Am I making my turns wrong??

Nuts. I'm usually pretty good at catching the weird stuff my phone puts out.

 

I would recommend not going more than 65-100 feet with the clutch depressed the 1.5 inches like that. Leave the clutch out as much as possible. Only use it when changing gears. Now I do use it to feather and slow down my backing for more precise finesse maneuvers.

But if you're rolling up to a turn or an intersection, or whatever, if you don't have the time and distance to downshift, just use the brakes in that higher gear with the clutch out til the last 65 feet or so. Brake down and downshift around 1000-1200 rpm depending onthe truck specs.

In a 10,9,13,18 speed, safety people like 4th gear for the 90 degree turn. You can get away with 5th or even 6th with skill and experience.

In general what your're describing sounds like 'riding the clutch' which is bad.

 

What's the reason for keeping it 9th with the clutch depressed when you're rolling at a speed too slow for 9th?

You'll see many different opinions on how to approach a turn. Personally I don't like waiting until the last second and getting hard on the brakes. I'll down shift a gear and a half or two gears at a time if the conditions are right but I like to keep it in gear and at a speed the gear I'm in can handle.

I rarely use the clutch other than starting and I can't imagine coasting with the clutch depressed.

 

As others have implied here, you need to learn to "read" conditions better, and that will come with time. I don't know what you haul, weight is obviously a factor. We typically haul fairly light (currently; our 2 axles are licensed for 65,000). Typically, in your scenario, I would skip down to 7th before skipping down to 5th or possibly 4th for my turn, depending on circumstances. Most trucks, I'm assuming (and that's where I get into trouble) idle around 600-700 RPM's, in general; you should be able to get down there before dropping to the next gear. I'm also guessing you don't currently practice the left-foot braking method? When you're ready, it will help, unless you prefer using the clutch. I find it makes my turns smoother and more efficient.

 

If you are truly "engaging" the clutch, then you are not hurting it at all, because you aren't pressing the pedal. The only time you'd hurt the clutch with it engaged is if you let the RPM's fall too low and the truck starts bucking.

Now, if you mean "disengaging" the clutch (pressing the pedal), then you aren't hurting the clutch at all that way either,
as long as you're pressing it far enough to not have it slip. Now, if you press it to the floor, you'll tear up your clutch brake if you're rolling and in gear, but won't hurt the actual clutch. You're also causing wear to the throwout bearing anytime your foot is on the pedal.

 

you ask @scottied67 ..... again ..... Just like @Thull did, LOL~!!!!

 

Final instructional video on proper gear for turns--

 

Lmao!