the gears, so thanks mate

At last, a trucker video with the steering wheel on the correct side. Good on ya bloke!

Hi Austpom333, I went for my first day today. Wow! There is so much to pay attention too! "Keep cool", that's great advice! Thanks mate.

Hey mate. cheers from the states! Im a young driver from the USA, working in the oil fields of North Dakota. I drive a Kenny T600 with a thirteen speed, and found this "bonus" gear by total accident one day. It really works slick, especially when making a turn onto a road. I do not have to waste time shifting into lowrange into 5th, I can stay in high range by slipping into this "bonus" slot. Works like a charm, good to see others who have discovered this. !!!

Wow this car runs a touch to the knob, spool spooling at approximately 6psi with nary a finger on the cursor! Simply magical this shows the advancements made in the alpha soui industry. Puts me on shear pins and needles.

MAN that right hand drive sure does look funky.

thanks, i only got a couple years left before i go to get my CDL so this trick/tip will help me.

Nice video, and what a nice truck you have too :)

@Dragon150043 Thats what I alway thought too......until I drove my first Semitrailer in 20 years and found that the improvements included driving like a normal car and not having to 'double shuffle" the clutch.

@AUSSIEGIZMO76 I also do heavy haul work ( well up to 140ton only) and the answer is NO I don't and never will use this gear while carting anthing more than a B-Double. Glad you have you opinion and have expressed it, as that's what youtube should be used for. Thankfully I am a fully qualified driver trainer now and also have many driving awards so I feel as though you may have taken this video to seriously. It's just to show you CAN use it if need be. Not to say it should be common use

Can do a similar thing with Reverse in these gearboxes. Start off in Low range Reverse then shift into a ratio that was between Lo and Int. We called it "angel gear" Reverse. Perfect for a long reverse out of a cane paddock (several hundred meters) with a full load that Int Reverse couldn't pull from a stop.

@turbancp WEll I'm also a heavy mechanical fitter and have worked on and rebuilt many Roadrangers over the years. if you ask any of the mechanics that work at roadranger they'll tell you it has nothing to do with the gearbox but the driver. Because the teeth on the dog ring are not rounded off like other gears if you dont engage them at exactly the right revs they can grab and send shock through the box and that's what stuffs them. My mates truck has 26 yrs of use like this and is still fine

Transmission trivia: Going up, the top three ratios in the Eaton Fuller low inertia 13 & 18 speed double overdrive transmissions are direct (1 to 1 ratio) .85 & .74. The middle (.85) ratio comes from running the .74 top overdrive gear thru an underdrive ratio. So, nearly every gear in the transmission spins in 17th (18 speed) or 12th(13 speed), a good gear to avoid if after fuel mileage. And, direct (respectivly 16th & 11th) has no parasitic HP losses because only the thru shaft spins.

Bestway to learn is just through experience, once you get to know what rpm the truck will do at what speed in each gear you can preaty much pluck a gear without thinking to much as an example, sometimes I will go into neutral maybe 100 metres before a red light and roll to a stop but if the light turns green I can just pick the right gear for the speed I'm doing and just drive away, as I said it comes with experience.

in an 18 speed you can use the splitter in every gear including the extra one shown and also reverse, so if you need it you use it otherwise go a full gear.

Learning in a 15speed is the way to go because there so easy, you don't have a splitter to worry about, just a straight out 5 gear H patern with high and low range and deep reduction if you need it

wow! seems so difficult! Id love to drive one of these things!

@EJholden Yes i'm glad you wrote this. I don't know why so many people have a go at this video saying i'm an idiot and would get sacked if I drove for them bla, bla, bla. The fact is I only made the video to show people that this is possible and not to use it as common practice. The truth is I was shown this when I was about 19 years of age by my best mate, who also happened to turn out in the end to be my boss. He taught me in his trucks and encourages me to use this gear whenever possible

Thanks for sharing, Let the power speak...

Thankyou mate for supplying us with freight be it food, chemicals, teddy bears for the kids.. What the feck ever.... CHAMPION keep on keepin on mate!

obviously some guys on here wish they drove but rigs. reality is that what ever is comfortable for you as the driver not some internet wannabe truckie talking rubbish. nice vid mate

@whiteman81 - I stand corrected... I have been confusing them for a while now -the .74 ratio is the "other". Most Paccar trucks on US highway will have Eaton/Fullers so called low inertia 13/18 speed double overdrive transmissions... or, their "FRO"10 speed with a single .74 overdrive.

