The B&W Continuum is a weight distribution hitch that you set with a pump handle instead of a lever bar, a length of chain and a lot of guessing. The spring bars stay attached; to load them you pump the hydraulic handle on the driver's side and watch the gauge until you have moved as much weight onto the truck's front axle as you want. To unhook you twist the needle valve and the pressure bleeds off. Because the bars are tapered composite rather than steel, one set covers the whole 600-1,600 lb tongue weight range, so bringing the ATV home in the trailer does not mean swapping bars, and a small correction is a few more strokes of the handle at the next rest stop rather than a job with a tool. The Continuum is built around a single pivot point, which is where the rattle and the wear go in a conventional weight distribution hitch, and because the bars are always under load its friction sway prevention is working from the first foot of the trip rather than waiting for the trailer to move out of line first. This part number is the 2" shank version with a standard coupler. Most half-ton and three-quarter-ton trucks leave the factory with a 2" receiver. The complete kit arrives as two cartons, head unit WDHH4500 and load bar unit WDHL4510, with the 2-5/16" ball already fitted.
What's Included:
Continuum head unit WDHH4500, 2" shank, with the 2-5/16" ball fitted
Continuum load bar unit WDHL4510, standard coupler
Tapered LITEFLEX composite spring bars, rated 600-1,600 lb tongue weight
Hydraulic pump with pressure gauge, cylinder and hoses
Trailer frame brackets and mounting hardware
Hitch pin and clip for the receiver
B&W Continuum installation manual
Features
Set the Weight Transfer With a Pump Handle Conventional weight distribution hitches are loaded or unloaded, and moving between the two means a lever bar and some effort. The Continuum uses a hydraulic hand pump: you pump until the gauge shows the pressure you want and stop. That makes weight transfer a dial rather than a switch, so you can put back exactly as much front axle load as your truck maker asks for instead of whatever the next chain link gives you.
One Set of Bars for 600 lb to 1,600 lb of Tongue Weight B&W partnered with Hendrickson, which builds suspensions for heavy trucks, for the tapered LITEFLEX composite spring bars. They are about five times more flexible than steel at similar strength, and much lighter, so a single set covers the full 600-1,600 lb tongue weight range. If you tow more than one trailer, or the same trailer loaded differently, you are not buying or storing a second set of bars.
Sway Prevention That Is Already Working B&W tested the leading friction sway control systems on air casters in a warehouse and found that most of them take very little force to overcome, and that several do not begin to resist until the trailer is already 2 to 4 degrees out of line, which on a 25' trailer is several feet of lane. The Continuum's bars are always loaded, so its friction resistance is present continuously rather than arriving after the sway starts. That is where the name comes from.
A Repeatable Setup You Can Read Off a Gauge The head angle is preset at the factory and there is nothing to shim, so the only variable is pressure, and pressure is on a dial. Note the number that works for your truck and trailer and you can reproduce the same setup every trip in under a minute, including after someone else has hitched up.
Everything Happens on the Driver's Side The pump, the gauge and the needle valve are all on the driver's side of the trailer. You are not walking around the tongue in the rain, or kneeling on the road side of the rig at a highway pull-off, to get the bars on.
2" Shank With a 2-5/16" Ball Fitted This part number is the 2" version. Most half-ton and three-quarter-ton trucks leave the factory with a 2" receiver. The 2-5/16" ball comes standard on every Continuum, and the head unit can be inverted in the receiver if your trailer sits higher than the ball. B&W does not publish a height figure for the inverted position, so measure your own setup rather than working from a number.
Built to Come Apart When You Do Not Need It The spring bar assembly lifts off, so if you hook up a small trailer that does not need weight distribution you can tow on the ball mount alone rather than swapping hitches. B&W also reports more turning clearance than most leading brands with the bars attached, so backing into a site does not mean disconnecting first.
