Mike Nelson and his 1999 Ford Power Stroke

Mike Nelson needed help, or at least his truck did. The original owner of the 1999 Ford F-350 Power Stroke really needed more power when towing his trailer, but seeing that he’s had it since it was new and it only had 76,000 miles on it… getting new seemed like a dumb idea. “I mainly use it for pulling,” Mike said, “and it just wasn’t up to snuff, especially on steep grades. I had so few miles that it just wasn’t worth spending $80k to $90k on a new truck. I started pulling about three years ago when I got my fifth wheel, and if I lived in Kansas or Oklahoma it’d be great, but we do a lot of trips to the Sierras and Rocky Mountains and it just wasn’t inspiring confidence. Even a trip to San Diego would see me barely hitting 45 mph up a grade. It just got to be a major hassle. I began looking at upgrades for the truck, and honestly Banks had the best things going for me.”

Instead of dumping out his money and buying a new truck, he purchased everything Banks made for his year of Power Stroke with the hopes that it would make the difference he needed: Banks Ram-Air intake, a Banks Brake, Smartlock TransBrake, and the Banks PowerPack.

If there’s anyone who can tell the difference before and after, it’s Mike. “Oh man, let me tell you… there’s such a difference! I mean, it’s a completely different truck! The horsepower and torque were the main reasons why I wanted the Banks system, but the SpeedBrake was bought for safety. Now towing is so easy, and I feel so much more confident going downhill.”

So, is a new truck down the road in Mike’s future? “Hell no! Banks made the truck I love even better. She’ll be in the family now for a long time.”