How we made this guide: picks and specs come from our catalog and fitment data, owner quotes come from verified reviews and every guide is checked and edited by Trevor Hall.
A weight distribution hitch uses spring bars to move part of a trailer's weight off your truck's rear tires and onto its front tires, so the truck sits level instead of tail down and nose up. You need one when your truck maker requires it above a set trailer or tongue weight, and B&W says that line is usually in your owner's manual.
Shop weight distribution hitches
In our range, the weight distribution hitch is the B&W Continuum: a complete kit starts at $1,299 and the load bar unit alone at $1,065. Every listing is rated for 600 to 1,600 lb of tongue weight and trailers up to 16,000 lb gross.
How a weight distribution hitch works
A trailer's tongue weight, the downward load its tongue puts on the ball, hangs behind your truck's rear axle. That weight levers the front of the truck up, taking load off the front tires that steer it.
The spring bars are the fix. They connect the hitch head in your receiver to the trailer's frame, and when they are loaded they work as levers that carry part of the weight forward. B&W's manual describes the Continuum's job the same way: it transfers part of a coupled trailer's weight from the truck's rear tires to its front tires.
The Continuum has four working parts: a head unit that pins into the receiver, a load bar assembly with tapered composite LITEFLEX spring bars, a hydraulic cylinder mounted to the trailer's A-frame and a hand pump with a pressure gauge on the driver's side. Because a cylinder loads the bars, the amount of weight that moves to the front tires is adjustable. You work the pump handle until the gauge shows what your truck and trailer need.
The industry name for the result, which B&W's manual uses, is front axle load restoration (FALR): how much of the rear tires' share of the trailer's load is moved back to the front. Unless your truck's manual gives its own figure, B&W recommends 50% to 100%. At 100% the front wheel well returns to the height it had before you hitched up. Dialing that in is a measuring job of its own, which how to set up and adjust a weight distribution hitch walks through.
Weight carrying vs weight distributing
A weight carrying hitch, which some people call a dead weight hitch, is a ball mount with no spring bars: the trailer's whole tongue weight hangs on the ball and the truck's rear end carries it. A weight distributing hitch adds the spring bars and moves part of that weight forward. Both belong to bumper pull towing, where the trailer couples to a ball at the back of the truck. A gooseneck or fifth wheel trailer couples over the bed instead, and gooseneck vs bumper pull compares the two.
| Difference | Weight carrying hitch | Weight distributing hitch |
|---|---|---|
| Where the tongue weight goes | All of it hangs on the ball, behind the rear axle | Part of it moves to the front tires through the spring bars |
| Truck maker's limits | A lower trailer and tongue weight limit | A higher limit, where the maker lists one |
| Cost in our range | Tow & Stow ball mounts from $309 | A complete Continuum kit from $1,299 |
Our B&W range covers both columns, with Tow & Stow adjustable ball mounts on the weight carrying side. We do not sell receiver hitches or loose hitch balls. To see how weight distribution compares with receiver, gooseneck and fifth wheel hitches, read types of trailer hitches. The rest of our towing gear is under B&W trailer hitches.
Do you need a weight distribution hitch?
Start with the truck. B&W says the tow vehicle's owner's manual usually states whether a weight distribution hitch is required, and truck makers draw the line themselves. Ford's 2026 F-150 towing guide, for example, rates the factory receiver at 5,000 lb of trailer and 500 lb of tongue weight for weight carrying, gives higher limits with a weight distributing hitch and says not to tow more than 5,000 lb without a weight-distribution system. Your own guide has its own numbers.
If your manual draws no line, B&W gives three rules of thumb for when to consider one: the trailer weighs more than half what the truck weighs, the rear of the truck sags once the trailer is hitched, or steering and stopping get harder.
The rule also runs the other way. B&W's manual says the Continuum is designed for vehicles and trailers built to use a weight distribution hitch and must not be used on any that are not.
What size weight distribution hitch do you need?
A weight distribution hitch is sized by the receiver and the trailer, not by your truck's year and model: the Continuum has no year, make and model list. Four things have to match.
Receiver size
Our kits come with a 2 inch or a 2.5 inch shank, so your truck needs a receiver that size. If your receiver is larger than 2 inches, B&W's manual permits a reducer, with a caution: on some trucks a reducer sleeve cuts the tow ratings, so read your truck's manual first. Each kit includes a 2-5/16 inch ball.
2 inch shank, standard coupler
B&W Continuum Weight Distribution Hitch, 2" Shank, 2-5/16" Ball, Standard Coupler (WDHK4500)
From $1,299 · Complete kit for a 2 inch receiver and a trailer with a standard coupler.
2.5 inch shank, standard coupler
B&W Continuum Weight Distribution Hitch, 2.5" Shank, 2-5/16" Ball, Standard Coupler (WDHK4502)
From $1,319 · Complete kit for a 2.5 inch receiver and a trailer with a standard coupler.
Tongue weight and trailer weight
One set of spring bars covers the whole 600 to 1,600 lb tongue weight range, on trailers up to 16,000 lb gross. Weigh your loaded trailer's tongue rather than guessing, because the 600 lb floor matters as much as the 1,600 lb ceiling.
