2026 East to West Blackthorn / Tandara279BH

The Blackthorn 279BH leaves East to West's factory at 8,579 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 11,520 lbs and 2,941 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 26% of the loaded rating, and East to West'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 64-gallon fresh tank spends 531 lbs of that 2,941 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Pin weight is 1,320 lbs, 15% of the dry weight as published; it rises as the trailer is loaded and comes off the truck’s payload, not its towing rating, so check it against the payload on your own door sticker (pin weight and payload).

Off hookups: 132 gallons of grey and black capacity against 64 gallons of fresh water, so fresh water runs out first (tank sizes by length).

Against the rest of the Blackthorn roster this is the 2nd of 7 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 7,324 lbs to 13,439 lbs. It sits in the lighter third of the line.

Plan the tow on loaded weight, not the 8,579 lbs dry figure: half the published cargo capacity brings this plan to about 10,049 lbs, and the published GVWR of 11,520 lbs is the limit (how to read trailer weights).

East to West’s line listing and this floorplan’s own factory page agree on all 4 shared figures. Dry weight plus cargo capacity equals the published GVWR exactly. A missing row means East to West does not publish that figure (how figures are verified).

East to West 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. 279BH is a Blackthorn designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

How the 279BH differs from the other six Blackthorn floorplans. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.

• Pin weight as a share of dry weight, 15.4%: smallest of seven; next is the 229RK (15.6%).
• Dry weight, 8,579 lb: second-lightest of seven, between the 229RK (7,324 lb) and the 2990MK (10,864 lb).
• GVWR, 11,520 lb: second-lowest of seven, between the 229RK (9,945 lb) and the 2990MK (14,180 lb).
• Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 25.5%: second-largest of seven, between the 3865FLR (23.8%) and the 229RK (26.4%).
• Pin weight, 1,320 lb: second-lightest of seven, between the 229RK (1,145 lb) and the 3750LK (2,120 lb).
• Length, 32 ft 11 in: second-shortest of seven, between the 229RK (28 ft 1 in) and the 2990MK (35 ft).
• Exterior height, 12 ft 5 in: second-lowest of seven, between the 229RK (12 ft 3 in) and the 2990MK, 3750LK and three others (13 ft 4 in).
• Cargo capacity, 2,941 lb: third-smallest of seven, between the 3820DSL (2,911 lb) and the 3880RBDB (3,201 lb).

Next to the 229RK, the nearest lighter floorplan by dry weight, the 279BH is 1,255 lb heavier by dry weight, has a GVWR 1,575 lb higher, has 320 lb more cargo capacity, has a pin weight 175 lb heavier, is 4 ft 10 in longer and stands 2 in taller; the two publish the same fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.

Next to the 2990MK, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 279BH is 2,285 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 2,660 lb lower, has 375 lb less cargo capacity, has a pin weight 860 lb lighter, is 2 ft 1 in shorter and stands 11 in lower; the two publish the same fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.

Blackthorn is the fifth-wheel end of the East to West range, and it is the one East to West roster where the loaded rating is a published factory number rather than a gap. All seven floorplans carry a GVWR and all seven tie out exactly against dry weight plus cargo capacity -- 9,945 lb at the light end to 16,350 lb at the top. The roster splits in two. Two plans sit in the factory's half-ton grouping at 7,324 and 8,579 lb dry with 1,145 and 1,320 lb on the pin; the other five run 10,864 to 13,439 lb dry with 2,120 to 2,350 lb on the pin. Every one of the seven is a fifth wheel, so that pin load comes off the truck's payload rating rather than its towing rating, and the half-ton grouping is a statement about weight rather than about hitch type. Cargo capacity runs 2,621 to 3,876 lb, and lengths run 28 ft 1 in to 42 ft 1 in.

A full 64-gallon fresh tank is about 531 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.2), 18% of the 279BH’s 2,941 lb cargo capacity, leaving 2,410 lb. Across 7 Blackthorn floorplans the water share runs 14% to 20%, and 2 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Blackthorn 3880RBDB at 17% and Blackthorn 3820DSL at 18%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).