B&W Tow & Stow: An Honest Review

Ball mounts are not usually interesting. They are a bent piece of steel with a ball on the end, and the only real decisions are the drop and the ball size. The Tow & Stow is interesting because it addresses a problem the category had collectively decided was not its job: the mount is a hazard when you are not towing. It sits at shin height, it catches the garage door, it is the thing that puts a dent in the bumper of whoever parks behind you, and the usual answer - take it out and put it in the bed - is the kind of advice that nobody follows twice.

So the swing arm pivots up and tucks in under the bumper. That is the pitch, and it works. The question this review is really about is what you give up for it, because there is a specific and significant trade-off that does not show up in most write-ups.

Three, and they are worth separating because buyers usually want one of them more than the others.

1. 1It gets out of the way. Pull the pins, swing the arm up, pin it. The ball goes from sticking a foot behind the bumper to sitting tucked underneath it. This is the headline feature and the only one no plain mount offers.
2. 2It covers several ball sizes. Dual-ball heads carry 2 in with 2-5/16 in, or 1-7/8 in with 2 in. The tri-ball head carries all three. You rotate the head rather than unbolting and swapping a ball, which is the difference between a thirty-second job and a wrench-and-torque job.
3. 3It covers several heights. Two quick-pull pins set the drop, and inverting the whole mount in the receiver converts the drop into a rise. One mount levels a boat trailer, a utility trailer and a camper that all couple at different heights.

If you only need one height and one ball, none of this is worth paying for - a one-piece fixed mount is cheaper, lighter, quieter and has nothing to lose. The case for adjustable over fixed is really a question about how many trailers are in your driveway.

Capacity on the Tow & Stow is set by the shank, not by the drop or the ball head, and the three shank sizes are far apart. This is the single most important table on this page, because buying the 2 in shank for an 11,000 lb trailer is the mistake the price difference encourages.

Two things in that table catch people out. The 2 in shank stops at 10,000 lb, which is lower than some competing adjustable mounts on the same receiver size, so a heavy travel trailer on a half-ton can run out of mount before it runs out of truck. And the drop options narrow as the shank gets bigger - the 3 in shank is published in only two drops, so if your geometry needs something between them you are choosing the nearest hole rather than the right height.

There are also two variants worth knowing about. B&W publishes a GM MultiPro and MultiFlex version shaped to clear those tailgates when they are folded down into step mode, which is a real problem on those trucks and not something you can fix with a standard mount. And there is a Dual Ball Pintle version, rated to 16,000 lb gross and 1,600 lb tongue on a 2 in shank, or 21,000 lb and 2,100 lb on a 2-1/2 in shank, with the pintle function usable only with the 2-5/16 in ball fitted; the 2 in ball on that version is rated to 10,000 lb and 1,000 lb on either shank.

Construction is steel with a powder coat finish, the mount is published as tested to SAE J684, it is made in the USA, and it carries a lifetime warranty. Finishes run black, chrome, Browning-branded and camo, which is purely cosmetic and does not change any rating.

This matters more than any other single fact about the product, and it is the reason the Tow & Stow and the typical travel trailer owner are a bad match. A 7,000 lb travel trailer behind a half-ton is close to the textbook case for weight distribution: the truck squats, the headlights point at the trees, and the trailer gets twitchy at highway speed. The answer to that is a weight distribution head with sway control, not a better ball mount. If you are not sure which camp you are in, whether you need weight distribution is the question to settle before you spend anything here.

Where the Tow & Stow fits beautifully is the other kind of towing: boat trailers, utility trailers, dump trailers, car haulers behind a three-quarter-ton, equipment behind a farm truck - loads with plenty of tongue weight, short enough or heavy-vehicle enough not to need bars, towed often, with the mount living in the receiver between jobs. That is a very large slice of real towing, and in it this mount is close to ideal.

The honest day-to-day picture has a few rough edges alongside the convenience.

