01 What makes it unique
The 26BHS is the Aurora Light most families end up cross-shopping: rear bunks, a U-dinette on the street-side slide, a front bedroom and a camp-side outside kitchen under the 15-foot awning. It is one of only two plans in the Light roster (with the 28QBUNK) the factory offers with 50-amp service and second-air-conditioner prep — the hot-climate option the value tier usually skips.
The build is the tandem-class standard: 6-foot-9 interior, two LP bottles, three-burner cooktop, 10.7-cubic-foot GE 12-volt refrigerator, 13,500-BTU GE ducted heat pump, GE tankless water heater, seamless lifetime-warranty roof, Norco electromagnetic powder-coated chassis, with the enclosed-underbelly option available on slide models. The factory prints a 7,566-pound GVWR; 6,066 plus 1,500 equals it exactly.
At 6,066 dry on a 774-pound tongue this is solid half-ton work. Eight berths against 1,500 pounds of margin is the arithmetic to respect — and buyers who need a fourth sleeping zone should read the 28QBUNK flagship.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 30' 5"
- Exterior width
- 96"
- Exterior height
- 11' 1"
- Interior height
- 6' 9" (RVUSA)
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
- 6,066 lbs
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 7,566 lbs
- Net cargo / payload (CCC)
- 1,500 lbs
- Dry hitch weight
- 774 lbs
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 38 gal
- Grey water
- 44 gal
- Black water
- 30 gal
- Refrigerator
- 10.7 cu ft GE (12V)
Construction
- Chassis
- Norco electromagnetic powder-coated
- Exterior
- Metal siding
- Roof
- Seamless membrane · limited lifetime warranty
- Counters
- Value-line laminate
Running gear
- Axle class
- Tandem (RVUSA record)
- Hitch
- Bumper Pull · dry tongue 774 lb
- Spare tire
- Included, with carrier
- LP
- Two 20-lb bottles
Galley & systems
- Cooktop
- 3-burner
- A/C
- 13,500 BTU GE ducted heat pump
- Water heater
- GE 60K BTU tankless
- Furnace
- Ducted (rating not published) *
Sleeping & layout
- Sleeps
- Up to 8 (RVUSA)
- Primary bed
- Front bed
- Layout
- Rear bunk beds, U-dinette in the slide, front bedroom, camp-side outside kitchen
- Awnings & entries
- 15′ power awning · 1 entry
03 Aurora Light floorplan family
Forest River's Aurora Light line — the lightweight tier of the Aurora family: a 2026 roster that runs from 16-foot single-axle X-series compacts a mid-size SUV can pull to a 36-foot-2 quad-bunk family flagship, on the same Norco electromagnetic powder-coated chassis with a 13,500-BTU GE ducted heat-pump air conditioner, a GE tankless water heater and a seamless roof membrane standard. Eight plans are profiled in depth; the full roster including catalogued, deferred and dealer-stock-only plans lives on the Aurora Light hub with verified weights.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Sleeps | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13BHX | 16 ft | 4 | Micro bunkhouse X — catalogued on the hub |
| 13RDX | 16 ft | 2 | Micro rear-dinette X — catalogued on the hub |
| 13RKX | 16 ft | 3 | Micro rear-kitchen X — catalogued on the hub |
| 15RBX | 20 ft | 2 | Murphy-bed rear-bath X — catalogued on the hub |
| 15RDX | 20 ft | 3 | U-dinette couples X — catalogued on the hub |
| 16BHX | 20 ft | 5 | X-series family compact — bunks in 19 ft 6, SUV-towable |
| 18BHS | 23 ft | 7 | Dealer-stock-only bunkhouse sibling — catalogued on the hub |
| 18BHSX | 23 ft | 7 | Single-axle bunkhouse with a slide — outside kitchen, sleeps 7 |
| 18RBS | 24 ft | 2 | Dealer-stock-only Murphy rear-bath — catalogued on the hub |
| 19RBS | TBD | 3 | Deferred — factory has not published weights |
| 21BH | 26 ft | 7 | Full-width slide-free bunkhouse — 2,000-lb payload |
| 22EPIC | 26 ft | 3 | Slide-free couples plan — 18-ft awning, 6-ft-9 interior |
| 22MLS | 26 ft | 2 | Dealer-stock-only mid-living slide — catalogued on the hub |
| 23MKS | 28 ft | 3 | Mid-kitchen slide couples plan — pass-through bath |
| 23BHS | 28 ft | 7 | Bunkhouse with slide — catalogued on the hub |
| 26BH | 29 ft | 7 | Big slide-free bunkhouse — no slide upkeep |
| 26BHS | 30 ft | 8 | Volume bunkhouse with slide — outside kitchen, 50A option |
| 27BHS | 33 ft | 8 | Off current factory roster — RVUSA-catalogued on the hub |
| 28QBUNK | 36 ft | 9 | Quad-bunk flagship — sleeps 9, camp-kitchen option |
The Aurora Light roster splits into two build classes: 90-inch single-axle X-series compacts (6-foot-6 interiors, one 20-lb LP bottle, a 3.3-cu-ft refrigerator on the 13/15/16-series) and 96-inch tandem-axle full-size plans (6-foot-9 interiors, two bottles, the 10.7-cu-ft GE fridge). This is a published-GVWR-clean line: on every plan with published weights the factory GVWR equals UVW plus CCC exactly. Forest River does not print per-plan axle counts — the class shown is the RVUSA catalog record, flagged where it is the sole source (as on the full-width 21BH). Always confirm against the unit's weight sticker before towing.
04 What owners & reviewers report
The 50A / second-A/C option plan
Factory offers 50-amp service with second-A/C prep only on the 26BHS and 28QBUNK in the Light roster — the option southern buyers should tick.
RVUSA record stale
RVUSA shows 5,760 dry / 7,645 GVWR / 645 hitch; the factory prints 6,066 / 7,566 / 774. Factory used, logged.
Enclosed underbelly is an option here
On Light slide models the fully enclosed underbelly is optional (standard on every base Aurora) — cold-weather buyers should confirm the build sheet.
05 How it compares
The quad-bunk flagship — 36 ft 2, nine berths and the camp-kitchen option at 7,374 dry.
The slide-free version — 1,048 pounds lighter and 230 lighter on the tongue, trading the slide, outside kitchen and eighth berth.
The volume value-bunkhouse field — the 26BHS counter is the tankless water heater, heat-pump A/C and the 50A option.