2026 Forest River Nightfall28N

The Nightfall 28N leaves Forest River's factory at 8,393 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 13,500 lbs and 5,107 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 38% 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 102-gallon fresh tank spends 847 lbs of that 5,107 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Dry tongue weight is 1,500 lbs, or 18% of the dry weight. Ten to fifteen percent is the conventional band for a bumper-pull trailer, and this plan sits above it as published. Tongue weight is not fixed: it moves with how the trailer is loaded, and weight added ahead of the axles raises it. A weight-distribution hitch is the normal fitment at this tongue load, and the tow vehicle's tongue-weight limit is a separate number from its trailer-weight limit.

Tank capacities are 102 gallons fresh, 80 grey and 40 black, 120 gallons of waste capacity against 102 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 Nightfall roster this is the 7th of 14 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 6,368 lbs to 15,679 lbs. It sits in the middle of the line by weight. 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 8,393 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 10,947 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 13,500 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. 28N is a Nightfall designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

Nightfall is published as one roster that spans two different towing propositions, and the split is the first thing to understand about it. Forest River files fourteen floorplans under the name in three groupings - travel-trailer toy haulers, fifth-wheel toy haulers and HD fifth-wheel toy haulers - plus four more sold dealer-stock only. The bumper-pull plans run 6,758 to 9,383 lb dry with 1,175 to 1,500 lb on the tongue. The fifth wheels run 9,459 to 15,679 lb dry with 2,165 to 3,765 lb on the pin. Those are not two ends of one range; they are two vehicle classes sharing a badge, and the grouping a plan belongs to tells you which truck you need far better than its floorplan number does. Both are in the table below.

A full 102-gallon fresh tank is about 851 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.2), 17% of the 28N’s 5,107 lb cargo capacity, leaving 4,256 lb. Across 4 Nightfall travel-trailer floorplans the water share runs 17% to 21%, and this plan’s is the lowest. Nearest on that share: Nightfall 22N at 18%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).

Closest sibling: the Nightfall 29N, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 5 of the 8 fields both publish (this plan first): length 34 ft 2 in vs 36 ft 8 in; dry weight 8,393 lb vs 9,383 lb; GVWR 13,500 lb vs 13,495 lb; cargo capacity 5,107 lb vs 4,112 lb; dry hitch weight 1,500 lb vs 1,495 lb. They match on fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.

Either side of it by GVWR: Nightfall 29N is 5 lb lighter (13,495 lb GVWR).

All 9 Nightfall floorplans: Nightfall line hub.

Against the 28N: the Jay Flight 40RLTS is 6 ft longer; the Cherokee Timberwolf Black Label 39ALBL is 15 lb heavier and 11 ft longer; the Sandstorm 2730 is 30 lb lighter.

11 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the 28N. Not published: interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, refrigerator, air conditioning.

Sourcing rules: methodology.