The engine fan is automatic and cuts in whenever the temp gets above 98c I was pulling 55 ton in 38 degree heat up 12% incline that's why it's working as I am only doing 30 km/h on the hills

I just wish we could still buy Kenworth COEs in North America! That's so cool! I own and drive a 1980 White-Freightliner COE every day and I LOVE it. But, I know she won't last forever.

yeah the pedals are the same, as is the light, blinker and wiper controls on the steering coloum but everything else is on the left of the driver not the right.

using that mistery gear can work for a while but if u do a bad shift or sustain it up steep hills u can split the gearbox casing as roadrangers have 3 shafts in constant mesh but in that mistery gear there are only two shafts in use dangerous practise !!!

that's what used to be referred to as "cheater gear", been around forever.Was always told not to use it but knew some drivers that did.

@amusichound the extra gear is only low low meant for taking off up steep hills at heavy weights it is triple counter shaft gear box but that gear is way too small to be used in the top box(higher ratio countershaft engaged) IF anything goes wrong will totally shatter gear box and warrany will be void no Professional driver would use that gear position other than take off

Pretty intersting.. THX for the info.. be safe..

Thanks!!! Good job.

I work for TOLL Logistics out of Malanda on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland. If you watch some of my other videos you'll see. As far as the extra gear goes, I only use in 2 spots for about 30secs in total on an 8hr trip, but would be up shit creek without for that 30secs.

I want to drive one of these right now.

Hi mate, this type of shift is recommended for Mack boxes only, such as the 9 speed maxitorque. Eaton claims it will cause damage & will void the warranty

Peterbilt 362 was available until 02 or 03, I believe. The Argosy was available until 2006.

It also exists in the 8LL Transmission.

2007 K104B haven't got it anymore. Tnhey took it off me when it clocked up 750,000km

@BERLINGO4255 If you're good then you don't use clutch after 1 gear, but it's only in the old old transmissions that you may have to double clutch because they didn't have synchros

that gear comes i n handy when in shoft places when haulin gravel and grain

Good stuff!

@Dragon150043 I've heard this before, but 20 years of not using the clutch and using the cheater gear multiple times a day I have yet to do a clutch or a tranny and I have run dedicated trucks.

I,ve been running triples to Darwin for 18yrs and if i ever started of in any gear other than 1st, drove along with my hand resting on the gearshift, or preselected like this bloke does,my old man/boss would deduct a clutch/transmission out of my wages.

Here in BC, Canada, we pull 63,500 kg, going from 5th direct to 4th over is better, because if you have to down shift from (The Cheater Gear) again, you loose too much road speed, and may have to go into 3rd instead of 4th, we have very steep hills here, and they are long, when it's snowing hard, it can be interesting. You can download the Eaton Fuller manuals off there web site, they will tell you how to shift properly. Its not about whether or not you do any harm to the transmission

@Kenworth608 yeah mate driving from Malanda down the palmeston

wow i like that set up, exept fot it bein on the right side, is it diffucult to shift left handed if uve alwayse shifted righthanded

good video cobba

ive only ever used the crawl once,70t up peats ridge...i only ever use the last 16,just not needed imo...tb

it is a triple counter shaft gear box that gear does not have all 3 shafts for a reason

nice truck btw

What kind of gear lever do you have? 6+6 or 3+3+split or how is it set up? I drove a 3+3+s for a while, and once I got used to it, I loved it. Wasn't a big rig though, only a rear load trash truck.

Sounds like a man who knows what he is talking about!!!

A friend in Townsville showed me that when I was learning to drive when I was about 18. Have been using that gear when I need it ever since

Yeah will if you read all the comments you would realise I know this as I am a mechanic myself and I just made the video to demonstrate that it can be done. On the other hand I have a friend with a truck that has a 13 speed in it that has done 3.2 million kilometres and only had one rebuild, and he uses this gear everytime he goes up and down the box. so just goes to show, roadrangers are a bloody tuff box.

Kenworth: the worlds best! Gimme a hell yeah!

when changing gear does the clutch have to be pressed twice or sometimes not at all ive heard of someone telling me that but im not sure as i drive a scania and its fully synchromesh. Thanks?

