13 and 18 speeds

Never, yet. I don't set my trailer brakes, especially in the winter. Well, I guess there was one time, but a couple good smacks with a hammer freed it up.
I always drag my trailer brakes to dry them out before dropping, and parking for any length of time as well. That's all of them on the ground. This will be the first winter with the mutiaxle trailers for me though. I can see where the brakes on the lift axles might freeze up when they're raised. My luck just might change this winter.

 

That's pretty much typical here!

 

Would someone please explain how to drive a 13 like a 10? I've driven them like a 9, but could never find that 6th gear behind reverse on a 13.

Better fuel economy and less engine wear with a 13 vs. 9 or 10.

 

Yes, I accidentally slipped into that one a few times while I was getting used to a 9 again. I need to get the conversion done on this thing. I'm in a lot of hills these days and I will be throwing iron this winter. On slick roads, I'd just as soon have a closer RPM spread than I currently do.

 

I have heard that using the 6th gear/super in high range is not a good thing on the trannny. Just say'n.

 

It's not recommended for 9s, 13s and 18s. On these trannies, it's supposed to be a low/low-low granny gear. It didn't do anything except act like a normal 6th gear when I slipped into it those few times, but on this 9, it's not necessary to use. I needed it on the 10 because of the gear spread.

 

I was used to a straight 10 when I got into these 18 speeds. One of the first things I did was go from 5th [actually 4th] over to where 6th is on a 10. Tranny didn't like it one bit, and neither did I. Just something about a gear grinding that isn't natural.

I think what the poster may have meant was to go through up to 8th direct, then split into OD. I've done that on a 13 and 18, nothing wrong with it. You're just not splitting everything on the high side.

BTW, that's how those trans like Werner had worked, shift like a 9, then it would auto shift into over in the top hole.

 

No I think what is being said here "shift it like a 10speed" is meaning just shift a full gear with out splitting- not refering to the shift pattern itself.
I certainly wouldn't suggest using that "gear in qeustion" not with a 13 or 18 but I must admit I have used it at times with the 9.
We call it the "skellem" gear (the word skellem means something along the lines of con artist or theif)
I have heard its not good for the box.

 

I worked for an outfit that had those in their Petercars...same shift pattern as a 9, but the trans would shift automatically from 9 to 10. I friggin HATED that transmission. It would never shift when I wanted it to, and it seemed to ALWAYS shift when I didn't want it to. Say for instance I was pulling a hill....ALMOST to the top. I would have just left it in gear and topped the hill. This stupid truck, however, decided to downshift to 9th. Of course by then, I'd topped the hill so 9th gear was too low and it quickly was needing to shift back into 10th. So now, I'm back in 10th gear, the turbo ain't wound up no more, and I've lost about 3 truck-lengths or more from where I would have been had the truck NOT taken it upon itself to downshift unnecessarily. Or, there would be the times when I'd want to drop the gear as I approached the hill to get 'er wound up to make it over in 9th...but it wouldn't downshift. So, I'd have to hit the hill in 10th, lose momentum...then it'd shift to 9th too late for it to do any good, so I'd end up in 8th or sometimes even 7th for a hill that I should have been able to pull in 9th.

I friggin HATE automatic transmissions. They are reactionary by design, since they cannot look ahead to see what is coming, only react to what is already occurring. The only people who benefit from automatic transmissions are the ones who do not know how to properly shift a transmission, or are too lazy to bother.