Why 13 speed better than 10 speed manual

my old truck had a 10 speed ,3:42 rears and a cat 1lw 550, till the day i sold that truck i never wanted a 13 again...mileage was there, climbing power was there too. transmission is lighter, less prone to breakdowns.Now i have a detroit 12.7 , 3:42 rears and 13 speed...first 4 weeks on the road and i tuned that thing to 600 so it could be drivable. i can only imagine that detroit stock paired with a 10 speed! If you have a decent engine , you dont need 13 speeds to haul less than 80k.

 

Hello folks. I recently bought a 2009 Columbia with the 14L Series 60. It has 515 HP and 3.55 RR (at least that's what the previous owner told me). My authority just went active and I'm preparing to hit the road soon. Now, it's been about 4 years since I drive a manual (and those were newer trucks with the DDs in them), so I am a little gun shy at the moment.

I went to the yard today to bobtail around a bit, so I can get a feel for the truck. Let's just say things didn't go very smoothly. Not terribly bad, but not good either. It's safe to say I won't be hauling in the PNW or Appalachia any time soon. So I need some pointers...Any advice and insight will be greatly appreciated.

1- So I guess the place to start would be the beginning. At school I learned how to short-shift in the lower gears (about 1200 rpm) to save fuel and engine wear. In this truck, I wasn't able to. It seems like I have to rev higher to the normal 1500 or so. Mind you, I was just bobtailing! Is this normal? Does the hp and rr play a role in this? Should I just double-clutch until I get a feel for this truck? (That clutch is almost as tough as an old Pete's.)

2- If I take this to a shop, will they be able to tell me exactly what the correct HP and RR is on this truck? Can it be adjusted if I don't want so much testosterone? (Owner says this truck is a guzzler.)

3- Should I drive this like a 9 or 10-speed, and only use the upper split on the last gear?

Any pointers or practice ideas will be greatly appreciated.

One more thing...the previous owner put in a manual fan switch. He says he kept the fan on all the time. What is the purpose of having a manual fan switch? Is it wise to keep it on all the time?

 

For the shifting whatever works best for you.

I don't see a need to run the cooling fan unless the engine needs it to keep cool.
Otherwise you are just wasting power and fuel