The correct term for the Eaton auto box is actually automated, or automated manual. This diferentuates it from an automatic transmission like the Allison. Interesting bit of info about that extra gear, would it work on a 9 speed Eaton syncro box? I currently drive for Linfox in either a Volvo with the I-shift or a Freightliner Columbia with the Eaton Smart Shift as shown in your other video clip, but am sometimes thrown in a body truck with a 9 speed. ....Regards, DH

I'm just a kid, so I know next to nothing about trucks, but do you need the clutch every time you change with a roadranger? Or can you shift without it?

Kinda like using the low-hole on a Eaton Fuller 8LL in high range?

Back in '85, I pulled steel for ECK Miller for 2 years and never used the extra gear (in high range). Ever. 38,000 pound loads and I never needed it. Seems to me it would just be a waste of fuel.

@jbell316 Hey It's called Australia. We drive on the other side of the road compared to most other country's. So this is The correct side of the cab :)

why does eaton say never to put it in Low in Hi range? says that in my truck on the shift pattern.

mate nice video,i like alot of your work actually,are you towing a double or single on this trip?

You guys get the best whizz ;-)

so in the end its a 20 gera box ,here in europe we call it crawler gear , its highly recommend not to use crawler in high range

the pattern is (for gearshiftlever): R 1 3 C 2 4 and range-splitter division.

its also in Canada mate, if i remember right.

Here in the south we always called the extra gear he's referring to as the "Cheater Gear" which is bad on the trans. Have heard about guys busting the case wide open doing that. Not only does a 13 and 18 have a cheater a 9sp does also. A 9sp is a 13 with out the back box to allow you to split each gear on the high side.

Great video, but you're on the wrong side of the roadlol I can imagine it must take some getting used to driving and shifting from the right side. I drive a new kenworth t664 with and 18 speed and c-train (2 48 ft. trailers.) it the max trailers allowed in Mexico. once again great vid and i'll post one of my rig soon

if you notice in the first up shift he doesn't split the low gears

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between a cab and a truck?

So your basically matching high range crawler gear with the road speed instead of just going to 5th?

You would call this a 5+4 plus splitter on all gears Have a look at my other vid, "Going through the gears" to see the correct method of everygear exept the top 2

What side would you like it on?

can you show me why you put it when you have to back up i never seen it

Hi I am using a 2011 kenworth k108 with cummins 18 speed road ranger how can you take off smooth with out kangerooing it seems the more weight I am pulling the harder it is to get going. I have drove plenty of road rangers but nothing that is like this.

Gee Im glad I just have(need)9 gears..lol..Thanx 4 showing (all 15,784 of)us.Very popular this vid huh!

on 13 speeds you can go Lo123 in lo range go into high range and back to Lo and split it and you get 14 gears

@BizzLeVrai well his accent is Australian or kiwi so i'm guessing he's there, where they drive on the left.

What stretch of road is that at 5:40? that bridge?

@unknownfox1994 Lol I Know, just look weird sitting on that side of the cab lol

just had a thought , wouldnt that gear be between 5high and 6lo

are the bearings in Low the same size as the main gears? The old 13 "cheater" didn't have as big a bearing and would wear the transmission prematurely.

Well, 'cos I own my truck, I wouldn't use that gear. But then, I'm paying the bills!

@BERLINGO4255 u can actually shift the gears in a tractor trailor without using the clutch

@xxxCHIVONGxxx it's quite an experience. I drove b4 i was scared shitless first time I stepped in a truck

when i was little, my dad would let me and my brother play in the cab of his truck. pretend to drive. somehow, we managed to engage the clutch and take off down the road. we stopped when he hit the tree........ luckily, it was a little tree, and neither us nor the truck was hurt.

Thats because your trucks can fit in the glove box of an aussie truck. When your not pulling around 75tonne a gearbox from a mini will be fine for your trucks.

Hmm... The manual that has all of the ratios in is god here. =)

@alwaysoffroad did u have the b-double on

We shift like mad in jamaica!

This is what used to be called the mystery gear in the old 13speed,s...basically its lazy mans way of changing gears and just increasing load on the counter shaft.... if you find during a climb as any driver knows you better to skip a gear and half during a down shift while climbing uphill...if 6th high split ( 11th ) is too high then easier and safer to skip down to 4th high split (8th ) over here in Nz we have hills where you cant take chances you get it right the first time or its game over

this truck had a 15 litre Cummins Signiture rated at 520hp

Does this have automatic gears?

Yeah we call it crawler in OZ as well and it's not recommended to use it in an 18 speed, but I have talked to Eaton and they say that they encourage it's use in a 9 speed so go figure

no double shuffle?