Stay Tuned for production models out this fall.
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Trailers
should be safe. Now it's simple so you can be safe, hitch up fast and be
legal. The solution for
automatically hooking and unhooking your trailer
with the Weight Distributing Hitch still on the
trailer. You know
you need to use a weight distributing hitch, but don't want to take the
time & hassle
to hook it up. WDH makes a big difference on how your trailer behaves or
mis-behaves in dangerous situations.
I'm
excited, not the normal way I start a review but this is so important
for the towing world, like when I first towed a trailer with a
Quadrasteer, WOW! Fastway has revolutionary new
products for attaching your weight distributing hitch
and unhooking without taking the
spring arms or hitch head off.
I'm always preaching about trailer safety and using
weight distributing hitches. Your truck manual and the tag on your
Class lll receiver hitch tell you to use a WDH if your trailer is over
5000 lbs or tongue weight is over 500 lbs. Ask your insurance company
about towing weight over the specs on your truck or SUV. Using weight
distributing hitches is very common in the RV world. Fastway will make
the connection easier and faster. For folks towing horse trailers, these
products are what you've been waiting for to start using weight
distribution hitches. The
Fastway hitch is actually faster to use than just a ball hitch that you
are use to and now quicker, easier hitching with the safety of Weight
Disturbing!!
 And
now for horse trailers, with a good looking refined
look that parallels the trailer hitch. Now there are no excuses
not to safely use a WDH.
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       Easy target for backing up to your trailer and the Three -in-one product or the AutoMATIC Weight Distribution Hitch has built in anti-sway control (right pictures). It creates friction at the end of the spring bar to control sway. And it's automatic. You don't have to tighten a blade friction plate or loosen it when it rains or snows. |
| Kaye's Video hookup see how easy it is to hook up your trailer with one hand and leave the entire weight distributing hitch on the trailer. Kaye knows how important a wdh is for towing a horse trailer. She survived a horse trailer accident with a wdh and now wouldn't be without one. Watch her video and how easy and fast Fastway has made trailering for her. |
Here
is were the legal issue starts. Your truck or SUV manufacture rates the
towing capacity and so does the receiver hitch company. As shown to
the left, this
Class 5 receiver hitch on a 2006 GMC HD2500 shows Maximum Trailer Weight
for weight caring (drawbar/stinger) to be
5000 pounds. But for weight distributing it
goes up to 12,000 pounds of trailer. Look at the tongue weight, it's
600
pounds for a weight carrying hitch and 1500 pounds for weight
distributing hitch.
This means if you are towing a trailer weighing more than 5000 pounds without using a weight distributing hitch, you are not following the ratings set by the truck manufacture and the hitch manufacture. In other words you are now the one liable if something breaks from the extra weight, so guess who gets the ticket just like with you exceed your trucks GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) or axle rating. And your insurance company doesn't have to cover you the same way when you break the rules just as when you don't wear a seatbelt. Something to think about as we tow trailers on busier highways. If you are in an accident while towing a trailer, don't be surprised if your truck/SUV and trailer are hauled somewhere and weighed. Of course the best thing would be to prevent the accident with a more controllable trailer.
  Now Fastway upgrades make using a weight distributing
hitch fast, & easy. No more excuses for not using
a WDH especially with the high center of gravity, moving horses.
Fastway has a fast wheel chock & folding trailer tongue jack that can
also tighten WDH spring bars automatically. |
| The Three-In-One Automatic spring bar tensioner has a folding 6" block (below blue) that attaches to the trailer jack. This is nice, who wants to wants to swing your jack until your arm falls off, most of us end up using a block anyway. The jack block is slotted to lock in position when down and pins up. Using either an electric or manual jack will automatically tighten the spring arms as you raise the jack. Just adjust the tension on your spring arms once and then let your jack do the work. No more adjusting chains, tightening chains or even unhooking the weight distributing hitch. Raising the jack tightens the spring bars, lowering the jack loosens the spring bars for fast disconnect. |
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 The
Fastway shank has a
bracket on top for the chains and a place for the included measuring
device to make it
easier to back up to the trailer. The shape of the shank makes it easy to funnel into the bell on the
receiver.
750 tongue weight, 7500 trailer weight with heavy duty model coming soon.
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   The
bolt on the shank adjusts to the hole in the receiver bell for
how far the shank goes into the receiver hitch. This
automatically aligns the receiver hole. |
 Receiver
Bell. Three adjustment holes to attach it to your receiver
hitch's reinforcement lip. The bell is tucked nicely out of the way.
