2027 Forest River Cardinal / Wildcat38DEN

The Cardinal 38DEN has 2,597 lbs of cargo capacity between 11,638 lbs dry and its 14,235 lbs GVWR, 18% 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).

Pin weight is 2,235 lbs, 19% 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 5th of 9 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 9,688 lbs to 12,033 lbs. It sits in the middle of the line by weight.

Plan the tow on loaded weight, not the 11,638 lbs dry figure: half the published cargo capacity brings this plan to about 12,936 lbs, and the published GVWR of 14,235 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 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. 38DEN is a Cardinal designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

How the 38DEN differs from the other eight Cardinal floorplans. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.

• Pin weight as a share of dry weight, 19.2%: third-largest of nine, between the 37GALLEY (18.7%) and the 35CRIB (19.3%).
• Cargo capacity, 2,597 lb: fourth-largest of nine, between the 32CHILL (2,500 lb) and the 36FL (2,952 lb).
• Dry weight, 11,638 lb: fifth-lightest of nine, between the 36FL (11,283 lb) and the 41DUB (11,768 lb).
• Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 18.2%: fifth-smallest of nine, between the 35CRIB (16.4%) and the 32CHILL (20.5%).
• Grey tank, 38 gal: smallest of nine, level with the 32CHILL; next are the 33CHEF, 35CRIB and five others (76 gal).
• GVWR, 14,235 lb: shared with the 36FL; of nine, six lower and one higher, nearest the 36FUN (14,095 lb) and the 35CRIB (14,305 lb).
• Pin weight, 2,235 lb: shared with the 36FL; of nine, six lighter and one heavier, nearest the 36FUN (2,095 lb) and the 35CRIB (2,305 lb).
• Length, 44 ft 5 in: shared with the 36FL; of nine, five shorter and two longer, nearest the 36FUN and 37GALLEY (42 ft 9 in) and the 41DUB (45 ft 2 in).
• Exterior height, 13 ft 4 in: shared with the 36FL, 41DUB and 42MASTERS; of nine, two lower and three taller, nearest the 32CHILL and 33CHEF (13 ft 3 in) and the 36FUN and 37GALLEY (13 ft 5 in).

Next to the 36FL, the nearest lighter floorplan by dry weight, the 38DEN is 355 lb heavier by dry weight, has 355 lb less cargo capacity and has a grey tank 38 gal smaller; the two publish the same GVWR, pin weight, length, exterior height, fresh tank and black tank.

Next to the 41DUB, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 38DEN is 130 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 185 lb higher, has 315 lb more cargo capacity, has a pin weight 185 lb heavier, is 9 in 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), 19% of the 38DEN’s 2,597 lb cargo capacity, leaving 2,099 lb. Across 9 Cardinal floorplans the water share runs 15% to 26%, and 5 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Cardinal 36FL at 17% and Cardinal 32CHILL at 20%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).