How many gears do you really need?

5x4 with a LOT of ponies under the hood is pretty cool....Not ENOUGH horses and its a pain in the ###.You'll get smokin' quick on the direct and over in little bitty hills with a weak truck.

 

I was told that the gears don't receive lubrication in that arrangement.

Cornering ain't that bad, I don't reckon, --- but to use that combination regularly could cause a failure.

 

I didn't get the pleasure of just having to learn one transmission, but I had to learn all of them. We got autos, 9, 10, super or "stupid" 10, 13, and 18 speeds. I did some moutain driving and I needed every single gear of that 18 speed. It gives me the flexability to stay at that one certain rpm that gets it just right. You drop two hundred rpm, no problem hit a lower split. Problem fixed, that way I can stay at 1700 rpm. The last time I did a distance trip with an 18 speed I had a boost leak. That kind of kills power. That is where I fell in love with the 18 speed. Even with the boost leak I could still pick up speed at a some what decent rate. I could stay at the rpm where the boost pressure was the lowest so it had the least effect on the engine. I don't mind the shifting, it helps me stay in constant attention to my speed through rpms since it has a narrower rpm band I can tell if I am picking up speed much faster by listening to the engine vs. looking at the speedometer. Silly I know but the more I can pay attention to the road the better off I am.

 

SILLY?!
Hmmmmmmmm
Call me "silly" too.

And when y'all can do that shiftin' -- smooth as a hot knife through room-temp butter, floatin' the gears -- every one -- up AND down and up and down, goin' up or down.
And I think we're silly enough to understand that feelin'.
Confidence ---- ?
Probably.
Aptitude.......... ?
Probably.
Desire ~~~~~~ ?
Absolutely.
Ability :::::::::: ?
Hopefully.
Responsibility >>> ?
Highly desired.

Over the years, I've met many Big truck truck drivers and truckers -- along with many steering wheel holders.
God bless 'em.

I've met new teams -- neither of which knew how to read an atlas. They had to concentrate on finding their way at the expense of becoming proficient at driving a Big truck.
For others -- it's the other way around.
If y'all can handle both at the same time -- you just might be a trucker.
WannaBe O/O's -- take note.
You'll have even MORE to be concentrating on besides the center line.
More like the BOTTOM line.

Imagine that.

Many times a Big truck is spec'd for what's most practical. A nine-speed was popular back in the day, and I like that transmission.
Especially behind a 4-and-a-quarter, mechanical Cat with 4:11 rears, under the sloped nose of a T-600. That was a fun combination to learn to drive -- after Schneider's 315 hp that I was used to -- all in a cab-over International -- it was a bit of a culture shock.
I loved it.
And it was more convenient than the first Big trucks I drove right out of the box -- W-900's. Sister trucks, they were.
They were 13-speed.
MUCH easier to find that "sweet spot" Sportster was talkin' bout.
Kittys like that.
I like Cats.
I'm all for what makes 'em purrr best.
I reckon.

 

We have always called that a "cheater gear." I know a guy that burnt up a transmission using that gear.

 

YuP!
I've heard it called that, too -- now that you mention it.
"Burnt" the transmission up?
Hmmmmmm
Sounds like the lack-0-Lube advice I received might be true.

Did that guy you know run in that gear a lot?

 

9 and 10 speeds are the most common today. I actually drove a 7 speed back in 1992 which was kind of neat. The truck was a mid 80's International cabover. No high or low selector. Springs to the right and to the left of the shift pattern to help guide you to the next gear.

 

Yes, he was a super trucker that hated to be passed on a hill.

 

Figures.

Super Truckers --- Super Broke-Down.
Send new gears.