It's the only part that stays on your truck or SUV. The heavy
awkward parts like the hitch head, spring bars and anti-sway
system all stays on the trailer.
The bell works great for aligning any trailer. Shown below with a truck with slide-in camper towing a river boat.
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The Fastway products: Complete Hitch Systems
#1
AutoMATIC Weight Distribution Hitch, it all stays on the trailer except
the bell. The complete system includes:
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Automatic spring bar tensioning
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Automatic sway control
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Retracting jack block
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1000 lb spring bars
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Adjustable ball mount - 5 inch rise or 3 inch drop
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Plug-in-Roller Shank
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Receiver Bell
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Height Control System
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Guidance System for easy solo hook-ups
#2
Plug-In Weight Carry Hitch - Fast & Easy Solo Hook-ups- Leaves the hitch
on the trailer and gives you the ability to hook up your trailer by
yourself the first time. This is a drawbar
unit that will help you hook up your trailer if you don't have a wdh.
Works better than the V shaped things I see every year at SEMA.
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Adjustable Ball Mount - 6 inch rise and 7 inch drop
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Plug-in Roller Shank
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Receiver Bell
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Height Control System
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Guidance System for easy solo hook-ups
Weight Distribution Hitch Improvement products:
Plug-in
Upgrade - Conversion for most standard weight distribution hitches to
plug-in style that leaves the ball mount, spring bars & sway bar on the
trailer and makes solo hook-ups a snap!
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Plug-n Adjustable Height Roller Shank
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Receiver Bell
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Height Control System
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Guidance system for easy solo hook-ups
Three-In-One
- Adds Exclusive Automatic features to most standard weight distribution
hitches!
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Automatic spring bar tensioning
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Automatic sway control
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Retracting Jack Block
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Height Control System
Hitch Accessories
Wedge Chock- An amazingly
easy & effective product for securing most tandem axle trailers!
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Stand up operation is the easiest and fastest in the world
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Wedge action locks tires for exceptional stability
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Powder coated all-steel construction
Speed
Pin - The Ultimate Hitch Pin !
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Stand-Up Operation
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Triple Security
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Stainless Steel Construction
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Heavy Duty Rubberized Padlock
Retired folks whom used to make of the majority if RV'ers, understand the importance of wdh. This will help folks who use wdh now and want a faster and easier way to hook-up. I'm hoping these Fastway products will help the folks that aren't using wdh and need to. We all share the roads and I want your trailer to stay behind you.
 Wheel
chocks from Fastway are simple.
Adjust them once and then just place between you tires,
Step in the middle,
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| Part of what makes Fastway systems easy are the alignment tools that comes with them. A reinforced tape measure attaches to the shank. After you initially hook up, you use the tape measure with it's alignment tool to back up to the trailer just using your mirror. There is also a measuring gauge for your trailer jack. This helps you keep the trailer at the right height to unhook with ease. The folding 6" block pins into place with retracted. You may not need the measuring device if you've backed allot but it is an easier way. It works at any angle, I backup up to it at almost 90 degrees (bottom right picture). Top row right, shows the tape measure alignment tool seen on the edge of the trucks fender through the mirror. |
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| Alignment ring on the ball (bottom left) keeps the shank level. The automatic spring bar tensioner has narrow straps to attach to the trailer tongue. On a horse trailer with decorative covered tongue, it would only take two small holes to attach the Three-In-One system. |
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| Below I towed a travel trailer with a GVWR of 8000 pounds using a conventional wdh and Fastway. We were at maximum tow capacity of the 1500 Suburban. The Fastway Three-In-One controlled the trailer well even as I tried to make the trailer sway. This trailer had a blade type friction anti-sway, I disconnected it. You don't need extra anti-sway, it's built in with Fastway. |
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| Below left, finish the job of the receiver hitch manufacture and file down the lip inside the receiver tube for any hitch. That lip is where the weight goes, it should be flat to distribute the weight to a flat surface with any drawbar, shank or stinger. You can also get a Fastway product for automatic alignment for just a drawbar. |
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Gary Scott, president and chief engineer for Fastway has created many award wining designs. His son is rocket scientist whom did the function testing. Two school buddies from 40 years ago and their families make the company. This includes the Nelson's, a third generation state-of-art manufacture with over 50 years of experience. Engineers, and fabricators give you great products.
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