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Travel Trailer · Lightweight Value · Single-Source Profile

2026 Forest RiverAurora Light 28QBUNK

The Aurora Light flagship — a 36-foot-2 quad-bunk family plan that sleeps nine, with an outside kitchen standard and the full camp-kitchen option, the biggest thing the lightweight tier builds.

Tow-Critical Data — as built, MY2026

7,374lb
Dry Weight (UVW)
8,874lb
GVWR
1,500lb
Payload (CCC)
36ft
Length
Sleeps up to 9 · RVUSA 1-slide · Front bed Built by · Forest River, Inc. Chassis · Norco powder-coated · tandem-axle

01 What makes it unique

The 28QBUNK is where the Light roster tops out: a rear room with four bunks, a U-dinette on the slide, a front bedroom and a camp-side outside kitchen, with the factory offering its full camp-kitchen package and the 50-amp second-A/C prep on this plan. Nine berths make it the largest sleeper in the entire Aurora family short of the Destination CONDOs.

The build is the tandem-class standard on the taller 11-foot-3 body — 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 (second unit preppable), GE tankless water heater, seamless lifetime-warranty roof, Norco chassis. The factory prints an 8,874-pound GVWR; 7,374 plus 1,500 equals it exactly.

Respect two numbers: the 976-pound tongue is proper half-ton-maximum territory, and the 30-gallon grey tank — small for nine sleepers — will govern off-grid stays. Families who want wide-body headroom, solid-surface counters and the 15K air conditioner at this length should read the base-Aurora 29TQS or 34BHTS one tier up.

02 Full specifications

Dimensions

Exterior length
36' 2"
Exterior width
96"
Exterior height
11' 3"
Interior height
6' 9" (RVUSA)

Weights

Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
7,374 lbs
GVWR (max loaded)
8,874 lbs
Net cargo / payload (CCC)
1,500 lbs
Dry hitch weight
976 lbs

Capacities

Fresh water
38 gal
Grey water
30 gal
Black water
28 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 976 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 9 (RVUSA)
Primary bed
Front bed
Layout
Rear quad-bunk room, U-dinette in the slide, front bedroom, camp-side outside kitchen, camp-kitchen option
Awnings & entries
18′ 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.

FloorplanNominalSleepsNotable
13BHX16 ft4Micro bunkhouse X — catalogued on the hub
13RDX16 ft2Micro rear-dinette X — catalogued on the hub
13RKX16 ft3Micro rear-kitchen X — catalogued on the hub
15RBX20 ft2Murphy-bed rear-bath X — catalogued on the hub
15RDX20 ft3U-dinette couples X — catalogued on the hub
16BHX20 ft5X-series family compact — bunks in 19 ft 6, SUV-towable
18BHS23 ft7Dealer-stock-only bunkhouse sibling — catalogued on the hub
18BHSX23 ft7Single-axle bunkhouse with a slide — outside kitchen, sleeps 7
18RBS24 ft2Dealer-stock-only Murphy rear-bath — catalogued on the hub
19RBSTBD3Deferred — factory has not published weights
21BH26 ft7Full-width slide-free bunkhouse — 2,000-lb payload
22EPIC26 ft3Slide-free couples plan — 18-ft awning, 6-ft-9 interior
22MLS26 ft2Dealer-stock-only mid-living slide — catalogued on the hub
23MKS28 ft3Mid-kitchen slide couples plan — pass-through bath
23BHS28 ft7Bunkhouse with slide — catalogued on the hub
26BH29 ft7Big slide-free bunkhouse — no slide upkeep
26BHS30 ft8Volume bunkhouse with slide — outside kitchen, 50A option
27BHS33 ft8Off current factory roster — RVUSA-catalogued on the hub
28QBUNK36 ft9Quad-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

Nine berths is the headline

Quad bunks plus the dinette and front bed — the biggest sleep count in the Aurora travel-trailer family.

The 30-gallon grey tank is the constraint

Nine campers drain 30 gallons of grey fast — fine on hookups, the limiting factor boondocking.

RVUSA record stale

RVUSA shows 7,696 dry / 9,696 GVWR / 902 hitch; the factory prints 7,374 / 8,874 / 976. Factory used, logged.

No published MSRP

Forest River publishes no MSRP for the family; confirm live pricing with a dealer.

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

05 How it compares

↑ Step up
Aurora 34BHTS

The wide-body flagship one tier up — triple slides, solid-surface counters, the 15K A/C and 1,778 more pounds of trailer.

↓ Step down
Aurora Light 26BHS

The volume bunkhouse — 1,308 pounds lighter with one fewer sleeping row.

↔ Cross-shop
Jay Flight 28-ft bunkhouses / Springdale quad-bunk plans

The big value-bunkhouse field — the 28QBUNK counter is the sleep count and the tankless water heater.