2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Pickup Owner Manual - Page 240

240 STARTING AND OPERATING Fully depress the clutch pedal before shifting gears. As you release the clutch pedal, lightly depress the accelerator pedal. When launching a stationary vehicle, keep the engine speed low until the clutch is fully engaged. Damage to the clutch can result from starting in 2nd or 3rd gear with a loaded vehicle. Use each gear in numerical order - do not skip a gear. For improved clutch life, all six forward gears should be used. For steady highway driving with light acceleration, 6th gear is recommended. When shifting from 4th to 5th gear, apply side effort away and forward without pushing hard enough to engage Reverse gear. Shifting from 5th to 6th requires the same side effort or the lever will return to center resulting in a shift into 4th gear and damage the transmission, clutch, or engine. You should use low gear when starting from a standing position if under a heavy load. To shift into Reverse, come to a complete stop. Depress the clutch and pause briefly to allow the gear train to stop. Move the shift lever from the Neutral position straight across and up into Reverse. Never drive with your foot resting on the clutch pedal, or attempt to hold the vehicle on a hill with the clutch pedal partially engaged, as this will cause abnormal wear on the clutch. Recommended Shift Speeds To use your manual transmission for fuel economy it should be upshifted as listed below. Shift at the vehicle speeds listed for acceleration. Earlier upshifts during cruise conditions (relatively steady speeds) will result in increased fuel economy, and may be used as indicated. Higher upshift speeds may be used to obtain a desired acceleration rate.