01 What makes it unique
The 260DB is the plan the laminated tier builds for families: rear double bunks behind a second entry door, a single living slide, a front bedroom, and — the signature dealer-walkthrough callout — a kayak door opening an exterior pass-through long enough for boards and boats. The factory rates it for up to eight, under a 20-foot awning.
It rides the heavy end of the North Trail chassis set: tandem 4,400-pound axles (the compacts carry 3,500s) under the CoreShield 2-inch vacuum-bonded laminated body with Azdel both sides, Norco Z-frame with integrated A-frame, TrussXL truss, limited-lifetime PVC roof and the ThermaShield package. The 13,500-BTU Quiet Series ducted air, 60,000-BTU tankless water heater, 11-cubic-foot Invision 12-volt refrigerator, 5,000-BTU fireplace, 200-watt solar, TPMS and power tongue jack are standard, with two 30-pound bottles. The printed 8,200-pound GVWR equals 6,485 dry plus 1,715 cargo exactly.
The tank group is the quiet flagship spec: 55 fresh, 76 grey — the biggest grey tank in the line — and a 38-gallon black tank, sized for a crew that showers. At an 815-pound tongue and 6,485 pounds dry, this is honest half-ton work with margin. Families needing a second sleeping zone plus a workspace should look at the 270CK; the value-tier alternative is the Prowler 2602BHS.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 32' 9"
- Exterior width
- 8' 0"
- Exterior height
- 10' 2"
- Interior height
- 6' 6"
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight
- 6,485 lbs
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 8,200 lbs
- Net cargo / payload (CCC)
- 1,715 lbs
- Dry tongue weight
- 815 lbs
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 55 gal
- Grey water
- 76 gal
- Black water
- 38 gal
- Refrigerator
- 11 cu ft 12V Invision
Construction
- Sidewalls & floor
- CoreShield 2″ vacuum-bonded · Azdel both faces
- Frame
- Norco Z-frame · integrated A-frame
- Roof
- TrussXL 4,500-lb truss · PVC (limited lifetime)
- Insulation
- ThermaShield 0–100° package
Running gear
- Axles (factory)
- 2 x 4400
- Hitch
- Bumper Pull · dry tongue 815 lb
- Tires
- Not published
- LP
- Two 30-lb bottles
Galley & systems
- Refrigerator
- 11 cu ft 12V Invision
- A/C
- 13,500 BTU Quiet Series (2nd A/C select plans)
- Water heater
- 60,000 BTU tankless
- Furnace
- Not reliably published *
Sleeping & layout
- Sleeps
- Up to 8 (factory)
- Primary bed
- Queen bed (60x80) + bunks
- Layout
- Double-bunk family plan — rear double bunks, kayak-door exterior pass-through, two entry doors, single slide, front bedroom, 20-foot awning
- Awnings & entries
- 1 · 20′ · 2 entries (RVUSA)
Verified specs, drawn to scale
Original graphics built from this floorplan’s own verified figures.
Loaded weight budget
Size, drawn to scale
Holding tanks
These graphics are generated from the same verified record that builds the table above, and are published under this site’s own licence — nothing here is traced from, or derived from, a manufacturer drawing or photo. Where a figure is not published for this plan, the graphic that would need it is omitted rather than estimated. The full record is in the published dataset.
What it takes to tow this
Built from this floorplan’s verified weights. We publish the trailer side only.
We do not publish tow ratings for specific trucks. A single model can vary by thousands of pounds depending on engine, axle ratio, cab, drivetrain and package — the only authoritative figure is the one on your own door jamb. Loaded tongue percentages are industry convention for travel trailers (10–15% of loaded weight), not a measurement of this unit. Hitch classes are not used here as a rating: SAE J684 covers trailers to 10,000 lb GVWR and does not define Class V, and capacity boundaries differ between manufacturers — read the rating stamped on your hitch.
