Reese towing products, founded 55 years ago by TJ Reese, has pioneered the
technology that has set the standard for today?s advanced towing systems. In
1968 Reese was asked to develop tests related to towing heavy loads. These
tests have now become industry standards called V5 and SAEJ684 which are now
used by most leading hitch manufactures.
We tow a very heavy toy hauler which, when
fully loaded, can range from 10,000-12,000. With the addition of our new sand car and with the fresh water tank filled we are now towing over
12,000 pounds with 1600 pounds of tongue weight. We had been using a Putnam
XDR receiver which, after many years of service, bent and cracked. We were
also using an underrated 10,000 pound weight distribution hitch with no sway
control. 
We decided to upgrade our tow hitch to the
appropriately named 'Tow Beast' by Reese. This massive hitch is the largest
rated tow hitch in Reese's product line-up. It features a huge 3 ½" cross
member with a 2 ½" receiver opening and is rated at 12,000 pounds or 14,000
with a weight distribution hitch. Other leading hitch manufacturers' use a 2
½" cross member with a 2" receiver hole and are generally rated at a lower
weight rating. 
We also upgraded to
Reese's trunnion style weight distribution hitch. When a weight distribution
hitch is used properly weight is transferred from the trailer to the front
of the tow vehicle. Reese's Tow Beast weight distribution kit is rated at
1700 pound of tongue weight and a 17,000 pound trailer weight. These rating
are well over our total weight and perfect for most heavy trailers. 
To keep our heavy trailer stable on the road, we decided to use Reese's dual
cam high performance sway control system. In the past we didn't?t use sway
control and didn't seem to notice any sway while towing our trailer. Once we
added the new sand car we did notice slightly more sway but nothing that was
unmanageable with an experienced driver.
Traditional 'friction'
sway control is a device that connects to the hitch and one side of the
trailers tongue. It consists of two parts that slide in and out to resist
sway of a trailer once it starts and must be tightened or adjusted each time
it is used. While the traditional friction sway control devices works good,
Reese?s patented dual cam system deters sway before it starts and does not
require adjustment once it's properly set-up. It?s connected to the trailers
tongue by heavy duty brackets while the other end is connected to the ends
of the weight distribution bars via heavy steel roller wheels that sit in
the bend of the weight bars. Reese claims the advantage to dual cam sway
control is the ability to forestall sway as well as offering sway
resistance.
 Installation is somewhat involved but very
easy for the average person to perform in an hour or two. Reese provides
very detailed instructions which are easy to follow. Our old hitch had
front, middle, and rear mounting points each secured with one bolt. The Tow
Beast has a front and rear mount (the rear mount has a gusset for added
strength) with the front mount having a wider surface area and 2 bolts
securing it to the truck frame. An extra hole needed to be drilled into the
frame for this second bolt. In our case we noticed our frame was slightly
bent from pervious years of towing so, after straightening the frame, we
added some metal strips on the top side
of the frame in hopes of preventing this in the future. We used the middle
bolt hole from the old hitch as well as another hole already in the frame to
secure the rearmost part of our metal strips.
Setting up the ball hitch was pretty straight forward. Reese provides
instructions for the proper height setting. One thing we noticed and really
liked about Reese's adjustable hitch was the serrated washer design used in the
upper bolt hole of the weight distribution ball mount. Our old hitch used a
round washer with small teeth on it which should bite into the ball mount
head and prevent the whole assembly from tilting downward while towing heavy
loads. The area on the ball mount that it bites into is a smooth surface.
This design worked great until we got our truck and trailer stuck in the
sand. To get out we were yanked by another truck and this caused this washer
to slip and the whole ball mount slipped and it titled downward. Once the
washer slipped we could never get the bolt tight enough to prevent slipping
even with us using a cheater bar on a wrench to tighten it. The only way we
could fix it was to weld it together. The Reese ball mount has serrated
teeth integrated into it, as well as on
the large square serrated washer. It's highly unlikely this design would
ever slip unless the teeth were somehow sheered off.
Installing the dual cam sway control, while still pretty straight forward,
was the hardest part to set-up simply because we were not familiar with
this system. The simple instructions from Reese were a huge help. Once the
proper positions of the brackets are determined, 2 holes for each side are
drilled into the trailer frame. These brackets and the attached adjustable
cams are left on the trailer even when the truck is disconnected. 
Now that everything is bolted in place, we are ready to connect our truck to
the trailer. Using weight distribution bars without Reese's dual cam sway
control, chains are connected to the ends of the weight bars and then
connected to a snap bracket which is bolted to the trailer tongue. With the
use of the dual cam sway control system the ends of the cam have a steel
wheel which rides in the curved area on the weight bars. The chains are
connected to a bracket which attaches onto the sway cam with the other end
of the chain connected to the snap bracket. Being new to this type of sway
control we were a bit confused the first time we connected to our truck.
After doing it the first time it was very easy to do again. Very simple to
connect and a very good design!
So how does it tow our heavy trailer? Smooth and very secure! We mentioned
that we had not used sway control in the past and, while manageable, we
never noticed how much sway and how 'light' the front of the truck felt
while towing. With the Reese dual cam high performance sway control it felt
like there was zero sway and the front end of the truck felt very solid.
Almost as if we were towing an unloaded flat bed trailer rather than our
12,000+ pound toy hauler!
If we had to complain
about anything with the Tow Beast and the dual cam sway control system it
would be the larger 2 ½" receiver hole and that the dual cams are bolted to
the trailer tongue. Just about every hitch you buy has a 2" shank. If you
need to use a 2" shank for any reason you will need to use a reducer which
Reese does provide. Also with the dual cam sway control being bolted to the
trailer it is not very convenient to switch to a different trailer if
needed. However, we make sure to carry the reducer in our truck at all
times, it is small and easy to use. Most people have only one large trailer
and the need to swap the dual cam sway control to a different trailer is
rarely needed. You could easily use your weight distribution bars and the
snap brackets on a different trailer if needed with minimal work involved.
For us and most users these 2 'complaints' will never be issues. Reese makes a wide range
of towing products from multiple class' of tow and 5th wheel
hitches to numerous accessories to fit any towing need. With 55 years of
experience and innovative design, Reese will keep you safe and secure while
towing to your favorite destination! http://www.reeseprod.com/ 
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