CAMPERTRAILERS.COM

Fifth Wheel · No Published GVWR · Factory Brochure Record

2022 Forest River Cherokee Arctic Wolf3550SUITE

a 38-foot fifth wheel that leaves the factory at 9,568 lbs dry and is rated to carry 2,077 lbs of cargo.

Tow-Critical Data — as built, MY2022

9,568lb
Dry Weight
2,077lb
Cargo Capacity
1,445lb
Pin Weight
38ft
Length
2,077 lb cargo Fifth Wheel · Fifth Wheels Built by · Forest River Model year · 2022

01 What makes it unique

The Arctic Wolf 3550SUITE leaves Forest River's factory at 9,568 lbs dry with 2,077 lbs of cargo capacity. Forest River publishes no GVWR for this line, so the loaded rating is not quoted on this page and is not computed from the other two figures. What the cargo number covers is defined by the factory: fresh water, gear, food, batteries and every dealer-installed accessory come out of it. Fresh water is 8.3 lb per gallon, so filling the 49-gallon fresh tank spends 407 lbs of the 2,077 lbs before anything else goes in.

Dry pin weight is 1,445 lbs, which is 15% of the dry weight. That figure lands on the truck's rear axle and comes straight off its payload rating - not its towing rating, which is the number most often quoted and the wrong one for this decision. Pin weight rises as the trailer is loaded, and a fifth wheel loaded toward its cargo capacity will put substantially more than 1,445 lbs over the bed. Read the payload figure on your own door sticker rather than a brochure maximum for the model.

Tank capacities are 49 gallons fresh, 70 grey and 35 black, 105 gallons of waste capacity against 49 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 Arctic Wolf roster this is the 5th of 9 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 7,583 lbs to 11,688 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 these figures is to stop planning against the dry weight. Nobody tows a trailer at 9,568 lbs: that is the weight before water, batteries, propane, bedding, food, tools and anything the dealer bolted on. Load half the published cargo capacity and this plan is already near 10,606 lbs on the road. Because Forest River publishes no loaded rating for this line, the ceiling has to come from the trailer's own weight label rather than from this page, and the comparison you make against the tow vehicle should use the loaded figure.

Every number above was read from one factory document: Forest River's own 2022 brochure for this line, and each figure was read back against that document's text before it was published. This is a single-channel record rather than the two-rendering cross-check this site runs on factory web captures, and it is described that way rather than dressed up as more. The brochure publishes no GVWR for this line, so the loaded rating is shown as not published and is never computed from dry weight plus cargo capacity. Where a figure is missing from this page it is because the brochure does not publish it, 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. 3550SUITE is a Arctic Wolf designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

02 Full specifications

Dimensions

Exterior length
38' 1"
Exterior height
13' 3"
Exterior width
8'

Weights

Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
9,568 lbs
GVWR (max loaded)
Not published by Forest River for this line
Net cargo / payload (CCC)
2,077 lbs
Dry pin weight
1,445 lbs

Capacities

Fresh water
49 gal
Grey water
70 gal
Black water
35 gal

Running gear

Hitch type
Fifth wheel (pin box)
Axles
Not published by Forest River
Tires
Not published by Forest River

Sleeping & layout

Sleeps
Not published by Forest River
Awnings
Not published by Forest River

Verified specs, drawn to scale

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

Size, drawn to scale

Scale outline of the 3550SUITEScale outline of the 3550SUITE. Overall length 38' 1", overall height 13' 3", overall width 8' 0".end view8' 0"38' 1" overall length13' 3"
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 3550SUITEHolding tank capacities: fresh 49 gallons, grey 70 gallons, black 35 gallons.Fresh49 galGrey70 galBlack35 gal
Published tank capacities on one scale. A full fresh tank is about 409 lbs of water — roughly 20% of this plan’s 2,077 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 Arctic Wolf floorplan family

Dry weight runs 7,583 to 11,688 lb across the nine plans and dry pin weight 1,140 to 2,260 lb. The pin figure is the one that decides whether a given truck can take the trailer, because a fifth-wheel pin load lands on the truck's payload rating rather than its towing rating - and a 2,260 lb pin will use most of a three-quarter-ton's payload before passengers and gear are counted. Cargo capacity runs 2,077 to 3,757 lb and moves against dry weight rather than with it: the lightest plan here carries the largest rating of the nine. Every plan holds 49 gallons of fresh water and 70 of grey; black is 35 gallons on seven plans and 70 on two. Travel length runs 30 ft 9 in to 43 ft 4 in and exterior height 12 ft 11 in to 13 ft 3 in - worth reading before a garage or a low bridge.