03 North Trail floorplan family
Heartland's North Trail line — the laminated half-ton tier of the Jayco-era relaunch: nine 2026 floorplans built on CoreShield 2-inch vacuum-bonded sidewalls and floors with Azdel composite on both faces, a Norco Z-frame with an integrated A-frame, the ThermaShield zero-to-one-hundred-degree package, a 60,000-BTU tankless water heater, an 11-cubic-foot 12-volt refrigerator, 200 watts of rooftop solar and a 55-gallon fresh tank standard line-wide. Six plans are profiled in depth; the full roster lives on the North Trail hub with verified weights.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Sleeps | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14UL | 19 ft | 3 | Ultra-light single-axle compact (no Z-frame integrated A-frame) — catalogued on the hub |
| 190MB | 23 ft | 4 | Entry Murphy-bed slide — catalogued on the hub |
| 210MB | 25 ft | 4 | Murphy-bed laminated compact — second-most-listed plan |
| 220MB | 27 ft | 4 | Murphy plan with bike door and outdoor griddle — catalogued on the hub |
| 240RK | 29 ft | 4 | Rear-kitchen dual-entry — the most-listed North Trail |
| 250CK | 30 ft | 4 | Center-kitchen rear-bath — the balanced couples pick |
| 260MK | 31 ft | 2 | Dual-slide couples plan — factory-rated for two |
| 260DB | 33 ft | 8 | Double-bunk family plan with kayak door |
| 270CK | 33 ft | 4 | Line flagship — dual slides, desk workspace, dual awnings |
Every North Trail is a CoreShield vacuum-bonded laminate on the Norco Z-frame (the 14UL compact skips the integrated A-frame). This is a published-GVWR-clean line: on every profiled plan the factory page prints a GVWR and dry weight plus cargo capacity sums to it exactly. Non-Murphy plans carry a 72-by-80 residential king; Murphy plans a 60-by-76 queen. One factory field is unreliable: the spec table repeats the air-conditioner rating in the furnace slot on every plan, so the furnace rating is left unpublished here (logged). RVUSA MSRPs run about $750 below current factory Base MSRP, and the 250CK black tank is a logged factory-versus-brochure conflict (30.5 vs 38 gallons; factory favored). Always confirm against the unit's weight sticker before towing.
04 What owners & reviewers report
The kayak door
The exterior pass-through takes boards, paddles and long gear — the fitment active families actually use, called out on this plan in dealer walkthroughs.
76 gallons of grey
The biggest grey tank in the North Trail line — eight people’s showers on one dump stop.
4,400-pound axles
The heavier axle set under the family plans — running-gear margin the compacts do not carry.
Eight berths, 1,715 pounds
A full crew’s water and gear spends the margin quickly — a filled 55-gallon fresh tank is about 460 pounds of it. Weigh loaded.
05 How it compares
Heartland’s value-tier volume bunkhouse — about $14,900 less at Base MSRP, trading the laminated CoreShield body, ducted Quiet Series air, solar and TPMS.
The line flagship — two slides, dual awnings and the desk-equipped front suite for $3,000 more.
The volume family field — the 260DB counter is the kayak door, 76-gallon grey tank and Azdel-both-sides walls.
06 Loading it for a trip
This floorplan carries its water comfortably. A full 55-gallon fresh tank is roughly 27% of the 1,715-pound cargo capacity, leaving the North Trail 260DB with a usable gear budget even when you tow full.
| Weight budget | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo capacity as published (CCC) | 1,715 lb | Everything you add: gear, water, propane, batteries, food, people’s belongings. |
| Fresh tank filled (55 gal × 8.34 lb) | −459 lb | Water is the heaviest thing most owners add, and it is added first. |
| Cargo budget left with a full fresh tank | 1,256 lb | 27% of this plan’s capacity is spent before a single bag is loaded. |
| Per sleeping position, water aboard | 157 lb | A rough share of what is left across the 8 berths this plan sleeps. |
The published dry tongue weight of 815 pounds is 13% of the 6,485-pound dry weight, which sits inside the 10–15% band usually quoted for stable towing. It is still a dry figure: loading the front pass-through and the fresh tank both push it up.
Nothing above changes the ceiling. Loaded to its 8,200-pound GVWR the North Trail 260DB is towing 1,715 pounds more than its 6,485-pound dry figure, and that is the number your vehicle has to be rated for — not the brochure weight.
Tank balance is generous here: 55 gallons of fresh against 76 grey and 38 black, so waste capacity keeps pace with supply and the fresh tank is the constraint that ends a dry stay.
07 Where this floorplan sits
Ranked by GVWR, the North Trail 260DB sits 5 of 6 in the North Trail line: 8,200 pounds against a line that runs from 6,500 to 8,850 pounds. That position is the useful thing to know, because the plans immediately either side of it are the real alternatives.
