13 vs 18 speed.

The letter designation is backwards between the 13 speeds and 18 speeds. The A is the double overdrive and the B is a single overdrive if its a 13. If its an 18 speed the double overdrive is the B and the A was a single overdrive.

 

Well why dont they just try to confuse us!

 

The Volvo I have had problems when shifting(13spd) It would rake all the time with the splitter and just shift hard and clunky. The shifter handle started leaing air. I replaced it and it fixed the problems it shifts smooth as glass and does not rake now.

 

once you have a full 18 you will never want to go back. we have about 8 different trucks at work, most of them are either 475 or 550 cats with 18s (and an 06 pete with a 565 ISX cummins that I cant stand driving the few times its actually running right), then my tractor has a 435 cat with an 8ll double over (7th and 8th gear reversed) most of the time you really dont need to split gears, but the times that you do it sure comes in handy, the 8ll between 40 and 60 mph im all ways back and forth between the top two. or you can split the low gears to shift lower. if you split gears down low to shift lower at ~1400 rpms you will get better fuel milage then straight shifting at ~1800 rpms. The boss sure likes that extra quarter to half mile to the gallon doing so.

as for the starting off in high gears... like I was taught clutchs are expensive, you use them as little as possible and start off in the lowest possible gear,and when i screwed it up my uncle was there hitting my knee cap with a hammer while it wasnt hard enough to cause pain, still didnt exactly tickle

 

You dont have an 8LL double over. Their is no such thing. You have an RTO8LLwith the reversed shift patern. Its still only a single overdrive.

 

a lot of tech talk...so whats the verdict....18 is better for the OTR trucker? Or is 13 all you really need? I understand the variables that you all mention...I have been looking at both and still don't know which will be the best for me..

 

Im throwing the bs flag on this one.

 

It depends...

If you're not hauling heavy (regularly over 80,000 lbs), or going off-road a lot then the 13 is more than enough. As has been mentioned, the top end of both transmissions are identical, however the 18 gives you more gears on the bottom end. There is no weight penalty by going with the 18, so whatever you can get the best deal on should probably be the deciding factor.

 

I guess I'd be good either way then.....Get what i can...Sweet

 

Anyone know what the price difference is on a new truck? Assuming everything else is identical in the driveline.