Fastway e2 Hitch: An Honest Assessment

The e2 is most people's first weight distribution hitch, and that shapes how it gets discussed. A lot of the criticism aimed at it is really criticism of a first-time setup - bars at the wrong angle, brackets at the wrong height, a tongue that was never weighed. Separating those from the design's genuine limits is what this page is for, because the limits are real and they are specific.

Two at once. It redistributes tongue load, prying the hitch head and the trailer A-frame apart through tensioned spring bars so that weight which would otherwise sit entirely behind the tow vehicle's rear axle is pushed forward onto the front axle and back onto the trailer's own axles. That is what stops the nose-up, tail-down stance and restores steering feel and headlight aim.

And it resists yaw. Rather than bolting a friction bar diagonally alongside the hitch, the e2 generates sway resistance through steel-on-steel friction where the spring bars meet rigid brackets on the trailer frame. The manufacturer's own framing is the useful one: because the brackets are rigid and the friction comes from the bars working against them, there is nothing to connect, nothing to disconnect, and no stated restriction on backing, turning or wet weather.

Fastway publishes the e2 in two bar styles with nine ratings between them, and in every case the maximum tongue weight is exactly ten percent of the maximum trailer weight. That matters when you shop, because it means the model number is chosen by your measured tongue weight, not by your trailer's sticker.

Two practical consequences fall out of that table. First, the trunnion range starts lower and goes higher, so if your tongue weight is near either end, trunnion is the only style that covers you. Second, nothing here reaches the capacities a large fifth-wheel-adjacent travel trailer needs - the e2 tops out at 12,000 lb gross trailer weight, and beyond that you are shopping in a different class of hitch.

This is not a quality tier. Round bars hang below the hitch head and give a lower-profile head assembly; trunnion bars insert horizontally into the head and sit higher, which buys ground clearance under the bars. The decision is made by your trailer's A-frame height and how much clearance you need at the bottom of a steep driveway or a launch ramp.

• Pick trunnion if the bars would otherwise sit low enough to catch on driveway aprons, ramps or rough ground - and if you need the 4,500 lb or 12,000 lb rating, since only trunnion is published at those ends.
• Pick round bar if clearance is not a problem and you prefer the lower head, which some owners find easier to work around when coupling.
• Either way, buy to your measured tongue weight, not the trailer's gross rating. A trailer rated 8,000 lb loaded to 5,000 lb with 550 lb on the tongue wants the 6,000 lb model, not the 8,000 lb one - oversized bars transfer harshly and ride badly.
• Check A-frame length before ordering. Weight distribution brackets need a straight run of A-frame to clamp to, and propane tanks, battery boxes and front storage boxes all compete for that space.

It does not create capacity. If your tongue weight exceeds what the vehicle's payload allows, a weight distribution hitch spreads that load across three axles but does not reduce it by a single pound - the placard limit is still the placard limit. It also will not rescue a badly loaded trailer: too little tongue weight is the dominant cause of sway, and no amount of friction at the brackets compensates for cargo stacked behind the axle.

And it is not a fifth-wheel-class solution. If you are consistently at the top of its published range, the honest recommendation is to step up rather than run a hitch at its limit. Whether you need weight distribution at all is the question to settle first, and how much tongue weight is too much covers the limit that usually binds before the hitch does.

Setup is the part that decides whether owners like this hitch. It is not difficult, but it is fussy, and it is measurement work rather than wrench work.

The full sequence, including how much front-axle restoration to aim for, is in the weight distribution setup guide. Budget an hour the first time and ten minutes every time after.

Here is the single most important thing to know about this hitch, and it is counter-intuitive enough that people get it wrong with the best of intentions: the friction surfaces must stay clean and dry. Sway resistance comes from steel rubbing on steel, so greasing the bars where they meet the brackets destroys exactly the effect you bought the hitch for.

The same logic explains the e2's real environmental limit. Dust and grit on the friction faces act like a dry lubricant and change how the hitch behaves, so owners who tow long distances on gravel, forest roads or dirt get less consistent sway resistance than the design intends. That is not a defect; it is the trade-off of generating friction out in the open rather than inside a sealed mechanism. If most of your towing is unpaved, a cam-based system is the better architecture.

It creaks and clunks in slow tight turns - pulling into a fuel station, maneuvering on a campsite, swinging through a sharp junction. This is normal for every friction-based weight distribution hitch, the e2 included, and it is the single most common surprise for a first-time owner. The sound is the bars working against the brackets, which is the hitch doing its job audibly.

Worth knowing, though: noise that appears suddenly, or that happens in a straight line rather than in turns, is not this. That is usually a loose ball, a worn shank in the receiver, or the mount rattling in the tube - a different problem with a cheap fix.

• You tow mainly on dirt or gravel. Grit on the friction faces is the e2's weak point. A dual-cam system keeps its sway mechanism better protected.
• Your trailer already sways badly. The e2 resists yaw well for its class, but a four-point design generates friction at more places and is the stronger answer to an existing problem.
• You hitch and unhitch constantly. Snap-up brackets are fine but repetitive; a clamp-on latch design is quicker trip after trip.
• You are above 12,000 lb gross trailer weight. Outside the published range entirely.
• Your truck sits level and the trailer tracks straight. Then you may need nothing at all, and that is a legitimate answer.