• It is heavy. Steel, with a pivoting head and a thick swing arm. That is where its strength comes from, and it is also why you will not enjoy carrying it. If weight is what you care about, aluminum versus steel is the comparison to read first.
• Height comes in steps. The pin holes set the available drops, so the exact height that levels your trailer perfectly may not exist. You pick the nearest, and nose-slightly-down is the side to err on.
• There are pins to lose. Three of them, and they are what holds the geometry. B&W sells replacements through dealers, but a pin that walks out on the highway is the sort of failure a one-piece mount cannot have. Check them before every trip, the way you check the coupler latch.
• Stowing needs clearance. The arm folds up under the bumper, which assumes there is room under your bumper. On a lowered vehicle, or one with a bumper-mounted step or sensor array, check before you buy.
• It does not measure anything. No tongue weight readout. If that is the feature you actually want, the Weigh Safe Drop Hitch review covers the mount that has it.

On security, the design is better than most: with the mount locked into the receiver, the swing arm cannot be removed, and a slide pin keeps the arm and the balls attached even when the other pins are out. That is meaningfully better than a plain mount, where everything comes out with the hitch pin. It is not a substitute for a receiver lock, and the hitch pin and lock options are still the thing standing between a thief and your mount.

• Your trailer needs weight distribution or sway control. This is the hard stop. B&W says those systems do not fit, and a long travel trailer behind a half-ton usually wants them.
• You want to know your tongue weight. A mount with a built-in gauge, or a plain mount plus a tongue weight scale, is the way to get the number.
• You lift the mount in and out constantly. Then you want aluminum, not steel, and the stow feature is solving a problem you do not have.
• You need an exact level height. A continuously adjustable channel mount gets closer than fixed pin increments can.
• You tow one trailer, one height, one ball. Buy a fixed mount at the right drop. It will outlast all of this and cost a fraction of it.

1. The subject

B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount

B&W Trailer Hitches · Best for daily drivers that tow occasionally

Two balls on a pivoting head that tucks up under the bumper when nothing is attached, which is the part owners actually rave about - no more shin-height steel bar in a parking lot. Height adjusts in pin increments rather than continuously.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight by shank

2 in shank 10,000 lb; 2-1/2 in shank 18,000 lb; 3 in shank 21,000 lb source

Vertical tongue weight by shank

2 in shank 1,000 lb; 2-1/2 in shank 1,800 lb; 3 in shank 2,100 lb source

Published drop options

2-1/2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 in on the 2 in shank; 5, 7 and 8-1/2 in on the 2-1/2 in shank; 4-1/2 and 7-1/2 in on the 3 in shank source

Ball configurations

2 in with 2-5/16 in; 1-7/8 in with 2 in; or all three on the tri-ball head source

Certification

Tested to SAE J684 source

Weight distribution compatibility

None - the maker states sway bar and weight distribution systems do not fit it source

What works

• +Stows up out of the way instead of projecting behind the bumper
• +Two ball sizes on one head, flipped rather than swapped
• +Solid, heavily built, and quiet when pinned correctly

What does not

• −Heavy to handle and to store
• −Height steps are fixed by the pin holes, so an exact level may not be available

Skip it if

Not the right buy if you need a precise level height - a continuously adjustable channel mount will get closer than pin increments will.

Check price on Amazon→

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Raw specifications: B&W Trailer Hitches’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

2. If you need spring bars

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 measuring alternative

Weigh Safe Adjustable Drop Hitch with Built-in Tongue Weight Scale

Weigh Safe · Best for owners who will never visit a scale

An adjustable drop hitch with a hydraulic gauge in the shank, so the tongue weight reads out as you lower the trailer onto the ball. It turns the single most-skipped step in towing into something that happens automatically, which is worth more than the hardware itself.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight by shank

2 in shank 12,500 lb; 2-1/2 in shank 18,500 lb; 3 in shank 21,000 lb source

Tongue weight rating by shank

2 in shank 1,500 lb; 2-1/2 in and 3 in shanks 2,200 lb source

Published drop sizes

4, 6, 8 and 10 in, adjustable in 1 in increments; rise is 1 in more than the drop source

