if someone intentionally runs without a fan i'd probably call b.s.
Get ready to start dialing my number!
If you take AC and auto trans out of the picture, and run light/empty.... I can see being able to get by much of the time without fan & shroud.
This is absolutely true. Remember that I almost exclusively drive on highways and not in town. My town driving is very limited. I also seldom pull very much at all and the A/C doesn't work. I ran mine without a fan or shroud for over a year. It started as an experiment in Jan '22. I was going out to Limon, CO on Feb 4 and wanted to see if I could get better fuel mileage while running blended (winter) fuel. If it did, I couldn't tell a difference. Inly twice did the coolant temps evet get to 220*. Once, I was in town and drove several blocks at about 25 MPH after already having the temps at 190 on the way there and I still had a piece of cardboard blocking about 1/3 of the radiator. The second time was later that summer. It was over 100* outside, there was a strong south wind, and I was facing north at a stop sigh while waiting for three cars to go by. Last October, while driving through Oklahoma City, I got caught in a traffic jam that was stand still for a couple of minutes. As I saw the traffic going slower and slower, I already had the windows rolled down, and I cranked the heater full blast. I was just about to shut off the engine in the stand still traffic, but the coolant only got to 215* before traffic started moving again. I did put the fan and shroud back on last February before I made my first trip to Texas because I knew better. I left the fan off for so long because of how quiet it was inside the cab without the fan. I still don't like how noisy it is inside the cab.
The moral of the story is, yes, you can run without a fan or shroud, but you'd better watch out how/where you drive and I wouldn't do it without an aftermarket temperature gauge. Wes also said that he would put the fan and shroud back on before he towed with the truck. Take that as advisement.