10spd - 13 - 15 or 18 spd

For regular use. 13.

For hills. 18

If your in construction. A lot of times you have s slow uphill.

 

If I had a choice it would be an 18 all day long. You may not need to split the lower gears but when you do it is nice. I can think of two times it comes in handy, heavy pulling a hill and in stop and go traffic to find the sweet spot to creep along.

Forgot to add that I have a 13 speed. When I look at a truck for sale I always figure the cost of transmission replacement if it doesn't at least have a 13 speed. Whenever one needs to be replaced it will be with an 18.

 

a 5 and a 4

 

CDL school in a 10 speed, trained on a 13 at tmc, my first solo truck was a 9 speed, then I moved onto 10s ever since. I like the 13, however I drove my father in laws 96 international day cab that had a super 10 pulling grain loads from the farm up to the elevator. That thing was fun

 

13 with out a doubt.
I did drive a Mack with the complete Maxadine set up with the 6 speed! Real fun in the mountains!!

 

18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18
5 and a 4 5 and a 4 5 and a 4 5 and a 4 5 and a 4 5 and a 4

 

I have driven them all.

Automatics do work well for local work... I know, I wasn't a believer until I believed it!

I run a dump & pony, and I need the 18 speed, which is what I have. Where we go, and the weight we haul, there's just simply no way you could upshift in low range with a 13 speed, without the jake on full and clashing the crap out of the gears. A 15 speed would probably be OK, but those seem pretty rare these days.

8LL did work well enough for the mixers that I ran, but again these are strictly local trucks.

I did drive an air-matic once, and that actually worked surprising well! 5X4, but on one stick... A button you moved with your thumb shifted through the gears, and then you'd return it to first and then actually move the shifter.

All in all? It depends on what you're doing, where you're doing it, and the weights you're hauling.

Running highway in California @ 80,000# would be just fine with a 13 speed. Running a B-Train in the heavy States or in Canada @ 136,000#, an 18 speed would work better.

 

^^^^^ 18 first choice for me... then drop down from there. The hills and grades in Ohio, I need my gears~!! Unfortunately, I'm either in a 13 or 10 these days. The weight and surge on hills...sucks without gears to pull.
JUST DON'T THROW ME IN AN AUTO~!!!

 

I see everyone complaining about an automatic, but how many have driven one in the last year or two? My favorite was a 13. However, the M8 engine with Mdrive automatic 12 I had recently was a pulling beast.

 

Truthfully, I haven't driven one since they were created, maybe 10 years ago. Who knows, maybe I "would" actually enjoy the break; dunno. Don't have the opportunity in my current job~!!