Unit weight

16 lb at 4 in drop, 18 lb at 6 in, 19 lb at 8 in, 20 lb at 10 in source

Balls supplied

Stainless steel 2 in and 2-5/16 in; 1-7/8 in is a separate option source

Material and certification

Aircraft-grade aluminum body with stainless balls; V5 and SAE J684 certified source

What works

• +Reads tongue weight every time you hitch, with no extra step
• +Adjustable height and reversible for rise as well as drop
• +Makes the 10-15 percent rule checkable instead of theoretical

What does not

• −The gauge reads at the ball, so it is sensitive to being parked on a slope
• −Heavier and considerably more expensive than a plain mount

Skip it if

Not needed if you already weigh at a public scale - the gauge is convenience, and a certified scale is still the more accurate number.

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

4. The lightest alternative

Andersen Rapid Hitch Aluminum Adjustable Ball Mount

Andersen Hitches · Best for anyone tired of lifting steel mounts

An aluminum adjustable mount, which is the point: a steel channel mount is genuinely heavy to carry, and this one is not. Balls thread into the stainless pin rather than bolting through a hole, so swapping sizes takes seconds.

Published specifications

Maximum gross trailer weight

12,500 lb source

Capacity by ball fitted

2 in with 2-5/16 in combo ball 10,000 to 12,500 lb; 1-7/8 in with 2 in combo ball 5,000 to 12,500 lb source

Tongue weight rating

1,500 lb source

Drop/rise racks

4, 6, 8 and 10 in source

Shank sizes

2 in and 2-1/2 in source

Certification

V5 and SAE J684 source

What works

• +Dramatically lighter than a steel adjustable mount of similar capacity
• +Ball changes are a thread-on operation, not a torque-and-nut job
• +Aluminum does not rust streak down a painted bumper

What does not

• −Aluminum marks more easily than powder-coated steel
• −Capacity depends on which ball and pin combination you fit, so read the chart

Skip it if

Not the one if you leave the mount permanently in the receiver through salted winters - the convenience you are paying for is weight, and you would never be lifting it.

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

5. The budget alternative

CURT Adjustable Channel Mount with Dual Ball (2 in shank, 6 in drop)

CURT · Best for garages with several trailers

One mount that covers two ball sizes and a range of heights, which is the answer when the garage contains a boat trailer, a utility trailer and a camper that all sit at different heights. Capacity drops to the lower-rated ball you are actually using.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight

14,000 lb source

Ball capacities

2 in ball to 10,000 lb; 2-5/16 in ball to 14,000 lb source

Adjustment range

6 in maximum drop, 5-1/4 in maximum rise source

Receiver size

2 in source

What works

• +Two ball sizes and a height range in a single mount
• +Flipping it gives rise as well as drop
• +Rated to 14,000 lb on the larger ball

What does not

• −Heavy, and more joints means more places for rattle to start
• −The pins and bolts need checking for torque, unlike a one-piece mount

Skip it if

Pointless if you own one trailer and tow it with one truck - a fixed mount at the right height is lighter, quieter and cheaper.

Check price on Amazon→

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

The Tow & Stow earns its following honestly. It is heavily built, properly rated, made in the USA, backed for life, and it is the only mainstream mount that treats the hitch-in-the-shins problem as a design brief rather than a fact of life. For a truck that tows a boat, a utility trailer or equipment, with the mount living in the receiver between jobs, it is the one most owners end up glad they bought.

But it is a ball mount, and B&W is clear that it will never be more than that: no spring bars, no sway control hardware, no tongue weight readout. If your towing problem is a squatting truck or a trailer that moves around at speed, this product cannot solve it, and buying it anyway is the expensive version of the wrong answer. Settle the weight distribution question first; then, if the answer is no, this is an easy recommendation. The side-by-side with the Weigh Safe is the next page to read if the two are on your shortlist.