Coupler type: standard or underslung
The coupler on your trailer's A-frame decides which kit fits. B&W's manual uses 2.5 inches as the dividing line: a coupler that stands above the frame rails, or hangs less than 2.5 inches under their top edge, takes the standard load bar unit. One that hangs more than 2.5 inches under needs the cylinder extension that comes in our underslung kits, which come with a 2 inch or a 2.5 inch shank.
2 inch shank, underslung coupler
B&W Continuum Weight Distribution Hitch, 2" Shank, 2-5/16" Ball, Underslung Coupler (WDHK4501)
From $1,319 · Complete kit for a 2 inch receiver and a trailer with an underslung coupler.
Trailer frame and height
The listings give two frame ranges: 5 inch and 6 inch frames without a center rail, and 4 inch and 7 inch frames with different cylinder mount bolts, which B&W's manual says B&W supplies on request. They also ask for 2 inches of clear frame ahead of the bracket location, and the manual needs the rails 6 to 9 inches apart where the cylinder mounts behind the coupler.
B&W's manual adds two checks: the trailer must have an A-frame coupler, and the heights of your coupler and receiver must fall within the standard head unit's 10-1/2 inch range of adjustment.
Complete kit or load bar unit only
The load bar unit is the trailer half of a Continuum: the spring bars, the hydraulic pump and cylinder and the frame brackets. The box has no head unit, so nothing in it goes into your receiver; you would also need a WDHH4500 for a 2 inch receiver or a WDHH4502 for 2.5 inch. We do not list the head unit on its own, so unless you already own a Continuum head unit, buy a complete kit.
Load bar unit only
From $1,065 · The trailer half of a Continuum, for owners who already have a head unit.
Does a weight distribution hitch control sway?
The Continuum has friction sway control built in, and our listing says it works immediately and continuously because the bars stay loaded. Do not lean on it alone: B&W's manual ranks sway control well below speed, road and weather conditions, how the load sits in the trailer, tongue weight and tire condition. If the trailer starts to sway, the manual's advice is to slow down.
Tires matter here too. A trailer on tires that are underinflated, overloaded or damaged becomes unstable at a lower speed, so the manual says to check tire condition before every tow.
Disadvantages of a weight distribution hitch
A weight distribution hitch solves one problem and brings a few of its own. From B&W's manual and our listings:
- Cost. A complete Continuum kit runs $1,299 to $1,339 in our range, against Tow & Stow ball mounts from $309.
- Trailer fit. It needs an A-frame coupler design, a frame the cylinder mount can clamp to and open frame behind the coupler. On some trailers a propane tank tray has flanges that block the cylinder, and B&W says a section may need to be cut out.
- Tailgate. B&W's manual offers an extended shank head unit for owners who cannot open the tailgate with the hitch in place, though B&W recommends the standard shank where possible. Our kits use the standard shank.
- Surge brakes. B&W says the Continuum is compatible with them, but most surge brake trailers have a central member in the tongue that keeps the hitch from being installed.
- Install and set-up. The hitch mounts to the trailer's frame, and the manual says the work must be done by someone who knows the hazards and the right safety procedures. Each truck and trailer pairing also needs its own pressure, checked and adjusted when needed on level ground with the rig in a straight line.
- Upkeep. Grease the head unit ahead of every trip and again every 250 to 500 miles on the road, and look over the pump, hose and cylinder for leaks.
Skip the Continuum if
Your trailer's tongue weight is under 600 lb or over 1,600 lb, or the loaded trailer is over 16,000 lb. Skip it too if your trailer has no A-frame coupler or has surge brakes with a central tongue member, or if your truck's or trailer's maker says the vehicle is not built for a weight distribution hitch.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a weight distribution hitch for a 3,000 lb trailer?
It depends on your truck, so check its manual first. On a 2026 F-150, for example, Ford's towing guide rates the factory receiver at 5,000 lb of trailer and 500 lb of tongue weight without weight distribution, so a 3,000 lb trailer is within it, and the guide puts tongue load at 10% of the loaded trailer weight: about 300 lb. That is under the 600 lb bottom of the Continuum's range, so weigh your tongue before you buy.
Does a weight distribution hitch raise my towing capacity?
It can raise what your receiver is rated for, never what your truck is rated for. Ford's 2026 F-150 guide gives the factory receiver higher trailer and tongue limits with a weight distributing hitch, and notes those receiver figures can exceed a given truck's maximum loaded trailer weight. B&W's manual says never to exceed the tow or tongue rating of the coupler, the hitch, the vehicle or the trailer, so the lowest rating in that chain is your limit, and the tongue weight still counts against your truck's payload.
Does the Continuum come with a hitch ball?
Yes, each complete kit has a 2-5/16 inch ball, the size the manual sets the hitch up for. B&W offers a 2 inch ball too but advises having a dealership swap it, because the job takes specialized tools. We do not sell loose hitch balls.
Can I use the Continuum on a truck with an auto leveling system?
Yes, with one change. B&W's manual says to switch the auto leveling system off before you couple the trailer and to keep it off during set-up and while the hitch is in use.
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