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Travel Trailer · GVWR Published · Single-Source Profile

2027 Forest River Airelume255

a 29-foot travel trailer that leaves the factory at 5,813 lbs dry and is rated to carry 1,972 lbs of cargo.

Tow-Critical Data — as built, MY2026

5,813lb
Dry Weight
7,785lb
GVWR
785lb
Tongue Weight
29ft
Length
1,972 lb cargo Travel Trailer · Travel Trailers Built by · Forest River Model year · 2027

01 What makes it unique

The Airelume 255 leaves Forest River's factory at 5,813 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 7,785 lbs and 1,972 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 25% of the loaded rating, and Forest River's own definition is worth reading before you plan against it: cargo capacity is what remains for fresh water, gear, food, batteries and every dealer-installed accessory. Fresh water alone is 8.3 lb per gallon, so filling this trailer's 40-gallon fresh tank spends 332 lbs of that 1,972 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Dry tongue weight is 785 lbs, or 14% of the dry weight. Ten to fifteen percent is the conventional band for a bumper-pull trailer, and this plan sits inside it as published. Tongue weight is not fixed: it moves with how the trailer is loaded, and weight added ahead of the axles raises it. A weight-distribution hitch is the normal fitment at this tongue load, and the tow vehicle's tongue-weight limit is a separate number from its trailer-weight limit.

Tank capacities are 40 gallons fresh, 30 grey and 30 black, 60 gallons of waste capacity against 40 gallons of supply. The ratio is what governs how long the trailer can sit off hookups: waste capacity exceeds fresh, so the fresh tank is the binding constraint and refilling extends the stay. Forest River publishes these three figures per floorplan, and they are the factory's numbers rather than a segment average.

Against the rest of the Airelume roster this is the 7th of 12 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 2,824 lbs to 8,708 lbs. It sits in the middle of the line by weight. Comparing floorplans inside one line is more reliable than comparing across brands, because every figure here comes from the same factory channel on the same day.

A useful way to read the pair of weights is to stop planning against the dry figure. Nobody tows a trailer at 5,813 lbs: that is the weight before water, batteries, propane, bedding, food, tools and anything the dealer bolted on. Load half the published cargo capacity, which is modest for a family trip, and this plan is already near 6,799 lbs on the road. Compare that number against the tow vehicle, not the dry weight, and leave margin on top of it - the published GVWR of 7,785 lbs is a limit rather than a target.

Every number above was captured twice from Forest River and checked against itself before it was published. The line roster block and the individual floorplan page are two separate factory renderings of the same trailer, and this plan's 4 shared figures agree exactly on both. Dry weight plus cargo capacity also equals the published GVWR exactly, which is the arithmetic check this site runs on every profiled floorplan. Where a figure is missing from this page it is because Forest River does not publish it in this channel, not because it was hard to find - and the row says so rather than being quietly dropped.

Forest River publishes no floorplan description for this plan in the channel this page is built from - only the numeric specification block. Rather than describe a layout from the floorplan code, which would be a guess dressed as a fact, this page carries what the factory publishes and says where it stops. 255 is a Airelume designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

02 Full specifications

Dimensions

Exterior length
29' 11"
Exterior height
10' 4"
Exterior width
96"

Weights

Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
5,813 lbs
GVWR (max loaded)
7,785 lbs
Net cargo / payload (CCC)
1,972 lbs
Dry tongue (hitch) weight
785 lbs

Capacities

Fresh water
40 gal
Grey water
30 gal
Black water
30 gal

Running gear

Hitch type
Bumper pull (weight-distribution recommended)
Axles
Not published by Forest River
Tires
Not published by Forest River

Sleeping & layout

Sleeps
Not published by Forest River
Awnings
18'

Verified specs, drawn to scale

Original graphics built from this floorplan’s own verified figures.

Loaded weight budget

Loaded weight budget for the 255Horizontal bar. Dry weight 5,813 pounds, then cargo capacity 1,972 pounds, against a GVWR of 7,785 pounds. Dry tongue weight 785 pounds on the same scale.GVWR 7,785 lbsDry 5,813 lbsCargo capacity 1,972 lbsDry tongue weight 785 lbs — same scale
Drawn from this page’s published figures. The bar runs from empty to GVWR: the dark band is dry weight, the light band is everything you are allowed to add — water, propane, batteries and gear all come out of it.

Size, drawn to scale

Scale outline of the 255Scale outline of the 255. Overall length 29' 11", overall height 10' 4", overall width 96' 0".end view96' 0"29' 11" overall length10' 4"
Overall length and height are drawn true to scale from the published figures, and the end view uses the same scale. Axle count is as published; axle position, wheel size and the nose profile are schematic. This is a size drawing, not a floorplan, and not a claim about body shape.

