Load or no load, I always launch without touching the accelerator. In normal day to day driving with no load I always launch in second gear. Have done it a few times in third inadvertently and it just grunts a little and keeps going smoothly. In heavy stop and go traffic I use first, but as some have mentioned, caution is necessary because if you touch the brake then the engine senses the low speed and adds power. Lot's of it!!!! Be ready to hit the clutch and brake pedals fast.
In a recent thread on stumping I mentioned that I discovered that I can easily pull stumps without ever touching the go pedal. Some really large stumps actually stopped the truck with three wheels spinning, but the engine kept on pulling at idle speed with no problem.
As an experiment one day I tried launching in 6th gear. It handles it but I did have to slip the clutch a little.

 

Still works.....in any gear for that matter. I always start off in second (and sometimes third with the right conditions) without applying any throttle. Like someone else said, if you're so inclined you can go all the way up through 6th gear without ever touching the throttle.

Where I find this REALLY helpful though is when backing up a trailer. Only having to work the clutch and the brake gives you one less thing to worry about while trying to back into the hole.

 

Have you heard of the "Duraturd"?

 

No, I've never heard of the Duraturd before either. I like that one a lot too!

Do you have any more creative names?

 

Unless you have a load in it or a large trailer, always start out in second. No point in using 1st.

Also, while I'm sure the computer controll helps. The real reason for the zero throttle on launch is the huge amount of torque. It's nothing new, I don't understand why DC or Cummins is advertising it. The trucks have always been able to do this simply because of the torque.

 

It actually worked much better in my '96. If you are on a dirt road and in to high of a gear ( above third ) and a wheel trys to spin the computer makes it take off. You have to push in the clutch and let it back out and it resets. I consider the computer assistance a pain in the a**. I drive soft sandy roads everyday and like I said the '96 with no computer was great even if you are pulling a load. When i was at the dealer a while back I inquired at the service dept about it and got that faraway look. So, I guess it's just one of those things you have to learn to live with. Other than that I just turned 6800 miles and life is good.