Fitment & Compatibility
What Has To Match
This Kit
Truck receiver size
● 2" receiver
Trailer coupler style
● Standard
Trailer tongue weight
● 600 lb to 1,600 lb
Trailer gross weight
● Up to 16,000 lb
Trailer frame
● 5" or 6" with no center rail; 4" or 7" with different cylinder mount hardware
Clear frame needed ahead of the brackets
● 2"
Hitch ball
● 2-5/16", included
Fit guidance: The Continuum is a universal-fit weight distribution hitch, not a vehicle-specific kit. Three things decide whether this part number is the right one, and none of them is the year and model of your truck. First, the receiver: this kit has a 2" shank, so your truck needs a 2" receiver. Second, the coupler on your trailer: this kit is built for a standard coupler, the common style where the coupler sits on top of the trailer's A-frame. Third, the trailer frame: the Continuum fits 5" and 6" frames that do not have a center rail, and 4" and 7" frames with different cylinder mount hardware, and it needs 2" of clear frame ahead of where the brackets land. The hitch arrives with a 2-5/16" ball fitted. B&W does not currently make a Continuum with a 3" shank.
Specifications
B&W Part Number: WDHK4500
Kit Contents: Head unit WDHH4500 and load bar unit WDHL4510
Receiver Shank Size: 2"
Trailer Coupler Type: Standard
Series: Continuum
Max Gross Trailer Weight: 16,000 lb
Tongue Weight Range: 600-1,600 lb, covered by one set of spring bars
Hitch Ball: 2-5/16", included
Spring Bars: Tapered LITEFLEX composite, made for B&W by Hendrickson
Weight Transfer: Hydraulic hand pump with pressure gauge, operated from the driver's side
Sway Control: Friction sway prevention, immediate and continuous because the bars stay loaded
Head Angle: Preset at the factory, no shims or washers to adjust
Trailer Frame Compatibility: 5" and 6" frames without a center rail; 4" and 7" frames with longer or shorter cylinder mount hardware
Clearance Needed for Frame Brackets: 2" of clear frame ahead of the bracket location
Hydraulic System: Closed loop, pressure relief set at 2,500 lb, tested from -40°F to 150°F
Finish: Black powder coat
Warranty: B&W Lifetime Exclusive Limited Warranty
Made In: Made in the USA, built by B&W in Humboldt, Kansas
Shipping Weight: About 110 lb, shipped as two cartons
UPC: 843233083217
Installation
Type: Frame brackets bolt to the trailer A-frame; the head unit slides into the truck receiver · Time: About 30 minutes for the first setup · Tools: 9/16" wrench, tape measure, and a level surface to set trailer height on · Difficulty: Straightforward, DIY-friendly
Level the trailer first, then set the ball height on the head unit to match, then mount the pump and cylinder to the trailer frame and pin the cylinder to the spring bar assembly. The head angle is preset and the bar assembly comes pre-assembled, so there is no trial-and-error phase. Read B&W's manual before you start and check your tow vehicle's owner's manual for the front axle load restoration it asks for, since manufacturers each use their own name for it. Most pickups land near 50%, and 50% to 100% restoration is a reasonable working range.
Watch the installation walkthrough:
Resources
Everything you need for your B&W Continuum Weight Distribution Hitch, 2" Shank, 2-5/16" Ball, Standard Coupler, in one place.
Warranty. B&W covers this product with its Lifetime Exclusive Limited Warranty. B&W warrants its products to the original consumer purchaser, for as long as that purchaser owns the product, against defects in material and workmanship. The remedy is replacement, or repair or a full refund at B&W's option. Installation and removal labor, shipping costs, and damage caused by misuse, overloading, alteration or improper installation are not covered. Warranty service goes directly through B&W at 800-248-6564, which issues a return authorization before anything is sent back. B&W states that it does not authorize dealers or distributors to create any other warranty, so what is described here is B&W's own coverage and nothing has been added to it.
Free shipping. This item ships free to the lower 48 states. Because it is an oversized item, it ships by freight and typically arrives in 3 to 7 business days.
Inspect on delivery. Please inspect the packaging before signing. If you see any damage, note it on the delivery receipt and contact us right away, and we will make it right.
About B&W Trailer Hitches
B&W Trailer Hitches started in 1987 in a Humboldt, Kansas garage, where Roger Baker and Joe Works built the first Turnoverball gooseneck hitch. The idea was simple and nobody else had done it: a gooseneck ball that turns over and stores flush with the bed floor, so the truck bed goes back to being a truck bed the moment you unhook. That one product built the company, and B&W still makes its hitches in Humboldt, in a plant that has grown to about 600,000ft². The company has been 100% employee-owned since 2007, with roughly 500 employee-owners who have a stake in what comes off the line.
