Octane T32C tongue weight

[chaparro93]

I have a couple of questions for all the knowledgeable folks. I recently purchased a 2016 Octane T32C and wanted to know if there is a way to decrease the tongue weight? I recently took it to a CAT scale and the tongue weight was at approx. 1900lbs (-a few pounds for the concrete block I placed under the tongue jack)!!! It wasn't anywhere near the 1435lbs it says on the owner sheet. I had nothing in the toy hauler to include fuel for the fuel station and generator.

I tow it with a lifted 2001 Ford Excursion 7.3L and it pulled it very well with no sway. On the Ex I have E rated tires, Air Ride rear air lift, T6 position chip tuner, and I just upgraded the hitch receiver to a Torklift Superhitch 20K. I also have a Blue Ox BXW 1500 Sway Pro weight distribution hitch. It is rated for 1500lbs tongue weight so you can see my dilemma and the reason I want to lower my tongue weight. I have a few more mods I'm doing to the Excursion but it pulls it with ease I'm just worried about that tongue weight. Any advice or suggestions appreciated. I'm getting ready to take it from Texas to California and back and want to do it safely. Thanks in adavnce.

---Rafael---

[chaparro93]

I also wanted to ask if the weight distribution hitch changes the tongue weight pretty drastically? How much would it change from a tongue weight of around 1900lbs?

[JFlightRisk]

A WDH won't reduce the tongue weight at all. It will only distribute the weight to the front axle of your tow vehicle, so it sits more level, and more importantly, keeps weight up front so your steering and braking doesn't get light on you. You really don't want that to happen.

[farnik78]

The problem with toy haulers is they are “balanced” assuming you are hauling toys in the back. So when you don’t have a toy in the back the tongue weight is very heavy.

[farnik78]

I also believe that the factory sheet that says 1435 lbs is based on the fuel tanks being full. Since the fuel is stored behind the rear wheels this would reduce tongue weight as well.

[chaparro93]

I appreciate your responses. Very good info to know. I’ll load a motorcycle in the back and fill the fuel station up and see if that reduces the tongue weight. I’m not too concerned with the overall weight, just that tongue weight was killing me!!

[Spiderman]

Hi!

I hope y'all don't mind me resurrecting this thread as my first post in the forum.

I (too) am about to purchase a 2016 Octane T32C... this is only my second camper, but it's my first that will require a WDH, so I've been doing a lot of research on this topic, especially because the T32C seems to have such a high TW.

One thing I noticed in the comments:

Originally Posted by farnik78

I also believe that the factory sheet that says 1435 lbs is based on the fuel tanks being full. Since the fuel is stored behind the rear wheels this would reduce tongue weight as well.

But my research leads me to believe that's not the case... From the product brochure (downloadable here):

Hitch Weight (HW): The hitch weight, as used in product literature and other promotional materials, does not include cargo, fresh water, propane gas, options or dealer-installed accessories. The addition of these types of items will either add to or subtract from the stated hitch weight.

One thing that comes to mind, that would affect the TW, is the presence of the 4000w Onan generator, which appears to be optional on the 2016 (if I understand the brochure correctly)... according to the generator specs, it weighs 178 lbs.

I found this other thread on here which talks about WDHs and while there was some helpful information, it wasn't entirely conclusive.

There will be times when I'm towing without toys, so I'm a little worried about having a WDH that can handle the TW. I was considering getting a WDH that's rated at 1500/15,000 lbs... but now I'm not sure that will be enough...

If anybody has any feedback/suggestions, they'd be greatly appreciated.

[swrs]

We have a 2018 Octane T32C with the 5.5kw genset. We have found the TW on this thing to be 1700lbs unloaded not even a bed spread except for 30 gallons of gasoline (CAT scale). We upgraded from a 2019 Silverado 2500HD 6.0L gas to the 2020 Silverado 3500HD 6.6L gas and from the 1500/15000 lb Blue Ox Sway Pro to the 2000/20000 lb Blue Ox Sway Pro. We did just purchase the BX4012 hitch head as the local dealer said to use the standard BX4011 head even though the trailer has an underslung hitch coupler. I will try to let you know how the new hitch head helps with ride and sway once we use it.

Scott