2027 Forest River Cardinal / Wildcat42MASTERS

The Cardinal 42MASTERS leaves Forest River's factory at 12,008 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 13,955 lbs and 1,947 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 14% of the loaded rating, and Forest River'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 60-gallon fresh tank spends 498 lbs of that 1,947 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Pin weight is 1,955 lbs, which is 16% of the dry weight. That figure lands on the truck's rear axle and comes straight off its payload rating - not its towing rating, which is the number most often quoted and the wrong one for this decision. Pin weight rises as the trailer is loaded, and a fifth wheel loaded toward its cargo capacity will put substantially more than 1,955 lbs over the bed. Read the payload figure on your own door sticker rather than a brochure maximum for the model.

Tank capacities are 60 gallons fresh, 76 grey and 76 black, 152 gallons of waste capacity against 60 gallons of supply. The ratio is what governs how long the trailer can sit off hookups: waste capacity exceeds fresh, so the fresh tank is the binding constraint and refilling extends the stay. Forest River publishes these three figures per floorplan, and they are the factory's numbers rather than a segment average.

Against the rest of the Cardinal roster this is the 8th of 9 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 9,688 lbs to 12,033 lbs. It sits in the heavier third of the line. Comparing floorplans inside one line is more reliable than comparing across brands, because every figure here comes from the same factory channel on the same day.

A useful way to read the pair of weights is to stop planning against the dry figure. Nobody tows a trailer at 12,008 lbs: that is the weight before water, batteries, propane, bedding, food, tools and anything the dealer bolted on. Load half the published cargo capacity, which is modest for a family trip, and this plan is already near 12,982 lbs on the road. Compare that number against the tow vehicle, not the dry weight, and leave margin on top of it - the published GVWR of 13,955 lbs is a limit rather than a target.

Every number above was captured twice from Forest River and checked against itself before it was published. The line listing and the individual floorplan page are two separate factory renderings of the same trailer, and this plan's 4 shared figures agree exactly on both. Dry weight plus cargo capacity also equals the published GVWR exactly, which is the arithmetic check this site runs on every profiled floorplan. Where a figure is missing from this page it is because Forest River does not publish it in this channel, not because it was hard to find - and the row says so rather than being quietly dropped.

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. 42MASTERS is a Cardinal designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

How the 42MASTERS differs from the other eight Cardinal floorplans. Most distinctive first. Each rank counts only the siblings that publish that field, and a figure most of them share is left out.

• Cargo capacity, 1,947 lb: smallest of nine; next is the 36FUN (2,062 lb).
• Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 14%: smallest of nine; next is the 36FUN (14.6%).
• Pin weight as a share of dry weight, 16.3%: smallest of nine; next are the 36FUN and 41DUB (17.4%).
• Length, 45 ft 4 in: longest of nine; next is the 41DUB (45 ft 2 in).
• Dry weight, 12,008 lb: second-heaviest of nine, between the 35CRIB (11,953 lb) and the 36FUN (12,033 lb).
• GVWR, 13,955 lb: third-lowest of nine, between the 33CHEF (13,885 lb) and the 41DUB (14,050 lb).
• Pin weight, 1,955 lb: third-lightest of nine, between the 33CHEF (1,885 lb) and the 41DUB (2,050 lb).
• Black tank, 76 gal: largest of nine, level with the 35CRIB, 36FUN and 37GALLEY; next are the 32CHILL, 33CHEF and three others (38 gal).
• Exterior height, 13 ft 4 in: shared with the 36FL, 38DEN and 41DUB; 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 35CRIB, the nearest lighter floorplan by dry weight, the 42MASTERS is 55 lb heavier by dry weight, has a GVWR 350 lb lower, has 405 lb less cargo capacity, has a pin weight 350 lb lighter, is 2 ft 8 in longer and stands 2 in lower; the two publish the same fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.

Next to the 36FUN, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 42MASTERS is 25 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 140 lb lower, has 115 lb less cargo capacity, has a pin weight 140 lb lighter, is 2 ft 7 in longer and stands 1 in lower; the two publish the same fresh tank, grey 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), 26% of the 42MASTERS’s 1,947 lb cargo capacity, leaving 1,449 lb. Across 9 Cardinal floorplans the water share runs 15% to 26%, and this plan’s is the highest. Nearest on that share: Cardinal 36FUN at 24%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).

Closest sibling: the Cardinal 36FUN, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 5 of the 8 fields both publish (this plan first): length 45 ft 4 in vs 42 ft 9 in; dry weight 12,008 lb vs 12,033 lb; GVWR 13,955 lb vs 14,095 lb; cargo capacity 1,947 lb vs 2,062 lb; hitch weight 1,955 lb vs 2,095 lb. They match on fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.

Either side of it by GVWR: Cardinal 33CHEF is 70 lb lighter (13,885 lb GVWR); Cardinal 41DUB is 95 lb heavier (14,050 lb GVWR).

All 9 Cardinal floorplans: Cardinal line hub.

Against the 42MASTERS: the Sierra 3100RD is 14 lb heavier and 11 ft shorter; the Avenue 32RLS is 40 lb heavier and 10 ft shorter; the Model Z 2670 is 40 lb heavier and 15 ft shorter.

11 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the 42MASTERS. Not published: interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, refrigerator, air conditioning.

Sourcing rules: methodology.