FloorplanNominalSleepsNotable
261RK30' 9"7,5833,757Fifth Wheels
291RL33' 6"8,3583,097Fifth Wheels
327MB37' 2"9,1782,562Fifth Wheels
321BH36' 9"9,2882,527Fifth Wheels
3550SUITE38' 1"9,5682,077Fifth Wheels
3880SUITE43' 2"10,8033,202Fifth Wheels
3660SUITE43' 3"10,8282,827Fifth Wheels
3770SUITE43' 2"10,8933,367Fifth Wheels
3990SUITE43' 4"11,6882,392Fifth Wheels

Arctic Wolf is the Cherokee family's full-size fifth wheel - a step above the travel trailers that carry the same Cherokee badging, and positioned in the value-mid part of Forest River's own fifth-wheel ladder rather than at the luxury end of it. The 2022 brochure publishes ten floorplans; the nine profiled here are the ones this site did not already carry from another model year. Every figure on this page is read from the 2022 document. Nothing is carried across from an adjacent model year, because this site measured elsewhere that two years of one floorplan can differ on half their published fields including tow-critical ones. Forest River publishes no GVWR for this line in this brochure, so the loaded rating is shown as not published. It is never computed from dry weight plus cargo capacity - that sum is what the trailer would weigh if you used every pound of its cargo rating, not a figure the manufacturer has certified the axles and frame against. These figures come from one factory document rather than from the two separate factory renderings this site cross-reads on Forest River's web channel, and every figure was read back against that document's own text before publication. Sleeping capacity, tire size, awning length and MSRP are not published in this brochure's specification table and are absent here rather than estimated.

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 Arctic Wolf, 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.

There is no factory GVWR for this trailer

Forest River publishes dry weight, cargo capacity and dry pin weight for every Arctic Wolf floorplan and publishes no GVWR for any of them. The factory's own glossary defines cargo capacity as GVWR minus UVW, which means the rating can be worked out - and a figure you worked out is not a figure the manufacturer published, so this page does not print one. Use the weight label on the trailer itself, which every Forest River unit carries.

Awning size is not published for this floorplan

Forest River publishes an awning size for some Arctic Wolf floorplans and not for this one. The row reads as unpublished rather than being filled from a neighbouring plan in the same roster.

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
Arctic Wolf 321BH

9,288 lbs dry against this plan's 9,568 lbs, a difference of 280 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
Arctic Wolf 3880SUITE

10,803 lbs dry, 1,235 lbs more than this plan, and 3,202 lbs of cargo capacity against this one's 2,077 lbs. Stepping up a floorplan usually buys length before it buys payload.

Most cargo in the line
Arctic Wolf 261RK

3,757 lbs of cargo capacity, the highest of the 9 Arctic Wolf 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 49-gallon fresh tank is roughly 20% of the 2,077-pound cargo capacity, leaving the 3550SUITE with a usable gear budget even when you tow full.

Weight budgetFigureWhat it means
Cargo capacity as published (CCC)2,077 lbEverything you add: gear, water, propane, batteries, food, people’s belongings.
Fresh tank filled (49 gal × 8.34 lb)−409 lbWater is the heaviest thing most owners add, and it is added first.
Cargo budget left with a full fresh tank1,668 lb20% of this plan’s capacity is spent before a single bag is loaded.

The published dry pin weight of 1,445 pounds is 15% of this floorplan’s 9,568-pound dry weight. Fifth-wheel pin weight rides in the bed of the truck, so it comes off payload rather than off tow rating — and it rises with the trailer as you load it, not in proportion to what you put over the axles.

Tank balance is generous here: 49 gallons of fresh against 70 grey and 35 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 dry weight, the 3550SUITE sits 8 of 15 in the Arctic Wolf line: 9,568 pounds against a line that runs from 7,583 to 12,563 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: Arctic Wolf 289PANO is 220 pounds lighter at 9,348 lb dry; and Arctic Wolf 3250SUITE is 100 pounds heavier at 9,668 lb dry.

Comparable fifth wheelsGVWR (lb)Dry (lb)SleepsLength
3550SUITE—9,568—38 ft 1 in
Eagle 28CRT11,4009,595432 ft 10 in
Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels 2882S—9,620—33 ft 0 in
Reflection 32BH11,9959,468735 ft 10 in
Nightfall 270N14,7599,459—32 ft 3 in
Sandstorm 271014,7599,459—32 ft 3 in
Cardinal 32CHILL12,1889,688—35 ft 3 in

Against the 3550SUITE: the Eagle 28CRT is 27 lb heavier and 5 ft shorter; the Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels 2882S is 52 lb heavier and 5 ft shorter; the Reflection 32BH is 100 lb lighter and 2 ft shorter. 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 fifth wheels 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 Arctic Wolf floorplans profiled here run 7,583 to 12,563 pounds dry and 30 to 44 feet of exterior length across 15 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 Arctic Wolf line hub.

08 Common questions about the 3550SUITE

How much can the 3550SUITE carry?

Cargo carrying capacity is 2,077 pounds. That is the whole budget: water, propane, batteries, gear and everything you bring. Filling the 49-gallon fresh tank uses about 409 pounds of that.

What is the pin weight of the 3550SUITE?

The published dry pin weight is 1,445 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 are the tank capacities on the 3550SUITE?

Fresh 49 gallons, grey 70 gallons, black 35 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 3550SUITE?

Exterior length is 38' 1". 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 9 of them for the 3550SUITE. 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: GVWR, interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, awning, 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 (75%) 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

This floorplan belongs to the Arctic Wolf line, and NHTSA holds 2 recall campaigns and 3 owner complaints against that line. They are separate records and are not added together — a recall is a manufacturer-confirmed defect with a remedy; a complaint is one owner’s account, which NHTSA does not verify.

Too few reports to show a pattern. 3 complaints have been filed on this line — not enough to say what fails most often. They cover structure and wheels.

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 Arctic Wolf line page.