2027 Forest River Cardinal / Wildcat32CHILL

The Cardinal 32CHILL has 2,500 lbs of cargo capacity between 9,688 lbs dry and its 12,188 lbs GVWR, 21% of that rating; filling its 60-gallon fresh tank at 8.3 lb a gallon uses 498 lbs of it (how to read trailer weights).

Forest River’s 2027 floorplan drawing for the 32CHILL shows, at the front, a king bed in a slide with a dresser, a wardrobe and washer and dryer prep. Mid-coach: a shower bath with linen storage, and a kitchen with a microwave and a sink peninsula. At the rear: a rear living room with an entertainment center with a fireplace across the rear, a sectional sofa in a slide, and a hi-top table with chairs, a pantry and a 16-cubic-foot fridge in a second slide. It draws 17-foot and 10-foot 6-inch awnings. Outside it labels pass-through storage, an LP hookup and an accessory hitch. Layouts change with options; check the unit itself.

Pin weight is 1,765 lbs, 18% 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: 76 gallons of grey and black capacity against 60 gallons of fresh water, so fresh water runs out first (tank sizes by length).

Against the rest of the Cardinal roster this is the 1st of 9 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 9,688 lbs to 12,033 lbs. It is the lightest plan in the line, which makes it the one to look at first if the tow vehicle is the constraint.

Plan the tow on loaded weight, not the 9,688 lbs dry figure: half the published cargo capacity brings this plan to about 10,938 lbs, and the published GVWR of 12,188 lbs is the limit (how to read trailer weights).

Forest River’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 Forest River does not publish that figure (how figures are verified).

Forest River publishes no written floorplan description for this plan; the layout described above is read off Forest River’s own floorplan drawing for this model year. 32CHILL is a Cardinal designation, and this site does not decode the code itself into a layout claim.

How the 32CHILL differs from the other eight Cardinal floorplans. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.

• Dry weight, 9,688 lb: lightest of nine; next is the 33CHEF (10,558 lb).
• GVWR, 12,188 lb: lowest of nine; next is the 33CHEF (13,885 lb).
• Pin weight, 1,765 lb: lightest of nine; next is the 33CHEF (1,885 lb).
• Length, 35 ft 3 in: shortest of nine; next is the 33CHEF (38 ft 3 in).
• Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 20.5%: fourth-largest of nine, between the 38DEN (18.2%) and the 36FL (20.7%).
• Cargo capacity, 2,500 lb: fifth-smallest of nine, between the 35CRIB (2,352 lb) and the 38DEN (2,597 lb).
• Pin weight as a share of dry weight, 18.2%: fifth-smallest of nine, between the 33CHEF (17.9%) and the 37GALLEY (18.7%).
• Exterior height, 13 ft 3 in: lowest of nine, level with the 33CHEF; next are the 36FL, 38DEN and two others (13 ft 4 in).
• Grey tank, 38 gal: smallest of nine, level with the 38DEN; next are the 33CHEF, 35CRIB and five others (76 gal).

Next to the 33CHEF, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 32CHILL is 870 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 1,697 lb lower, has 827 lb less cargo capacity, has a pin weight 120 lb lighter, is 3 ft shorter and has a grey tank 38 gal smaller; the two publish the same exterior height, fresh tank and black tank.

Cardinal is Forest River's extended-stay fifth wheel, aimed at people who live in the trailer for long stretches rather than long weekends, and for 2027 Forest River publishes the same nine floorplans, with the same figures, under a second badge: Wildcat. Every one of the nine ties out exactly - dry weight plus cargo capacity equals the published GVWR on all nine, under both badges. Pin weights run 1,765 to 2,305 lb.

A full 60-gallon fresh tank is about 498 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.2), 20% of the 32CHILL’s 2,500 lb cargo capacity, leaving 2,002 lb. Across 9 Cardinal floorplans the water share runs 15% to 26%, and 4 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Cardinal 38DEN at 19% and Cardinal 35CRIB at 21%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).