Either side of it in the same line: North Trail 260MK is 600 pounds lighter at 7,600 lb GVWR; and North Trail 270CK is 650 pounds heavier at 8,850 lb GVWR.
| Comparable travel trailers | GVWR (lb) | Dry (lb) | Sleeps | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Trail 260DB | 8,200 | 6,485 | 8 | 32 ft 9 in |
| Jay Feather 27BH | 8,200 | 6,660 | 10 | 32 ft 3 in |
| Jay Flight 263BHS | 8,200 | 6,335 | 10 | 32 ft 6 in |
| Jay Flight SLX 284BHS | 8,200 | 6,140 | 9 | 33 ft 7 in |
| IBEX 26BRE | 8,233 | 6,733 | — | 32 ft 6 in |
| Delta 262RB | 8,250 | 6,600 | 3 | 29 ft 7 in |
| Forest River No Boundaries NB20.8 | 8,253 | 6,753 | 4 | 32 ft 6 in |
Against the North Trail 260DB: the Jay Feather 27BH sleeps 2 more; the Jay Flight 263BHS sleeps 2 more; the Jay Flight SLX 284BHS sleeps 1 more. Those are differences in the published numbers only — what they cost, how they are built and how they live are separate questions each of those pages answers on its own terms.
Those are the nearest travel trailers from other lines by weight — one per line, picked by proximity on that figure and nothing else. They are listed so the same tow vehicle can be checked against real alternatives, not because they are equivalent inside; layout, build and price diverge sharply across that group.
For scale, the North Trail floorplans profiled here run 5,100 to 6,965 pounds dry and 25 to 33 feet of exterior length across 6 plans. Where a floorplan falls in that spread usually says more about which vehicle can tow it, and which site it fits, than the layout name does.
Every profiled floorplan in this line, with the full weight table, is on the North Trail line hub.
08 Common questions about the North Trail 260DB
How much does the North Trail 260DB weigh?
It leaves the factory at 6,485 pounds dry, and its manufacturer-set loaded ceiling (GVWR) is 8,200 pounds. Real towing weight lands between the two and depends entirely on what you load. Use the GVWR when matching a tow vehicle; the dry figure is only useful for comparing floorplans against each other.
How much can the North Trail 260DB carry?
Cargo carrying capacity is 1,715 pounds. That is the whole budget: water, propane, batteries, gear and everything you bring. Filling the 55-gallon fresh tank uses about 459 pounds of that.
What is the tongue weight of the North Trail 260DB?
The published dry tongue weight is 815 pounds. It is measured empty; loaded, it runs higher, and it comes out of your tow vehicle’s payload rather than its tow rating.
What size tow vehicle does the North Trail 260DB need?
Your vehicle needs a tow rating of at least 8,200 pounds — this floorplan’s GVWR — and enough payload left over for the hitch load, passengers and anything in the bed. This site does not publish tow ratings for specific vehicles, because one truck model varies by thousands of pounds across engine, axle ratio, cab and package. The figure that governs is the payload sticker on your own door jamb.
How many people does the North Trail 260DB sleep?
It is rated to sleep 8. Rated sleeping positions include convertible furniture, so count the beds against how you actually travel rather than against the number.
What are the tank capacities on the North Trail 260DB?
Fresh 55 gallons, grey 76 gallons, black 38 gallons. Tank sizes set how long the floorplan can sit away from hookups, and the smallest of the three is what ends the stay.
How long is the North Trail 260DB?
Exterior length is 32' 9". Measure against your site length and your storage before committing — the exterior figure is the one that has to fit, and it includes the tongue or pin box.
Every figure in these answers is read from this page’s verified specification table. Where the manufacturer publishes nothing, the question is not answered rather than estimated.
09 What this page publishes, and what it does not
This catalog tracks 18 specification fields per floorplan. Named sources publish 15 of them for the North Trail 260DB. The rest are not shown, because the alternative is reading a figure across from a sibling floorplan or from what the segment usually does — and a number nobody published is worth less than an admitted gap.
Not published for this floorplan: slide count, tire specification, awning. If you find one of these in a manufacturer document for this plan, it belongs on this page.
The completeness figure at the foot of this page (95%) measures the same thing on the full field set: it is a measurement of how much this floorplan’s manufacturer publishes, not of how much research went into the page.
How every figure here was sourced and checked is set out on the methodology page.
11 NHTSA safety record
This floorplan belongs to the North Trail line, and NHTSA holds 14 recall campaigns and 7 owner complaints against that line. They are separate records and are not added together — a recall is a manufacturer-confirmed defect with a remedy; a complaint is one owner’s account, which NHTSA does not verify.
Too few reports to show a pattern. 7 complaints have been filed on this line — not enough to say what fails most often. They cover equipment, structure, seats, suspension and tires.
Recall coverage is not complete — our harvest of NHTSA’s recall API ran 1,556 queries, of which 0 failed and 242 returned an explicit zero. A line can still be under-reported where NHTSA files a roster under a parent name, or where a match rests on the wording of the recall rather than its model field. Complaints come from the complete bulk file but are unverified and self-selected: a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy. Full tables are on the North Trail line page.