Ball mounts and drop hitches
B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount, 2-1/2 inch receiver, dual ball: published ratings and specifications
Adjustable for height and it stows out of the way when nothing is hitched, which is the single best answer to barking your shin on a ball mount. Two ball sizes on one head, flipped rather than swapped.
This page carries only what B&W publishes for this part. Where a figure is not published we leave it out rather than estimating it, because a reader comparing two pieces of towing hardware on a table cannot tell a published rating from a guess and should never have to.
What does B&W publish for the B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount, 2-1/2 inch receiver, dual ball?
B&W publishes 3 figures for the B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount, 2-1/2 inch receiver, dual ball, including a receiver size of 2-1/2.
Published standard A published, traceable figure: a standards body, a federal regulation or a manufacturer specification states it.
| Specification | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Receiver size | 2-1/2 |
| Ball diameter | 2 and 2-5/16 |
| Mount type | Adjustable, stowable |
Taken from the manufacturer listing. Anything the maker does not publish is absent here rather than estimated.
What the manufacturer says about it
- ADJUSTABLE, The Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount Trailer Hitch is adjustable in height for level towing. Simply pull the two stainless steel adjustment pins to raise or lower the hitch to the ideal position for your vehicle and trailer combination. Easily rotate the ball assembly to swap between ball sizes. And, when you're done towing, stow the hitch under your vehicle to avoid striking your shin or the garage door.
- STOWABLE & SECURE: Keep your hitch handy but out of the way. When you're not towing, stow the Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount right where you'll need it next. Just rotate the hitch under the vehicle, replace the pins, and your Tow & Stow is tucked safely away from your shins and garage door. And, with the Tow & Stow's anti-theft design, once you lock the hitch in most receivers, the adjustable arm of the hitch cannot be removed.
- RUGGED & RESILIENT - The Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount Trailer Hitch is built to last thanks to its high-strength American-made steel construction and corrosion-resistant finish. Two layers of protection, an e-coat and ironclad black powder coat, create a durable, long-lasting coating that can withstand the toughest conditions. Manufactured to haul equipment to the jobsite all week and launch the boat each weekend, the Tow & Stow was made to be as hardworking and versatile as you are.
- LIFETIME WARRANTY, The Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount Trailer Hitch is backed by B&W's Limited Lifetime Warranty. We are confident that our products are made without design or quality defects. However, if you believe that one of our products doesn't live up to our standards, we would make it right with you, our customer. If your product suffers damage because of an accident or misuse on your part, we will work to get you back on the road with as little cost and hassle to you as possible.
- AMERICAN MADE, The Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount Trailer Hitch is manufactured and assembled completely in Humboldt, Kansas, where we can oversee every detail. B&W's employee-owners stand behind each product we build and are proud of the Midwest values that have shaped our company into what it is today. We make only the best hitches and towing accessories so that you can focus on the road ahead and never worry about what's behind.
Quoted from the manufacturer's own listing and kept as a citable source rather than paraphrased into a specification we could not attribute.
How it compares on published ratings
The nearest alternatives in the same category, compared on the same figures. A blank cell is a figure that maker does not publish.
| Published rating | B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount, 2-1/2 inch receiver, dual ball | CURT 45902 Adjustable Dual-Ball Channel Mount, 2-1/2 inch shank, 6 inch drop | B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount, 2-1/2 inch receiver, tri-ball | Rhino USA Adjustable Trailer Hitch, 2 inch receiver, 6 inch drop or rise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $309.00 | $268.74 | $359.00 | $199.90 |
| Receiver size | 2-1/2 | 2-1/2 | 2-1/2 | 2 |
| Ball diameter | 2 and 2-5/16 | 2 and 2-5/16 | 1-7/8, 2 and 2-5/16 | not published |
| Drop | not published | 6 in | not published | not published |
| Adjustable drop range | not published | not published | not published | 6 in |
| Mount type | Adjustable, stowable | Adjustable channel | Adjustable, stowable | not published |
Every figure here is the manufacturer's own published rating. A blank is a figure the maker does not publish, and we leave it blank rather than estimating it. The rating stamped on the part you actually receive is what governs.
Before you rely on any of these numbers
A published rating is the maximum the maker will stand behind for that part in isolation. The assembled hitch is limited by its lowest rated component, so a receiver, a shank, a ball mount, a ball and a pin each carry their own figure and the smallest of them is your real limit.
And none of them raises anything on your vehicle. Your payload, GVWR, GCWR and axle ratings come off your own door jamb sticker and owner manual, and no part on this page changes a single one of them.
Frequently asked questions
What are the published ratings for the B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount, 2-1/2 inch receiver, dual ball?
B&W publishes receiver size of 2-1/2, ball diameter of 2 and 2-5/16, mount type of Adjustable, stowable. Every figure on this page comes from the manufacturer's own listing. The rating stamped or labelled on the part you actually receive is the one that governs.
Is the B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount, 2-1/2 inch receiver, dual ball rating the same as what my vehicle can handle?
No. A part rating and a vehicle rating are completely separate things. This part will carry what its maker says it will carry, and your vehicle will carry what the sticker in your door jamb says. The lower of the two governs, and on most vehicles it is the vehicle. Work your payload sum before you choose hardware.
What limits an assembled hitch?
Whichever component is lowest rated. The receiver, the shank, the ball mount, the ball and the hitch pin each carry an individual rating, and the assembly is limited by the smallest of them. A class V receiver fitted with a 5,000 lb ball mount is a 5,000 lb hitch, not a 17,000 lb one, and the same logic applies to every part in the chain.
Why are some specification cells blank on the comparison?
Because that manufacturer does not publish that figure. We leave it blank rather than estimating it, inferring it from a similar model, or copying it from a retailer listing that may have invented it. On a site about load ratings, a plausible looking number in a specification table is more dangerous than an honest gap.
Where do these figures come from?
From B&W's own product listing, pulled programmatically rather than retyped, which is how the price and image on this page stay current too. We do not test towing hardware in person and we never claim to. Nothing here is a measurement we took, and everything here is a figure the maker published.
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Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published standards, manufacturer towing guides and product specifications, and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Figures described as a rule of thumb are towing convention rather than published standards, and they are labelled that way wherever they appear. Nothing here overrides your own ratings. Work your payload sum before your tow rating, because payload is the limit that actually binds on most half ton trucks and nearly every SUV. Load a conventional trailer to 10 to 15 percent tongue weight and a fifth wheel to 15 to 25 percent pin weight, and never lighter: a tail heavy trailer is what starts sway. Weigh the rig loaded rather than trusting a brochure dry weight. A weight distribution hitch and a set of air bags both restore ride height and control, and neither one raises a single rating. Trailer brakes are required by state law above a threshold that varies by state, and a breakaway battery that has quietly gone flat is the normal condition of most trailers on the road.