Holding tanks

Holding tank capacities for the 255Holding tank capacities: fresh 40 gallons, grey 30 gallons, black 30 gallons.Fresh40 galGrey30 galBlack30 gal
Published tank capacities on one scale. A full fresh tank is about 334 lbs of water — roughly 17% of this plan’s 1,972 lb cargo capacity, before you load anything else.

These graphics are generated from the same verified record that builds the table above, and are published under this site’s own licence — nothing here is traced from, or derived from, a manufacturer drawing or photo. Where a figure is not published for this plan, the graphic that would need it is omitted rather than estimated. The full record is in the published dataset.

03 The Airelume floorplan family

Airelume is a wide line for a single grouping: dry weight runs 2,824 lb at the 160 up to 8,708 lb at the 325, so the heaviest plan is more than three times the lightest. Cargo capacity runs 856 to 2,000 lb and dry tongue weight 325 to 1,090 lb, which keeps the bottom of the roster inside what a mid-size SUV can carry on the ball and the top of it firmly in half-ton truck territory. GVWR runs 3,825 to 10,708 lb. Because every plan publishes a factory GVWR that ties out, the loaded rating on this line is a measured number on every page rather than a reconstruction.

FloorplanNominalSleepsNotable
16220' 3"2,8243,825Travel Trailers
16021' 8"3,0693,925Travel Trailers · published specifications only
17221' 7"3,6294,860Travel Trailers
23227' 3"4,0546,054Travel Trailers
17023' 9"4,0845,550Travel Trailers · published specifications only
26028' 7"4,3996,399Travel Trailers
25529' 11"5,8137,785Travel Trailers
26531' 8"6,3887,830Travel Trailers · published specifications only
27033' 7"6,5038,503Travel Trailers
28536' 10"7,2339,233Travel Trailers
32536' 11"7,8139,813Travel Trailers · published specifications only
31537' 2"8,70810,708Travel Trailers

Airelume is published by Forest River in a single factory grouping, Travel Trailers, across twelve floorplans for 2027. Forest River publishes dry weight, cargo capacity, dry tongue weight, GVWR, all three exterior dimensions and all three tank capacities for every plan on the roster, and all twelve tie out exactly -- dry weight plus cargo capacity equals the published GVWR to the pound on each one. Sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size and MSRP are not published in this channel and are absent here rather than estimated. Forest River publishes no floorplan description for any of the twelve, so these pages carry no factory sentence.

04 What owners & reviewers report

What Forest River does not publish for this line

Sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size and MSRP are absent from Forest River's specification channel for Airelume, so they are absent here. They are not estimated from the segment, not carried over from a sibling floorplan, and not taken from a dealer listing quoting itself. A tire size in particular is a safety-relevant number that differs between two codes a digit apart, and this site does not guess one.

Weigh it before you tow it

Every figure on this page is a factory publication for a standard build. Forest River's own footnote on unloaded weight calls it an estimated average based on a standard build with optional equipment, and options, dealer-installed accessories and the previous owner's additions all move it. The only weight that governs your towing decision is the one under your own trailer on a scale, loaded the way you actually travel.

SOURCING — ownership notes to be expanded with cited threads from owner communities & forums per the data plan

05 How it compares

Lighter
Airelume 260

4,399 lbs dry against this plan's 5,813 lbs, a difference of 1,414 lbs. Same line, same factory channel, same model year - so the gap is a real one rather than a difference in how two brands measure.

Heavier
Airelume 270

6,503 lbs dry, 690 lbs more than this plan, and 2,000 lbs of cargo capacity against this one's 1,972 lbs. Stepping up a floorplan usually buys length before it buys payload.

Most cargo in the line
Airelume 232

2,000 lbs of cargo capacity, the highest of the 8 Airelume floorplans profiled here. If payload rather than length is the binding constraint, that is the plan to compare against.

06 Loading it for a trip

This floorplan carries its water comfortably. A full 40-gallon fresh tank is roughly 17% of the 1,972-pound cargo capacity, leaving the 255 with a usable gear budget even when you tow full.

Weight budgetFigureWhat it means
Cargo capacity as published (CCC)1,972 lbEverything you add: gear, water, propane, batteries, food, people’s belongings.
Fresh tank filled (40 gal × 8.34 lb)−334 lbWater is the heaviest thing most owners add, and it is added first.
Cargo budget left with a full fresh tank1,638 lb17% of this plan’s capacity is spent before a single bag is loaded.

The published dry tongue weight of 785 pounds is 14% of the 5,813-pound dry weight, which sits inside the 10–15% band usually quoted for stable towing. It is still a dry figure: loading the front pass-through and the fresh tank both push it up.

Nothing above changes the ceiling. Loaded to its 7,785-pound GVWR the 255 is towing 1,972 pounds more than its 5,813-pound dry figure, and that is the number your vehicle has to be rated for — not the brochure weight.

