2026 Forest River Nightfall380N

The Nightfall 380N leaves Forest River's factory at 12,579 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 17,879 lbs and 5,300 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 30% 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 150-gallon fresh tank spends 1,245 lbs of that 5,300 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Pin weight is 2,990 lbs, which is 24% 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 2,990 lbs over the bed. Read the payload figure on your own door sticker rather than a brochure maximum for the model.

Off hookups: 154 gallons of grey and black capacity against 150 gallons of fresh water, so fresh water runs out first (tank sizes by length).

Against the rest of the Nightfall fifth-wheel roster this is the 3rd of 6 fifth wheels by dry weight, in a line that runs from 9,459 lbs to 15,679 lbs. It sits in the middle of the line by weight.

Plan the tow on loaded weight, not the 12,579 lbs dry figure: half the published cargo capacity brings this plan to about 15,229 lbs, and the published GVWR of 17,879 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. 380N is a Nightfall designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

How the 380N differs from the other five Nightfall fifth wheels. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.

• Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 29.6%: second-largest of six, between the 350N (26.6%) and the 270N (35.9%).
• Pin weight as a share of dry weight, 23.8%: second-largest of six, between the 343NHD (23.3%) and the 397NHD (24%).
• Dry weight, 12,579 lb: third-lightest of six, between the 350N (12,319 lb) and the 343NHD (13,969 lb).
• GVWR, 17,879 lb: third-highest of six, between the 343NHD (17,250 lb) and the 397NHD and 404NHD (21,000 lb).
• Pin weight, 2,990 lb: third-lightest of six, between the 350N (2,790 lb) and the 404NHD (3,190 lb).
• Length, 43 ft 7 in: third-longest of six, between the 350N (40 ft 6 in) and the 397NHD (45 ft).
• Grey tank, 114 gal: shared with the 350N; of six, one smaller and three larger, nearest the 270N (97 gal) and the 343NHD, 397NHD and 404NHD (120 gal).
• Black tank, 40 gal: smallest of six, level with the 270N and 350N; next are the 343NHD, 397NHD and 404NHD (80 gal).
• Cargo capacity, 5,300 lb: shared with the 270N; of six, two smaller and two larger, nearest the 350N (4,471 lb) and the 404NHD (5,321 lb).

Next to the 350N, the nearest lighter floorplan by dry weight, the 380N is 260 lb heavier by dry weight, has a GVWR 1,089 lb higher, has 829 lb more cargo capacity, has a pin weight 200 lb heavier and is 3 ft 1 in longer; the two publish the same fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.

Next to the 343NHD, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 380N is 1,390 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 629 lb higher, has 2,019 lb more cargo capacity, has a pin weight 260 lb lighter, is 3 ft 2 in longer, has a grey tank 6 gal smaller and has a black tank 40 gal smaller; the two publish the same fresh tank.

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 trailer types sharing a badge, and the grouping a plan belongs to says more about its weight than its floorplan number does. Both are in the table below.

A full 150-gallon fresh tank is about 1,245 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.2), 23% of the 380N’s 5,300 lb cargo capacity, leaving 4,055 lb. Across 6 Nightfall fifth-wheel floorplans the water share runs 23% to 38%, and 3 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Nightfall 404NHD at 23% and Nightfall 270N at 23%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).