The testing story is worth knowing, because it is not how the rest of the industry does it. SAE J-2638, the standard for gooseneck and fifth-wheel hitches, is a recommended practice, and it is common to satisfy it with a fresh sample for each test. B&W runs a single hitch through all three 300,000-cycle dynamic tests and the six static tests, one after another, on the same unit. The Tow & Stow line is tested to SAE J-684. Every B&W-brand product is covered by the company's Lifetime Exclusive Limited Warranty to the original consumer, against defects in material and workmanship, for as long as that person owns it.
Prestige Truck is an authorized B&W dealer. Every B&W product we ship is new, in the factory carton, and backed by B&W's own warranty and its US-based support team in Humboldt, Kansas.
Standard Or Underslung: Which Continuum Do I Need?
The single most important question to answer before ordering, because the coupler style on your trailer decides which kit fits.
B&W shows both coupler types side by side so you can identify yours by looking at the A-frame.
Using The Continuum Weight Distribution Hitch
B&W's day-to-day operating guide: hitching up, pumping the handle to move weight onto the front axle, reading the gauge, and twisting the needle valve to unload the bars before you disconnect.
This is the video to watch the night before your first trip.
Do I Need A Weight Distribution Hitch?
B&W's plain-language answer to the question people ask before they shop.
The rules of thumb: your tow vehicle's owner's manual usually says, the trailer weighing more than half the tow vehicle is a signal, and so is a truck that sags or steers oddly once the trailer is on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers on specs, fit and support
Will this fit my truck?
This kit has a 2" shank, so your truck needs a 2" receiver. That is the only truck-side requirement; the Continuum is not a vehicle-specific part and there is no year, make and model list. Everything else that has to match is on the trailer: a standard coupler, a 5" or 6" frame without a center rail (4" and 7" work with different cylinder mount hardware), 2" of clear frame ahead of the brackets, tongue weight between 600 lb and 1,600 lb and gross trailer weight up to 16,000 lb.
How do I tell whether my trailer has a standard or an underslung coupler?
Look at the front of the A-frame from the side. On a standard coupler the coupler body sits on top of the A-frame rails. On an underslung coupler it hangs below them. This kit is the standard version, and getting it wrong means the spring bars will not sit where they need to, so check before you order. B&W has a short video showing both styles side by side.
If my load changes, do I need a second set of spring bars?
No. That is the point of the composite bars. B&W worked with Hendrickson, which builds suspension for heavy trucks, and the tapered LITEFLEX bars are around five times more flexible than steel at similar strength, so one set covers 600 lb to 1,600 lb of tongue weight. Load the trailer differently and you just pump the handle a few more or a few fewer strokes. They are corrosion resistant as well, so they are not a maintenance item.
Will the hydraulics leak or fail, and what happens if they do while I am driving?
It is not a car jack. B&W designed the system for this job: the pump cartridge, needle valve, pressure relief valve and gauge are purpose-built, and it is a closed loop, so contamination does not get in. The zero-leak check valve that holds the pressure is the same type used to hold commercial aircraft landing gear, and the needle valve is metal on metal, so there is no O-ring to harden and leak over the years. The cylinder is a construction-equipment part and the hoses and fittings are DOT-approved over-the-road truck parts. B&W tested the system from -40°F to 150°F. Maximum system pressure is around 3,000 lb, and the relief valve is set at 2,500 lb, so you cannot reach the ceiling by pumping; past 2,500 lb you will hear air escaping from the relief valve.
Do I even need a weight distribution hitch?
Check the tow vehicle's owner's manual first, because many trucks require weight distribution above a stated trailer weight, sometimes as low as 5,000 lb. Beyond that, the usual signals are a trailer that weighs more than half of what the tow vehicle weighs, a truck that squats at the back when you hook up, and steering or braking that feels light. If any of those apply to a bumper-pull trailer under 16,000 lb with 600 lb to 1,600 lb on the tongue, this is the right class of product.
Can I back up and open my tailgate with the bars connected?
Backing up, yes: B&W reports more turning clearance with the bars attached than most leading brands, and the system is not damaged by reversing. The tailgate depends on your particular combination of frame design, tailgate length and trailer jack size, so in most cases yes but it is worth checking once at home rather than at a campsite.
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