Just to clarify. When I wrote about shifting without the clutch I was talking about the engine running and the truck in motion. My Mach dump truck has a 5 speed trany with a 3 speed rear so the I have 15 gears forward and 3 in reverse. Once the truck is moving I rarely use the clutch as it takes too long to get between gears and you lose your forward momentum. With 15 gears to go thru you have to do a lot of shifting while using two different shifter levers.
You can shift a tranny when sitting still and the engine is off but you are just forcing gears to engage and this should be avoided.
By the way my Ram has an automatic. I think the 727 is probably one of the strongest and most bullet proof trannys out there in production use.

 

Is that a 3 speed rear end or the tri-plex tranny?
Worked for a company years ago that had the two sticks Macks.

 

Had an old International the same way. Five speed main with a three speed browny. The K.W. was a 10x4. and just about any old trucker will beat you over the head if you try using the clutch after the trucks moving.

 

Charlie
I have never torn into that tranny or even seen a manual. I guess I may have unintentionally misled everyone by referring to a 3 speed rear. The way I understand it is that it is in the rear of the tranny and not the differential. When I go to the gravel yard the older truckers seem to all come over and want to talk about the truck and that is how they refer to it.

 

Yes, Seal. I have driven a few the old Macks. Mostly B and C models. The had the duplex (2 speed auxilary) or triplex (3 speed aux.) trannys. Mack also had the quadriplex (4 speed aux,).
Those Thermodynes, Mack's diesel, had almost 170 horsepower!