2027 Forest River Cherokee Arctic Wolf38DST

The Cherokee Arctic Wolf 38DST leaves Forest River's factory at 12,718 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 15,465 lbs and 2,747 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 18% 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 81-gallon fresh tank spends 672 lbs of that 2,747 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Pin weight is 2,145 lbs, which is 17% 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 2,145 lbs over the bed. Read the payload figure on your own door sticker rather than a brochure maximum for the model.

Tank capacities are 81 gallons fresh, 105 grey and 70 black, 175 gallons of waste capacity against 81 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 Cherokee Arctic Wolf roster this is the 5th of 7 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 8,638 lbs to 13,568 lbs. It sits in the heavier third of the line. 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 12,718 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 14,092 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 15,465 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 listing 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. 38DST is a Cherokee Arctic Wolf designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

How the 38DST differs from the other six Cherokee Arctic Wolf floorplans. Most distinctive first. Each rank counts only the siblings that publish that field, and a figure most of them share is left out.

• Fresh tank, 81 gal: largest of seven; next is the 39LEAH.G (52 gal).
• Dry weight, 12,718 lb: third-heaviest of seven, between the 3950SUITE (11,998 lb) and the 37LOFT (13,563 lb).
• GVWR, 15,465 lb: third-highest of seven, between the 39LEAH.G (14,668 lb) and the 387ML (15,868 lb).
• Cargo capacity, 2,747 lb: third-largest of seven, between the 37LOFT (2,427 lb) and the 39LEAH.G (2,800 lb).
• Pin weight, 2,145 lb: third-lightest of seven, between the 33IBAR (1,695 lb) and the 37LOFT (2,175 lb).
• Pin weight as a share of dry weight, 16.9%: third-smallest of seven, between the 33IBAR (16.7%) and the 285OPT (17.2%).
• Length, 43 ft 6 in: third-shortest of seven, between the 33IBAR (37 ft 4 in) and the 3950SUITE (43 ft 9 in).
• Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 17.8%: fourth-smallest of seven, between the 3950SUITE (15.5%) and the 285OPT (18.9%).
• Grey tank, 105 gal: largest of seven, level with the 387ML; next is the 39LEAH.G (76 gal).
• Exterior height, 13 ft 6 in: tallest of seven, level with the 37LOFT and 387ML; next is the 39LEAH.G (13 ft 5 in).
• Black tank, 70 gal: shared with the 387ML and 3950SUITE; of seven, three smaller and one larger, nearest the 285OPT, 33IBAR and 37LOFT (35 gal) and the 39LEAH.G (76 gal).

Next to the 3950SUITE, the nearest lighter floorplan by dry weight, the 38DST is 720 lb heavier by dry weight, has a GVWR 1,265 lb higher, has 545 lb more cargo capacity, has a pin weight 70 lb lighter, is 3 in shorter, stands 2 in taller, has a fresh tank 32 gal larger and has a grey tank 35 gal larger; the two publish the same black tank.

Next to the 37LOFT, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 38DST is 845 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 525 lb lower, has 320 lb more cargo capacity, has a pin weight 30 lb lighter, is 6 in shorter, has a fresh tank 32 gal larger, has a grey tank 35 gal larger and has a black tank 35 gal larger; the two publish the same exterior height.

Ten 2027 Cherokee Arctic Wolf floorplans with a full factory record, read from Forest River on 22 Oct 2026. They run 8,638 to 13,568 lb dry on lengths of 34 feet 9 inches to 45 feet 3 inches, with hitch weights of 1,485 to 2,375 lb and cargo capacities of 1,977 to 3,552 lb. Forest River publishes a GVWR for all ten, from 10,645 to 15,990 lb, and dry weight plus cargo capacity equals it exactly on every one.

A full 81-gallon fresh tank is about 672 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.2), 24% of the 38DST’s 2,747 lb cargo capacity, leaving 2,075 lb. Across 7 Cherokee Arctic Wolf floorplans the water share runs 11% to 24%, and this plan’s is the highest. Nearest on that share: Cherokee Arctic Wolf 285OPT at 20%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).

Closest sibling: the Cherokee Arctic Wolf 387ML, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 6 of the 8 fields both publish (this plan first): length 43 ft 6 in vs 44 ft 7 in; dry weight 12,718 lb vs 13,568 lb; GVWR 15,465 lb vs 15,868 lb; cargo capacity 2,747 lb vs 2,300 lb; hitch weight 2,145 lb vs 2,375 lb; fresh tank 81 gal vs 49 gal. They match on grey tank and black tank.

Either side of it by GVWR: Cherokee Arctic Wolf 39LEAH.G is 797 lb lighter (14,668 lb GVWR); Cherokee Arctic Wolf 387ML is 403 lb heavier (15,868 lb GVWR).

All 7 Cherokee Arctic Wolf floorplans: Cherokee Arctic Wolf line hub.

Against the 38DST: the Model Z 3100 is 30 lb heavier and 9 ft shorter; the Wildcat 37BEST is 33 lb heavier; the Sandpiper 3710HBFB is 35 lb heavier.

11 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the 38DST. Not published: interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, refrigerator, air conditioning.

Sourcing rules: methodology.