Tank balance is generous here: 40 gallons of fresh against 30 grey and 30 black, so waste capacity keeps pace with supply and the fresh tank is the constraint that ends a dry stay.

07 Where this floorplan sits

Ranked by GVWR, the 255 sits 5 of 8 in the Airelume line: 7,785 pounds against a line that runs from 3,825 to 10,708 pounds. That position is the useful thing to know, because the plans immediately either side of it are the real alternatives.

Either side of it in the same line: Airelume 260 is 1,386 pounds lighter at 6,399 lb GVWR; and Airelume 270 is 718 pounds heavier at 8,503 lb GVWR.

Comparable travel trailersGVWR (lb)Dry (lb)SleepsLength
2557,7855,81329 ft 11 in
Salem & Wildwood 26ICE7,7856,288832 ft 9 in
Tracer 275BH7,7856,338832 ft 1 in
Avenger 25MKO7,7755,983329 ft 7 in
Campsite Ultra 21DF7,7955,68825 ft 10 in
Cherokee Grey Wolf 23MK7,8015,750428 ft 10 in
Campsite Reserve 25MW7,7656,00829 ft 8 in

Against the 255: the Salem & Wildwood 26ICE is 3 ft longer; the Tracer 275BH is 2 ft longer; the Avenger 25MKO is 10 lb lighter. Those are differences in the published numbers only — what they cost, how they are built and how they live are separate questions each of those pages answers on its own terms.

Those are the nearest travel trailers from other lines by weight — one per line, picked by proximity on that figure and nothing else. They are listed so the same tow vehicle can be checked against real alternatives, not because they are equivalent inside; layout, build and price diverge sharply across that group.

For scale, the Airelume floorplans profiled here run 2,824 to 8,708 pounds dry and 20 to 37 feet of exterior length across 8 plans. Where a floorplan falls in that spread usually says more about which vehicle can tow it, and which site it fits, than the layout name does.

Every profiled floorplan in this line, with the full weight table, is on the Airelume line hub.

08 Common questions about the 255

How much does the 255 weigh?

It leaves the factory at 5,813 pounds dry, and its manufacturer-set loaded ceiling (GVWR) is 7,785 pounds. Real towing weight lands between the two and depends entirely on what you load. Use the GVWR when matching a tow vehicle; the dry figure is only useful for comparing floorplans against each other.

How much can the 255 carry?

Cargo carrying capacity is 1,972 pounds. That is the whole budget: water, propane, batteries, gear and everything you bring. Filling the 40-gallon fresh tank uses about 334 pounds of that.

What is the tongue weight of the 255?

The published dry tongue weight is 785 pounds. It is measured empty; loaded, it runs higher, and it comes out of your tow vehicle’s payload rather than its tow rating.

What size tow vehicle does the 255 need?

Your vehicle needs a tow rating of at least 7,785 pounds — this floorplan’s GVWR — and enough payload left over for the hitch load, passengers and anything in the bed. This site does not publish tow ratings for specific vehicles, because one truck model varies by thousands of pounds across engine, axle ratio, cab and package. The figure that governs is the payload sticker on your own door jamb.

What are the tank capacities on the 255?

Fresh 40 gallons, grey 30 gallons, black 30 gallons. Tank sizes set how long the floorplan can sit away from hookups, and the smallest of the three is what ends the stay.

How long is the 255?

Exterior length is 29' 11". Measure against your site length and your storage before committing — the exterior figure is the one that has to fit, and it includes the tongue or pin box.

Every figure in these answers is read from this page’s verified specification table. Where the manufacturer publishes nothing, the question is not answered rather than estimated.

09 What this page publishes, and what it does not

This catalog tracks 18 specification fields per floorplan. Named sources publish 11 of them for the 255. The rest are not shown, because the alternative is reading a figure across from a sibling floorplan or from what the segment usually does — and a number nobody published is worth less than an admitted gap.

Not published for this floorplan: interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, refrigerator, air conditioning. If you find one of these in a manufacturer document for this plan, it belongs on this page.

The completeness figure at the foot of this page (85%) measures the same thing on the full field set: it is a measurement of how much this floorplan’s manufacturer publishes, not of how much research went into the page.

How every figure here was sourced and checked is set out on the methodology page.

11 NHTSA safety record

No recall campaign or owner complaint in our NHTSA data names the Airelume line. Read that as no result found, not as a clean record.

Recall coverage is not complete — our harvest of NHTSA’s recall API ran 1,556 queries, of which 0 failed and 242 returned an explicit zero. A line can still be under-reported where NHTSA files a roster under a parent name, or where a match rests on the wording of the recall rather than its model field. Complaints come from the complete bulk file but are unverified and self-selected: a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy. Full tables are on the Airelume line page.