With the toyhauler market growing as fast as it has been the need for better performance is always valued for our tow vehicles. The trailers keep getting heavier and better equipped. Do we spend tons of money on a new tow vehicle or just upgrade what we already have? Since I am satisfied with my 2003 Chevrolet 2500HD Duramax I decided to upgrade.

As always I had to do research to find out what would work best for me. Obviously, I was looking for a set-up that will enhance my trailer towing ability. I have had a programmer (chip) in my truck for awhile; although it did give the truck more horsepower and torque which is what I initially needed, it does have some drawbacks. The first thing I noticed was I could not change the performance settings without reprogramming the truck and that was inconvenient. The second and lesser complaint that I noticed was that it constantly blew black smoke all over the back of my truck no matter what setting it was on. Trust me, it’s really frustrating having black soot on your tow vehicle.

After doing a lot of investigating, I came to the conclusion that it was going to take a combination of things to get my truck efficient with the most power possible without losing reliability. When I say a combination of things, I mean: exhaust, intake, air filter, waste gate, intercooler, tuner, as well as a way to monitor and adjust the system on the fly. I didn’t want to buy all the components separate because then I wouldn’t know if everything would be compatible together. I felt I should see if there was a kit available that way I would know everything was designed to work together. There are a few kits out there for racing but I was interested in towing so I needed something to keep my EGTs (exhaust gas temperature) down while keeping my fuel mileage and performance up. The best kit I found for towing was the Banks Power Pack System which boasts of an extra 100hp and 230 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels.

Gale Banks, the founder and leader of Gale Banks Engineering, has been in business since 1958 doing countless hours of research and development on high performance gas and diesel engines. Banks Engineering has teamed up with many vehicle manufacturers to innovate new ideas into the fast growing performance market. In my book, any company that has over five decades of experience must be doing something right. With over two hundred employees, twelve acres of facilities as well as a separate research and development department with engine and chassis dyno’s I felt confident about using Banks products. As a side note, Gale Banks was elected to the 2007 SEMA board of directors!

The Power Pack System that I chose included: Banks Techni-Cooler intercooler which adds cool dense air into the engine and is one of the major ways of keeping your EGTs down, a Banks Ram-Air cold air intake systems with a lifetime filter, a BigHead wastegate actuator to give more turbo boost, an a massive four inch cat back exhaust system including a Monster muffler with an exclusive internal expansion chamber and rolled edge polished exhaust tip for style points. Then to top it off you get an OttoMind 6 Diesel Tuner with PowerPDA vehicle command center.

After looking at the system I decided to have the Banks factory installation facility in Azusa California install it for me. Banks does have installation dealers across the United States to do the install for you including many Camping Worlds. After looking at the kit I believe the average Joe with the proper tools could do the installation in a weekend. The kit comes with very descriptive directions with pictures and a help line phone number.

I got a quick lesson on how to change the settings on the PDA when I picked up my truck. Let me back up a little bit, if you don’t have a gauge to check your EGTs while you are driving or towing with your diesel tow vehicle, you are not doing yourself or the truck any favors. If your EGTs are too high you are taking the risk of shortening your engine life span and/or causing engine damage. When I tow, the EGTs are the thing I pay the closest attention to especially when going up any type of grade. With that being said, the first thing I noticed is that my EGTs were a couple hundred degrees lower then what I was used to seeing. The next thing I saw was the difference between the PDA with digital display and my old gauges with the pointer telling more of an area that the readings were in. Digital, in my opinion, was way better. The PDA itself was very informative and easy to use. It made changing between the six power settings as easy as pushing a button. The Palm Tungsten E2 PDA still does everything a normal PDA does plus allows you to change what engine systems you want to monitor, it also allows you to read and clear engine diagnostic codes. It will give you 0-60 mph times and stores a Hist-O-Graph that allows you to go back and check data from a certain time. So not only do you get something that is totally functional you also get some extra braggin rights that you can show off to your jealous friends! I could write another page on just stuff that you can do with the PDA but you can go on line and check it out to see which features are important to you. On a side note, you can get the Power Pack System without the PDA. That system comes with a six position switch to adjust settings but the optional PDA is the way to go.

On my next drive I started experimenting, that is, after I read the directions and figured out how to change the settings on the fly. I started at setting number one and started moving the settings to number six to see if there was a noticeable difference. I was pleasantly surprised on how different each setting was and found an incredible difference at the pedal between numbers one and six. Did I mention that I don’t have any black soot on the back of my truck and I did drive it hard to check things out!

Gale Banks Engineering has performance parts for almost every tow vehicle built including motorhomes along with imported tow vehicles. They even have many applications for exhaust brakes that might be useful for a lot of us. To check out the hundreds of products that Banks has available or to find a dealer near you go to www.bankspower.com. Or give them a call at 866-499-0907 you won’t be disappointed.

-THM