1. The subject

Fastway e2 Weight Distribution Hitch with Built-in Sway Control

Fastway · Best for a first weight distribution hitch

Sway control by steel-on-steel friction between the bars and their brackets, with no separate friction bar and nothing to remove before backing up. Available in round and trunnion bar versions, which is the detail to get right: trunnion for ground clearance, round for a lower-profile head.

Published specifications

Trunnion bar models

4,500 / 6,000 / 8,000 / 10,000 / 12,000 lb gross trailer weight source

Round bar models

6,000 / 8,000 / 10,000 lb gross trailer weight source

Maximum tongue weight

450 / 600 / 800 / 1,000 / 1,200 lb, matched to the model's trailer rating source

Hitch ball

2-5/16 in ball pre-installed on the 6,000, 8,000, 10,000 and 12,000 lb models; added separately on the 4,500 lb trunnion source

Sway control

Built in via rigid brackets - no chains or add-on bars to remove for backing, turning or wet weather source

What works

• +Nothing to engage or disengage - friction is always working
• +Sold in both round-bar and trunnion-bar versions for different A-frame heights
• +Simple enough that a first-timer can set it up from the manual

What does not

• −Friction surfaces must stay clean and un-greased, which is the opposite of most hitch maintenance habits
• −Noisy in tight, slow turns

Skip it if

Avoid it if you tow mostly on dirt or gravel - grit on the friction faces is exactly what the design does not want.

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Raw specifications: Fastway’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

2. The step up

Equal-i-zer 4-point Sway Control Hitch

Equal-i-zer · Best for travel trailers that already sway

The reference point for integrated sway control. Friction happens at four places at once - both L-brackets and both sockets - so resistance is always on rather than something you remember to engage. Setup is bracket-height and bar-angle work, and it rattles; both are the price of a system with no separate parts to forget.

Published specifications

Models offered (gross trailer weight)

4,000, 6,000, 10,000, 12,000, 14,000 and 16,000 lb source

Tongue weight rating

Matched to each model: 400, 600, 1,000, 1,200, 1,400 and 1,600 lb source

Sway control points

Four - two in the hitch head sockets, two at the rigid trailer brackets source

Warranty

Limited lifetime warranty source

What works

• +Sway resistance is built into the geometry, so there is nothing to connect or disconnect at the ramp
• +Works in reverse and in the wet, unlike a friction bar you have to release
• +One assembly rather than a hitch plus a bolt-on sway bar

What does not

• −Audible rattle and creak at low speed is normal and surprises first-time owners
• −Bracket height and bar angle have to be set properly or the sway control does little

Skip it if

Skip it if your loaded tongue weight sits well inside your receiver's weight-carrying rating and the truck stays level - you would be buying hardware to solve a problem you do not have.

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Raw specifications: Equal-i-zer’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

3. The easier-hitching alternative

Blue Ox SwayPro Weight Distribution Hitch

Blue Ox · Best for owners who hitch and unhitch often

Underslung spring bars on clamp-on latches, which makes hitching faster than chain-and-snap-up systems and keeps the bars out of the way of a low A-frame. Blue Ox publishes the range in tongue-weight bands rather than one do-everything model, so the sizing decision is made before you buy.

Published specifications

Tongue weight bands offered

350, 550, 750, 1000, 1500 and 2000 lb source

Maximum gross towing weight

20,000 lb source

Shank sizes

2 in receiver, or 2-1/2 in on the BXW2000 source

What works

• +Latches clamp on rather than needing chains snapped up under tension
• +Sold in defined tongue-weight bands, which makes correct sizing the default
• +Underslung bars clear low A-frames and front storage boxes

What does not

• −Bar bands are narrow, so a big change in how you load the trailer can put you in the wrong band
• −Clamp-on brackets are another part to keep clean and lubricated

Skip it if

Not the one if your loaded tongue weight sits near the top of a band - buy up a band, because a bar run at its limit transfers less than a bar running in the middle of its range.

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4. The cheaper alternative

CURT Round Bar Weight Distribution Hitch with Sway Control (14K)

CURT · Best for mid-size travel trailers

A conventional round-bar system with integrated lubrication and sway control, rated to 14,000 lb gross and 1,400 lb tongue. The built-in lubrication matters more than it sounds: a dry weight distribution head is the usual source of the groaning people mistake for a failing hitch.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight

14,000 lb source

Tongue weight

1,400 lb source

Shipping weight

102 lb source

What works

• +Integrated lubrication at the head, which is where the noise usually comes from
• +Round bars sit lower and clear more trailer tongues than trunnion bars
• +Limited lifetime warranty

What does not

• −Round bars hang lower than trunnion bars and are the first thing to catch on a steep driveway
• −Sway control here is a function of the head, not an adjustable four-point system

Skip it if

Skip it if you regularly cross steep transitions - a round bar is the lowest part of the whole rig and will find the pavement before anything else does.

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Raw specifications: CURT’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

The e2 earns its reputation as the sensible first weight distribution hitch. It does both jobs in one unit, its sway control cannot be left disconnected by accident, and its published model table is wide enough that most half-ton travel trailer owners will find their tongue weight in it. The price of that simplicity is a mechanism exposed to the weather and the road, which means it rewards pavement towing and punishes gravel, and a maintenance rule that runs opposite to every other hitch habit.

Buy it for a first travel trailer behind a half-ton or an SUV, set it up properly once, keep the friction faces clean, and expect it to creak in car parks. If any of those conditions does not describe you, one of the three alternatives above probably fits better - and the roundup of hitches with integrated sway control lays the class out side by side.